Soulless by Gail Carriger

Possessing a practical and curious nature, Alexia Tarabotti has come to accept her faults as the natural cause of her spinsterhood: she's not noticeably pretty (unlike her silly two half-sisters), her deceased father happens to have been Italian (practically unforgivable), and she doesn't have a soul (though of course that isn't widely known). This last point however begins to sway in her favor when she is unexpectedly attacked by a vampire, in a library of all places, without even first asking her pardon - or permission for that matter. As a preternatural however, Alexia's lack of soul allows her to negate any supernatural - vampire or werewolf alike - with only a touch. Handy that. Allowing her to escape becoming a vampire's dinner but resulting in the loss of her tea and having to answer to the gruff Lord Maccon - the local alpha werewolf under the direction of the Queen - who is less than pleased with Alexia's intervention. These two stubborn and...(cough, cough)...outspoken personalities have clashed before and this latest meeting doesn't bode too well for their future either. What follows is a give and take comedy/mystery wherein Lord Maccon gives Alexia advice, usually unsolicited, and she studiously ignores him. Often resulting in less than pleasant results for Alexia.

I was pleased to find Soulless as intriguing and different as its unique cover. Ask the hubby, I have gushed who knows how many times over that dress, that sway back - I adore it all; so that's saying a lot. The language was also a winner - Alexia practically leaps off the page from the very beginning. The following scene takes place at the outset of the book just after she has successfully deflected the vampire's attack and its got a little of everything that I enjoyed about this book:

She decided to waltz directly out of the library without anyone the wiser to her presence there. This would have resulted in the loss of her best hair stick and her well-deserved tea, as well as a good deal of drama. Unfortunately, a small group of young dandies came traipsing in at that precise moment. What young men of such dress were doing in a library was anyone's guess. Alexia felt the most likely explanation was that they had become lost while looking for the card room. Regardless, their presence forced her to pretend that she, too, had just discovered the dead vampire. With a resigned shrug, she screamed and collapsed into a faint.

She stayed resolutely fainted, despite the liberal application of smelling salts, which made her eyes water most tremendously, a cramp in the back of one knee, and the fact that her new ball gown was getting most awfully wrinkled. All its many layers of green trim, picked to the height of fashion in lightening shades to complement the cuirasse bodice, were being crushed into oblivion under her weight. The expected noises ensued: a good deal of yelling, much bustling about, and several loud clatters as one of the housemaids cleared away the fallen tea.

Then came the sound she had half anticipated, half dreaded. An authoritative voice cleared the library of both young dandies and all other interested parties who had flowed into the room upon discovery of the tableau. The voice instructed everyone to "get out!" while he "gained the particulars from the young lady" in tones that brooked no refusal.

Silence descended.

"Mark my words, I will use something much, much stronger than smelling salts," came a growl in Miss Tarabotti's left ear. The voice was low and tinged with a hint of Scotland. It would have caused Alexia to shiver and think primal monkey thoughts about moons and running far and fast, if she'd had a soul. Instead it caused her to sigh in exasperation and sit up.

It's hard to exactly put my finger on why I enjoyed this book so much (besides the "primal monkey thoughts" line) - like Gail Carriger says herself it's a little Victorian era, paranormal, mystery, romance, and a little steampunk thrown in for good measure. Even though the steampunk aspects were a bit of an afterthought, I believe it was the concept of Alexia herself that drew me the most. The fact that she is one of the only soulless individuals in England leaves her adventures wide open as she draws not only the attention of the local supernatural community, but the Queen herself. Being a self-professed bluestocking who would much rather spend her time with books and a cup of tea than with her two flighty sisters, Alexia can be exasperating to those who aren't themselves firmly grounded in intellectualism and practicality. Understandable. But still she's witty, knows what she wants, and above all, is very, very fun. The ending was a bit over the top since the focus had shifted a bit from Alexia's independent misadventures to her relationship with Lord Maccon - a bit too sweet for my tastes, but I've got high hopes for the duo's return in Changeless, the Parasol Protectorate book two due out March 2010.

series reading order:
~ Soulless
~ Changeless (March 2010)

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
Angieville review
The Book Smugglers review
Dear Author review
The Hiding Spot review
Popin's Lair review
Pure Imagination review

book source: borrowed from a friend

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Set in an alternate Europe at the outbreak of World War I, Leviathan is a mix of past and future technologies with Europe divided into two main groups: the Clankers, who favor machines and mechanics and the Darwinists, who have perfected the art of fabricating new animals for flight, travel and all kinds of work. Please take a moment to check out this wicked-cool map found on the front and back panels of the book delineating the two groups.

In the middle of the night, fifteen year old Prince Alek of Austria is awakened to find himself bustled off into one of his families' stormwalkers, basically a tank that walks on two legs, after learning that both his parents have been killed. Remember those history lessons about what started WWI? Archduke Ferdinand getting killed, right? Yep, that's Alek's dear old dad. Surrounded by a small group of men his father selected long ago, including his sneaky-smart fencing instructor Count Volger, Alek and his compatriots are running for their lives across the continent.

