Not a lot to say besides I really liked this book. I thought it mixed together the elements of steampunk and the Victorian Age very well. I loved the characters, and I loved how Cross added in Gothic elements as well by using inspiration from some stories we all know and love (Frankenstein--well I hated that; Jekyll and Hyde--ditto) and threw some twists in.

"The Girl in the Steel Corset" included a nice little backstory to the character of Finley Jayne. From there it goes into the longer story that has Finley meeting other characters I assume we are to follow for the rest of this series. 

Finley's backstory gave us enough of a glimpse to know there is something about her. You don't know what. But at times she feels like she is two people trapped in one body. The short story that began before it included the longer story was so good. I loved it and wish we had followed up with characters introduced in that. When we catch up with Finley again, she ends up fighting off a young lord of the manor who thinks he can take her and do what he wills. When she flees after injuring him, she runs into Griffin King and his friends who are doing what they can to defend the country (England) against outside enemies.

Besides Finley and Griffin, we also have Emily, Sam, Jasper, and a young man called Jack Dandy. We quickly find out that Griffin and his friends (Emily, Sam, and Jasper) are out to capture a man/woman called The Machinist who is behind several crimes that took place involving automatons. However, suspicions turns towards Finley for maybe being involved with the Machinist when things start happening that shows that the criminal is out to get them. 

Even though this is a Young Adult book (and yeah I had no idea when I borrowed it from the library) this book reads much older. I didn't even realize the characters are teenagers until I saw someone's age mentioned. That's not a knock against Cross either, it was delightful to read young adults who actually for the most part had sense and thank goodness two love triangles reared their heads, but one was absolutely resolved and I think the other one is too for what it's worth. 

The only complaint I will say that I really did have is that this book was a bit too long. I know that Cross had to set up the other characters and do world building though so it's to be expected in the first book in a series. I just honestly didn't need the story to be swinging back to much to Sam. He got tiresome after a while. I do wish we had spent more time with Griffin's aunt on her adventures though.

The setting of a Victorian age with steampunk (think automatons walking around, things people cannot see that are little machines that can repair, people having eyes replaced, etc.) really hit the sweet spot for me.

The ending leaves things in the air for some people. I am definitely going to continue this series to see where it goes. 

Kindle edition: 473 pages

$10.00

Total: $ Balance: $189

I have recently discovered that I have a thing for books about the multiverse.  Something about the unknown, about the possibilities... that excites me.  This book, this series, did exactly that.  I loved the world that the author built and how she changed it between the various multiverses.  I also loved the mechanism she used to tie the worlds together.  By mechanism, I don't mean the actual Firebird, but how she makes those worlds accessible.

There is a lot of science involved in this series, but it is presented in such a way that it explains what it needs to without being anything like a lecture.  It also is the perfect tool to create villains and heroes.  The science behind travel between the multiverses is something that has lots of implications and applications, some with less positive ramifications.

This has been such a fantastic series, so beautiful.  And I am so sad that the ride is over!  This is a series I highly recommend for anyone who loves a thought-provoking, exciting read!

On a whim (and due to a complete implosion of plans for D&D today), I ended up catching Valerian, which timed nicely with the fact that I borrowed Valerian, Vol 1: The New Future Trilogy from my library to read.

Right off the bat I have to say the movie is utterly gorgeous.  Absolutely breathtaking, with moments of travel that I think if I watched in 3D or IMAX I'd end up trying to fall out of my chair.  Some of the aesthetics and feel look like the work of the Wachowskis.  Overall, a fun, consistent story, if a bit heavy on the romance.  Though I'm forced to ignore the implications of all the structural damage inflicted.

I started out a bit hesitant.  The trailers made me think the film was some hot new YA series, and I had stumbled across a few reviews saying the movie lacked in substance.  That our first interactions with Valerian and Laureline involves heavy flirtation and a clear statement of romantic intent on Valerian's part increased my wariness.  But you know what?  She spends just as much time rescuing him as he does her (if not more, to be honest), and the relationship between them in the graphic novels is... odd.  Constant referring to each other as "my Valerian" and "my Laureline," with an undefined relationship that reminds me of relationships in Heinlein's work.  And while Laureline is certainly capable, she spends noticeably more time in the role of arm candy, supporting lady, or as a maiden in distress in the graphic novels... even if some of those times it is as part of a plan.  So I'm actually happier with the on-screen characterizations.

You can very easily see how the graphic novel that this was based on inspired many of Sci-Fi icons, which will undoubtedly have many people calling it out as "derivative" wherein the accused derivations were in fact inspired by the original.  Perhaps most present is the influence of Luc Besson's work on adapting Valerian from before he made The Fifth Element, in which he included specific elements seen in Valerian and in the concept art submitted by Jean-Claude Mezieres himself.  If you like The Fifth Element, you will see "pieces" of it all over Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.  Pieces that you'll also see when reading this graphic novel from the 60's.

Highly enjoyable translation of visual elements from the comics, with various tweaking of narrative place, name, and role.  Some elements are spot on, like their armor and their ship.  We even see a Transmuter in Circles of Power, though it is not at all in the same role as the Mul Transmuter.  Regardless, the illustrations are unmistakably the same creature.  Others like their actual roles (spatio-temporal agents vs military officers), and different concepts have been more dramatically modified.

Good way to spend an afternoon.

