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A review by iam
The Sumage Solution by Gail Carriger, G.L. Carriger
3.0
3.5 stars
The Sumage Solution is full of breaking tropes and stereotypes, both of the supernatural and the not-supernatural kind.
Content warnings include: unprotected sex on-page; mentions of child abuse, homophobia, racism.
The story was not what I expected at all. Max's job is described as "cleaning up other mages' messes" but mostly boils down to a boring government office job, and Bryan not being out is a non-issue - this is not a story about coming- or not coming-out of the closet. "Redneck biker werewolves" is also not the way I would describe Bryan's pack, but I won't say anything about the plot as I believe the books does that best on its own.
It more or less directly follows the short story [b:Marine Biology|12806429|Marine Biology (San Andreas Shifters, #0.5)|G.L. Carriger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1317862387l/12806429._SX50_.jpg|17955220] but it's not necessary to read that before this one (though I recommend the short story too, it's the story of Alec, Bryan's brother, and the background to why the pack is moving).
Both Bryan and Max are complex and interesting characters.
Max is gay and mixed-race, coming from a long line of very powerful mages that purposefully "breed" themselves to make the next generation more powerful, making Max being a sumage - a failed mage - a huge disappointment - and they made him feel it, especially his father. Years later, Max is cynical and lonely, not allowing anyone to get too close.
Bryan is also gay, white, and the Beta to a new pack that formed under his younger brother. He is not what people expect from a Beta, but then his brother isn't what they expect from an Alpha, and nobody ever expected werewolves wanting to move to San Francisco, so it all fits together. Bryan doesn't talk much and is generally seen as rather gruff, but he is steady, has a "squishy heart" according to his brother, and a deep need not to hurt anyone.
Aside from these two protagonists, I also really enjoyed the supporting cast: the rest of Bryan's pack, mainly Alec, the brother, and Marvin, his mate, but also the others like Colin, the youngest packmember, or Lovejoy, a flamboyant cook; there's also Ms Trickle, Max's boss who he teases a lot and she teases right back in her rough way, or Gladdy, a kitsune, one of Max's coworkers he gets to know over the course of the book. And of course Manifest Destiny, another kitsune and very powerful drag queen.
Towards the ending of the book it becomes clear that it does indeed play in the Parasolverse, which is the world in which most of the author's other books play in - a steampunk version of the supernatural 1800s. The Sumage Solution is a contemporary book, though, and in those decades MANY things have changed - it's absolutely not necessary to know anything about the world of the Parasolverse, but for me as a fan of those books it was a delightful glance into the future.
That said, I was occasionally confused by in-book terms and what exactly they meant. They are often not explained but I was mostly able to deduce their vague meaning/function through the events happening. A glossary would have been appreciated.
Related to that: I don't think "The Sumage Solution" is the best title for this book. Of course once I read the book it made sense - but before it always confused me. "Sumage" is an in-book term and basically means "failed mage", so a mage who can access quintessence (= the magic) but can't control it. Their main way to utilize that is to absorb (hostile) quintessence and channel it safely, but they can't control what it turns into (hopefully a shower of flowers.)
Yet while the meaning of the title is confusing for everyone but those who read the book, I do think it rolls nicely off the tongue, it's unique and sets a precedent for the rest of the series.
I adored the book upon my first couple reads and gave it 5 stars, but after rereading it for a third time years later I couldn't help but notice some things were off. The book tries to be diverse with its queer rep, as well as with the characters' ethnicities, but the language used was just... off. Especially in regards to race, privilege, queerness, and especially trans-inclusiveness there were several comments that made me wince. It's not the worst, and I think the intention is well-meaning, but that doesn't change that some things came across as... not good.
The book also definitely veers into erotica with the frequent sex scenes. The romance was enjoyable but didn't go particularly deep emotionally. Instead it was very much based on gut instict and physical attraction, which can be excused with in-world dynamics I guess.
