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lady_mel's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a hoot. Karen Memery is a prostitute, er, seamstress, at the Hotel Mon Cherie, an establisment run by the formidable Madame Damnable.
Karen and her fellow seamstresses find themselves enmeshed in a plot to kill all the population of Alaska, so the Russians can take it back.
Karen and her fellow seamstresses find themselves enmeshed in a plot to kill all the population of Alaska, so the Russians can take it back.
vylinn's review against another edition
4.0
AHHH THIS BOOK WAS SO FUN
Apparently Steampunk Westerns fill a hole I didn't know I had ❤️
I loved Karen's voice so, so much. I loved the LGBTQ-ness being organic and inclusive, without being shoehorned. Honestly, I just loved the book overall.
The only thing that keeps it from being 5 stars (for me personally) is the tendency toward clumsy and confusing description at some points. Not a big deal, but when it happens, it trips the story up quite a bit.
Apparently Steampunk Westerns fill a hole I didn't know I had ❤️
I loved Karen's voice so, so much. I loved the LGBTQ-ness being organic and inclusive, without being shoehorned. Honestly, I just loved the book overall.
The only thing that keeps it from being 5 stars (for me personally) is the tendency toward clumsy and confusing description at some points. Not a big deal, but when it happens, it trips the story up quite a bit.
celiapowell's review against another edition
3.0
Fun Western-ish steampunk novel with a diverse cast of characters.
timinbc's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe 3.5 stars.
Oh, look, another steampunk/disaster story set in what might as well be Seattle. And there's even a thank-you to Cherie Priest. Odd.
I has always been amazed at the way Subliterate English are always totally consistent and this here book are no exception. Who would of thunk that Karen were a woman smart enough to learn a quite substantial vocabulary without no clue 'bout grammer irregardless? But I'll grant a pass, because Bear's writing is strong enough to carry that, and Karen's metaphors and similes more than make up for it (Happy as a pup with two tails).
Good characters, mostly acting believably. Maybe trying a little TOO hard for diversity, but I'll let readers know about that. The leader of the bad guys is a cardboard character, although there's a bit more to his major henchmen. Karen's great: not too smart yet, but brave and emotional. She's good for several books.
Details.
Can a late-1800s shotgun really kill someone through clapboard siding?
Why would anyone build a huge steam-and-diesel device that can walk and climb walls .... to do sewing?
When is someone going to write a major-role airship captain who isn't particularly capable or charismatic, and doesn't always show up just in the nick of time?
Why did the, er, external-character-late-on-the-scene do what he did at the end?
What exactly was the story with Miss Francina? Spell it out more or don't go there, please.
What's with the ladders-and-walls stuff when there's perfectly good higher ground not far away?
Most of all I just didn't care for the plot device that gave the lead bad guy his leverage. Just didn't work for me. If it's even feasible within a reasonable suspension of disbelief, it's hard to figure that there's be no defence against it.
All those criticisms, and I still liked the book. I'll read the next one.
Oh, look, another steampunk/disaster story set in what might as well be Seattle. And there's even a thank-you to Cherie Priest. Odd.
I has always been amazed at the way Subliterate English are always totally consistent and this here book are no exception. Who would of thunk that Karen were a woman smart enough to learn a quite substantial vocabulary without no clue 'bout grammer irregardless? But I'll grant a pass, because Bear's writing is strong enough to carry that, and Karen's metaphors and similes more than make up for it (Happy as a pup with two tails).
Good characters, mostly acting believably. Maybe trying a little TOO hard for diversity, but I'll let readers know about that. The leader of the bad guys is a cardboard character, although there's a bit more to his major henchmen. Karen's great: not too smart yet, but brave and emotional. She's good for several books.
Details.
Can a late-1800s shotgun really kill someone through clapboard siding?
Why would anyone build a huge steam-and-diesel device that can walk and climb walls .... to do sewing?
When is someone going to write a major-role airship captain who isn't particularly capable or charismatic, and doesn't always show up just in the nick of time?
