Once in a while I'm reminded that I'm a fan of Steampunk. I'm a fan of a lot of things but that's not the point. When I saw this week's photo Prompt offered up by Sandra Cook, my comment on Facebook was something like: I'm in love. It's pretty in a rusty greasy gear head type of way and I'm not ashamed to say it. In fact, it makes me want to dig out my halloween costume and go find a dirigible. Which brings me to my submission.
The young pilot eyed the contraption eagerly. The old tramp watched as the youth approached the steps of the local saloon. The tramp recognized the want in her coveteous eyes. Everyone who saw it had the same look.
“I see you looking at the bike little lady.” The tramp siddled between her and the bike.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about old man.” The pilot knew his kind. Meddling. Out to make some money.
“Sure you do. But this baby ain’t for sale.” He patted the seat.
She drew her pistol, aiming it at the old tramp. “Mister, everything’s for sale. Now get out of my way.”
The Blog Hop is going pretty good this week, so you should all take a look inside and see what the other awesome writers take from this work of art. Don't forget to drop by Rochelle's blog for the rules and tips on how to induce labor. Hopefully you'll participate too.
You may remember my buddy Nobilis from my very first Pod Cast. (That link is to the latest in case you're interested.) Well I've got a surprise kiddies, he's got a novella out for the Kindle and has let me review it. First off I'm not very familiar with Steam Punk but I can surely recognize it when I read it. And this qualifies to my untrained eye as such. But wait it's Latin, you can see it in the title. I know, I know, threw me off too, but roll with it. Our story is set in something that vaguely resembles ancient Rome on crack. There are steam powered machines and boats and technologies that should not have been anywhere near Rome when they spoke old school latin. These folk traded furs and had titles like Legate and Procurator. Our main character, Marcus, is the second most powerful man in the city, engaged to a higher ranking man's daughter. He falls in love with a native woman and is faced with the dilemma of having to find a way to be with the one he loves and please the Legate at the same time. The novella unfolds like a history lesson and love story all rolled into one. I think the steam engines keep it interesting while the references to long since dead gods bind each character to the story. Marcus is a clever man and eventually finds a way to succeed in this goal only to be thwarted by the native woman's husband. Because there are several languages mentioned and discussed I got a little confused. The Roman's speak Latin but Marcus switches to a trade language to deal with the people with whom he trades, then plays translator later on when he's forced to deal with a certain unsavory person near the end of the story. Because your's truly is a particularly special individual, I got a little stuck when the writing became broken to emphasize who was talking. Trust me it kicked in later and I figured it out. Overall I found this story very engaging, even a little heart breaking when Marcus' betrothed came to her senses and broke off the engagement. What nailed this novella, was the depth of growth displayed in each of the main characters. I rarely see that in the novellas I come across. The Dog Log gives this two thumbs. Keep up the good work Bro. You can find your copy of this awesome e-book at Amazon see here. Stay Tuned for Friday Fictioneers Blog Hop Tomorrow.
Right, so hhmmm. What do I say about this book? First off I liked most of it. As rich as this story was, in certain spots there were some serious holes. But let me set up the story first.
This is some time I’m assuming in the future, set in the mid south west in of all places Tombstone. Tombstone being the place where all good and bad gunslingers of the old wild west go to drink themselves stupid or get shot to death.
We have Fiona a red head with no remorse, a former Victoria’s Secret Model cum hand cannon bad ass. Scratching a living hunting remnants of an alien invasion called the Slark. The currency in Tombstone is strangely enough thier heads.
Then we have Gieo, who is a dirigible pilot that crash lands outside Tombstone, right at the beginning of some kind of political (for lack of a better word) uprising.
These two, depite the crazy odds, happen to be very attracted to each other and managed some semblance of a relationship. Gieo plays the submissive, even goes as far as donning a collar in public to for bother her’s and Fiona’s benefit. Okay so we have two factions already right? Right. The Slark who had superior technology and now just have too many extremities. Then there are the folks that run Tombstone which is headed up by this Slark hating man named Zeke.
I would have been okay with Zeke and the Slark ducking it out till the end of the book I think that would have been enough here. But there’s blind Methanol drinkers who have some kind of cult that’s waiting for The Rapture. There’s also this three headed syndicate called the Raven Ladies. They are kind of the leading authority since there really is no dominating government anymore. It’s run by three queens on a chess board two of which had a very bad relationship with Fiona.
I wasn’t feeling that Cult at all. What I was feeling was the Slark. They aren’t that bright. They attack constantly even thought they clearly have the sucky hand in this card game. Every time they attack they end up retreating. Freaking weird. I wish there was more on this though. It would have totally made up for the blind cultist. What I wanted to know was why the came in the first place.
Man there is so much packed into this book that I had to back track several times just to make sure I had some things straight. I’d still recommend this book though just for the fact that it was highly entertaining for most of it.
I like that Gieo actually has to kill someone close to the end and it changes her a little but with guidance was able to bounce back from it. These tender points actually make the book.
I give this 1 3/4 thumbs up too much cultist and not enough Slark. Would I read the second Raven Ladies book? Most likely. Cheers Ms. Duffy great read.
