Review: Leviathan

Title: Leviathan

Series: Leviathan #1

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Genre: Steampunk

Trigger Warnings: Death, death of animals, death of parents, blood, injury, injury to animals, war, plane crashes, grief, misogyny (mentions), possibly body horror if highly unnatural created animals count

Back Cover:

Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men.

Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She’s a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.

With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn’s paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever.

Review:

I first read this book back in 2012, and I enjoyed it so much that it landed on my Top Five Favorites of the year. (Unfortunately, I read it before I started this blog in September 2012, so I don’t have a review from my first read-through.) It was my very first foray into steampunk and got me hooked on the genre, and when I discovered my library had it as an audiobook I decided to give it a reread and see if it holds up nine years later.

I didn’t read the back cover before jumping into the book, and I had legitimately forgotten that Aleksander existed as a character, so that was a bit of a surprise when I started reading. But it didn’t take me long at all to get back into the swing of the story.

Leviathan is set in an alternate universe where Charles Darwin not only discovered evolution but also DNA, and many parts of Europe jumped right into playing with genes to make specialized creatures to replace machines. Deryn works on an airship that’s really a giant living whale, designed so its digestive system creates hydrogen that makes it lighter than air and for it to be mostly hollow so humans can climb in and around it and carry stuff inside its living body. Aleks’s country is one of the parts of Europe that thought playing with DNA was ungodly and instead used actual machinery and giant mech robots to do stuff. They can’t heal themselves like the Darwinist living creatures can, but they also don’t have minds of their own, so it’s a trade-off. When Aleks and Deryn meet, there’s a delightful clash of cultures along with all the adventure of Aleks running for his life and Deryn working on a living airship.

This is one of those books where there’s not much to it – it’s mostly devoid of Morals, Important Themes, Literary Importance, or anything else deep and meaningful lurking beneath the surface – but hot damn is it fun. Though there are emotions and tension, they aren’t strong enough to create anything I might call an emotional core (though I definitely wouldn’t say it’s emotionless and I absolutely enjoyed the characters). There are quite a few darker bits, as one might expect from an alternate version of the start of World War I, but on the whole it’s an absolute delight of insubstantial entertainment.

I do wish I had a review from the first time I read this to see if/how my opinion changed over the years, but this definitely holds up to a reread. I fully intend to read the rest of the series eventually (my library doesn’t have the other books on audio, but I’m gonna request them). I know I read Behemoth before, but I don’t think I ever got to the conclusion of the trilogy. Either way, this book was incredibly fun and I can’t wait to keep going.

The Leviathan series:

1. Leviathan
2. Behemoth
3. Goliath

Review: The Haunting of Tram Car 015

Title: The Haunting of Tram Car 015

Series: Dead Djinn Universe #0.6

Author: P. Djèlí Clark

Genre: Steampunk

Trigger Warnings: Mentions of violence against infants and pregnant women, death of animals

Back Cover

Cairo, 1912: The case started as a simple one for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities — handling a possessed tram car.

Soon, however, Agent Hamed Nasr and his new partner Agent Onsi Youssef are exposed to a new side of Cairo stirring with suffragettes, secret societies, and sentient automatons in a race against time to protect the city from an encroaching danger that crosses the line between the magical and the mundane.

Review

I grabbed this because I thoroughly enjoyed the first prequel novella in this series, A Dead Djinn in Cairo, and also this was available as an audiobook so I could listen at work. I didn’t realize this one didn’t follow Fatma until I started it, but that was okay because it ended up being enjoyable anyway.

This follows Agent Hamed Nasr, a coworker of Fatma who showed up a little bit in A Dead Djinn in Cairo but got a whole book to himself this time. Agent Onsi Youssef just recently graduated from the academy, and Hamed is both trying to mentor him and train him how to deal with actual cases and actually get the case solved, but I like that he also respected Onsi’s book knowledge and ideas and didn’t assume he had all the answers because he had more experience.

This book is still a novella, but it’s long enough that there are some twists regarding the unknown entity haunting the tram car – what it is, what it wants, and why it’s there in the first place. I enjoyed it a lot, because after how surprisingly straightforward A Dead Djinn in Cairo was, a few unexpected twists were nice.