Why did the, er, external-character-late-on-the-scene do what he did at the end?
What exactly was the story with Miss Francina? Spell it out more or don't go there, please.
What's with the ladders-and-walls stuff when there's perfectly good higher ground not far away?
Most of all I just didn't care for the plot device that gave the lead bad guy his leverage. Just didn't work for me. If it's even feasible within a reasonable suspension of disbelief, it's hard to figure that there's be no defence against it.
All those criticisms, and I still liked the book. I'll read the next one.
tregina's review
4.0
There are a lot of different reasons to love a book. You can love the writing or love the ideas or love the pace and excitement. In this case, I love the characters. The setting might not have been as vivid as I hoped and I couldn't entirely wrap my mind around some of the logistics, but oh, the characters. Not in isolation of course; the characters had a story to tell and it all worked together to make it a compelling one. The voice in particular—Karen's voice, as the narrator of the story—was so evocative and had exactly the right amound of dialect in it, showing that the best way to demonstrate accent and dialect is not through phonetic spelling but through word choice and cadence and figures of speech. There might have been characters I didn't necessarily like, given that this was the sort of book with bona fide villains, but I can't think of any character with the slightest bit of focus that didn't leap of the page for me.
mcr314's review against another edition
3.0
The steampunk aspect of this book is rather subtle. The characters don't know much about the technology, so we learn little of it. It's neat that a Singer "sewing" machine has both a steam and diesel engines, and appears to be more of a Ripley/Aliens exo-skeleton... On the other hand, the characters in Friends also know little about cars or phones or electricity: it's not like we expect them to explain stuff to us that is obvious to them. I was drawn into the aspirations of our main character, Karen. I thought that maybe "Memory" was going to play a bigger role... like maybe she invents core-memory or something so that machines could be made autonomous.
It's otherwise historical fiction set in 1880 with strong female leads.
It's otherwise historical fiction set in 1880 with strong female leads.
atlantic_puffin's review against another edition
I got 80% of the way through before deciding to DNF it -- I'm still not invested in the relationship and I did somewhat accidentally see the last page and satisfied enough with what I saw, so I'm done.
songwind's review against another edition
5.0
This book is near perfect.
The book is told in a folksy vernacular that evokes Western movies, but which isn't so overdone as to become annoying.
The book's heroine, despite being young and in the socially disadvantageous position of working as a prostitute, is self assured, assertive and confident. Throughout the narrative she maintains her agency and proactive attitude rather than allowing events to come to her.
The nature of the Madame's parlour (i.e. brothel) is such that she has attracted and assembled an eclectic and unlikely group of misfits, outcasts and strangers. Bear uses this fact to effectively include a wide variety of characters that keep the plot interesting.
The inclusion of real-life US Marshall Bass Reeves was a nice touch, as were a few small nods to the Lone Ranger, a character Marshall Reeves may have helps inspire.
The romance subplot was well written, and kind of adorably awkward.
I felt that the denouement was bobbled a little bit, but it's really a small flaw in an otherwise amazing book.
Narrator Jennifer Grace did an excellent job giving voice to all the characters.
The book is told in a folksy vernacular that evokes Western movies, but which isn't so overdone as to become annoying.
The book's heroine, despite being young and in the socially disadvantageous position of working as a prostitute, is self assured, assertive and confident. Throughout the narrative she maintains her agency and proactive attitude rather than allowing events to come to her.
The nature of the Madame's parlour (i.e. brothel) is such that she has attracted and assembled an eclectic and unlikely group of misfits, outcasts and strangers. Bear uses this fact to effectively include a wide variety of characters that keep the plot interesting.
The inclusion of real-life US Marshall Bass Reeves was a nice touch, as were a few small nods to the Lone Ranger, a character Marshall Reeves may have helps inspire.
The romance subplot was well written, and kind of adorably awkward.
I felt that the denouement was bobbled a little bit, but it's really a small flaw in an otherwise amazing book.
Narrator Jennifer Grace did an excellent job giving voice to all the characters.