This is a collection of 4 novellas set in a steampunk universe very similar to 1850s and 1860s England. I've never read steampunk before, so I didn't know what to expect, but the world Alexis Hall creates is a mix of prosaic Victorian England (complete with Dickens) with magic from another dimension, and the accompanying monsters. One thing I truly enjoyed is that other dimension is profoundly not human, and not really concerned with what goes on in the human world. It is eerie, dreamlike, and utterly terrifying, and fortunately there is not much contact between the human and this realm.
Book 1, Shackles, was my least favorite. It is the story of Ruben Crowe and Milord, who are embroiled in a passionate, but tortured romance in Prosperity. Milord is the Crime Prince of Gaslight, a violent psychopath with his own twisted sense of honor. Ruben Crowe is born into the nobility, trains for the priesthood, but ultimately is kicked out of the church for his heretical beliefs about the goodness of man, and how man can be saved. These two seem to have nothing in common except for intense physical lust, and an inexplicable spiritual attraction/repulsion to each other. And Milord seemed even more amoral (not evil), to the point of even seeming subhuman at times, in this story than in Prosperity, and I just couldn't connect with him at all, or with Ruben since I didn't understand why he just couldn't walk away. The story is told in third person.
Book 2, Squamous with a Chance of Rain is the story of Miss Jane Grey, gentlewoman, lesbian, opium addict, and unwilling conduit between the earth and the otherworld. Her life is changed through the unwitting exposure to artifacts that open up portals and communication to this otherworld, and she spends much of this book discovering what that means, and how to combat or use it. She is a governess when we meet her, and the best part are the references to Jane Eyre -- although since this Jane is a lesbian it goes a bit differently -- and, more hilariously, to The Sound of Music. I was laughing my ass off, and it is all done tongue in cheek. And the casual comments like "Ah well. How does that saying go? When God closes a door, somebody opens a window and dumps a chamber pot over your head." It's not a comedy, but the dry or subtle little references and asides were a lot of fun to read. This story is told via letters, from such interesting places as "Mrs. Miggle's Boarding House for the Genteelly Impoverished, London".
Book 3, Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies is the one I was most looking forward to, the story of how Byron Kae came to be. This one has more world building than perhaps any of the other stories, as we have to learn about the aether itself before we can understand how one becomes an aethermancer and what that means. I also appreciated the better understanding of why Byron Kae is never referred to as "he" or "she", but always as "they". At first, I thought it had something to do with the way they were changed when they became ether-touched, but it really is more a reference to Byron's duality of gender -- he is not trans-gendered, but embodies both. They are kind, noble, generous, self-sacrificing, and perhaps my favorite character in this collection. This story is told in first person, with a few interjections from Piccadilly, Byron Kae's lover.
Book 4, Liberty, is the story of one man's attempt to control and weaponize the aether, mainly through subverting Captain George England, veteran and survivor of the battle of Balaclava (known to us Americans mainly through Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade"). Introduced as a series of trial testimony from most of the characters of the other stories, recorded conversations between Captain England and the man who recruited him, and letters from Captain England to his mother, we are told the story of how Captain England becomes and aethermancer himself and tries to bring about the downfall of the free aethermancers and the pirate sky town of Liberty. This was a great story of how one man's sense of chivalry and patriotism was used to turn him into an agent of destruction, and how he learns how to become true to his ideals. It made me want to hear more about this character, and what happens to him next!
And though this is already a very long review, I absolutely must put a plug in here for how amazingly talented a storyteller Mr. Hall is. I've read several of his other books, raved about his prose, but his talent for dialogue is really the best I've ever read. The way he alternates between the different classes, from low-born Piccadilly to Cambridge educated Ruben, between genders, between the worlds of military and civilian, all while keeping each voice unique, consistent, believable, and true to character, is just amazing. Even the blurb -- genius! I can't wait to read more from him!
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Top reviews from other countries
Amazon Kunde
More about the history of the characters from Prosperity.
Reviewed in Germany on November 24, 2021
Kristin Honor
Wonderful ideas to explore and be amazed!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 4, 2016
