Design Sue Michniewicz, illustration Dominic Harman
I have just been made aware of the difference in the usage of serials and series. The Wild Hunt is a serial. This means that each book ends without the story being finished.
I admit it. I hesitated to read Trinity Rising. No way could Elspeth Cooper live up to the promise of her first novel. Hah, hah, what a joke. Trinity Rising was even better. The hiccups of Songs of the Earth were gone. Trinity Rising grabbed my brain and kept its hold until the end. I loved the characterization and the story.
Savin is a psychopath. Cooper shows his complete lack of empathy through the episodes he appears in. Gair is grief-stricken and functions quite poorly until the end of the novel. Alderan is concerned with the well-being of the many over the well-being of the few. In the end Gair finds it impossible to support this stance. We meet Teia of the Northern tribes. She brings with her new traditions and a deeper understanding of the conflicts between the Empire and the Clans. I found myself becoming fond of her and rooting for her and am looking forward to seeing where The Wild Hunt will go in Cooper’s next novel.
For those of you who find reading sexual content difficult, be warned. Ms. Cooper has written these novels for adults. To me it all fit perfectly together and I recommend this novel to you all.
I think the reason I like Tavi’s character is because he is a bit crazy. Just crazy enough to see possibilities where the rest of us aren’t able to. Me, I lack that piece of genius that I sometimes meet in other people. Not often, but enough times to know how precious that ability is.
Tavi sees allies in traditional enemies, possibilities in impossibilities and hope where the rest of us give up. (Yes, I do realize he is a fictional character!) Sometimes people like this can be terribly annoying because giving up can be soooo tempting. He does annoy his friends at times. But this trait is also what has brought enemies to help and now another enemy needs to be brought into the battle against the Vord.
In Princep’s Fury Tavi discovered once and for all that the Vord were impossible to talk with/to. Their only aim in life is to convert Alera into Vord (land and creatures). However, the first Vord queen is a bit off for a Vord. She has limited the number of queens and made them sterile to boot. This gives Tavi some hope that Alera might prevail against them in the end.
Invidia Aquitaine is still fighting on the Vord queen’s side while her husband is the leader of the people left behind in Alera. The First Lord is dead and Tavi needs to hurry back to resolve the succession question at the same time as he utilizes any and all means to prevent the further spread of the Vord. But to do that he needs to take down the queen and that is quite a task. Thankfully, his old allies and family are still alive and fighting for the survival of Alera.
p style=”text-align:center;”>Wonderful coverart by Amazing15.com
Mwahahah. Zoooooombies. Funny in a really gross way. Let me give you an example:
“She fell often, the lack of connective tissue around her left knee making balance a problem. Her feet were bare and the flesh was torn, but she felt no pain, not even when she landed face first in a bush and a broken branch punctured an eyeball. It snapped off with the force of her fall, leaving Maggie with a stick jutting out of her ruined eye socket, vitreous egg-white oozing from the puncture and sliding down her cheek like thickened tears.”
I am NOT a zombie person, but the descriptions in Plague Town were wonderfully zombieish. Absolutely perfect for a novel that seems to want to be tense yet kind of funny. I think authors must love it when they get to hand us gory descriptions. Dana Fredsti seems to fall into that group of authors and I love her for it. I am still not a zombie person, but Dana has made a really good case for this category.
Plague Town does have a serious side – be careful what you release into society. There are some excellent fighting scenes and a couple of hot ones between Ashley and … You’ll guess it in two seconds, but you ought to have those two seconds. Plague Town also manages to be kind of twisty – in a good way. Yeah! I think I will wholeheartedly recommend this zombie novel.
Shaedes of Gray seems to be Amanda Bonilla’s first novel and is a pretty good debut. There are places where the text doesn’t work completely, but Bonilla manages to hit the flow quite often.
Another plus point for the cover. Choosing Cliff Nielsen as her artist was well done. He has illustrated quite a few authors I really like and, of course, some I’ve never heard of. The way he manages to catch the mood of Shaedes of Gray is awesome.
This Seattle is a Seattle that apparently only has one supernatural living there. Darian was told this by her “maker” and has believed it for the past 100 years or so. By my “apparently” I am certain you know that supernaturals are going to be popping out of the wood-work as the novel progresses.
Let’s see. What makes Shaedes of Gray different from the rest of urban fantasy. Hmmm. For one thing, Darian is a Shaede. This means that she can travel through the shadows, yet she appears as human when she is in her corporeal form. She doesn’t know how she was made into a Shaede. Shaedes don’t really appear to be bad/good. Instead they are a kind of distilled in-between gray creature.
