Review: One of my top reads in 2011
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 30, 2011
Well, this is quite different and had me racing to the end and probably a look of horror on my face at times. I fear for KZ's mind at times. She comes up with some creepy weird stuff. 'Tis good. :-) Fanule, Fan, is a mongrel, which is part human part something, and they live in the equivalent of a ghetto. He has been elected their de facto leader and he knows something hinky is going on. Mongrels are disappearing and he feels it's got something to do with the mechanical circus. He goes there and engages Will, who sells patent medicine, to try and find information. He doesn't get much, however later in a bar he runs into Will and they spend the night together. Will is smitten (they both are) and eventually along with Will's ex-lover, a bounty hunter, and Fan's ex, a vampire, they work to find out what's going on. There is so much here it's hard to describe, but it was never too much. This is steam punk and I'm pretty illiterate in the steam punk world, but there was enough to give me an understanding without overwhelming me with details about how every little machine worked. I appreciated that. And wow, the bad guys were freaking creepy and it was rather disturbing what they were doing and planning to do and I was on the edge of my seat for the big show-down. I loved Will and Fan and how they were both sort of stunned by finding someone to love. It was also nice not to see a "perfect" hero as Fan suffers from bi-polar disorder. I'd love to tell all about the supporting characters and how some parts made my heart break a little, and it seems like "All that in 200 pages? Too much no?" But it wasn't. It all fit perfectly.