Category: Steampunk
Third Daughter by Susan Kaye Quinn
(Cover picture courtesy of The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment.)
The Third Daughter of the Queen wants her birthday to arrive so she’ll be free to marry for love, but rumors of a new flying weapon may force her to accept a barbarian prince’s proposal for a peace-brokering marriage. Desperate to marry the charming courtesan she loves, Aniri agrees to the prince’s proposal as a subterfuge in order to spy on him, find the weapon, and hopefully avoid both war and an arranged marriage to a man she does not love.
Third Daughter is the first book in the The Dharian Affairs Trilogy (Third Daughter, Second Daughter, First Daughter). This steampunk-goes-to-Bollywood (Bollypunk!) romance that takes place in an east-Indian-flavored alternate world filled with skyships, saber duels, and lots of royal intrigue. And, of course, kissing.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
I almost didn’t pick Third Daughter to request because the cover gave me the impression it would be a stereotypical Bollywood sort of novel with no real substance. Still, the blurb was good enough that I decided to ignore the cover and give it a chance. And honestly, thank goodness I did!
I’ll be honest with you guys in that I really haven’t read much steampunk. It was only really last year that I actually picked up my first steampunk novel. Still, I absolutely loved the world-building in Third Daughter. It’s set in an Eastern-flavoured world on the verge of an industrial revolution. Many courts like the ones in Dharia favour the old-fashioned styles of dress with corsets and starched skirts, but at the same time there are things similar to handheld computers for long-distance communication and airships. It’s a time of upheaval as new weapons are being created and the kingdoms engage in subtle power plays for supremacy. Really, Susan Kaye Quinn couldn’t have chosen a better time as a setting for her fantasy world.
The characters are wonderful. I absolutely loved Aniri. She’s sort of your typical rebellious princess in the beginning but when she agrees to go on a mission for her mother you really get the feeling that she also cares about her country. Aniri isn’t selfish, even if helping her country means leaving behind the courtesan she loves and pretending to be engaged to a ‘barbarian’ prince. She and Ash (the aforementioned prince) develop slowly over the novel and their feelings for each other become more and more complicated as emotion gets in the way of duty. There’s a lot of romantic tension in this novel but it’s not a romance novel per se.
The plot was truly wonderful. I loved the twists and turns that kept me guessing right up until the end. I sort of knew who was behind the big airship plot but it turns out I was only half right. That’s the thing about Third Daughter: it keeps you guessing and just when you think you’ve figured everything out, Susan Kaye Quinn throws you for a loop.
Even if you’re not the biggest steampunk fan out there, I’d definitely recommend Third Daughter. It has great characters, is set in a well built fantasy world and the plot is fast-paced and unpredictable. You can’t ask for more.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an “accident,” he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.
Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.
Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend… and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne – or his life.
This exciting fantasy novel, set against the pageantry and color of a fascinating, unique world, is a memorable debut for a great new talent.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
Can I just say wow?
That one word pretty much sums up my whole experience with The Goblin Emperor. Really, it does. The world-building was unique and three dimensional, the characters were memorable, the political intrigue was constant and the plot was fascinating. I’ll start with my favourite part of the whole novel, though: the world-building.
This world of goblins and elves is amazing; there are no other words for it. At first it seemed like a traditional nobody-becoming-king story, but then I realized that Katherine Addison had put her own unique twist on it. This isn’t your typical fantasy world, oh no! It’s set in a society where airships are used, where technology is slowly being more and more relied upon but there are people trying to hold back progress. The monarchy is still around and I like how the court was infused with a more Eastern flavour. If you’re familiar with the Chinese and Japanese forms of monarchy you’ll be able to pick out where Katherine Addison borrowed from those cultures to create her world. It’s honestly refreshing to see a writer take old elements from Western fantasy (elves and goblins) and put them in an entirely new setting.
Maia, our confused protagonist, was wonderful. He was the fourth half-goblin, half-elf son of the former Emperor, who died in an accident that took out the three in line for the throne ahead of him. Maia was never raised to be Emperor, in fact he was abused physically and mentally by Setheris, the exile sent to look after him. Seeing him suddenly in a position of supreme power over everyone is quite a jarring change but it feels like he deserves it. Except that the position of Emperor isn’t all its cracked up to be: there are plots against his life, he has no friends at court and he has absolutely no privacy. It’s stressful for him but I love how he learns to navigate the politics and set himself apart from his father as a just Emperor.