Not so unusual, is Darian being an assassin. She makes her living taking on hits to people of dubious morals. When she is asked to kill the resident of a certain address, Darian discovers that she was lied to by her maker. There are indeed other supernaturals living in Seattle. When she discovers just how duped she has been and who one of the dupers is, Darian feels stupid.
So. A good beginning. If what I’ve seen in this novel continues, Amanda certainly has the makings of one of the better authors out there.
Photo by Shirley Green, Illustration by Rob Shields, Design by Chad Roberts
Hmmm. Full Blooded falls within the paranormal romance category (I think). As such, I’m not the best person to say something about it. Having read it, I am going to anyways.
I don’t know why this category is having such a difficult time getting into my heart. With Full Blooded it had a lot to do with the fact that the text kind of hiccupped. When I get the feeling of “hang on-need some more editing here”, I feel like someone is hurting the text. I know I’ll never write a book. For one thing, my writing is simply not interesting enough for that. So I really admire the people out there who actually do write.
As a reader, though, I am top-notch. Full Blooded was average. It picked up after the first half. Some of the weeds got pulled out more and Carlson was a whole lot closer to getting her text to flow. The story itself wasn’t especially original either.
But remember my motto – just because I might not like a novel doesn’t mean it isn’t good. It just means that it needs another reader.
Princep’s Fury is the fifth and penultimate book in The Codex Alera series. What can I say about this series now that it is almost over? One thing that is obvious is that Jim Butcher‘s writing is getting better and better. Hard work does pay. I’m hopeful that Jim benefits from this. As a reader, I certainly do. Having read books of all kinds for around 40 years, I have certainly learned to spot and appreciate which authors are serious about their craft.
Tavi has set off with his regiment to assist the Canim with the Vord in their homeland. With his usual tolerance of the Ocean, Tavi vomits his way quite a ways accross the Ocean. Thankfully he has good helpers who assist him whether he wants them to or not. Once they get to the land of the Canim, both Varg and Tavi discover that the situation is a bit more dire than Varg had thought and hoped.
Back in Alera the Alerans are finally realizing that the Vord are real and they are coming to get them. Unfortunately, that usually means that the Vord are about to take over your whole country and population. As we might have guessed by the previous books, the Vord Queen that started the ball rolling this time around is not quite as Vordish as she should have been. This might just be the factor that ends up being a saving factor for the Alerans, Malat and Canim.
Not all Alerans are able to help the First Lord as they are fighting for their lives to save their own people. Which is why Isana is sent north by the First Lord in an attempt to make historic peace between Alerans and Ice-men. Her work might very well be the feather that will tip the scales in the Aleran’s favor.
There is as much action in no. 5 as there has been in the previous four books. Political in-fighting is not quite as extreme as necessity binds people together to an extent.
“Black Trillium” is a collaboration between Marion Zimmer Bradley, Julian May and Andre Norton. These three women are oldies but goodies within the science fiction and fantasy genre. As such one might be tempted to think that this three-in-one package would create a work of wonder. However, three strong personalities can make for problems as well.
The end product has the three authors writing about one character each. Sadly, this is quite apparent to me in my role as reader. While the story keeps to its plot (I presume), the different writing styles makes me have to adjust again and again as I go from chapter to chapter. Sometimes the writing is very young in its audience appeal and sometimes I connect a bit more to it.
As the princesses Haramis, Kadiya and Anigel go on their separate journeys to save Ruwenda from the Labornok and its magician Orogastus they also have to face their own flaws and failings. In a typical younger audience hero-writing style, we are presented with three young women who face difficult challenges and overcome them in a manner that destroys the wicked, changes the hearts of brave people and brings the heroes back as saviors to their people.
A younger reader than myself might very well find this book a completely different journey to my own. Perhaps I have become too old and jaded in my reading experience to fully enjoy something so clearly intended for a younger audience.
As all of you must know by now Terry Pratchett is one of my all time favorite authors. It turns out he started publishing his writing from the age of 13.
What A Blink Of the Screen gives us is a look at the development Pratchett has had as an author through he varied and lengthy authorship. We also get an excellent example of how some people are born with the gift of writing. Thankfully, Pratchett decided to develop that talent into what we see today.
I read Pratchett’s story from when he was 13 without much hope of entertainment. But, you know. There is a reason Pratchett is my favorite author. He simply has the gift. And that is the feeling I am left with after reading A Blink of the Screen.
