Review: Intense, Intriguing, Darkly Detailed Steampunk
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 6, 2013
Filled with steampunk, intrigue, political machinations, secret agents, and a gutsy young lady, Hour of the Wolf by Andrius B. Tapinas is a trip into another world, an alternate history, originally written in the author's native language, Lithuanian, and translated to English.  For readers not familiar with Russian or Lithuanian history, many of the names mentioned will not be easily identifiable, but trust me, there will be no detraction from the story!Rich with detail, full of atmosphere and a sense of being in the moment with the characters, you will feel the darkness, the breeze, the streets beneath your feet.  The translation did not deter from the story, although the flow might have hiccupped a little, but never enough to distract me from the intrigue of the story as a deal is struck to save a financially floundering and corrupt upper ruling class whose debts are forgiven in exchange for free reign to run scientific experiments, practice the magical arts, on chosen cities.  Is this a deal with the devil?  Is it too good to be true?  As a determined enforcer investigates a mysterious murder, what else will he uncover?  How does a brilliant young lady play into all of this?  Her automatons are more than mere toys.If you like the flavor of a very dark steampunk adventure filled with mystery, murder and mayhem, while enjoying armchair travel to another place and time,  I highly recommend Hour of the Wolf, as its pages prove that a well written book is sure to become a hit in any language.I received a review copy from Story Cartel in exchange for my honest review.