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A review by gnashchick
New Avalon: Love and Loss in The City of Steam by James Ward Kirk, Neal F. Litherland
4.0
Welcome to New Avalon. In this world, horse-drawn cabs carry those who can pay while the poor slog through poisonous air. You'll see clockworks, dangerous science and stage productions performed by flesh and iron thespians. Everyone here has something to love, and something to lose along the way.
The stories here are gorgeously written in a lush prose that evokes the Victorian era. At times, I found myself simply enjoying the cadence and poetic meter of the language as I read along. The stories are romantic, sometimes horrific, but they remain true to the theme of love and loss.
Each story stands alone, glimpses into the lives of the people living in the margins. As with any collection, you'll find stories that make your hair stand on end, and those that pass by like a stranger on the street. I'd like to point out some of my particular favorites. The opening story, "Love is a Broken Clock" was well-chosen to lead the rest. It cements the sense of place, time, and theme for the rest of the collection. "The Legend of Black Jack Guillotine" is another, so I'll give you a glimpse of the lovely prose that enchanted me.
“Ghosts lived in the mists. Leering phantoms gathered round hot boxes on the corners, or lingering beneath the flickering corpse lamps along the cracked paves of the dock ward. They flitted in and out of the roiling fog; ragged things seen and then gone again down dark alleys and disappearing into slumped doorways like half glimpsed gargoyles. They looked back with eyes that stared from the grave, even though they still gleamed in filthy flesh.”
My favorite tale was "The Understudy" where we meet Fiona, the mechanic charged with keeping the automatons of the Theatre De Mechanike in shape for performance. When their lead actor breaks, Fiona turns to a man known only as the Engineer to secure the replacement part that will let the show go on. Once repaired, Fiona and her team discover oddities in their workshop, she is promoted to become the understudy to the grand dame of the theater, and the mechanical lead actor mysteriously malfunctions. Remember, there is theater, and then there is the Theatre De Mechanike.
Because the stories all hinge on the same theme, I suggest readers take these in small bites, lest they become repetitive. I recommend this collection for fans of steampunk, dark romance that doesn't always end well, paranormal stories, and those who enjoy classic tales of gothic horror.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This review originally published at www.bookie-monster.com
The stories here are gorgeously written in a lush prose that evokes the Victorian era. At times, I found myself simply enjoying the cadence and poetic meter of the language as I read along. The stories are romantic, sometimes horrific, but they remain true to the theme of love and loss.
Each story stands alone, glimpses into the lives of the people living in the margins. As with any collection, you'll find stories that make your hair stand on end, and those that pass by like a stranger on the street. I'd like to point out some of my particular favorites. The opening story, "Love is a Broken Clock" was well-chosen to lead the rest. It cements the sense of place, time, and theme for the rest of the collection. "The Legend of Black Jack Guillotine" is another, so I'll give you a glimpse of the lovely prose that enchanted me.
“Ghosts lived in the mists. Leering phantoms gathered round hot boxes on the corners, or lingering beneath the flickering corpse lamps along the cracked paves of the dock ward. They flitted in and out of the roiling fog; ragged things seen and then gone again down dark alleys and disappearing into slumped doorways like half glimpsed gargoyles. They looked back with eyes that stared from the grave, even though they still gleamed in filthy flesh.”
My favorite tale was "The Understudy" where we meet Fiona, the mechanic charged with keeping the automatons of the Theatre De Mechanike in shape for performance. When their lead actor breaks, Fiona turns to a man known only as the Engineer to secure the replacement part that will let the show go on. Once repaired, Fiona and her team discover oddities in their workshop, she is promoted to become the understudy to the grand dame of the theater, and the mechanical lead actor mysteriously malfunctions. Remember, there is theater, and then there is the Theatre De Mechanike.
Because the stories all hinge on the same theme, I suggest readers take these in small bites, lest they become repetitive. I recommend this collection for fans of steampunk, dark romance that doesn't always end well, paranormal stories, and those who enjoy classic tales of gothic horror.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This review originally published at www.bookie-monster.com