A Blink of the Screen is a collection of everything from short stories to poetry and even an Ankh-Morporkian anthem.
The Anthem is the “Ankh-Morpork National Anthem“. It is properly pretentious and has a second verse worth memorising.
.
Pratchett does well in a great many genres. Death as a disco-lover, football cards, heroes that are resurrected, x-mas cards that draw you in, silly laws and regulations, alternate earths, evolving chickens, biographies, the Discworld: this book has it all. The art of Josh Kirby is excellent. Seeing it in such vivid colors is a delight.
Like all of Pratchett’s books, A Blink of the Screen shows the world to me as it is. Sure, you have to strip away the fantasy bits first, but the people are real in all their glory and horror. I’ve met some of these people. I am some of these people (definitely not telling who). Add this to his gift of communication and we have magic.
Jim Butcher‘s series, TheCodex Alera, is well worth a read. Captain’s Fury is book number four in the series. In it we meet a Tavi two years older from who he was in Cursor’s Fury.
The hard work that Butcher puts into his books shows. He himself says that being and author is about work, work, work and not giving up even if you are rejected. I guess I must have been wrong about the Muses just dropping into people’s heads and taking over their hands.
I love it when I can tell that an author has worked for my pleasure. How selfish is that? However selfish, it is true. There is just something incredibly wonderful about an author that takes hold of me and brings me into their text.
That is the kind of author Jim Butcher has become.
Tavi is yet a couple of years older. As a character, Tavi is a warm-hearted person. Somehow he feels that friendship is possible with everyone and works toward that end. Unfortunately, not everybody agrees With that point of view. Senator Arnos is one such person. His goal in life is to destroy Tavy but also to destroy the Canim with what he considers Aleran superiority. Boy is he in for a surprise.
Sadly, Tavi will be impacted (in the shape of Captain Rufus Scipio) by Arnos’ scheming and Tavi’s captaincy hangs in a thread. When Tavi discovers who he really is, his life is not made any simpler.
The First Lord is quite a schemer himself. He knows that he is more or less alone in his battles and seeks a quick resolution to the problem of Kalare. That means that Gaius will have to og undercover and absent himself from the political infighting in Alera. To assist him in his quest, the First Lord brings along his faithful Amara and her Bernard.
Stealing the Elf-King’s Roses was relaunched in new clothes in 2011. Diane had felt the need to fix some issues that she had noticed over the years. My book is the original version.
Who among us is able to state honestly that we have no prejudices? I know I cannot. I try not to let those prejudices interfere with the way I treat people I encounter, but I know that at times I have let my feelings shine through. This is the great thing about fantasy and science fiction. The differences between species become blindingly obvious. In this manner the author has the chance to either preach or teach through their writing. Preaching bores me. I expect to be treated as though I am intelligent enough to catch on to the underlying message without having it spelled out for me.
Diane Duane manages to teach us about prejudice without getting on her high horse or behind a pulpit. This is quite difficult to manage I have noticed in the all-too many books I have read. Authors with this ability really need all the acknowledgement they so richly deserve.
Lee Einfeld and Gelert Reh’Mechren are Lanthomancers at Law in a parallel world where psychic abilities are more common that here. The team seeks out psychospoors at crime scenes. The evidence recorded from that is presented in court and through a sort of ceremony Justice comes into the court-room and the defendant is judged.
An Alfen murder comes their way and that murder brings the Lanthomancer team into inter-universe politics. This is a mystery mixed with techno-jargon mixed with political ploys.
Stealing the Elf-King’s Roses was a fun read. There were some hiccups along the way, but nothing major (might be because I have the older version).
I Guess it is about time that you saw who on Earth writes this Codex Alera series. Jim Butcher is obviously showing his more serious side in this photograph of he and his dog.
I’ll admit that this is not a recent Picture, but it is a fun one.
So, Codex Alera and Cursor’s Fury.
Tavi is getting older, and hopefully wiser in his understanding of his abilities. In The Furies of Calderon we got to know the 15-year old boy whose greatest wish was to study at the Academy in the city of Alera. Through his deeds he reaped the reward of just that. A couple of years later, we meet Tavi again. This time he is a student at the Academy and wondering if perhaps he should have wished for something else. But his presence proves vital in securing the safety of the First Lord – as it should when Tavi is the main character of the series. Academ’s Fury shows us a boy who has grown in maturity and understanding of his abilities.
