The Tropic of Serpents: A Memoir by Lady Trent (Natural History of Dragons)
In this sequel to A Natural History of Dragons (2013), Lady Trent, the book’s narrator, is preparing to embark on another scientific expedition, this one to the continent of Eriga (a fictional stand-in, it appears, for Africa), in search of an edgier life. The author, who has studied folklore, anthropology, and archaeology, sets the story in an alternate Victorian era, which gives her the freedom to keep the historical elements she wants, but also to jettison others (or, more important, to add in some nonhistorical elements, like dinosaurs, which in this world are even rarer than iron). Structuring the story like a Victorian memoir is a nice touch, too, allowing Brennan to give us a good, long look at our narrator (a thoroughly likable and spunky woman), while also allowing her to filter the events through the perceptions of the heroine. Gaslamp fantasy is a relatively new subgenre—the term was coined to separate certain fantasy stories from the more familiar and techno-oriented steampunk—and this is a shining example of it. --David Pitt