The Vitruvian Heir by L.S. Kilroy is a tantalizing steampunk dystopian novel in which a repressive government has taken control of the United States and reverted it back to Edwardian and Victorian sensibilities. Religious extremism and Imperialistic rule darken what might otherwise have resembled a fairy-tale coming of age story. Our young heroine Lore must choose from the few options allowed to her if she hopes to survive in this harsh world and save any of her friends. Not unlike her fairy-tale forebears, Lore must acquiesce to her overbearing parents and the social norms under which she is trapped. Namely, she is betrothed to Gideon, the wrong one of her two childhood best friends (Fallon whom she loves is heir to the Empire) and must settle for veiled flirtations and unspoken feelings. Her grandmother leaves her a series of MacGuffins to follow which puts her in touch with an old inventor who helps Lore peel back the layers of propaganda concealing the true history of Vitruvia and its sexist oppression. It’s quaint but reads better than it should due to strong adolescent characterization. It teeters on melodrama but Lore’s reactionism and moods felt warranted by her age. #@&! gets real though at graduation... Read More at Steampunk-Reviews
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An Unsubstantiated Chamber by William J Jackson is a dark steampunk murder mystery set in Railroad City, with a few bleak undertones of the superhero genre to set it apart from the fray. The first in a series, it’s a pretty solid debut from another self-published author and also includes a pair of short stories at the end for bonus material. Jackson succeeds early on in setting a very dark and dystopian tone for his fictitious Rail city in 1880’s Missouri and I couldn’t help picturing a foggy nineteenth century London (I suppose in steampunk that’s a compliment). His tale is bleak and somber and told with deep regret by our narrator, Miss Aretha Tyne Astin, a hunter of paranormals or “Pins” who is herself a paranormal in league with a Gestapo-like military regime. Using a memoir format (at times, almost confessional) Astin guides us through the series of events that not only surround the Chamber Murders case, but her own personal shift in allegiance. |
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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