Review: Steampunk Victorian fiction stew!
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 28, 2013
Think along the lines of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, just with different characters drawn from Victorian fiction.  This time, there's Prince Florizel, Oliver Twist, Pecos Bill, Mowgli, and other characters brought together in the Alexander Legacy Company to fight evil.  This first in the series is written from the perspective of exiled Prince Florizel of Bohemia, whose throne was stolen when he was a young adult by his nefarious uncle.  They are fighting their arch-nemesis, known only as Dodge, who seems to control all of the criminal activity in London and perhaps even elsewhere.  There is a very strong Christian element to the characters' work, much saving of souls and winning people over to Christ.The premise of this book is a good one.  However, I felt that there wasn't enough explanation as to why these particular individuals were chosen.  For example, there are several mentions that Prince Florizel, after leaving Bohemia, fought against evil forces, but it is never made clear exactly what that meant.  What exactly did he do that brought him to the attention of the Alexander Legacy Company?  The addition of a decided steampunk element (Oliver Twist is a genius inventor, and of course, there are automatons involved) was a nice touch.  The novel contained an excerpt from the second in the series, which is written from Oliver Twist's perspective.  Just reading that excerpt got me incredible confused having just read over 300 pages from Florizel's perspective, but perhaps by the time I read the second novel that will have worn off.