Review: Failed Steampunk Mystery Novel--Spoilers Probably Present
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 02 26, 2012
I came here for the Steampunk and the mystery not the sex.  While the book does have plot elements that might shoehorn it into the Steampunk category it lacks any sort of reasonable world building. While there is a death that needs to be investigated, the conclusion to this mystery is not enlightening in the least.The authors of books claiming to be Steampunk can't expect praise for just throwing out some anachronistic inventions without considering the effects of the introduction of these inventions on the whole of society.  Even if the author doesn't use the world building directly in the story, it's easy to tell when someone has worked out a cohesive background and when they have just pasted on Steampunk wallpaper. This book is wallpaper Steampunk.Possible Spoilers Ahoy******The underlying world is Victorian (London 1866 according to the first chapter header), but not a realistic Victorian world as modified by the addition of various inventions such as the "steam coach", "frost box", "airship" and "fuse guns" that fires "a sphere of compressed energy." It is a Romancelandia Victorian London.For instance quite a few characters are addressed as Lord First Name and Lady First Name (including the heroine, her brother, a murder victim, the murder victim's father and a villain. There are probably others I have missed. The characters in addition to having honorary titles are, in order, the owner/operator of a dinner theatre/club, bar tender in the same, solicitor, murder victim's father and the villain. The use of this form of address is an honorary title, which means that the people so addressed would have parents who were of the rank of earl or above. I really wish the fascination with titles was also accompanied but a desire to get them right. If you are not going to do that, then just make up some forms of address for your Steampunk world.The author didn't make an effort to figure out what would be the logical consequences of the inventions she proposes in the book.  And it's not just the technological changes.For instance there is a large impoverished underclass in London that the heroine wishes to help with her philanthropic efforts. This was also true in the real 1860's London.  The mundane reasons for Victorian poverty included increased population, concentration of population in search of work in urban centers, and low wages due to the large number of people wanting work. Lady P, the protagonist has an effective morning after contraceptive drink which she doesn't offer to the public.  Her reasoning for this rather murkily involves her iffy reputation and a fear that she would be burned at the stake as a witch!?! In contradiction she also thinks that women are not usually persecuted for things as simple as this.  However, the ability to regulate contraception would go a long way toward relieving the overpopulation/low wages issues.  Probably more than mining in the arctic where the male main character has been for the last year.Lady P, had created an herbal concoction in an attempt to cure her older sister's depression.  Too late, sister suicided before Lady Phoebe had perfected the recipe. Taking lemons and making lemonade, knowing that the concoction could bring on an orgasm "by a single kiss," she dilutes it and opens a club/dinner theatre where she sells it to the upper classes.  Get this, she has an effective contraceptive which she doesn't offer but an aphrodisiac which she makes money from.The characters are straight from bad romance casting central. Lady P's little and feisty.  the hero is long, lean, and philanthropic.  The villain is shorter, brawnier, has a beard and "is more concerned with wealth, status and power than the well being of others."  Several of the characters occasionally get a bit of phonetic Scots accent in their dialogue.  Not as bad as "Scots wae hae with Wallace bled", but still a little annoying.Finally, the mystery wasn't much of a mystery. In fact, even after I read the conclusion and the explanation, the motive made no sense at all to me.  In fact I would have advised the murderer to settle down and don't look a gift horse in the mouth.