Those Who Hunt The Night

Those Who Hunt The Night: A Penny Dreadful Review

            An ex-spy, a vampire, and the spy’s wife walk into a mystery. Barbara Hambly writes them out again. Those Who Hunt The Night is an old favorite of mine. I read it as a girl, before I’d heard of Steampunk or realized that this fell into that category due to the content of mad science. I was delighted to stumble upon a yellowed paperback copy to review.

            The year is 1907. Someone or something is murdering London’s vampires. Don Simon Ysidro turns to a mortal man for help. Professor James Asher, who teaches Philology at Oxford, is not what he seems. He is a retired government spy. With the assistance of his wife Lydia, a medical researcher, he untangles the web of secrets that must perforce cocoon the undead. What they find is…

            I cannot tell you why the plot is so gripping, or I would spoil it. I can tell you that these are proper vampires. They are seductive, yes, but bone-chilling and utterly inhuman. Don Simon Ysidro is what I feel vampires should be.

            Lydia is the first, perhaps the only, nearsighted protagonist I’ve encountered in all my reading. I love her scientific mind, her bravery, and her blurry vision. As a myopic teenager and as a still-more-nearsighted woman, I could relate to her.

            I give Those Who Hunt The Night four and a half gears out of five. If you want scary vampires and a well-formed mystery, Barbara Hambly is the one to read.

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather

Heartless

Heartless: A Penny Dreadful Review

          Heartless is the fourth book in Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series.  It  features a giant mechanical octopus, a private dirigible, vampires at tea, and most importantly, Lord Akeldama.
Alexia Tarrabotti agrees to let her friend Lord Akeldama adopt her imminent baby.  The vampires of London are less murderous once they understand that the child, which is an abomination, will be raised by a vampire and not Alexia’s pack of werewolves.  Not about to let Lord Akeldama have the approaching offspring all to himself, Alexia moves in next door, dragging her husband and the Woolsey pack with her.  Meanwhile, Madame LaFoux, the scientist hat-maker, is working on something large…
          In some of the other books, Alexia seems overshadowed by the colorful secondary characters.  In Heartless, she takes center stage.  At one point she sets a fireworks warehouse on fire.  She is a force with which to be reckoned.
          Of course, my favorite is Lord Akeldama.  He is still plenty mysterious.  I hope we get his origin story in the next book, because if we don’t, we may NEVER find out where he came from.  In Heartless, we learn he has closets large enough for people to live in, as Alexia and Lord Maccon take up residence in one.
          I can hardly wait for the next book.  I can hardly wait for the next series!  There are few fantasy worlds as engaging and intricate as Gail Carriger’s, and I hope to visit it again and again.  The style is quirky, the heroine is quintessentially Victorian, and the monsters are unique.
          The Parasol Protectorate series is magnificent, and Heartless is the best yet.  I give it five gears out of five.  I strongly encourage you to read these books.  I’d lend you my copies, but I won’t let them out of my sight.


Your Correspondent from the Bookstore,
Penny J. Merriweather

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, A Penny Dreadful Review

            I do love a good mashup. Seth Grahame-Smith is the master of mashups, being the mastermind behind my beloved favourite Pride And Prejudice And Zombies. I found Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter to be an excellent example of this bizarre genre. How could I classify a smashing together of the modern concept of vampires and the life of one of the greatest presidents of the United States as Steampunk? Simple. A good mashup borrows from history and from modern day, combining ingredients until something entirely new is formed. Is this not the very base of Steampunk? A sort of modern nostalgia? A re-imagining of the past? A… mashup of old fashions and new values?

            At any rate, let me proceed with my review. According to this strange biography of President Lincoln, his troubles with vampires started from an early age. He saw the wasting death of his mother, which was caused by a vampire, and vowed revenge on these horrifying and powerful night creatures. His efforts against this scourge fit quite nicely into the biographical gaps in his youth, and provide extra motivation for his learning, log-splitting, and political efforts. For example, at one point, he discovers that vampires in the south are buying and selling slaves as one would buy and sell bacon: that is, with feasting in mind. This gives him extra fire as he runs for president and extra motivation to end the abhorrent slave trade once and for all.

            Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is well-crafted, well-researched, and a rollicking good read. I highly recommend it for any fan of American History. I give it four gears out of five.

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather

Rise of the Steam Goddess

Rise Of The Steam Goddess: A Penny Dreadful Review

Unbeknownst to anyone save Ben Hamby, the author, the Vatican maintains a secret group comprised of individuals who are not altogether natural. This group contains a vampire struggling against his curse, a werewolf, the unfortunate maid of Dr. Jekyll who has inherited her master’s formula and his genius, a Russian water spirit, the illegitimate descendent of Victor Frankenstein, and a mysterious, terrifying woman named Jack. The Vatican sends this team out to investigate such things as living gargoyles, vampire nests in Venice, and a cult hijacking the Chicago World Fair. Does this sound like a promising premise? Yes. Yes it does.
Rise Of The Steam Goddess starts out well. The team investigates – and eliminates – the bulk of a nasty vampire nest. Then, several years later, a cult tied to these creatures surfaces… There is no shortage of adventure, well-crafted battle scenes, drama, and danger. The characters are well-defined, and their interplay is fascinating and often hilarious (particularly when the werewolf is involved).
However, this book isn’t flawless. Let me start with structure: the prologue is longer than most of the subsequent chapters and really ought to be Chapters 1 through 4. Let me move on to prose: the text could have used the stern hand of an editor to make the events truly leap off the page. Let me finish with plot: Victoria Frankenstein is the odd character out. She is not explained or fleshed out as well as the others and disappears for a good chunk of the book. I wish we’d gotten more scenes with her – I feel it would have heightened the stakes, clarified her motives, and added to the poignancy of the ending.
All in all, though, I would certainly recommend this book. The price of admission is well worth the adventure and discoveries contained within. The world it describes is an exciting one, the characters loveable, and the Steam Goddess frightening. In addition, fans of the band Abney Park will definitely want this book for a certain cameo appearance.
         I award Rise Of The Steam Goddess three gears out of five. It is well worth a read. Find it at http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Steam-Goddess-Ben-Hamby/dp/0985589604



Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,
Penny J. Merriweather

Blameless

Blameless:  A Penny Dreadful Review

Blameless is the third volume of Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series.  It is a delightful addition.  The end of the story made me jump for joy in an undignified manner.
This series improves with each new book.  I expect it is the combination of the author gaining experience and the characters’ gaining depth and development.  There’s so much to explore in this world.
Alexia Maccon nee Tarabotti is ruined.  Someone, almost certainly her sister Felicity, has leaked to the press the fact that she is in an indelicate condition.  Since her husband is a werewolf, society thinks that he cannot be the father of her imminent baby, even though it cannot be anyone else.  Her husband has thrown her out of his manor, her family has thrown her out of their home, and her dear vampire friend Lord Akeldama has vanished.  To make matters worse, someone is trying to kill her with mechanical ladybugs.  Alexia embarks on a journey to the continent in search of evidence that it is possible for a werewolf to father a child with a preternatural such as herself.
Everything I loved about the previous books is present.  The characters so real they call on one and invite one to tea, the enchanting turns of phrase, the inventive supernatural world of Ms. Carriger’s London (and in this case Florence), and Lord Akeldama.
        There is an interesting subplot wherein the reader learns more about Professor Lyall, Lord Maccon’s second in command over the werewolf pack. Lord Akeldama’s favorite drone Biffy gets upgraded from fun minor character to major plot point.  Also, pesto is revealed to be a secret weapon against vampires (the garlic) and werewolves (Ms. Carriger’s werewolves are allergic to basil).  A tasty, tasty weapon.
I give this book four and a half gears out of five.  If you will excuse me, I need to go badger a bookstore to obtain the next book, Heartless.

Your Correspondent from the Bookstore,
Penny J. Merriweather

Soulless

Soulless: A Penny Dreadful Review

         Gail Carriger’s Soulless is an excellent addition to the genre I will dub Supernatural Romystery.  The Supernatural Romystery can be found in any large number of settings.  Soulless takes place in an alternate and gloriously Steampunk London.
Soulless is Ms. Carriger’s first published novel, and it is fantastic.  She writes in a wry, proper tone that an Anglophile will love, even when some of the events described in that tone become very improper indeed.
Ms. Carriger’s heroine, Miss Alexia Tarabotti, is a clever spinster whose father has the temerity to be a dead Italian.  In addition to inheriting his library of inappropriate books, she inherited his bizarre trait of having no soul.  Vampires loose their fangs when they touch her, werewolves become human, and she may exorcise ghosts if she wishes.  Her ability lands her in a great deal of trouble and frequently comes in handy.
As this is a ROmystery, there is a love interest.  He is Lord Conall Maccon, Earl of Woolsey, Alpha werewolf of the only pack in London.  Ms. Carriger puts an interesting twist on a romantic trope that I find worth mentioning.  In most stories where the hero and heroine utterly detest each other, then fall hopelessly in love with each other, the reader or viewer watches the characters meet for the first time.  In Soulless, they have met a good deal prior to Chapter One, and it involved a hedgehog.
The werewolves and vampires in Soulless are a fascinating variation on the typical bloodsuckers and occasionally furry gents we see every day.  Only people with excess soul, Miss Tarabotti’s opposites, survive the transformation to supernatural beings.  They have been so well integrated into society from the time of Henry VIII that they have their own gentlemen’s clubs.
I give Soulless four gears out of five.  I couldn’t put Soulless down, and I suggest you pick it up.

Your Correspondent from the Bookstore,
Penny J. Merriweather

Avalon Revisited

Avalon Revisited: A Penny Dreadful Review

Not many characters can seduce and murder someone in the first chapter and still wind up being the good guy.  Arthur can.  Welcome to Avalon Revisited by O. M. Grey.  It’s a dark, sexy, vampiric, Steampunk romance with a hint of delightful absurdity.
The narrator is Arthur Tudor, Henry VIII’s older brother.  I find historically-based vampires fascinating, so I loved this book from page one.  Arthur lives the high life in London, seducing his way through the Quality.  Then, at a gala on an opulent dirigible, he meets Avalon.  Avalon is the girl of the dreams he didn’t know he was dreaming.  She is a vampire hunter investigating a series of gruesome murders, only one of which is Arthur’s fault.  Enamored, Arthur joins her vampire hunting in order to win her heart.  The absurdity of a vampire becoming a vampire hunter has the comical results one would expect, in addition to several less pleasant consequences.  Avalon Revisited is dark and beautiful.  If Edgar Allen Poe were into romances, he might enjoy this one.
This is not a book for the innocent or faint of heart.  Some portions are quite graphic and beautiful.  I’ve never read such entrancing descriptions of feminine anatomy.  I found it inventive and pleasing, but someone else might be offended by the passages of a delicate nature.  Read the first chapter, and if that’s too much for you, put down the book.
I give Avalon Revisited a solid four gears out of five.  It was sexy and dark and Steampunk. The only flaw is that it is far too short.  Brava, O. M. Grey.

Your Correspondent from the Bookstore,
Penny J. Merriweather