Review: Soulless, by Gail Carriger

Imagine you sit on a revolving chair in a dark room. The chair rotate slowly. Spotlights switch on and off. First you see only light. But then you recognize that each spotlight illuminate a word consisting of characters flying through the air. You try to identify them...........Parasol.........Vampires....... Dirigibles..... Werewolves...... Victoriana...... Steam....... London..... Spinster......... Tea....... Romance ......... Horror.......... Mystery...... Manners...... Souls

After a while the chair stops to rotate. Look, there is a small colored spot and it is growing...... Numbers... Characters .... Brackets.... dancing all in a tumble....... It doesn't make sense but then you detect the order and you read:

Soulless (2009) [US] [UK] , by Gail Carriger

This is the first book in the Parasol Protectorate series. Welcome to the world of Alexia Tarabotti. She lives in Victorian London. 26 years old and not married. That makes her a spinster which is maddening for her mother who is most interested in to wed her. Alexia is well educated and bears a secret. It is not her dead Italian father. She is soulless....

During one of the boring balls she has to attend Alexia retires to the library in order to refresh. And there the unforeseen happens. A vampire attacks Alexia. She rescues herself by killing the vampire.

Vampire? Vampires in London? Yes, side by side with the human inhabitants live vampires and werewolves. They are part of the society. It is Lord Maccon - head of the Bureau of Unnatural Registry (BRU) and werewolf - who wants to know why a vampire attacks a soulless......

Vampires, Romance, Werwolves.... What the hell is going on with me? Am I infected with this mysterious urban fantasy virus? I think no because on the other scale pan you find London, Steam, Victoriana.
Put all these classifications into a pot and hand a wooden spoon to the cook named Gail Carriger. Her debut dish taste delicious.

Soulless breathes Victoriana. It is a comedy of manners and at the same time a time travel and so much more. If you don't fall in love with these so alive and charming characters with strengths and weaknesses well settled in their world. Gail Carriger's London and society is well depicted. The "steamy" elements could have been more for my taste. But I think this would have destroyed the balance of the story itself. Gail did an awesome job with the integration of werewolves and vampires. If I didn't know better I would say this is also a history book. I liked even the romance part which is unusual for me. Alexia Tarabotti is a sassy heroine. And she is far beyond to be a vampire slayer like Buffy.

For me Gail Carriger is the Ada Lovelace of the urban steampunk romance!

I highly recommend Soulless to all people who start to drool when they hear or read a combination of following buzzwords:
Victoriana, Romance, Vampires, Werewolves, Steam, London, Manners, Alternate History, Dirigibles

Bona Fide's Book Oracle

What is Bona Fide's Book Oracle? To keep it short. It is a palaver about the reviewed book held by ediFanoB and his alter ego Bona Fide. And I am the keeper of the minutes. Now read my minutes..

Bona: "Fide, would you be so kind as to pass me a cup of tea." Fide: "Of course my dear. Your treacle tart is phenomenal." Bona: "Fide, you let me turn pink. I'm flattered." Fide: "I'm so sorry. I know rubescence is indecorous." Bona: "Did you hear what happened to Miss Alexia Tarabotti?" Fide: "You won't believe it but I have been there (mentally)." Bona: "Did you travel again with Mr Wells' time machine?" Fide: "He is such a gentlemen. He accompanied me." Bona: "Lovely. Hopefully you invite me next time." Fide: "Of course my dear, of course." Bona: "I feel uneasy. The keeper of the minutes is observing us. Today he looks so animlistic." Fide: "Oh my good. You're right. Look at the fur on his hands. Do you think he is a....." Bona: "Werewolve?" Fide: "Where is my parasol?" Bona: "You should ring for the manservant." Fide: "ediFanoB, my parasol please." ediFanoB: "Excusez-moi, mistress Fide. You don't own a parasol." Bona: "Quelle suprise! Fide, you are a misstress?" Fide: "That is absolutely uncondonable!! I'm neither female nor male. I'm just a virtual apparition. I'm the guest in a mind and I live on reading books!" Bona: "I'm relieved my dear. But what do we do without a parasol?" ediFanoB: "May I intercept? Yes? Thank you my lovely apparitions. Why don't you tell the keeper of the minutes something about the adventure of this spinster?" Fide: "Lovely! What a wonderful idea." Bona:" The spinster is called Alexia Tarabotti and she has a secret." Fide: "And as we both are reliable friends of Miss Alexia Tarabotti, she gave away her secret to us." Bona[whispers]: "She is soulless!" Fide: "Don't tell more about her. Let's talk about the book. Bona: "Gail Carriger is witty writer. She knows a lot about the Victorian Era." Fide: "And she revives the ad nauseam vampire and werewolf theme." Bona: "For me Soulless is a three S story." Fide: "I fully agreemy dear." Bona: "Shall we explain the three S to our furry friend?" Fide: "He doesn't look very intelligent today." Bona: "We have been unbelievably polite today. We should show magnanimity until the end." Fide: "Of course my dear. My docile furry friend, let me explain the three S for you: Sassy, Steamy, Smart." Bona[bowing]: "Au revoir mon cher rugueux ami! Fide: "Au revoir!"

