SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES

TITLE: SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES

AUTHOR: JAMES LOVEGROVE

Pages: 294

Date: 03/09/2013

Grade: 4

Details: A Sherlock Holmes mystery

            Received from Titan Books

            Through Nudge

Own

When Dr. Watson returns to London by train he finds himself caught up in a bombing at Waterloo station. After giving what attention he can to those injured in the attack he wastes no time in getting to 221B Baker Street and his friend Sherlock Holmes.

This is the third in a series of bombings which hold London and its inhabitants in a scary hold, with theories about the bombers and their reasons getting more hysterical by the day.

But the bombings are not the only strange phenomena in London at the time. A strange creature, about eight feet tall, with enormous strength and a scary arsenal of weapons has taken on London’s underworld. He interrupts misdeeds and incapacitates the villains although he never kills his opponents. Only known by the name Baron Cauchemar, many consider this man a myth, yet Sherlock Holmes is convinced that the Baron may be the key that will lead to unlocking the identity of those behind the bombings. And although both his brother, Mycroft and Dr. Watson have their doubts, he is determined to conduct his investigation along those lines.

What follows is an investigation that will bring our two heroes face to face with pure evil. Confronting mortal danger more than once Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson have not only men’s evil to contend with, but also technological advances beyond their wildest imaginations. With the future of the British Empire at stake, Holmes and Watson have to embrace an unlikely ally if there are going to prevent disaster.

I have to say that I’m greatly enjoying this series of newly written Sherlock Holmes adventures. While the stories in this series are close enough to the originals to keep fans of Arthur Conan Doyle happy, they also provide us with story lines that go beyond what he might have been able to conceive of in his days.

The Stuff of Nightmares is an intriguing, well plotted and fast paced mystery, just as you would expect from a Sherlock Holmes story. What makes this book that little bit more special is the fact that it also contains elements that strongly remind me of Steam-Punk. It was fun to see Watson immediately think of the supernatural whenever he encounters something he doesn’t understand while Holmes, even when he has no better idea what exactly he is dealing with than his partner does, insists that there has to be a logical explanation.

Apart from the steam-punkish elements, this is exactly what you would expect from a Sherlock Holmes story. We are given a dire threat, no obvious clues, quite a bit of misdirection and Holmes talking in riddles, just as he would in one of the traditional stories. We encounter familiar names from the Sherlock Holmes stories: the Baker Street Irregulars, Professor Moriarty, Mycroft Holmes, Inspector Lestrade, they all make an appearance and live up to their established reputation. While Sherlock Holmes purists may well find one or more things to object to in this book, I found great pleasure in the non-traditional elements of this story.

James Lovegrove is an established and successful author of Science Fiction books and his writing experience shines through in this book. The story is smooth, the plot well developed and the mystery intriguing enough to keep the reader guessing until the author, or Sherlock Holmes, is ready to enlighten them. The author’s background is clear though when you read the technological descriptions in this book; the machines and contraptions are described in such detail that it is easy to visualise them.

Overall I would call this a very welcome addition to the Sherlock Holmes stories that we know and love. Filled with danger, action and mystery, this is a book that is hard to put down once started. If Mr. Lovegrove ever decides to write another Sherlock Holmes story I will definitely read it.

THE RED PLAGUE AFFAIR

TITLE: THE RED PLAGUE AFFAIR

AUTHOR: LILITH SAINTCROW

Pages: 294

Date: 23/05/2013

Grade: 4+

Details: no. 2 Bannon and Clare Case

            Received from Orbit

            Through Nudge

Own

Archibald Clare is a Mentath, a genius detective with exceptional powers of observation and deduction. Emma Bannon is his opposite in every way. She is a Prime sorceress who has only gotten more powerful after the events in The Iron Wyrm Affair. According to established wisdom these two polar opposites shouldn’t be able to work together, after all magic and logic are opposing forces. In practice though Bannon and Clare form a talented and successful team when it comes to investigating crimes against the Empire.

When Queen Victrix instructs Emma to find and return a missing doctor in possession of a deadly new weapon, she turns to Clare for assistance. And it isn’t long before they discover that this new weapon is powerful enough to bring death and destruction not just to Londinium but to the whole world. And with no known cure, not even our heroes are immune to the poison that is about to be released. Because once the red plague has been unleashed upon the capital, nobody, regardless of their rank or position will be able to escape its deadly power.

And so we find ourselves back in what is the steampunk version of Victorian England. Imaginative and well developed this world is both very recognisable and completely alien. Lilith Saintcrow makes clever use of historical facts and figures, both fictional and real, although she changes them enough to ensure that the reader never forgets that they are inhabiting an alternate universe.

