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A review by whatsmacksaid
The Iron Wyrm Affair by Lilith Saintcrow
1.0
I tried, I TRIED to like this story. At 89 pages in I felt sure the story was almost over (it wasn't), and at the book's halfway point I finally gave up.
I'm generally a fan of Lilith Saintcrow's work, but "The Iron Wyrm Affair" was bulky and overwrought. The writing needed vigorous pruning, and the worldbuilding needed an EMT, stat. The plot itself had a great deal of potential but ended up drowning in descriptions of a world that was supposed to (but failed to) enchant us. Emma Bannon felt flat too often, like Saintcrow couldn't figure out who she was beyond meshing a few strong-female-character stereotypes. Archibald Clare started off as a rip-off of Sherlock Holmes, and while his own character improved and grew away from the Holmesian ideal, he never struck me as intelligent as he was supposed to be.
I'm glad I got it for cheap, but I'm still so, so disappointed.
I'm generally a fan of Lilith Saintcrow's work, but "The Iron Wyrm Affair" was bulky and overwrought. The writing needed vigorous pruning, and the worldbuilding needed an EMT, stat. The plot itself had a great deal of potential but ended up drowning in descriptions of a world that was supposed to (but failed to) enchant us. Emma Bannon felt flat too often, like Saintcrow couldn't figure out who she was beyond meshing a few strong-female-character stereotypes. Archibald Clare started off as a rip-off of Sherlock Holmes, and while his own character improved and grew away from the Holmesian ideal, he never struck me as intelligent as he was supposed to be.
I'm glad I got it for cheap, but I'm still so, so disappointed.