I'm the keeper of the minutes and full moon is approaching soon. I need flesh..... human flesh!!! Er,er,er, please excuse me. All these French words confuse me. And this is the summary:

Soulless is a three S story: Sassy, Steamy, Smart.


Gail Carriger's website delivers more information about the series, steampunk and other topics.

You don't know much about Victorian clothing, especially for women? Then visit
Soulless Victorian Dress-up Doll. There you will learn more in an amusing way.

Anyway don't miss Changeless (2010, March) [US] [UK] and Blameless (2010, September) [US] [UK].

In Soulless parasols played an important part. The cover of Changeless point to dirigibles. And in Blameless we can expect templars.

I don't want to tell more.....

Finally I like you to show an interesting video:
The making of the Blameless book cover:


I "hijacked" the copy of Soulless from my wife. Of course I handed it back after reading and reviewing. As I liked it a lot I ordered copies of Changeless and Blameless in advance.

Bona Fide: Weekly Roundup #09

Hello and welcome to issue #09 of my Weekly Roundup. Tomorrow is the last day of February. Where has the month gone? Concerning reading it has been a sad month. Three and a half books is far away from my planned six books. But finally I started to work on one of my New Year's resolutions - thanks tomy wife for putting pressure on me. Since last week we both go three times per week to a local fitness center. That means on the one hand less time for reading but on the other hand I do something for my health and to be honest I feel better. Blog wise you should have mentioned that we three post more regularly. And it seems that you our dear readers like the mix. Enjoy reading......

Bona Fide's Menu

Bona Fide's Post and Read Forecast

1. Bona Fide's Forecast
2. Bona Fide's Butcher's Bill: January Reads
3. Bona Fide's February Reading List
   

Books

1. A book recommendation by Daniel Abraham
   
2. Delivery of the week: Farlander by Col Buchanan
3. Hijacking of the week: Soulless by Gail Carriger
   

Blogosphere

1. DRIN - Del Rey Internet Newsletter - February 2010
   

Movies

1. SHUTTER ISLAND
2. THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS
3. ALICE IN WONDERLAND
4. OCEANS
   

Quotes

1. German proverbs, sayings and idioms Goats....

Bona Fide's Post and Read Forecast

Bona Fide's posts in March 2010

Friday, March 5th, Review: The Stolen Moon of Londor (2009) [US] [UK] , by A.P. Stephens
First book in the The White Shadow Saga. Epic quest with elves, dwarves, wizards.......

Saturday, March 6th, Bona Fide: Weekly Roundup #10
Content unknown so far

Friday, March 12th, Review: Farlander (2010) [US] [UK], by Col Buchanan
Another promising debut novel. The blurb is like a soft reverberation of The Malazan Empire

Saturday, March 13th, Bona Fide:Weekly Roundup #11
Content unknown so far

Friday, March 19th, Review: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (2010) [US] [UK], by J.K.Nemesin
A very promising debut novel.

Saturday, March 20th, Bona Fide: Weekly Roundup#12
Content unknown so far

Wednesday, March 24th, Review: The Exodus Gate (2009, 566 p.) [US][UK], Stephen Zimmer
Second series by Stephen Zimmer

Friday, March 26th, Review: Soulless (2009) [US] [UK], by Gail Carriger.
More and more people talk about it. I wanted to know more about vampires, werewolves and parasols.

Saturday, March 27th, Bona Fide: Weekly Roundup#13
Contains Bona Fide's Forecast for April 2010; Reading Forecast and the Reality; rest unknown

Bona Fide's Butcher's Bill: January Reads

I read and reviewed following three books
Seeds of Earth (2009) [US][UK], Michael Cobley
Spellwright (2010) [US March] [UK July], by Blake Charlton
The Stolen Moon of Londor (2009) [US] [UK] , by A.P. Stephens, will be posted on March 5th

I read 1/5th of the book in January. Wanted to continue in February and Failed. Will now continue in March.
The Gardens of the Moon (2009, 10th anniversary edtition) [US][UK], by Steven Erikson

I read 1/3rd of the book in February. I will finish and review it in March.
The Exodus Gate (2009, 566 p.) [US][UK], Stephen Zimmer

Again I didn't reach my target. There is one obvious reason for it: I have had less time for reading and reviewing. But I work on my schedule in order to optimize. Will see how it works in March.

