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A review by bandit
The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter by Rod Duncan
4.0
**ARC provided by Angry Robot and Netgalley**
I had no idea what to expect from The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter – but boy, was it a nice surprise!
Intriguing characters?
Check.
Exciting plot?
Check.
Meticulous world-building?
Check.
This novel has it all.
It's beautifully written too - Rod Duncan has a way with words.
Edwin Barnabus is a private detective, a good one at that, hired by the Duchess of Bletchley to search for her missing brother. Respectable enough...except Edwin Barnabus isn’t really who he says he is. He isn’t even a he. Edwin Barnabus is actually Elizabeth Barnabus, a young woman who escaped to the Anglo-Scottish Republic, safe from the clutches of the Duke of Northampton.
Elizabeth Barnabus sets out on her journey to find the missing aristocrat, encountering strange machines, shifty circus folk and a fair few sticky situations, oh, and that agent of the Patent Office..
The world building in The Bullet-Catcher’s Daughter is spectacular, really well thought out. I read a lot of dystopian fiction, so I’m used to alternate societies (some questionable), and Rod Duncan manages to create a world which is not only compelling but incredibly believable (I even googled some history at one point because I was that convinced…oops). There’s a glossary at the end, which is helpful, although I managed to pick up most of the history through Elizabeth’s narration and occasional flashbacks, which were nicely placed within the story.
I’ll admit that it took me a couple of chapters to really get into the story, but I did find myself hooked, refusing to put my kindle away in spite of my phone telling me that it was in fact 4:30am. I had to get to the end (which rewarded me with a very nice plot twist that I did not see coming – although maybe I should have, with all the allusions to, well, illusion.).
Looking forward to the sequel!
I had no idea what to expect from The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter – but boy, was it a nice surprise!
Intriguing characters?
Check.
Exciting plot?
Check.
Meticulous world-building?
Check.
This novel has it all.
It's beautifully written too - Rod Duncan has a way with words.
Edwin Barnabus is a private detective, a good one at that, hired by the Duchess of Bletchley to search for her missing brother. Respectable enough...except Edwin Barnabus isn’t really who he says he is. He isn’t even a he. Edwin Barnabus is actually Elizabeth Barnabus, a young woman who escaped to the Anglo-Scottish Republic, safe from the clutches of the Duke of Northampton.
Elizabeth Barnabus sets out on her journey to find the missing aristocrat, encountering strange machines, shifty circus folk and a fair few sticky situations, oh, and that agent of the Patent Office..
The world building in The Bullet-Catcher’s Daughter is spectacular, really well thought out. I read a lot of dystopian fiction, so I’m used to alternate societies (some questionable), and Rod Duncan manages to create a world which is not only compelling but incredibly believable (I even googled some history at one point because I was that convinced…oops). There’s a glossary at the end, which is helpful, although I managed to pick up most of the history through Elizabeth’s narration and occasional flashbacks, which were nicely placed within the story.
I’ll admit that it took me a couple of chapters to really get into the story, but I did find myself hooked, refusing to put my kindle away in spite of my phone telling me that it was in fact 4:30am. I had to get to the end (which rewarded me with a very nice plot twist that I did not see coming – although maybe I should have, with all the allusions to, well, illusion.).
Looking forward to the sequel!