And, of course, I love the world – where a rogue sorcerer punched a hole in the divide between our world and the spiritual world, and the supernatural power enabled Egypt to throw out colonizers and become a global superpower in a world run by the power of gears and magic. It’s steampunk and supernatural and Middle Eastern and great.

Though I wish this book had followed Fatma, I’m pretty sure the actual series does, and I’m looking forward to reading full-length novels investigating supernatural nonsense in this world.

The Dead Djinn Universe:

Novellas:

• A Dead Djinn in Cairo
• The Haunting of Tram Car 015

Novels:

1. A Master of Djinn

Review: A Dead Djinn in Cairo

Title: A Dead Djinn in Cairo

Series: Dead Djinn Universe #0.5

Author: P. Djèlí Clark

Genre: Steampunk

Trigger Warnings: Blood, death, mild gore, undead creatures, suicide, nudity

Back Cover:

Egypt, 1912. In an alternate Cairo infused with the otherworldly, the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities investigate disturbances between the mortal and the (possibly) divine.

What starts off as an odd suicide case for Special Investigator Fatma el-Sha’arawi leads her through the city’s underbelly as she encounters rampaging ghouls, saucy assassins, clockwork angels, and plot that could unravel time itself.

Review:

This is a novella, so it’s able to be devoured in a single sitting, which is exactly the way it should be read because it’s great.

I love steampunk anyway, but this blend of steampunk and supernatural with a Middle Eastern setting was absolutely fantastic. Fifty years ago a magician gave the supernatural world access to our world, and now sorcerers, djinn, angels, the undead, and all manner of magical things are commonplace in Fatima’s Cairo. Her job is to investigate crimes and other problems involving the supernatural.

Fatma is awesome. She dresses like an English gentleman, really knows what she’s doing, and overall was a ton of fun to follow around. She’s smart and unflappable and it was a lot of fun to contrast her against her staunchly traditionalist partner in the beginning before she went off to save the world on her own.

What starts as a really weird magical suicide case turns into something much bigger real quick, as Fatma’s investigation leads her to discover a dead djinn, a dead angel, and a prophecy that means she has until dawn to stop the old gods from coming into the world and killing every single human on the planet. It manages to be just tangled enough to be interesting without being so tangled as to feel rushed, and even though a couple of the answers seemed to be a little easy, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This being super short, you don’t get a lot of details, but this is a prequel of sorts to a series featuring her so I’m super excited to get more. I would love a full-length novel or several in this world with Fatma being awesome.

The Dead Djinn Universe:

Novellas:

1. A Dead Djinn in Cairo
2. The Haunting of Tram Car 015

Novels:

1. A Master of Djinn

Review: The Black God’s Drums

Title: The Black God’s Drums

Author: P. Djèlí Clark

Genre: Alternate History/Steampunk

Trigger Warnings: Blood, death, guns, kidnapping, knives, mind control, slavery, sex work, sex (mention)

Back Cover:

Creeper, a scrappy young teen, is done living on the streets of New Orleans. Instead, she wants to soar, and her sights are set on securing passage aboard the smuggler airship Midnight Robber. Her ticket: earning Captain Ann-Marie’s trust using a secret about a kidnapped Haitian scientist and a mysterious weapon he calls The Black God’s Drums.

But Creeper keeps another secret close to heart–Oya, the African orisha of the wind and storms, who speaks inside her head and grants her divine powers. And Oya has her own priorities concerning Creeper and Ann-Marie…

Review:

This book is short, easy to read, and very, very good.

It’s also a hard book to write a review about because you start off knowing very little and the story unfolds as you go along. It starts off with Creeper overhearing some information about some scientist and a weapon that everybody seems to want, and deciding to trade that information to Captain Ann-Marie in exchange for a place on her airship.

Oh, and Oya has given Creeper a vision that probably means something bad is going to happen to New Orleans.

I really don’t want to say any more than that because what exactly is happening gets unfolded throughout the story. Creeper and Ann-Marie are both interesting and distinct characters, and so is Oya even though she’s kinda doing her own thing in Creeper’s head, and the side characters are surprisingly good too for as little page time as they get.