In Cursor’s Fury Tavi has aged once again. His and Kitai’s relationship has deepened and both are committed to each other. Not everyone is pleased with the relationship between human and Marat. Another relationship that not all who know Tavi are pleased with, is his relationship with the Canim leader Varg. But Tavi’s thought is that friendship is a whole lot better than the shedding of blood.
The First Lord sends Tavi off to learn from one of the Academy’s more controversial teachers. The ways of the old Romans need to be explored (yes, indeed, the old Romans). Somehow it seems they managed without using Furies and it seems the First Lord deems it necessary to discover how they got by. Tavi doesn’t want to leave Kitai and his friends, but as a Cursor and subject of the First Lord he does not really want to say no either.
So, off he goes. And somehow – read and find out – he ends up being an under-cover legionare in the First Lord’s army fighting for his life and the safety of Alera.
There is plenty of action. Plenty of it, interspersed with humour and romance and intrigue. Spies and deception are part of the story and one of the greater deceptions will affect Amara and Bernhard as they tottle off to save hostages from Lord Kalare. I guess tottling might not be the appropriate term here – read and discover why.
Another brick of a book – 614 pgs brick – but a fun brick. If you are into action, this is the book to read.
Devon Monk does it again. She has created another read-through book about the world of Allie Beckstrom. That woman simply has the gift. I do not often get to read two novels in a row where the author so clearly has the ability to bring me into the story. Lucky is what I am.
In this final novel of the Allie Beckstrom series Monk gives us a conclusion that makes sense and draws any loose threads together that might be out there. Perhaps it is Beckstrom’s willingness to pay the price for her actions that makes her so appealing. Or it could be her side-kicks Zay and Shame (and in later books Terric). These there are a wonderful complement to Allie’s character.
Leander and Isabelle are coming to Portland to close the whole magical community down. Along, she is bringing Authority from several other cities. To put it mildly, Portland is in need to a plan that might give them a chance against the Overseer. That is Allie’s job, figuring something out that will keep as many as possible alive and well.
This is where Monk shows her gift. She brings out the desperation and hope in novel in a manner that brings me as a reader into the stream of her words. I go willingly and joyfully into this tale of adventure wondering where the author is going to take me. As usual, I cheat by reading the last few pages early on. I know, annoying habit. For me, this is something that whets my appetite.
I hope you enjoy this final installment in the Allie Beckstrom adventure as much as I have.
Academ’s Fury follows Calderon’s Fury as book number two in the Codex Alera by Jim Butcher. You know the saying, “you should be careful what you wish for”. Well, Tavi has gotten his wish, and it is proving a bit more of a handful than he would have liked. For one thing, going to an Academy where he is the only one without a fury among obnoxious kids is less than fun. But the upside is that Tavi does meet kids his own age that he likes and he also learns quite a bit.
In addition to his studies, Tavi is also the First Lord’s page and is studying to be a cursor spy. Both are taxing his strength but he is growing in knowledge and hopefully wisdom.
Kitai and her father discover the disappearance of the Vord from the Wax Forest. Dorago looks for the long-time enemies of the Marat and he is worried what their disappearance means. While he is looking he sends Kitai to “watch” (all is revealed in the book). The Vord will include Bernhard, Amare and Isana in our tale.
And then we have the Canim. There is an ambassadorial retinue living at the First Lord’s palace. The ambassador’s name is Varg. Jim likes to make the story lines of the Codex Alera pretty complex. Part of that is probably to keep the reader on their toes, but it is difficult to tell his story without bringing in the various people involved. So too, the Canim.
The ambassador seeks the First Lord’s help, but due to circumstances around the First Lord that is going to prove extremely difficult. In fact, getting help from the First Lord for anyone at all is going to be a challenge in Academ’s Fury. But fear not, Tavi is here. OK! It might not be quite that simple, but Tavi is, after all, the hero of this series and that means that he has to do impossibly heroic deeds.
The problem with so much art on the net is that it is difficult finding just who to credit with it. If you press on the picture above it will take you to one site, and I hope that is the correct one. If not, someone will have to tell me.
While reading these books, I have been trying to place their age group. Sex wise they are pretty safe. I would probably give the books a PG rating for that (only because of how strict the US public is). When it comes to violence I’m having a bit more trouble. How graphic is graphic and where do I draw the line? Well, I don’t really know. There is violence and it is descriptive, but it isn’t what carries the story (at least not in Academ’s Fury). I guess I would say that the reader should not be too young, but it is OK for a teen-ager. But I am ancient, so what do I know?
