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A review by xan_van_rooyen
An Airship Named Desire by Katherine McIntyre
4.0
“At least once on every smuggling job, we reached a point where any sane person would have run screaming.” – I love this opening line! There’s an undercurrent of black humour in this book as evidenced by this first line. We also learn something very important about the protagonist Bea in this opening line when she does not behave as a sane person would.
What I Liked: The world. The alternate history and whole sky-pirate element is fascinating and handled very well. Although I know nothing about airships, I never struggled to imagine what these vessels looked like or how they worked. I also really liked Bea. She’s the epitome of a strong female character who can fight shoulder to shoulder with the boys and then slip into something feminine and be a girl. I love that this character wasn’t a complete tomboy.
What I Didn’t Like: There’s a lot of action in this story. The first few chapters are all action and at some point it got too much. I needed some down time, a moment to catch my breath from the frenetic pace. Also, I realise that steampunk might not be the genre for me. While I enjoy the neo-Victorian aspects, they just don’t grab me as much as some of the other -punk genres do.
Bonus Points: The Morlocks! And that subtle but ever-present dark humour.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars. If you enjoy a swashbuckling action-adventure of the steampunk persuasion then you will love this book. The writing is solid and the world is interesting. I’d definitely keep my eye on this author in the future.
What I Liked: The world. The alternate history and whole sky-pirate element is fascinating and handled very well. Although I know nothing about airships, I never struggled to imagine what these vessels looked like or how they worked. I also really liked Bea. She’s the epitome of a strong female character who can fight shoulder to shoulder with the boys and then slip into something feminine and be a girl. I love that this character wasn’t a complete tomboy.
What I Didn’t Like: There’s a lot of action in this story. The first few chapters are all action and at some point it got too much. I needed some down time, a moment to catch my breath from the frenetic pace. Also, I realise that steampunk might not be the genre for me. While I enjoy the neo-Victorian aspects, they just don’t grab me as much as some of the other -punk genres do.
Bonus Points: The Morlocks! And that subtle but ever-present dark humour.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars. If you enjoy a swashbuckling action-adventure of the steampunk persuasion then you will love this book. The writing is solid and the world is interesting. I’d definitely keep my eye on this author in the future.