Stats

Average Pages Per Day: 52

Average Publication Date: 2009

Average Books Per Day: 0.10
Books settled in London: NONE
Stolen moons: 1

Bona Fide's March Reading List
Even I missed my monthly reading goal of six books for the second time I plan again to read six books. Among my choice you find two debut novels: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and Farlander. Beside this I will read my second sci-fi book in 2010: Crossover.

The Gardens of the Moon (2009, 10th anniversary edtition) [US][UK], by Steven Erikson
The Exodus Gate (2009, 566 p.) [US][UK], Stephen Zimmer
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (2010) [US] [UK], by J.K.Nemesin
Soulless (2009) [US] [UK], by Gail Carriger
Crossover (2006) [US] [UK], by Joel Shepherd
Farlander (2010) [US] [UK], by Col Buchanan
















Books

On last Monday Daniel Abraham - author of the Long Price Quartet - recommended a book on Facebook: "Do yourself a favor. Get this. You may quote me." Amazon.com: Bitter Seeds (9780765321503): Ian Tregillis: Books

I was curious and tried to find out what the book is about.

"Product Description
It’s 1939. The Nazis have supermen, the British have demons, and one perfectly normal man gets caught in between.
Raybould Marsh is a British secret agent in the early days of the Second World War, haunted by something strange he saw on a mission during the Spanish Civil War: a German woman with wires going into her head who looked at him as if she knew him.
When the Nazis start running missions with people who have unnatural abilities—a woman who can turn invisible, a man who can walk through walls, and the woman Marsh saw in Spain who can use her knowledge of the future to twist the present—Marsh is the man who has to face them. He rallies the secret warlocks of Britain to hold the impending invasion at bay. But magic always exacts a price. Eventually, the sacrifice necessary to defeat the enemy will be as terrible as outright loss would be.

Alan Furst meets Alan Moore in the opening of an epic of supernatural alternate history, the tale of a twentieth century like ours and also profoundly different."

About the Author
IAN TREGILLIS lives near Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he works as a physicist at Los Alamos Laboratory. He is a member of the Wild Cards writing collective, directed by George R. R. Martin. Bitter Seeds is his first novel.

Ian Tregillis is also mentioned in the informative post series Authors Worth Watching, Spotlight 2 of 5 over at Stomping On Yeti. Anyway I put Bitter Seeds immediately on my list.

Delivery of the week
Today I received a my review copy of Farlander (2010) [US] [UK], by Col Buchanan. Thanks to Julie Crisp who is the editor of the book.
And this is the blurb

"The Heart of the World is a land in strife. For fifty years the Holy Empire of Mann, an empire and religion born from a nihilistic urban cult, has been conquering nation after nation. Their leader, Holy Matriarch Sasheen, ruthlessly maintains control through her Diplomats, priests trained as subtle predators.
The Mercian Free Ports are the only confederacy yet to fall. Their only land link to the southern continent, a long and narrow isthmus, is protected by the city of Bar-Khos. For ten years now, the great southern walls of Bar-Khos have been besieged by the Imperial Fourth Army. Ash is a member of an elite group of assassins, the R shun - who offer protection through the threat of vendetta.
Forced by his ailing health to take on an apprentice, he chooses Nico, a young man living in the besieged city of Bar-Khos. At the time, Nico is hungry, desperate, and alone in a city that finds itself teetering on the brink. When the Holy Matriarch's son deliberately murders a woman under the protection of the R shun; he forces the sect to seek his life in retribution.
As Ash and his young apprentice set out to fulfil the R shun orders - their journey takes them into the heart of the conflict between the Empire and the Free Ports ...into bloodshed and death."

The cover is mouth-watering. There is a dirigible.....
Farlander hardback will be on sale on March 5th 2010
Unfortunately I can deliver you a review until March 5th. But you can read my review in two weeks time.

Hijacking of the week
Soulless (2009) [US] [UK], by Gail Carriger has been my Valentine gift for my wife. That was on February 14th.
I could resist thirteen days until I "hijacked" the book. Which means I started to read it.
The Blurb

"Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she is being rudely attacked by a vampire to whom she has not been properly introduced! Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire, and the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate. With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?"