Anyways, after that struggle, I want to say that Academ’s Fury is fun and fast to read (for a given definition of fast). The book is around 600 pages long and you don’t read that in one go. Butcher’s language flows along its river of words without drowning me in anything unwanted.
Michael J. Sullivan has been writing his whole life. Not until he began writing the Rirya Revelations series did he get published. Strange thing that. The Rirya Revelations had been a project that he undertook to please himself and his daughter (who has been part of designing the cartoon on Michael’s website). All six books were finished before the first one was published.
After a while the sales took off and Michael J. Sullivan has become a well-known name in the fantasy world. That recognition is well-deserved. His books are fun to read and they kept me wanting to know how the greater plot is resolved. The characters are fun and varied. It is not immediately clear whether the butler did it or not (I know there isn’t a butler in these books) and that is something that I really like in a writer. We should be kept wondering who the baddest baddie is.
All six books are stand-alone books in the sense that the main problem is resolved. However, there is a greater plot spanning all six books, so it would be a good idea to start at omnibus no. 1 – Theft of Swords. That way you get all of those pesky little threads tied together from the beginning.
Royce Melborne and Hadrian Blackwater are essential characters in all six novels. They are the Rirya – a gang of two. Together they get into and out of all sorts of trouble. These books are good for young adults and upwards. There isn’t too much violence and no sex.
The gods of Elan are: Erebus (Father of the gods), Ferrol (Eldest son, god of elves), Drome (Second son, god of dwarves), Maribor (Third son, god of men), Muriel (Only daughter, goddess of nature) and Uberlin (Son of Muriel and Erebus, god of darkness).
The main political parties to be aware of are:
Imperialists: Those wishing to unite mankind under a single leader who is the direct descendant of the demigod Novron.
Nationalists: Those wishing to be ruled by a leader chosen by the people.
Royalists: Those wishing to continue rule by individual, independent monarchs.
THEFT OF SWORDS (2011): THE CROWN CONSPIRACY AND AVEMPARTHA
Hadrian and Royce are stopped by highway robbers, incredibly incompetent ones according to Hadrian and Royce. When the highway robbers discover that they are dealing with the Rirya, panic settles in. Before they go, Hadrian gives the robbers advice on how to rob people properly.
Hadrian and Royce are on their way to a job. That is what they do. They get paid to rob the wealthy for various reasons. The two of them are quite successful at what they do. But things are bound to go wrong when they are asked to undertake a job that leaves them practically no time plan. A sword is placed in the chapel at the Medford castle, and the boys are to remove it to give Count Pickering trouble in a duel. What Hadrian discovers instead is a dead king and he and Royce are accused of the murder.
AVEMPARTHA
Hadrian and Royce meet up with the guy who asked them to steal the sword, and you can probably imagine that they weren’t best pleased. But for some strange reason the man walked out of that meeting alive. Royce gets to chat with old friends and the two men are told of a young girl looking for them. They must be in a soft frame of mind, for when they meet this young girl, Thrace, they end up going with her to her village. There, mighty adventure awaits. Ok, that was a bit over-kill.
In the meantime, and you just know there has to be a meantime don’t you?, Arista bounces into her brother King Alric’s meeting misunderstanding the meeting’s intent. She thinks he is about to marry her off, while he is in reality planning on sending her as an ambassador to Dunmore. Arista likes the idea of having something to do, especially as it gets her away from all of the rumors of her witchhood. Along with her normal entourage bishop Saldur comes along with the Pickering brothers. Fanin and Mauvin are going to enter into a contest the church of Novron is holding in Ervanon.
RISE OF EMPIRE (2011): NYPHRON RISING AND THE EMERALD STORM
NYPHRON RISING
Young Amilia works as a bullied scullion maid at Aquesta. She is being threatened once again by Edith Mon, the head maid, but saved when two women enter the kitchen. One is clearly some kind of nobility, having both the manners and the clothes for it. The other is an extremely thin and quiet young woman who turns out to be the Empress of Modina. She does not look the part at all.
Through luck Regent Saldur (formerly bishop) appoints Amilia as the Empress’ new secretary. Amilia is terrified as she knows the fate of those who disappoint the regent. But Amilia turns out to have a positive effect on the Empress.
Royce and Hadrian have become royal spies, a job they are really good at. They have found themselves willing to be in the service of the Royal family of Medford, trying to keep the kingdom alive and well in a growing Empire. But keeping Medford on its feet is quite a challenge. Princess Arista has had no luck as an ambassador in finding allies. Every country is too afraid of the new Empire to dare to fight it.