I also want to talk about the world for a second, because I love it. It’s an alternate history, slightly steampunk-y version of New Orleans where the American Civil War ended in a complicated peace treaty where the South kept their slaves and subdued them with a mind-altering gas to keep them from running away, but New Orleans became a neutral area where everyone was free because it’s a major port city for airships coming between the North, the South, and the Haitian Free Isles and other Caribbean nations. It’s an interesting idea and I really want more books in this world because I want to explore it more.

The only real criticism I have of the book is the ending, which built up some really dramatic tension and then skipped over the actual culmination by jumping to the next morning with an “I don’t remember much of what happened last night” and you’re just expected to accept that the day was saved without actually knowing how it happened. I guess you’re just supposed to accept that Oya’s goddess magic did it? Personally, I wanted to know how Creeper fixed that entire disaster.

But despite that, it was an enjoyable read. I hesitate to call it “fun” because it is fairly dark (lots of death, discussions of slavery), but it’s a quick read and I’m very glad I picked it up.

And as a completely unrelated side note, every time I read Oya’s name the song “Oya” by Ghanan artist Azizaa Mystic popped into my head, because it’s catchy and worth listening to. (TW for strong language in the song.)

Review: The Friday Society (DNF)

Title: The Friday Society

Author: Adrienne Kress

Genre: Steampunk

Trigger Warnings: Death, mild sexual harassment

Read to: Page 115

Back Cover:

Set in London at the turn of the last century, the novel follows the stories of three intelligent and very talented young women, all of whom are assistants to very powerful men: Cora, lab assistant; Michiko, combat instruction assistant; and Nellie, a magician’s assistant. The three young women’s lives become inexorably intertwined after a chance meeting at a ball that ends with the discovery of a murdered mystery man.

It’s up to these three, in their own charming but bold way, to solve the murder – and the crimes they believe may be connected to it – without calling too much attention to themselves.

Told with Adrienne Kress’s sharp wit and a great deal of irreverence, this Steampunk whodunit introduces three unforgettable and very ladylike – well, relatively ladylike – heroines poised for more dangerous adventures.

Review:

I grabbed this from the library mainly because steampunk, but also because of the badass girl trio. I wasn’t too enthused with the romance angle, but I hoped it would be overlook-able.

I honestly put it down because it was just plain boring.

The story alternates perspectives between the three girls, and the only girl I was really interested in was Michiko. She had a really cool backstory, and I think I would have enjoyed a book just about her. Cora and Nellie were practically interchangeable, their main difference being the skills they obtained by working for different men. And when the three girls got together, Michiko didn’t speak much English, so it was basically Cora and Nellie with a background Michiko.

(The irony to me here is that the back cover described the characters as “unforgettable,” and even after spending 115 pages with these girls, I still had to look up their names to write this review.)

I honesty could have forgiven all of that if the steampunk world was good. And honestly, the way the book is written, it seems to be trying to put quite a bit of emphasis on the world. But there wasn’t a world to speak of. It was set in London, and there were steam-powered carriages that didn’t need horses – and that’s all we get. When it’s set, or even that it’s steampunk at all, is completely left to the imagination, which is not what I want when I pick up a steampunk book.

I can’t even really comment on the plot, because I couldn’t find one. By page 115, there were two dead bodies, and instead of even really being bothered by this, the girls are in Nellie’s bedroom playing truth or dare.

I think one of the biggest things that bothered me, though, was the assistant aspect. These girls are supposed to be badass, but the only reason they’re even remotely interesting is because of their connection to different men. And the raging feminist in me got really, really upset about that because these girls (especially Michiko) had the potential to be great on their own, but there’s so much focus on their Important Male Benefactor that it seems like they’d be nothing without their men.

In short, I was disappointed and irritated and The Friday Society was bland and boring.

Review: Waistcoats and Weaponry

For those of you who were expecting the next Mistborn book today, I’m sorry – but I finally found this at the library and just had to read it first. Also Mistborn books are really long.

Title: Waistcoats and Weaponry

Series: Finishing School #3

Author: Gail Carriger

Genre: Steampunk

Spoiler Warning: This book is third in a series, so this review will probably have spoilers of the previous books. This series is too good to spoil, so if you haven’t read the first two Finishing School books, I recommend not reading this review. (Also, go read them right now.)