Archibald Clare is strongly based on Sherlock Holmes, something which is emphasized with sentences such as:

“It is elementary, sir.”

And when a character named Kim Finchwilliam Rudyard is introduced it shouldn’t surprise anyone when he states:

“The female of her species is deadly.”

In many ways the author has taken events and people to fantastical new heights. Archibald Clare is not just an exceptionally clever man he is a member of an exclusive and specially trained group of talented people, born with extreme mental powers. The Queen, Victrix, is the chosen vessel of Britannia, the ever continuing spirit ruling the Empire and as such two different creatures; one human and vulnerable the other ruthless and indestructible. And the same is true for the various districts of Londinium. With names close enough to those we are familiar with, they resemble their real world counterparts while at the same time being something more; darker, more sinister or brighter. In fact, the author has given the reader the opportunity to engage in two mysteries. There is the disaster our two heroes have to try to divert and then there is the quest to trace characters and places back to their Victorian original.

Bannon and Clare are fully-fleshed and fascinating characters to read about. Observing how they work together, despite their differences, watching them develop ever increasing respect for the others’ exceptional powers and witnessing them dealing with the feelings they may or may not have about each other is a pure delight.

While it isn’t absolutely necessary to read “The Iron Wyrm Affair” before starting this book I would advice readers to do so. This alternate Victorian world is well established and explained in the first book and some events from the first story are referred to in a manner that relies on the reader being aware of what happened in the first book.

This is not a light or a fast read. Fascinating and thrilling as it is, it pays to take your time while reading this book. The characters, the world they move in and the mysteries they’re up against all are multi-facetted. It is easy to miss hints and clues if you allow yourself to get caught up in the heat of the chase and start turning the pages too fast. This is a good thing though since it gives the book an added depth. The language used in this book is also slightly different from what we are used to. While this certainly helps to keep the reader rooted in the alternate world, it also means that real attention needs to be paid to what is actually being said.

This is more than just another intriguing mystery set in an alternate Victorian England; this is a well thought out tale in a fully realised world with characters that are as intriguing as they are relatable. In short, this is a fascinating story and imaginative book.

ETIQUETTE & ESPIONAGE

TITLE: ETIQUETTE & ESPIONAGE

AUTHOR: GAIL CARRIGER

Pages: 312

Date: 12/04/2013

Grade: 4

Details: Finishing School Book the First

            Received from Atom

            Through Nudge

Own

Fourteen year old Sophronia Temminnick is driving her mother to distraction. She is nothing like her sisters or other girls her age. Rather than interested in fashion, good manners and elegance she has a fascination with climbing trees and discovering how things work by dismantling them. After an unfortunate incident with a dumbwaiter Mrs. Temminnick is only too happy when her wayward daughter is invited to Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing School for Young Ladies of Quality.

Sophronia dreads the idea of going to a school where she will have to dedicate her time to being truly feminine but since she isn’t given a choice she travels to the school with one of the teacher’s and another new student. What could have been a boring journey filled with apprehension turns into something far more interesting when their coach is attacked by flyway-men and it is up to Sophronia to save the day. And the school turns out to be not quite what she expected either. Not only is the school’s location rather fluid, the lessons are unexpected as well. Yes, Sophronia will have to learn how to curtsy properly, something which proves quite hard since:

“It is one thing to learn how to curtsy properly. It’s quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time.”

Not to mention the fact that she has both a werewolf and a vampire among her teachers. And then there is the small matter of the missing prototype and the flyway-men so determined to acquire it that the whole school is being threatened.

Welcome to finishing school, where finishing comes in lots of different ways.

This book is so much fun. Sophronia is a wonderful main character; she’s feisty, clever, curious and not easily scared. Following her exploits is an exhilarating experience. There isn’t a dull paragraph in this book and almost every single page will contain at least one moment that will have the reader smile if not laugh out loud. But while the reader is taken from one exciting moment to the next and it seems like we’re on an uninterrupted adventure there is also room for character development and world building.

This book is set in a steam-punk version of Victorian England and this makes for a wonderful combination. I loved all the technical devices introduced in this story, especially Bumbersnoot, the little mechanical dog Sophronia secretly adopts. And I adore the idea of training girls to be assassins or spies while also teaching them how to be proper ladies. Everything a lady uses, wears or carries with her turns out to not only be a fashion accessory but also a potential weapon. Who knew there were so many uses for the simple fan or handkerchief?

