Soulless by Gail Carriger
Feb. 5th, 2011 07:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Alexia Tarabotti is labouring 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 was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.
Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire – and then 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 is 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? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?
At 26 years old, Alexia Tarabotti is resigned to spinsterhood due to her social disadvantages. Firstly, she is half-Italian and despite her mother’s respectable second marriage to Squire Loontwill, Alexia’s tan complexion, continental nose and ample curves won’t do. Secondly (and unknown to her family and friends) she is a preternatural and has no soul, which means that she can neutralise the abilities of ghosts, vampires and werewolves with her touch.
When Alexia is attacked by and accidentally kills a vampire at a private ball, Lord Maccon – the Alpha of London’s werewolves and head of the Bureau of Unnatural Registry (BUR) arrives to investigate. Relations between the two have been strained ever since an unfortunate incident involving a hedgehog, and they deteriorate as it becomes apparent that rove vampires (vampires without a hive to regulate their activity) are being created and left to roam London society, biting people at will. As Alexia and Lord Maccon pursue their own lines of inquiry, they discover that sinister elements are at work that threaten not only their lives, but the very foundations of the British Empire.
Gail Carriger’s novel is a delightful mix of steampunk and historical fantasy that rockets along at a blinding pace and is told with wit and verve.
Alexia Tarabotti is a strong-willed heroine – intelligent, funny and a dab hand at fending off unwelcome advances with her custom made brass parasol. However she’s also vulnerable and not so comfortable with her on the shelf status as she makes out. Lord Maccon is strong, brave, outspoken and utterly fascinated with her – but there is also a tenderness there that comes from his failure to care about social niceties. The side characters are equally interesting – the dandyish vampire Lord Akeldama and Lord Maccon’s Beta, Professor Lyall being my favourites.
It’s not perfect – there’s frequent head-hopping within scenes, occasional modern Americanisms are used in dialogue and most unforgivably, Canterbury is described as a port when a Google search would have shown it isn’t. However the plot has enough twists and turns to hold the interest, it’s well-paced and combines action with some steamy romance. I particularly liked the mythology that she’s created, which uses an excess of soul as the basis for explaining vampire and werewolf creation and wraps both societies into English history. All in all it’s an entertaining read and I shall definitely be checking out the sequel.
The Verdict:
The first book in a witty and engaging historical fantasy series with steampunk elements, this combines an original premise, good world-building and a strong-willed heroine armed with a deadly parasol to entertaining effect. It’s not a perfect book (and the depiction of Canterbury as a port was a particularly needless mistake) but it is amusing and well paced and I will be reading the sequel, CHANGELESS.
First, she has no soul. Second, she’s a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.
Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire – and then 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 is 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? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?
At 26 years old, Alexia Tarabotti is resigned to spinsterhood due to her social disadvantages. Firstly, she is half-Italian and despite her mother’s respectable second marriage to Squire Loontwill, Alexia’s tan complexion, continental nose and ample curves won’t do. Secondly (and unknown to her family and friends) she is a preternatural and has no soul, which means that she can neutralise the abilities of ghosts, vampires and werewolves with her touch.
When Alexia is attacked by and accidentally kills a vampire at a private ball, Lord Maccon – the Alpha of London’s werewolves and head of the Bureau of Unnatural Registry (BUR) arrives to investigate. Relations between the two have been strained ever since an unfortunate incident involving a hedgehog, and they deteriorate as it becomes apparent that rove vampires (vampires without a hive to regulate their activity) are being created and left to roam London society, biting people at will. As Alexia and Lord Maccon pursue their own lines of inquiry, they discover that sinister elements are at work that threaten not only their lives, but the very foundations of the British Empire.
Gail Carriger’s novel is a delightful mix of steampunk and historical fantasy that rockets along at a blinding pace and is told with wit and verve.
Alexia Tarabotti is a strong-willed heroine – intelligent, funny and a dab hand at fending off unwelcome advances with her custom made brass parasol. However she’s also vulnerable and not so comfortable with her on the shelf status as she makes out. Lord Maccon is strong, brave, outspoken and utterly fascinated with her – but there is also a tenderness there that comes from his failure to care about social niceties. The side characters are equally interesting – the dandyish vampire Lord Akeldama and Lord Maccon’s Beta, Professor Lyall being my favourites.
It’s not perfect – there’s frequent head-hopping within scenes, occasional modern Americanisms are used in dialogue and most unforgivably, Canterbury is described as a port when a Google search would have shown it isn’t. However the plot has enough twists and turns to hold the interest, it’s well-paced and combines action with some steamy romance. I particularly liked the mythology that she’s created, which uses an excess of soul as the basis for explaining vampire and werewolf creation and wraps both societies into English history. All in all it’s an entertaining read and I shall definitely be checking out the sequel.
The Verdict:
The first book in a witty and engaging historical fantasy series with steampunk elements, this combines an original premise, good world-building and a strong-willed heroine armed with a deadly parasol to entertaining effect. It’s not a perfect book (and the depiction of Canterbury as a port was a particularly needless mistake) but it is amusing and well paced and I will be reading the sequel, CHANGELESS.