Back Cover:

Sophronia continues finishing school in style – with a steel-bladed fan secreted in the folds of her ball gown, of course. Such a fashionable choice of weapons comes in handy when Sophronia, her best friend Dimity, sweet sootie Soap, and the charming Lord Felix Mersey hijack a suspiciously empty train to return their chum Sidheag to her werewolf pack in Scotland. But when Sophronia discovers they are being trailed by a dirigible of Picklemen and flywaymen, she unearths a plot that threatens to throw all of London into chaos. With her friends in mortal danger, Sophronia must sacrifice what she holds most dear – her freedom.

Review:

I love the Finishing School series. I knew that as soon as I finished Etiquette and Espionage, and devoured Curtsies and Conspiracies as soon as I could get my hands on it. But it took me a long time (over a year) to read this one – mainly because it was never in at the library. Apparently everybody else wanted to read it, too.

We’ll start with Sophronia, who is getting even more epic with training. She now has an awesome signature weapon (I totally want one), some very creative tricks up her sleeve, and a reputation. She is good – really, really good – at the whole spying-while-being-polite-and-fashionable thing. And it is awesome.

There’s quite a few other characters playing main parts here. Lord Felix Mersey shows up, Soap actually has a pretty large role, and Sidheag actually shows emotion. The relationships are a mess sometimes, but it’s a mess that’s fun to read about.

This book’s plot was a little … different. It almost felt like an interim plot until the actual plot got started (I’m assuming there’s something big for the next book). But it seemed a tiny bit unfocused – I can’t even remember what it was in the beginning, besides a slight mystery around what’s happening with Sidheag, and then some relationship problems (I’ll get to those more in a minute), and trying to get Sidheag home, and then they got distracted by technology and Picklemen and a whole host of other stuff. I think that’s the best way to describe the plot: it kept getting sidetracked. Which wasn’t a bad thing and I still enjoyed it, but it was a little different than expected.

There were a few things I found disappointing about this book – number one being the love triangle. I have yet to see a love triangle done well (i.e. doesn’t annoy me. But that could just be me). It was handled nicely (there’s only so much romance a non-engaged couple can have in Victorian England), but I found it annoyingly obvious which guy Sophronia would pick. And it seemed to be more of a plot device than character development.

My other disappointment was the school, or lack thereof. I’ve mentioned in previous books that Mademoiselle Geraldine’s is my favorite part of this series. And Sophronia and company didn’t spend a lot of time at the school in this book. Admittedly, their adventures were just as fun, but I kind of missed the epic dirigible school.

Will I still read book four? Absolutely. Those few disappointing bits were not nearly enough to dissuade me (and besides, I think the love triangle is mostly wrapped up). The good still far outweighs the bad, and I am really looking forward to getting my hands on Manners and Mutiny.

The Finishing School series:

1. Etiquette and Espionage
2. Curtsies and Conspiracies
3. Waistcoats and Weaponry
4. Manners and Mutiny

Review: The Marian

Title: The Marian

Series: The Marian series #1

Author: Taylor Hohulin

Genre: Post-Apocalyptic/Steampunk

Back Cover:

Fifteen-year-old Ethan Denby doesn’t know how he got on the Marian. He just woke up one day inside the body of its captain.

The Marian is unlike any ship Ethan has ever seen. It crawls on long, metal legs over dunes of salt in search of water, despite laws granting exclusive harvesting rights to a corrupt organization known as HydroSystems Worldwide.

HydroSystems is closing in, tensions are mounting aboard the Marian, and on top of all that, Ethan is beginning to think the dreams he’s been having aren’t completely harmless. If he doesn’t get home soon, Ethan could die inside someone else’s body in this wasteland of a world. The only way back seems to be through a place known simply as the Cloud, but how can he convince the crew to take him there when it means confronting a dangerous cult and venturing into a place where the very fabric of reality has worn thin?

Review:

I was very excited to read this. A little bit steampunk, a little bit post-apocalyptic (both genres that I really enjoy), body-switching, and a place where reality isn’t always reality? Sign me up!

I liked Ethan more than I thought I would . But he was pretty mature for his age, and brave despite being in a dangerous, confusing new world. I wouldn’t call him a leader, but he could stand up for himself. I usually have trouble connecting to younger characters, males especially, but I really enjoyed Ethan.