THE EMERALD STORM
Merrick Marius is the world’s best and most cunning assassin. He has been hired to kill someone in Arista’s closest circle. It goes off without a hitch, leaving Arista without an important aid in keeping Ratibor in the hands of the nationalists. But he leaves her with a riddle: “Find the Horn of Gylindora … at Wintertide the Uli Vermar ends … Patriarch … is the same …”. Arista knows the message is extremely important but she hasn’t got a clue how to go about it.
Amilia is still the Empress’ secretary. Modena has been moved to better lodgings, but Amilia still feels as though she is treading water. But fortunately she has acquired her own helper in Nimbus, a landless nobelman. Amilia’s life is on the line every day, as Regent Saldur has made it quite clear what will happen if the Empress embarrasses him in any kind of manner.
Royce and Hadrian go off hunting Merrick. Once Royce and Merrick were good friends, but something happened and Merric now hates Royce. Now he has the chance to play with the Ryria and work against the kingdom of Medford. He tries to lure the two into a trap, quite a cunning one it turns out.
HEIR OF NOVRON (2012): WINTERTIDE AND PERCEPLIQUIS
WINTERTIDE
Stealing is what he has to do to survive. But back luck strikes and he gets yelled at when he gets back to his gang. They decide to try to fleece two newcomers to the city. Royce and Hadrian enter the Imperial Square in a snowstorm. They have come to save Degan Gaunt from execution. The boys discover that the newcomers might be more than they have bargained for, but their meeting actually turns out to be fortuitous for both sides.
Arista is trying to stay sane in her cell. Arista’s attempt to save Degan Gaunt has not been successful. She just knows that she cannot give up trying to escape as the fate of the world rests upon her hands, quite literally.
Amilia is still secretary to the Empress, finding her life full of new experiences. Modena is still quite grief-struck at the challenges that have met her. But something happens to slowly wake her from her dull and grief-struck state. She finds something to live for a meaning to life. Revenge and retribution.
PERCEPLIQUIS
The elves are a hunted people by humans. Persecution is severe by the Church of Nypron. They are thought of as terrible creatures who should be struck down whenever they are seen. Now the elves have come on to human lands once again, striking down humans.
Rather than help the humans in trouble, Guy Luis is chasing a young girl called Mercy. She is the ward of Arcadius and Arcadius is trying to save her. But that job might turn out to be insurmountable.
Refugees are arriving at the Imperial city. All of the North is being overrun and the humans have no idea why. As more and more refugees come into the city Arista decides that the riddle Eshraddon gave her must be solved and as soon as possible. However, she soon discovers, once again, obstacles in her way. Royce and Hadrian end up providing the assistance she needs.
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AWARDS
2010 Iceberg Ink Award Best Read (Avempartha)
2010 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fantasy (The Emerald Storm)
2009 National Indie Book Award Finalist (The Crown Conspiracy)
2008 ReaderViews Annual Literary Award Finalist (The Crown Conspiracy)
I’m trying to decide what I thought about The Iron Wyrm Affair. It took a while for it to get off its butt, but once it did it really got going. This is my first experience with Lilith Saintcrow. Looking at her website, I see that she writes to a different audience than myself. That might be why I didn’t get wowed by The Iron Wyrm Affair.
Saintcrow’s Bannon and Clare world is an alternative Victorian one. The queen is Victrix who is also a vessel for the spirit of Britannia. London is Londonium. All the names are changed in minor ways like this. The world shares a similar yet different history to our own.
For one thing, it is a world run on magic. Magic is everywhere and in general the world works on different rules to our own. Machines run on magic and not all machines are only machines. Sometimes there is a mixture of animal and machine or person and machine. I guess kind of like magical cyborgs.
In this world there are (among lots of others) sorceresses/rors and mentaths. Bannon is a sorceress (of the Black, no less) and Clare is a mentath. To reach the rank of sorceress one must have a high degree of affinity to magic. Mentaths are addicted to logic. If they do not get puzzles to solve, they usually end up going insane.
We meet both Bannon and Clare as Bannon is trying to save Clare from being killed. It seems unregistered mentaths are being killed for who knows what reason. Saving Clare from murder, just happens to save him from insanity as well. Being bored just does not suit a mentath. Now Clare gets to join in on solving who is killing off mentaths.
There is plenty of action and some humorous interplay between the various characters.
The Iron Wyrm Affair is probably going to be a good fit for Saintcrow’s target group.
I’m trying to decide what I thought about 
humanitysdarkerside 