Book Review: STEEL VICTORY and STEEL MAGIC by J.L. Gribble
This Sunday I featured Steel Blood for my first offering in the ‘A Book By Its Cover’ series of humorous fake reviews. I haven’t yet read this third volume in J.L. Gribble’s Steel Empires series, but I have read the first two novels, Steel Victory and Steel Magic. Seems the perfect time to write real reviews on them. In the most general sense, at least one part of that Steel Blood cover-inspired ‘review’ is correct. The Steel Empires series is a fusion of many different genre elements that make it hard to precisely classify. Urban Fantasy/Alternate History is the publisher’s cover labeling, and indeed the series overall recalls elements of The Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris (the basis of True Blood), built into an alternate history world. But added into this melting pot one can also find dashes of post-apocalyptic SF and Steampunk. All of these elements don’t mix equally, or as successfully, but on the whole the two novels have character-driven and plot-driven fun that is as solidly written as the most popular urban fantasy series out there.
Book Review: The Guns Above by Robyn Bennis
A pair of intriguing, antagonistic characters, steampunk airships, a dry sense of humor, and feats of derring-do are at the heart of The Guns Above, a debut novel by Robyn Bennis. The novel’s strong focus on the action beats as well as the main characters marry a sense of character along with large helpings of crunchy detail to a finely honed level. Lieutenant Josette Dupre is the first female airship commander in Gandian history. She is determined, ambitious, intelligent, strong-willed, and has a delightfully dry and snarky sense of humor. She’s also keenly aware of the precarious nature of women in the Signal Corps, and her own command an even more tenuous position. At the beginning of the novel, she is convinced that she has lost her command after the destruction of the Osprey, even in service of stopping an enemy advance. Thus when she instead is given the brand new but experimental, cantankerous, and ill-designed airship Mistral, she will not allow a command, even of a potential deathtrap, to be taken from her. In a real sense, the novel is a story of the relationship of a commander to her new airship, with all the pitfalls and joys of that, especially as it turns to be a trial under fire.
Book Review: Everfair by Nisi Shawl
Approximately nine years ago, while browsing a local library’s new release section, I came across Filter House. A short story collection by Nisi Shawl, its description and critical blurbs promised rich literary fantasy from a talented and distinctive voice that was new to me. Reading it, I realized that promise was no exaggeration. Filter House is significant in both its quality and its revelation of a culturally non-dominant perspective (particularly within the SFF community). Nominated for a World Fantasy Award and winning the James Tiptree Jr. Award, Shawl’s collection did not go unnoticed within the critical community. Yet, I somehow felt unfulfilled after completing the collection. I had no regrets reading it; I appreciated it. But it still baffled me in its unfamiliarity and its thematic focus. Its Otherness required contemplation, attentive to the subtle graces of Shawl’s writing and listening to her viewpoint. For me, one read-through wasn’t sufficient to fully experience it.
Book review: Firebrand, by A.J. Hartley
I hate, hate, hate coming into a series in the middle (which means no, I haven’t read the first novel in this series, Steeplejack, but I sure plan to soon!), but I have a good personal track record with author A.J. Hartley, so I knew that if anyone could write a good middle book that still stands on its own it would be he. My assumption, in this case, proved absolutely correct, in case you’re wondering. Firebrand is the second volume in Hartley’s steampunk-flavored, young adult series “Alternative Detective”, and takes place a few months after the events in the first novel, which took a young woman from “steeplejack” (a person who works up high on the roofs and sides of very tall buildings, mostly cleaning chimneys but also doing repairs and maintenance and other sundry jobs) to amateur detective, and landed her in the very informal employ of a member of her city-state’s Parliament. As this novel opens, Anglet Sutonga is now enjoying an unaccustomed level of financial security and autonomy, but her sense of duty and survival instincts don’t let her get too comfortable, so as the novel opens, she is chasing an infamous cat burglar over the rooftops of Bar-Selehm, which leads her into a whole new mystery of linked and nested conspiracies, exploitation, human trafficking, treason and, of course, murder.
280. The Wonders and Politics of Steampunk w/ Cherie Priest, Beth Cato, and Jaymee Goh
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode280TheWondersOfSteampunk/Sandf–Episode280–TheWondersOfSteampunk.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSMachines, empire, and whitewashing, oh my! In this special edition of our discussion feature, Shaun and Rachael talk to authors Cherie Priest, Beth Cato, and Jaymee Goh about the wonders and politics of steampunk. We cover whitewashing on covers, the subversive qualities of steampunk, and the trials and tribulations of writing the genre in a world heavily influenced by empire. In our last moments, we have some fun by talking about steampunk films and video games. In the end, we only scratched the surface! We hope you enjoy the episode! Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 280 — Download (MP3) Show Notes:
224. Multicultural Steampunk, World SF, and War Stories w/ Diana Pho and Andrew Liptak at ICFA
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode224DianaPhoAndAndrewLiptakAtICFA/SandF%20–%20Episode%20224%20–%20Diana%20Pho%20and%20Andrew%20Liptak%20at%20ICFA.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSRetrofuturism, power armor, and awesome clothes, oh my! In one of our last recordings from ICFA, Diana Pho and Andrew Liptak join us to discuss Beyond Victoriana, multicultural sf, Western influence, and the now-available anthology, War Stories edited by Andrew Liptak and Jaym Gates. We hope you enjoy the episode! Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 224 — Download (MP3) Show Notes: Beyond Victoriana (Diana’s Website) Diana’s Twitter Andrew’s Website Andrew’s Twitter Andrew’s Kirkus Page War Stories (buy it!) Apex Books The Reads: SteamPowered: Lesbian Steampunk Stories edited by JoSelle Vanderhooft Steampunk World edited by Sarah Hans Virtuoso by Jon Munger Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel by Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett Frank Reade: Adventures in the Age of Invention by Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett Leviathan Series by Scott Westerfeld The Clockwork Century Series by Cherie Priest Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). That’s all, folks! Thanks for listening. See you next week.
