Chris Dutton makes his steampunk/alt-history debut with The Tyrant Rises, a darkly serious and heavy tale of impending peril and desperate revenge. With a sublime undercurrent of historical detail, the story is still surprisingly personal, saving ample room for airship adventure and the cybernetic supernatural while an ominous cloud of looming war hangs over the plot, right up until the end. Indie novels are always a mixed bag, especially in speculative fiction, but Dutton balances his personal affinity for Napoleonic war stories and supernatural cyborgs with reasonably good writing and gravitas. Brief use of French and other languages, as well as a confident grasp of European geography and historical context adds a subtle but effective veil of verisimilitude. Typos were no worse than typical and never a major distraction. You can always see things a professional editor wouldn't likely tolerate but I think the rough edges are like a good garage band, it adds to the charm in this case at least. At worst the story could’ve been thinned out a bit, and some indulgent expositions restrained. At best, he lets the scenes linger and take their time. This works well with some of his historical digressions, which not only refresh the reader’s memory of the Napoleonic wars, but ratchet up the peripheral tension and mystery. He also cultivates some strangely psychedelic scenes that offset all that grounded historical context with the supernatural. I found some of these trippier passages a welcome balance to the rest.
Dutton is no friend to his protagonists, however, as he not only puts them through the ringer repeatedly, but spills the horror over to their loved ones as well. I hate to see spouses or family exist solely to die for the sake of the protagonists motivation, but Dutton does his best to redeem the trope. William Hope, high born and educated, is haunted by his family’s past hardships and held back by his repeating back luck with air-pirates. Amara is not so high born, but the quiet life can’t protect her from her own family’s fate or from the supernatural legacy she’s avoiding. And think again if you assume these heroes are safe from any lasting harm to their status quo. They may smirk valiantly as they confront the danger of the climax, but Dutton doesn’t skimp on the grotesque and escalating nature of their suffering. From enslavement to experimentation. The story ends on a cliffhanger and I wouldn’t count on them returning home without a price if at all. Despite all this the series is still somehow subtitled, “A Hope for Europe Novel” and I don’t know how many entries it will feature, but I can’t fault the guy for raising the stakes. All in all, this is an impressive offering and Dutton puts the work in. Most locations and people are ripped right out of history. Or at least they seem to be. I can’t vouch for any level of “accuracy” in that regard, but the realism is sufficient to convince me and contribute tastefully to the atmosphere. It gets bleak but the characters keep their chins up. The historical asides add a touch of flavor I rather enjoyed. Conclusion: 3.5 out of 5. I tend to be strict, but I would consider this a positive recommendation to anyone enticed by the prospect of Voodoo-cyborgs meets airship action in a darkly European historical dystopia.
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C William PerkinsI write reviews for a few websites. Some of them I post here, too. Aeronautics AnonymousInterviews with Indie Writers Hosted by me! Get to know some soon to be favorites!
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