Overall a shortwhile paranormal romance that is especially delightful in the way it turns around tropes of the genre.
The Sumage Solution is full of breaking tropes and stereotypes, both of the supernatural and the not-supernatural kind.
Content warnings include: unprotected sex on-page; mentions of child abuse, homophobia, racism.
The story was not what I expected at all. Max's job is described as "cleaning up other mages' messes" but mostly boils down to a boring government office job, and Bryan not being out is a non-issue - this is not a story about coming- or not coming-out of the closet. "Redneck biker werewolves" is also not the way I would describe Bryan's pack, but I won't say anything about the plot as I believe the books does that best on its own.
It more or less directly follows the short story [b:Marine Biology|12806429|Marine Biology (San Andreas Shifters, #0.5)|G.L. Carriger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1317862387l/12806429._SX50_.jpg|17955220] but it's not necessary to read that before this one (though I recommend the short story too, it's the story of Alec, Bryan's brother, and the background to why the pack is moving).
Both Bryan and Max are complex and interesting characters.
Max is gay and mixed-race, coming from a long line of very powerful mages that purposefully "breed" themselves to make the next generation more powerful, making Max being a sumage - a failed mage - a huge disappointment - and they made him feel it, especially his father. Years later, Max is cynical and lonely, not allowing anyone to get too close.
Bryan is also gay, white, and the Beta to a new pack that formed under his younger brother. He is not what people expect from a Beta, but then his brother isn't what they expect from an Alpha, and nobody ever expected werewolves wanting to move to San Francisco, so it all fits together. Bryan doesn't talk much and is generally seen as rather gruff, but he is steady, has a "squishy heart" according to his brother, and a deep need not to hurt anyone.
Aside from these two protagonists, I also really enjoyed the supporting cast: the rest of Bryan's pack, mainly Alec, the brother, and Marvin, his mate, but also the others like Colin, the youngest packmember, or Lovejoy, a flamboyant cook; there's also Ms Trickle, Max's boss who he teases a lot and she teases right back in her rough way, or Gladdy, a kitsune, one of Max's coworkers he gets to know over the course of the book. And of course Manifest Destiny, another kitsune and very powerful drag queen.
Towards the ending of the book it becomes clear that it does indeed play in the Parasolverse, which is the world in which most of the author's other books play in - a steampunk version of the supernatural 1800s. The Sumage Solution is a contemporary book, though, and in those decades MANY things have changed - it's absolutely not necessary to know anything about the world of the Parasolverse, but for me as a fan of those books it was a delightful glance into the future.
That said, I was occasionally confused by in-book terms and what exactly they meant. They are often not explained but I was mostly able to deduce their vague meaning/function through the events happening. A glossary would have been appreciated.
Related to that: I don't think "The Sumage Solution" is the best title for this book. Of course once I read the book it made sense - but before it always confused me. "Sumage" is an in-book term and basically means "failed mage", so a mage who can access quintessence (= the magic) but can't control it. Their main way to utilize that is to absorb (hostile) quintessence and channel it safely, but they can't control what it turns into (hopefully a shower of flowers.)
Yet while the meaning of the title is confusing for everyone but those who read the book, I do think it rolls nicely off the tongue, it's unique and sets a precedent for the rest of the series.
I adored the book upon my first couple reads and gave it 5 stars, but after rereading it for a third time years later I couldn't help but notice some things were off. The book tries to be diverse with its queer rep, as well as with the characters' ethnicities, but the language used was just... off. Especially in regards to race, privilege, queerness, and especially trans-inclusiveness there were several comments that made me wince. It's not the worst, and I think the intention is well-meaning, but that doesn't change that some things came across as... not good.
The book also definitely veers into erotica with the frequent sex scenes. The romance was enjoyable but didn't go particularly deep emotionally. Instead it was very much based on gut instict and physical attraction, which can be excused with in-world dynamics I guess.
Overall a shortwhile paranormal romance that is especially delightful in the way it turns around tropes of the genre.