Full disclosure: I didn't finish this book. I just couldn't get into it. I had wanted to read it when I read somewhere that it was steampunk and pseudo-Sherlock Holmes. There was some steampunk, yes, but no one in this book is nearly as interesting as Sherlock Holmes. I found I didn't like any of the characters or care what happened to them. I cared so little I stopped reading. Why does all steampunk have to have supernatural elements? Sometimes it can be brilliant (Gail Carriger) and sometimes it can be successful if not my cup of tea (Boneshaker). But why can't someone just write a book about all these fantastic inventions that were invented by real, natural people living read, natural lives? A just steampunk but not supernatural Sherlock Holmes? I'd sell my eyeteeth for that. Why doesn't any write in the tradition of H. G. Wells anymore? I'm giving this book a solid two point five, though I REALLY wanted to give it higher. As a bibliophile I just couldn't. It has a very solid foundation, and the character and world building is definitely present. But when it's all put in the pot together and stirred around, a cohesive story it is not. This book presents an interesting mix of old-world high fantasy and alternate-history Victorian steampunk. Emma Bannon is an incredibly powerful sorceress, specializing in "black" magic (ie the ability to draw power from the night, and bend the dead to her will). Archibald Clare is a genius' genius, bored and despondent until Emma barges into his life and tosses him heard first into a plot against the throne.The problems with this set up begin immediately. Clare is not just a Sherlockesque character, too many of his characteristics risk outright plagiarism. (Right down to his consideration about the effect of sound on flies.) Too often we are expected to understand that because he is so cerebral he is utterly out of touch with even his own emotions-- any emotional upheaval is related via some description of his "digestion". This is a poorly thought out characteristic, making him seem childish and cartoonish. "Oh, he's just been horribly traumatized, but he's still hungry so he must be okay!" Another problem with this story is how vague it is. Saintcrow tries to cover this up with mountains of superfluous language. Her descriptions are dense and melodramatic (most things in this world "bleed"... Letters bleed on the page, light bleeds into the sky, symbols bleed across just about everything, etc) She uses confusing and dense descriptions to try and distract readers from the fact that whatever's on the page is ill-thought out. She also tries to make thesaurus-like vocabulary the equivalent of wit. She throws a lot of jargon at the reader with no explanation or context, the same with languages. You have to struggle through all the window trappings just to try and get a kernel of plot. Which, now that we bring it up, is overly complex and poorly realized. At it's heart, there is a plot against the throne. But wait! There are THREE plots! Are they actually working together, or just working off each other? Who knows, that's never addressed. We are told one plot is just that of a sorcerer trying to dethrone the monarch in favor of awakening an elemental evil with the hopes of being granted immortality. Simple enough. But then there are the rampaging mechas, created by a mad man we thought was dead. Why? Who knows. It's mentioned in passing it could be a ploy by a foreign monarch, but that storyline is never fleshed out enough to say. In the end it's giant rampaging machines for the sake of giant rampaging machines. And the third plot? I'm not even sure we ever see a move being made by that third plot, we're just told there is one, and given the hint it could be spearheaded by the queen's mother. Unfortunately this kind of wobbly writing is also present in her actual characters. Miss Bannon is a strong, indomitable independent woman. Unless she's confronted by something sorcery can't affect, at which point she becomes a gibbering mess. Huh? Is our main character so mentally flimsy her brain ceases to work when confronted with something she doesn't understand? And Clare, a genius of the utmost caliber, his body literally ceases to function if he comes face to face with something he doesn't understand. If that's a problem for such people, how are they not extinct, as they occupy a magic-driven world? Both characterizations, by the way, are promptly thrown to the wayside when it suits the furtherance of the plot. We see other sorcerers take a physical stand against the machines when their magic doesn't work, and the running of the machines themselves depends on some sort of literal manifestation of "logic", as though it were itself a form of magic.The best part of the story are the incidental magical elements. The gryphons are solid, and the idea that the very spirit of the British Isles occupies generation after generation of rulers is intriguing. The dragons are vague, but luckily the most well-known type of creature, which gives their development some leeway. It's heavily implied that Mikal, Emma's awkward love interest, isn't human-- though we never find out what he is (but Emma suspects! That's all we need to know, right?? PS I'm thinking he's some sort of Indian naga, just a guess.) The "steampunk" element is mostly evident in a strange bloody mixture of living creature and shadowy, explained mechanics. (Just assume anything described as "clockwork" or "altered" is some kind of cyborg.) Honestly, I'm willing to give the second book a chance for two reasons. The first is this: I love Lillith Saintcrow as an author. This is the third series written by her I've picked up. Knowing what she can do, and seeing the foundation laid for this world, I'm interested to see if the second book is more settled and secure in it's own skin, so to speak. Secondly, and maybe shallowly, some of my favorite interactions in the book were between Emma and Mikal (Mikal being my favorite character, hands down). I want to see if they manage to break through their mistrust and pride to emerge as a well-functioning couple. Be that in a romantic sense or not. A good reason to try another book? We shall see.
Do You like book Le Mystère Du Drake Mécaniste (2013)?
Mikal and Emma were so intriguing- wish there had been more of them.
—Mero
