rosekk's review against another edition
5.0
Can't wait for the next. Loved how the story moved to a new setting.
squishies's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Look... Listen... There's just too much stuff that goes on that the imagination just gets fatigued. "Of course there's a crazed half-cyborg in charge of a lawless town. And of course he lives in Texas. Where else?"
But! But!! I just gotta know where this is all going. Let's ride this seemingly train wreck, fair busting with wacky ideas, out into the sunset and see where we end up. And to be honest, it's not a bad destination.
I think the problem is that the world building feels so rushed. For the first half of the book, new ideas / concepts pops up everywhere and punches me in the face. This got irritating. I know this is an alternate universe, alright? I bloody know it... just... please, give me some room to breath and take it all in.
The story emerges in the last half of the book and, despite getting idea-fatigued, I genuinely want to know how it will all turn out.
Is it worth the trip though? I'm not sure yet, but somehow I seem to be invested - I actually want to know what Gideon et al gets up to next.
Go figure.
Look... Listen... There's just too much stuff that goes on that the imagination just gets fatigued. "Of course there's a crazed half-cyborg in charge of a lawless town. And of course he lives in Texas. Where else?"
But! But!! I just gotta know where this is all going. Let's ride this seemingly train wreck, fair busting with wacky ideas, out into the sunset and see where we end up. And to be honest, it's not a bad destination.
I think the problem is that the world building feels so rushed. For the first half of the book, new ideas / concepts pops up everywhere and punches me in the face. This got irritating. I know this is an alternate universe, alright? I bloody know it... just... please, give me some room to breath and take it all in.
The story emerges in the last half of the book and, despite getting idea-fatigued, I genuinely want to know how it will all turn out.
Is it worth the trip though? I'm not sure yet, but somehow I seem to be invested - I actually want to know what Gideon et al gets up to next.
Go figure.
drey72's review against another edition
4.0
Oh, what a romp Gideon Smith and the Brass Dragon is! Love adventure? It’s here in spades. Enjoy steampunk? You’ve got the full complement from airships to weapons to the unbelievable melding of human and mechanical. Want romance? Our hero is flying across oceans hunting down pirates and the stolen love of his life. Wonder about alternative history? Wait ’til you see where Barnett’s imagination goes…
At the end of Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl, Texas pirate Louis Cockayne flew away with Maria and Apep. So Gideon winds up in Steamtown (a.k.a. San Antonio) trying to not ruffle the local feathers too much. Not that he succeeds, which is where all the action comes in. Ok, so not quite all the action – there’s a very interesting first chapter reminiscent of Jurassic Park…
Our heroes – Gideon of course, with chronicler Aloysius Bent and airwoman extraordinaire Rowena Fanshawe in tow – run up against a megalomaniacal self-styled King of a band of outlaws, a Japanese conspiracy, and a big cranky mama. I did say this was a romp, didn’t I? So what are you waiting for? Go check it out! :)
drey’s rating: Excellent!
This review was originally posted on drey's library
At the end of Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl, Texas pirate Louis Cockayne flew away with Maria and Apep. So Gideon winds up in Steamtown (a.k.a. San Antonio) trying to not ruffle the local feathers too much. Not that he succeeds, which is where all the action comes in. Ok, so not quite all the action – there’s a very interesting first chapter reminiscent of Jurassic Park…
Our heroes – Gideon of course, with chronicler Aloysius Bent and airwoman extraordinaire Rowena Fanshawe in tow – run up against a megalomaniacal self-styled King of a band of outlaws, a Japanese conspiracy, and a big cranky mama. I did say this was a romp, didn’t I? So what are you waiting for? Go check it out! :)
drey’s rating: Excellent!
This review was originally posted on drey's library
nuluala's review against another edition
3.0
I might have enjoyed this book more had I read the first one, since I wasn't particularly invested in any of the characters. The book was fine but not hugely exciting or imaginative in my opinion (despite all the hype on the cover about dinosaurs, dragons and steampunk).
More...