Started a new steampunk series, Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences and The Janus Affair by authors Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris, which concerns the adventures of Eliza Braun and Wellington Thornhill Books are secret agents in Britain that work to prevent the overthrow of the Queen and her Empire by villainous shadowy forces.
What is there to say? Set in England around the turn of the century with all the familiar and not so familiar steampunk innovations, the stories moved along, had some nice twists and turns, and the chemistry between these two thrown together agents work well. Of course, the fact that feisty New Zealand colonial Braun was sent to kill a captured Books is a bit odd but the reasons become clearer the longer you read. The plot runs quickly from there as Braun is sacked from her job as a field agent and assigned to assist Books in the Archives and the resultant explosive mixture that results therein as the two learn to work together to solve the puzzle of why Books was captured.
In The Janus Affair, the Suffragist movement is experiencing a run of bad luck as their major supporters seem to be disappearing in flashes of lightning one after another, leading to some consternation on their part. Eliza become involves when the Suffragist leader turns out to be an old mentor, and the reason she had to depart New Zealand for all time. It’s also revealed that Braun has her own collection of Baker Street Irregulars assisting her outside of the Agency, and Books has a somewhat shadowy past concerning his loathsome father and his ideas of human breeding and social mores. Think Clark Savage’s early training before he became Doc Savage and you’ll be somewhat close.
Reminiscent of the Parasol Protectorate series minus the vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural elements, this series so far revolves around steampunk technology warped by evil villains. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in the series.
Other Readings of the Week
Took a chance on the new Robert B. Parker’s Spenser novel, Wonderland, by author Ace Atkins and was actually quite happy with the book. I had carefully read the reviews of his previous Spenser book Lullaby and had some doubts, but he seems to have really captured the characters and voices in this outing. Maybe this series isn’t over yet.
Also, did a reread of Stephen King’s, On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft, a delightful recount of events in his life that led to him becoming a writer and some advice on loading and using your writing toolbox effectively.