Even though Ethan was the only character major enough to get his own paragraph, the other characters were all great. Brilliant mechanic and Ethan’s new friend Jackie, Jackie’s tough and intelligent sister Bonnie, ex-mercenary and the Marian‘s new captain Percy…even the cook, who only said about three lines the whole book, had a unique personality.

The Marian has a two-pronged plot. First is Ethan – how did he end up here and how can he get home? The second is the world – scavenging for water and discovering that HydroSystems is perpetrators of a huge conspiracy. Both plots were great, and they were kind of interconnected. They both had things to do with the Cloud. The Cloud doesn’t really show up until near the end, but it seems like everything in the world is connected to it. It’s a really weird, creepy, fascinating thing.

My only problem with the book:  it was too short! Due to quite a few loose ends, I think it’s first in a series. I didn’t like that – not because I wouldn’t enjoy spending another book in this world, but because I wasn’t aware of it going in. I guessed how things would play out, and the book ended before I could see if my plot psychicness was acting up or if this was one of those awesome books that made me draw wrong conclusions.

I had very high expectations for The Marian, and it delivered. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, whenever that happens.

I received a free review copy of The Marian from the author. His generosity in no way influenced, or sought to influence, this review.

 The Marian series:

1. The Marian
2. The Hunted
3. The Cloud

Review: Curtsies and Conspiracies

Title: Curtsies and Conspiracies

Series: Finishing School #2

Author: Gail Carriger

Genre: Steampunk

Spoiler Warning: This book is second in a series, so this review will probably contain spoilers of Etiquette and Espionage.

Back Cover:

Sophronia’s first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing! For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy – won’t Mumsy be surprised? Furthermore, Sophronia got mixed up in an intrigue over a stolen device and had a cheese pie thrown at her in a most horrid display of poor manners.

Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers’ quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ship’s boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a field trip to London than is apparent at first. A conspiracy is afoot–one with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans. Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot-and survive the London Season with a full dance card.

Review:

After how much I loved Etiquette and Espionage, I pestered my mom at least daily to get into town to stop at the library and get Curtsies and Conspiracies. But once I got it, I had to wait a while to read it, because I knew I’d want an empty afternoon to just read the whole thing.

In my review of Etiquette and Espionage, I mentioned that Sophronia was fun, but I thought she’d be amazing with a few more dangerous skills. And I was right. Last book’s unmannerly and unfinished Sophronia has become amazingly good at all the secret stuff Madamouiselle Geraldine’s teaches. Those skills plus her natural cleverness and knack for finding trouble made her absolutely awesome.

Gah, I want to mention all the characters! Even the minor characters were so unique and fun.

Yeah, I think there was a plot …. Okay, there was. And it was interesting. There were all sorts of things to learn about the world and new technology (and even some of the vampire hive rules and intrigue). And it was fascinating and fabulous (especially when Dimity and Sophronia pretend to be male vampire drones … but anyway). However …

I still think the actual finishing school is the best part about this book. I love steampunk anyway, but with a school that trains girls to be proper ladies and spies – yeah, I think I’m in love.

My first impression was correct – this book is best read in one sitting. Now why the heck doesn’t book three come out until November?

The Finishing School series:

1. Etiquette and Espionage
2. Curtsies and Conspiracies
3. Waistcoats and Weaponry (November 4, 2014)
4. Manners and Mutiny (2015)

Review: Etiquette and Espionage

Title: Etiquette and Espionage

Series: Finishing School #1

Author: Gail Carriger

Genre: Steampunk

Back Cover:

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. She is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners – and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine’s, young ladies learn to finish … everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage – in the politest possible way, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousting first year’s education.

Review:

I made a mistake with this book. I started it the night before a super-busy week. Worst. Choice. Ever. By chapter two, all I wanted to do was sit down and read until I finished. Instead, I had to cram chapters into car rides and spare minutes before bed.

Sophronia was totally fun. She was a bit younger than I expected (14), but I could live with that. She was spunky and bold, but also clever and inventive. I thought she was fabulous in the beginning, but a little bit of subterfuge training and she was FANTASTIC. I can’t wait to see how many more awesome skills she gets.

Dimity, Sophronia’s first new friend, was Sophronia’s complete opposite. She was quieter and not as bold, and much more ladylike. She was a great foil fo Sophronia, and I’m looking forward to her learning more at finishing school, as well.