All her life Deryn has wanted to fly. Only problem is, in 1914, girls aren't allowed anywhere near the Royal Air Force of England but that isn't stopping Deryn. With the help of her brother, she becomes Dylan, a somewhat skinny, but tall youth, who impresses many with his daring and knowledge of aeronautics. As a boy, Deryn has some rocking good adventures, narrowly escaping a life of skirts and curtsies in favor of a life in the sky, riding on the massive airship, the Leviathan.

I can't stress how cool this book is. So many little details all rolled into one fantastically perfect book: the world building, the characters, the illustrations (oh gosh, the illustrations!), the rearranging of history - so perfectly clever. Told alternately by Alek and Deryn (2 chapters a piece), Leviathan firmly thrusts the reader into two opposite worlds, establishing a foundation of the politics and science of Europe as both race across the continent until their paths collide in the snowy alps of Switzerland. The adventure is non-stop as each new page brings Alek and Deryn closer together. Besides Deryn with her ability to simply DO ANYTHING, I'm totally in love with the clever-boots female scientist, Dr. Nora Barlow. With her bowler hat and mysterious cargo, she's got more than a few secrets up her sleeve and the backbone to get things done.

I've only read one other steampunk novel, Clockwork Heart, and was not super impressed, but Scott Westerfeld gets it with Leviathan. In his illuminating author's note, he said:

So Leviathan is as much about possible futures as alternate pasts. It looks ahead to when machines will look like living creatures, and living creatures can be fabricated like machines...That's the nature of steampunk, blending future and past.

Done and done. Mr. Westerfeld, I'm converted. Every since discovering Scott Westerfeld's Midnighter's Trilogy, I know I can always count on him to come up with an intriguing new premise and completely deliver on the execution. The only problem is, Leviathan is the first in a planned trilogy and I don't think I can wait possibly years to recover from that cliff-hanger ending.

I can't finish talking about this amazing novel without mentioning Keith Thompson's fabulous illustrations. 50 black and white uber-detailed illustrations complement this amazing book - effortlessly bringing each machine, beastie, and of course, each and every fabulous character to life.
Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
The Book Smugglers review
glossolalia review
Karin's Book Nook review
King of the Nerds!!! review
So Many Books, So Little Time review

book source: my local library

Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti

Chosen to become an icarus at age seven, Taya has spent her life as a messenger of the skies. Icarus fly on feather-light wings made of the precious metal ondinium, delivering mail throughout the three provinces of Ondinium: Primus, Secundus, and Tertius. As a way to protect its citizens, Ondinium has been divided into a many-layered social structure teeming with rules and codes of behavior, ranging from the lowest manual laborers to the highest or Exalteds who must wear heavy robes and masks in public to protect their purity (!). As an icarus, Taya is granted the unique position of residing outside of the different castes in order to fulfill her duties as a messenger.

When a cable car malfunctions, Taya is on hand to rescue an exalted and her son which unexpectedly puts her directly in contact with the exalted's family - including the lady's two cousins, the brothers Alister and Cristof Forlore. Both brothers seem interested in Taya and she's not really sure what to make of either of them: Alister the charming and handsome politician or Cristof who has rejected his caste and now fixes clocks in one of the rougher parts of town. Ondinium has always been plagued by spies and terrorists, but when a series of bombings and murders occurs, Taya is forced to work closely with the Forlore brothers who definitely are not what they seem.

This was the first Steampunk novel I've tried and it left me feeling a little underwhelmed. The premise caught my attention quickly enough, however, the characters and plot itself failed to really capture, and ultimately more important, keep my interest. I had to really force myself to continue reading and that's never a good sign. My mind often wandered while reading and I ended up creating all these random connections to other things: the province names Primus, Secundus and Tertius reminded me of the brother's names in Stardust and I kept thinking about the 2000 election and the eternal debate over torn chads every time the Great Engine's programming was explained. (Ondinium uses a type of punch card to run a steam-powered computer/engine.) Taya as a character held much promise on the surface: a girl who files around on metal wings who can cross class lines is a pretty good start, but she just never took flight for me. She had her moments, but I kept wondering how the story would have been handled if another author had written it.

Since one of the components of Steampunk seems to involve romance, I was hoping for a good love story at the least. Again I was disappointed as I never really felt any sort of connection between either of the Forlore brothers and Taya. Not to mention the continual awkwardness of two brothers falling for the same girl. Eek - I wasn't buying it.

Please don't take this to mean Clockwork Heart was all bad - there were plenty of interesting scenes with promise. Overall, I just felt like the story could have been a little tighter. On the plus side, I loved the cover: the wings, the girl with the gear in her chest - awesome. I just kept hoping the story would measure up...