I'm knocking off one half star because there's something about the beginning, where it's really hard to get into.   I guessed it might be that both another reviewer out there, and I, had trouble telling who the narrator was.   (It's mostly from one point of view, but you get two more in there, too.)   There was also the whole really short sentences stacked up one against each other, and it's was bizarre and frustrating in the beginning.   Charley's Hoot name is Smiley - and that's the name he prefers to go by.   His the mount of the next in line to rule, His Excellent Excellency, Future-Ruler-of-Us-All.   As such, he's treated... not quite well, but better than most mounts.   (There's a hierarchy: Seattles, the strongest who can carry the most, Tennessees, who are the fastest, and everyone else, who are considered nothings.  In addition, male mounts are called Same and female mounts are called Sues.)  The Hoots, alien invaders who have short, weak legs use humans as mounts.   They spent a considerable time giving treats and pats, telling everyone who will listen how kind they are, and preening over how smart they are, and how they can hear and see and smell better than us.   

Meanwhile, Charley's father, Heron (Hoot name Beauty) has rebelled, leads a group of people who are considered 'wild.'   What they want is democracy, to choose who they are, though.   When Heron manages to save Charley, he doesn't realize just how indoctrinated his son is: how much his soon loves the Little Master.   (Or how much the Little Master loves Charley.)   

About this time, I started really getting into this book and reading much more quickly.   I got more invested in Charley as he started questioning everything everyone told him, both his father, and the Little Master.   Before, he'd been passive, and now he was actually thinking, becoming something other than what he'd been physically and emotionally and mentally trained to be.  

From there on in, I was reading as fast as I could to see what would happen to Charley and what would sway him to one side or the other: as a Hoot's mount, or his own person.  It's harder than I wanted it to be: Charley took so much pride in the fact that Smiley was considered perfect in the Hoot society, he was so brainwashed, he was so simpatico with The Little Master, that he couldn't simply be torn from that life and adapt to another.   He may have been in chains, but those chains gave him hot and cold running water, food he was used to, and a comfortable roof over his head.   With a nasty master, this could have still been hell.   As it was presented, His Excellent Excellency was presented as a loving master.  

Still, the ending galls, enough for me to knock off another half star.

A worthwhile read even if a little unsatisfactory at the end.   I also read early on that the author seemed to be rewriting The Silk and the Song, an older short story that is available for free and in which humanity is enslaved by an alien race that uses them as the same sort of beasts of burden.   Perhaps, but when the author talks about her own inspiration for this book, she talks about a class she took that dealt with predators and prey and which you can read a bit about here.  So while there's the obvious slave/master connotations, there's a predator carrying around prey.   I wouldn't have really paid attention, or thought about why the Hoot's had such weak legs and bodies, if not for reading that interview halfway throughout.   I also felt like I never really felt that aspect, or that it didn't speak as much to me, as the whole using a people as slaves.   (Although in retrospect, the whole 'do good and get treats' makes a little more sense in how people train predator animals.)

So I really, really enjoyed this, and despite my slight complaints, I can easily see myself reading this.   I feel like maybe on a reread I'd pay more attention to the details that would make the prey/predator dynamic seem more obvious.   For now, though, onto new books!

Lucifer's Star - C. T. Phipps,Michael Su...

3.5 stars

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Eric is a new narrator for me. From the first sentence Eric had a positive, hopeful sound to his voice for me. I can hear his deep breaths between lines. There is a short (about 3 or 4 words) that didn't follow character tone in the beginning, I caught only because following the book at that time. Eric does do different tones for characters, giving them a sound of age and their own voice. I did pick up on one small repeat, I almost missed it as it was quick.

I just love that first sentence! What a sight that would be. The sentence really drew the picture for me.

We start with Cassius in a big battle in his life on Crius. This battle is one that lingers in Cassius's mind, and what he's trying to escape from. There are sections that are memories, though with this being audio you don't see the italics that indicate it's different than the here and now. It sounds like two conversations happening at the same time. Then Cassius doesn't talk to himself as much and is easier to catch as the book goes on. The book is focused on Cassius and his time on his current ship. The people are also residing on this ship are not who they seem to be.

As we learn these people aren't who they say they are, we see much more in this unstable universe. The different groups in the universe are all working at different angles. Even the people in the organizations have different angles they are working. So much to play with here!

Cassius grows through the book, as he grows to realize he has friends. Cassius is running from who he is. He wants to be someone that's not of the Archduchy to live his life with the guilt he feels. Through what he learns in the events he lives through, and the connections made, Cassius learns of details he didn't know before. I love the moment when Cassius gets a...closure with someone from his past. Cassius confronts feelings he'd been holding in.

Cassius grows attached to people which helps him along in his journeys. We learn a few have rather heavy pasts as well. The crew on the ship he finds himself on has many who are fugitives in their lands or pasts that aren't of the best actions. There are moments that feel drawn out with details of histories of people and descriptions, but the story comes together and the ending is non-stop.

I found that the AI take in this book was very interesting. There is also cloning in this book. Biodroids were a neat creation. I know we haven't heard the last of these. I don't want to give to much on this as it's a big play in the book. You have to read or listen to the book to get the details. We learn details that all come to a head at the end of the book with a special type of AI.

This wouldn't be a fun space story if we didn't get action scenes. We get just that, in space and on planet action. Even among the crew on the ship.

The world feels vast and full with crew that Cassius has acquired. I look forward to continuing with Cassius and what is in store for him next.