How could I withstand? London, Victorian Era combined with vampires and werwolves.
Maybe I can convince you to read it too. Listen to a free sample of the first chapter of Soulless!

Blogosphere

I don't know whom of you receive DRIN - Del Rey Internet Newsletter. The February issue contains an article by Robert V.S. Redick - author of x and x - which I would like to share with you.

The Possibility and Promise of a Book
by Robert V. S. Redick

Fantasy extends the promise of a feast. Suppose you're watching a ship sail towards you across a choppy bay. As it draws near and you gain perspective, you see that it's very large–no, gigantic–no, monstrous, larger by half than any ship you've ever heard of, let alone seen. There's a mad captain at the wheel, and fantastically muscled ogres turning the capstan, a young woman guarded by blue mastiffs emerging from the forecastle house, tiny figures in the shadows, fitting three-inch arrows to their bows–

Stop. There's a setting for you: as it happens, my own, in The Ruling Sea, which Del Rey brought to the states on February 16 (yeah, baby!). Trouble is, that setting guarantees you precisely nothing. The book in question could be glorious, or ghastly. You simply can't know which until you start to read.

Now consider plot. In my four-book series The Chathrand Voyage, two empires–long estranged but intimately bound by ties of history–find themselves at a crossroads. For years, they've tried to practice a kind of benign neglect, because both sides have found that preferable to another chapter in their long, ruinous, unnecessary war. Or have they? As my heroes discover to their horror in Book I, The Red Wolf Conspiracy, smiles and vague words of peace can sometimes be the perfect cover for an assassination attempt.

But by the same token, a nice setup can be a perfect cover for a half-baked novel. Again, such summary information can only tell you about one aspect of a book—one that's not, by any stretch, the most important.

What is? Fortunately, that's still up to the individual reader. The best the market analysts can do is when, and how deeply, the readers begin to care. Of course, caring is not the same as cheering. Beloved books, like beloved people, don't only make us jump for joy. They can also make us sad, furious, frightened or scandalized. But they always make us feel.

Plenty of books–genre and mainstream, old and new–don't pass this personal test. Something colder–sterile craft perfectionism, or a desperate grab for literary chique, or geeky hand-rubbing over a Nifty Idea (vampires plus time travel plus gorgeous handbags plus...)–takes the place of the novel's heart. When that happens, I walk. You can fill that space in the chest cavity with dust or diamonds: this reader still won't care.

Idealistic? You might say. Don't get me wrong, though: I want millions–nay, billions–to love The Chathrand Voyage series, to devour the books, and me by extension. I've deployed my own Nifty Ideas, after all: one former mentor asked if there was anything left in the sorcerer's lab, or was it all in the bubbling cauldron?

I don't know the magic spell that summons billions to the bookshops. Only Ms. J.K.R. knows that, and she can't be bribed. But I can promise you one thing: love The Ruling Sea or hate it, you won't ever ask yourself if the writer was indifferent. Happy sailing—and don't go barefoot on the lower decks.

You liked the article? Then give the entertaining Chatrand Voayge series a go.In the meantime the first two books are available: The Red Wolf Conspiracy and The Rats and the Ruling Sea.

Movies

This time I want to do something different. As you may know movies have different release dates depending on the country they are shown. I live in Germany and when I can trust the schedule of my favorite cinema I have to go there several times in March. These are trailers of the movies I want to watch together with my wife:

SHUTTER ISLAND
The film, based on the novel "Shutter Island" by Dennis Lehane, is an atmospheric psychological thriller set in a 1950s asylum for the criminally insane.


THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS


ALICE IN WONDERLAND


OCEANS
Nearly three-quarters of the earth's surface is covered by oceans.
(Don't get confused by the very short Italian introduction


And now tell me which movies are on your agenda for March.

Quotes

The Men Who Stare At Goats inspired me to search for quotes related to goats........

" Don't approach a goat from the front, a horse from the back, or a fool from any side. ”
Yiddish proverb

"Bring me A bowl of coffee before I turn into a goat.”
Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer and musician (1685 -1750)

"Put silk on a goat and it is still a goat.”
Irish sayings

"SATYR, n. One of the few characters of the Grecian mythology accorded recognition in the Hebrew. (Leviticus, xvii, 7.) The satyr was at first a member of the dissolute community acknowledging a loose allegiance with Dionysius, but underwent many transformations and improvements. Not infrequently he is confounded with the faun, a later and decenter creation of the Romans, who was less like a man and more like a goat.”
Ambrose Bierce, American writer and journalist (1842 - 1914)