It is hard to read this book and not draw parallels with the Harry Potter stories. The boarding school setting, the secret nature of the school and its location, the student who is an instant enemy, the unlikely friends, they are all clearly recognisable and I could probably come up with more examples. But, this story is unique enough to stand on its own two feet. Gail Carriger has created her own universe with its own quirks and charms. And while there are a lot of mysterious devices as well as supernatural creatures in this book there is no magic and that fact in itself sets the book apart from Rowling’s books.

If I have one complaint about this book it is that it wasn’t any longer. I don’t think this story would have suffered if there had been more descriptions and background information. I would have loved to read a bit more about the lessons and all the weird and wonderful skills the girls are taught. I would have liked to see all the other characters fleshed out a little bit more. As it was, all of that took a backseat to the thrill of the adventure. Mind you, this is the first book in a series, so I’m hopeful that in books to come I will find the detail I’m craving at the moment.

This book is a magical, thrill a minute sort of read that will keep the reader turning the pages with a huge grin on their face; pure enjoyment between two covers.

THE IRON WYRM AFFAIR

TITLE: THE IRON WYRM AFFAIR

AUTHOR: LILITH SAINTCROW

Pages: 308

Date: 18/11/2012

Grade: 4

Details: no. 1 Bannon & Clare

              Received from Orbit

              Through Book Geeks

Own

Emma Bannon is a powerful sorceress, in fact she is a Prime; magic doesn’t come more powerful than hers. Archibald Clare is a Mentath, someone with incredible observational and deductive powers. Emma is in the service of Victrix, the young queen of England and vessel of the god-spirit Britannia. When Mentaths all over Londinium are being killed, Emma is send to Clare in order to keep him safe and recruit him to her quest to find out exactly what is going on. Combining their powers of deduction and sorcery soon brings them to the conclusion that it is the queen herself as well as her whole empire that are under threat. The ensuing battle will take everything Bannon and Clare have and take them beyond what they thought possible. They and their allies are few against many and powerful enemies. And failure is not an option.

Set in an alternate London where illogical magic has changed the course of the industrial revolution, this is a world filled with mechanical marvels and mysterious forces. Magic, in this world, is quite common and widely used, which is a bit of a problem for our hero Mentath who finds his logical mind can’t cope with the illogical craft and its consequences. This is a London with clock-work horses, altered humans, dragon spirits and areas where the “normal” rules of nature don’t apply.

Apart from Bannon and Clare there are a few other and very interesting characters. Mikal is a Shield, one whose sole purpose is to protect their Prime. And while Bannon is close to her solitary shield, she is not quite sure she can trust him. There is also an Italian mercenary, hired to protect Clare and a German inventor who seems to get really angry only when he’s forced to miss his breakfast.

In fact there is an awful lot going on in this book. The reader is introduced to new characters operating in a freshly created and fantastical setting, surrounded by powers (both magical and logistical) that don’t exist in our everyday world either. And all these novelties form the centre of a mystery and adventure that takes off on the very first page and rarely stops to catch a breath. The reader constantly finds themselves caught between the urge to speed along in order to find out what happens next and the need to go slowly so that they can take in all the details and form a good picture of the fictional world in all its fantastical detail. And this is a balance that the author almost finds in this book. I did find myself a bit overwhelmed by the amount of new information I had to absorb occasionally. There were times when my need to understand the setting took me right out of the story. Having said that, as the story continued and the world became better established it became ever easier to stay caught up in the adventure and stay there.

This story is told from both Bannon and Clare’s perspective in alternating chapters and this means that more often than not the reader finds themselves leaving one character at a cliff-hanger moment only to follow the other until they reach their own. I don’t always enjoy this way of telling a story but I found it worked quite well in this book, especially since the author never describes the same scene twice but from different perspectives.

Both Bannon and Clare are fascinating main characters. Clare is obviously strongly based on Sherlock Holmes (up to and including his steepled hands resting against his chin when he is thinking and his use of certain stimulants), although you won’t find Dr. Watson’s twin on these pages. Emma Bannon is, as far as I know, an original creation by this author. And as such she is a triumph; very strong and independent she is also insecure when it comes to certain matters. Operating in a field that forces her to face evil, violence and destruction she still manages to come across as a true woman. It is going to be interesting to see how these characters, and their side-kicks, develop in future books.

Although the first part of this book did feel a bit like hard work at times I really enjoyed my introduction to this magical world and Bannon and Clare. And I can’t help feeling that I would probably enjoy any sequel to this book even more. Without having to introduce the reader to a whole new world, the author will be able to concentrate more on the adventure and characters in any subsequent books, and that should turn them into true page-turners.