I really shouldn’t mention too many other characters, to avoid spoilers and making this too long. But let me just say that even the minor characters were fabulous. Vampire teachers, a student raised by werewolves, Sophronia’s friends in the boiler room and a sneaky seven-year-old … they were all amazing fun.

There was a good plot – student Monique hid a prototype of something, and everyone (good guys and bad) are desperate to get their hands on it. But exciting though the plot was, sometimes I felt like it was a distraction from the world and the school. Those are what I really wanted more of.

I have to mention the names, because they were so amusingly absurd. Besides Sophronia Temminnick and Dimity Plumleigh-Teignmott, there’s Dimity’s brother Pillover, and Mrs. Barnaclegoose…and all the names followed that kind of pattern. Some were downright absurd, but it fit right in with the completely-serious-yet-entirely-ridiculous tone.

I absolutely loved the concept here. The paranormal creatures I could take or leave, but the rest of it – steampunk Victorian finishing school that teaches girls how to be spies – was awesome. I’ll be honest, I seriously want to attend Mademoiselle Geraldine’s.

This series is actually set in the same world as Gail Carriger’s previous adult series, the Parasol Protectorate. According to Angie at the Bibliophile Support Group, the Parasol Protectorate have a few more adult themes in them. But I enjoyed Etiquette and Espionage so thoroughly, I may have to try it anyway.

Now I have to get to the library, and preferably soon, because I know they have book two. And I’m going to pick a nice, empty afternoon to start it, because I doubt I’m going to want to put Curtsies and Conspiracies down, either.

The Finishing School series:

1. Etiquette and Espionage
2. Curtsies and Conspiracies
3. Waistcoats and Weaponry (November 4, 2014)
4. Manners and Mutiny (2015)

Review: Stormdancer

Title:  Stormdancer

Series: Lotus Wars #1

Author:  Jay Kristoff

Genre:  Steampunk

Back Cover:

Yukiko is a girl of the Fox clan, and she has a gift that, if discovered, would get her killed by the Lotus Guild.  The Shogun orders her father to capture a thunder tiger – an legendary half-tiger, half-eagle – and she accompanies him on the quest.  The only problem is, thunder tigers are extinct.  But then Yukiko finds herself stranded with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company.  She saved its life, and she can read its thoughts, but it would rather see her dead than help her.

Review:

This is the first steampunk novel I’ve ever read.  And if Stormdancer is typical of the genre, I love it.

Yukiko was the kind of kick-butt heroine I love.  She was good with a knife and didn’t take guff from anyone, but she also had a softer, more caring side.  She was smart and occasionally stubborn, and had a tendency to get angry easily (Buruu’s influence, perhaps?) – in short, she was a fantastic character.

Buruu, the thunder tiger, was an interesting character.  He was violent and angry at first – exactly what I’d expect out of a wild beast – but I loved watching Yukiko’s patience win him over.  And the battle scenes where he and Yukiko worked together…pure awesomeness.

Stormdancer seemed to have three main plots.  First, it was find a thunder tiger, which everyone knows is extinct.  Then, it was convince said thunder tiger to help her.  And finally, it was take down the shogun.  And I loved it.  It was one part epic battle action, one part fascinating courtly intrigue, and two parts indomitable friendship between girl and thunder tiger.  And it was fantastic.

I only had a couple itty-bitty problems with the book.  One was with character relationships.  Akihito and Kasumi are mentioned really early on in the book, but it wasn’t until over halfway through that I figured out how Yukiko and Kasumi are related.  And I’m still not quite sure where Akihito fit into the family.

The other problem was the romance element.  For the most part, it seemed to be there for the sake of having it.  And I got a little annoyed that Yukiko fell for the green-eyed samurai, who, as best as I can figure, has only his green eyes going for him.

Other than that, though, I loved the book.  I loved the story’s Asian flair (even when I struggled to sound out words), and I absolutely loved the friendship between Yukiko and Buruu.  This was a totally amazing book.

I didn’t realize this when I picked it up, but Stormdancer is the first book in the Lotus War series.  Unfortunately, the second book, Kinslayer, doesn’t come out until September.

The Lotus War series:

1. Stormdancer
2. Kinslayer
3. Endsinger