Synopsis: Hot pulp fiction: a steampunk Frankenstein is a weapon of death in an alternate 19th-century England
On an Earth that is not our own, Victoria never ascended the throne; the House of Hanover held England only briefly before being supplanted by the House of Harminster. It is a time of gaslamps and regularly scheduled airship flights, of trams and steam-driven clockwork with countless smoke-belching stacks. London, the capitol of the Empire of the Lion, is a filthy, crowded, fast-growing city where a series of shocking murders threatens the throne itself.
Energetic young inventor Jack Straker believes he has created a weapon to defend the Crown: a reanimated, clockwork-enhanced corpse he can control. He introduces “the Iron Assassin” to the highly placed Lords who will decide if Straker’s invention becomes a weapon of the Lion—or something to be destroyed.
It quickly becomes apparent that the Iron Assassin is more self-willed than Straker intended, and that the zombie’s past life is far more sinister than Straker thought. Has he created a runaway monster? Or the best guardian the Lion could ever hope for?
Review: I fell totally in love with the cover when I saw it and I admit that the summary also helped a lot. I was also curious to see what the author would present us for this first volume. Have I said that I love everything related to the steampunk genre? So how not to be intrigued by this new novel?
The idea of the book is really interesting, we have an alternative London where the crown is threatened by creatures that no one really manages to defeat. Jack Stracker therefore creates a weapon that he thinks necessary from a dead corpse and shows him to everyone. But this creation is not so simple, especially when he has his own desires and does not submit to every decision made for him. We therefore follow particularly these two characters and their history but also some others evolving in parallel with their lives. It was quite interesting I confess to see how everything would be developped but I admit that I was confused a lot of time on the story level. We pass quickly from a character to another and from one event to another without really going into the details. Besides, I’m not convinced that I have understood everything perfectly in the end, the novel was interesting and I still had a good time with the whole.
Another detail is noted making this volume beautiful and this is related to the pages of the book. Indeed, we do not have blank pages as we’re used to but beautiful gray pages that give us immediately want to immerse ourselves in the novel and to discover what is happening.
To conclude, it was an interesting novel although I think that I needed more to understand what was happening.
kindlemom1
I love the cover, I can see how it drew you in! Sorry there wasn’t more detail though so you didn’t feel so lost.
Melliane
yeah but it was good
LilyElement
That cover definitely grabs your attention! Glad to hear you had a good time with it and it was interesting!
Melliane
it was interesting there
Jenny @ Supernatural Snark
That is definitely a disturbingly beautiful cover Melliane! Something that would make me stop and take a second look for sure:) It’s too bad you were a little confused throughout, I always hate when I feel like I’m on the outside looking in because I can’t figure out what’s going on!
Melliane
yes that’s true but in a whole it’s a good one
Ramona
Sounds like this one was more concerned with looks than meaning, lol 🙂 And it sure looks pretty, I agree. But if it comes across as convoluted, meh… Lovely review! Have a great weekend <3
Melliane
thank you girl!
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum
Thanks for this review! I’ve had this on my radar for a while, but I haven’t been seeing much coverage around blogs. This is the first review I’ve seen for it, and I’ve been anticipating ever since I saw you received this book 🙂 I don’t know if I’ll pick it up yet, it sounds good but also looks like there could be some improvements. I don’t know if I can handle a story that’s overall confusing. If it’s the ending though, hmm, maybe.
Melliane
I’m glad you saw one with me
blodeuedd
Understanding is pretty essential
Melissa (Books and Things)
If this was a series, I don’t think not knowing would bother me as much but it doesn’t look like it is. Darn. I am simultaneously creeped out and fascinated by that cover. LOL
Melliane
lol I so love the cover
Braine
Didn’t you review the first book in this series previously? I don’t remember but this cover looks like it’s of the same theme. Sorry it wasn’t spectacular, I’d be a bit disappointed too if I don’t feel like I got enough data to understand the story. Still, this series is right up my alley!
Melliane
no it’s the first book there.
Kirsty-Marie
I love alternate histories, but especially alternate London’s, always interesting (and it definitely sounds it!) glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Melliane
yes it’s an interesting topic
Jennifer Bielman @ Bad Bird Reads
I love the cover but I wish you liked it more.
Carole Rae
Sadly…this is a no-go for me. 🙂
Melissa (My World...in words and pages)
I like that cover, yet it stops my heart at the same time. lol. Sounds like a good book. Maybe one to check out. 🙂 Thank you!
Molly Mortensen
Steampunk is really hit or miss for me. I’m sorry you were confused. I think I’ll pass on this one, because I like to understand what’s going on.
Kara
J’aime bien cet auteur, ça peut me tenter ça 😀