The only thing that could have used a little work was the plot. Don’t get me wrong, though. It was fascinating, very intense at times and I couldn’t put the book down. But it would have been nice for Katherine Addison to reveal a little more information to her readers just a little sooner. She did a good job avoiding info-dumps but I would have definitely preferred a little more information about her fascinating fantasy world sooner. The names were a little confusing and extremely hard on my poor English-speaking tongue, but once you immerse yourself in her fantasy world you start to get the hang of them and the formal vs. informal pronouns and titles.
If you like fantasy or steampunk (or both!) you’ll love this book. Go out and pre-order it immediately because it comes out on April 1.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
(Cover picture courtesy of Fat Girl Reading.)
The behemoth is the fiercest creature in the British navy. It cam swallow even battleships with one bite. The Darwnists will need it, now that they are at war with the Clanker powers.
Deryn is a girl posing as a boy in the British Air Service, and Alek is the heir to an empire posing as a commoner. Finally together aboard the airship Leviathan, they hope to bring the war to a halt. But when disaster strikes the Leviathan’s peacekeeping mission, they find themselves alone and hunted in enemy territory.
Alek and Deryn will need great skill, new allies, and brave hearts to face what’s ahead
I’m finding that I like Behemoth more than I like Leviathan. Now that I’m more used to Scott Westerfeld’s steampunk world, things make a lot more sense. And since Scott Westerfeld has already set up his universe, he can focus on the plot and characters.
This time I was actually able to connect with both Deryn and Alek. This is probably because I was more familiar with the world and could actually focus on the characters. Alek is much more sympathetic this time around because he isn’t as much of a spoiled brat prince as he was before. Deryn is also much easier to connect with as her secret is in jeopardy multiple times.
The world-building is excellent and I absolutely love Keith Thompson’s illustrations, which help bring the world alive. Scott Westerfeld masterfully intertwines the events of the real First World War with the fake scenarios he has created. The plot is faster paced than that of Leviathan and much more unpredictable. Overall, Behemoth is an excellent novel that makes me eager for the last book in the trilogy, Goliath.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
(Cover picture courtesy of And the plot thickens…)
Alek is a prince without a throne. On the run from his own people he has only a fighting machine and a small band of men.
Deryn is a girl disguised as a guy in the British Air Service. She must fight for her cause—and protect her secret—at all costs.
Alek and Deryn are thrown together aboard the mighty airship Leviathan. Though fighting side by side, their worlds are far apart. British fabricated beasts versus German steam-powered war machines. They are enemies with everything to lose, yet somehow destined to be together.
Although it’s surprising considering how much I read, this was my first-ever encounter with steampunk. I like alternate history and I like speculative fiction (which is what steampunk is generally a combination of), but I’m not really sure I like steampunk. Perhaps it’s simply because I didn’t pick up the right book, but at the time I’m writing this, my feelings about the sub-genre are mixed.
As with all of his novels, Scott Westerfeld has wonderful world-building. The strange animal-machines of the Darwinists offer a very stark contrast to the iron and steel of the Clankers. He also took time to develop slang for the world, which is confusing at first but adds a lot more realism to this alternate 1914 Europe once you get used to it. Of course the wonderful illustrations by Keith Thompson deserve a lot of credit for bringing Scott Westerfeld’s bizarre world to life.
The plot speeds along, taking readers on a whirlwind journey. It’s rather disorienting at first, but readers are able to quickly get up to speed. This is the kind of book you can’t stop once you start, no matter how hard you try.
The only thing that fell flat for me was the characters. Some like Deryn, a natural tomboy pretending to be an actual boy, should have caught my attention, but she didn’t. Much like Alek, she is a decent enough character, but is not particularly memorable for me. This should not be possible because both main characters are three dimensional and have fascinating backstories, but for whatever reason, they just didn’t click for me. I would still recommend Leviathan, however, because this lack of connection is probably just me.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.