Beyond the Rails, written by Jack Tyler is the unique kind of steampunk you secretly hope for when you open the cover. A series of stories following the crew of the airship Kestrel and their travels through the adventurous African interior. By choosing Africa, Tyler single handedly adds mystery, romance and excitement to a genre so often stuck in the same familiar foggy London alleys or dusty American frontier. Part of this owes itself to Tyler’s seeming familiarity with the dark continent. He quotes Swahili comfortably (though never distractingly) and rattles off geographical references like a pro. I don’t know his life history but if he hasn’t drawn knowledgeably from personal experience, then he’s succeeded in translating his immense research to the page expertly. The writing style is rather pedestrian, and for a debut author, I’d go so far as to call it safe. For the most part though, I’d call that a good thing, as it never gets in the way of the story. What he lacks in flourish he makes up for with content, leaning back on his airships and foreign lands to keep things exciting. It works. A few typos here and there in my version expose the lack of thorough professional editing, but this was a minor concern (inevitable in most self-publishing). Truthfully, he’s put together a very nice package.
Tyler divides the book appropriately into episodes, each reading like a short story contributing to a larger saga. In truth, it felt like TV episodes, week to week as we get to know the cast and piece them into a cohesive season. The last three even connect directly by way of, “to be continued,” which works surprisingly well at building suspense even though the story simply continues on the next page like any other chapter. Like another ship’s crew series, Joss Whedon’s Firefly, Tyler uses a traveling outsider in the first episode named Ellsworth to introduce us to the crew of the Kestrel, the region, and disguise some miscellaneous but necessary exposition. Ellsworth proves useful and stays on as ship’s doctor (Again, like Firefly, only in this case he mostly cooks and his doctorate is in botany, rather than medicine. Also, no crazy sister). In Tyler’s defense, it mostly still works. A side-plot about mutated spores and agricultural conspiracy seems shoehorned only to be conveniently resolved. It’s a serviceable start, but the underlying premise of the novel shines through. It’s the second episode that shows what Tyler is really capable of. He proves adept at creating an ominous tone while the crew of the Kestrel discover a crashed airship with no survivors. Subsequent stories play to the same strengths: A murder mystery in a small village leading to a secret cult of human sacrificing, anti-imperialistic natives; A frantic search for the globe-trotting parents of a wealthy heiress. A mysterious explosion. Tyler hides his villains in plain site, often drawing from characters you secretly suspected you should’ve been paying more attention to. There are seven episodes total, each bringing us a little closer to his characters and their backgrounds. Gunther Brown gets to use his native tongue with the visiting Prussians. The American David Smith has a special bond with the young native girl whose life is at risk. Captain Monroe has a tenuous relationship with many of the town officials. And Ellsworth gradually learns how to avoid uselessness. Out of the group, it’s the expert pilot Hobbs who stands out as most compelling. Her backstory with the heiress Lady Blackwell as a rough and tumble girl who didn’t fit in with Victorian gentility is meaningfully constructed. The others just don’t get the same attentive character development. Their archetypes are strongly defined, but come through a little generic compared to Hobbs. Ellsworth is especially disappointing. As the introductory character, I expected him to take on the role of protagonist. A little implied romance between him and Hobbs seems all the more forced when he quietly slips into the background. I’d much rather he died a heroic sacrifice in service to the plot while a more debonair-type character replaced him, maybe a local African, who could more effectively match Hobbs’ spirit. That would also solve the race issue. How can you reasonably justify tales of African adventure with only white characters? It’s a topic for a different blog. The hotel barman Faraji, is a brief exception, recurring in the earlier episodes. I was disappointed he didn’t come to figure more prominently. He’s one of the many secondary or guest characters who handedly outshine the main cast. The renowned Prussian explorer Von Redesky, the heiress Lady Blackwell along with Jinx and her gang of thieves are other highlights to watch for. I want to fall in love with this crew the way I have past ship’s crews on shows like Firefly. The further along I read, the closer I got to that level of intimacy, I only wish it didn’t take so long. Tyler has since completed a second Beyond the Rails collection (think of it like Season Two) and I fully expect this problem to resolve itself over time. It’s clear his stories grow stronger the more you read and the characters more fully realized. It’s too bad he didn’t work that in sooner. In that view, he’s lucky his concept is so strong. Where most amateur steampunk writers would compensate for their inexperience by sneaking in zombies, vampires, and too many anachronistic brass gadgets to hide their shortcomings, Tyler instead lets Africa do the heavy lifting until his cast comes into focus. It’s a relief to find an airship story that is just an airship story. And the fact it’s a good one makes all the other quibbles worth overlooking. He trusts us to enjoy the minutia of simply piloting a freelance airship on its routine (but inevitably dangerous) supply runs. And I for one, did enjoy it. Conclusion: 4 stars out of 5. Serviceable writing and just better than generic characters are saved by effective mystery and a very potent sense of frontier adventure. A downplayed steampunk influence is refreshing and the episodic structure makes me long for a TV deal. A professional editor could’ve pushed this book into five-star territory easily, but it’s a credit to the writer how close he got on his own. In a perfect world, with some professional polishing, Tyler would easily see the kinds of sales numbers of Cherie Priest (though in a perfect world, Cherie Priest would in turn see the numbers of Stephenie Meyer). Recommended Reading: Beyond the Rails II, of course. Because if you made it this far, you already know you want more, and it’s only getting better. Click here to read the first episode of Beyond the Rails for free.
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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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