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git_r_read's review against another edition
5.0
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! I don't know who here as watched the TV shows 'Wild, Wild West' or 'Briscoe County, Jr' (starring my *boyfriend*, Bruce Campbell), but, for me, reading this book was like watching a supremely excellent episode of one of those shows. I now have my favorite style of steampunk and it is written by the highly fab Devon Monk (http://www.devonmonk.com/).
I know others prefer their steampunk set in Victorian times or other alternate history and I've read and highly dug them, but this is now my favorite.
There's the rustic of the Wild West with the saloons and general store, stables and blacksmith. And there's the mystery of the paranormal and the things that steam and iron make things go forward or go boom. It's a very hypnotic combo. I really cannot wait to read the rest of this series!
A big bowl of rough and tumble diamonds.....
I know others prefer their steampunk set in Victorian times or other alternate history and I've read and highly dug them, but this is now my favorite.
There's the rustic of the Wild West with the saloons and general store, stables and blacksmith. And there's the mystery of the paranormal and the things that steam and iron make things go forward or go boom. It's a very hypnotic combo. I really cannot wait to read the rest of this series!
A big bowl of rough and tumble diamonds.....
veronica87's review against another edition
4.0
Steampunk can be hit or miss with me but this story was a definite hit. It blended elements of a good old-fashioned western with the marvels of steampunk gadgetry seamlessly. Throw in a supernatural element, a pinch of magic, a dash of a hope of a sweet romance, then top it off with interesting characters and I was hooked.
hlizmarie's review against another edition
I wanted to like this book and it has plenty of interesting characters but it never clicked. I think in another frame of mind or mood I would enjoy it but it's just not working for me right now. Maybe I'll come back to it someday...
iam_griff's review against another edition
3.0
This books story on the back was described differently than what I read. I thought it would focus on the main protagonist Cedar Hunt & his lycanthropy searching for his brother. It was only a third of the story line. Readers get introduced to 2 other characters that are sharing the spotlight. Both Rose & Mae are good solid characters with a decent amount of growth to develop. There wasn't as much action in it as I was expecting & very limited use of "steampunk" type technology. I felt this book was more Wild West with minimal magic thru out the story. It felt written like the author doesn't have a lot of experience with writing action scenes. The few fights felt nondescript & rushed to be done.
abigcoffeedragon's review against another edition
5.0
I realize that many authors are trying to strike while the steam is hot on Steampunk, and I did not get this book for its Steampunk-edness - I got it for its Western Fantasy and it delivers fully - this was a great one day read, with a fast paces story, change of characters that were actually compelling enough to read about, though my favorite characters are NOT the main characters - which is refreshing in that you expect one or two well crafted characters in a book and then for everyone else to be cardboard - here, there is not oodles of depth, but there are too many characters to try to give a ton of depth to in one book - but there is development and change and there is energy and action and I definitely want to read the next book in this adventure - while there were no real surprises in the book, the originality that it had along with the purpose and drive made this one for the shelves and not the used book store - 5 out of 5
hannas_heas47's review against another edition
5.0
This is unlike any book I have ever read before, and my first book really into steam punk territory. It kind of reminds me of the infernal instruments by Cassandra Clare but this book involves its own world into steam punk. Railroads coming to town and with it is something dark. Sensed by all the characters and the plot thickens. This book has pretty much everything from werewolves to love from beyond the grave. I definitely loved the characters, Cedar plays a werewolf, and Rose, who plays a girl who can hear things grow and see the Strange. The Madder brothers are also colorful characters and there quest to find the Holder. Add some witches and another werewolf to their bunch and here we go to the next book!
kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
In a very different set of voices from Monk's Allie Beckstrom Urban Fantasy series, she delves into a steampunk/magical age of the American Old West.
Set in Hallelujah, Oregon, this book presents us with the tale of a magical creature's attempt to reopen the closed door to his own plane of existence.
Don't be fooled by the cover blurb, this story isn't centered around Cedar Hunt, the man cursed by Pawnee Gods to turn wolf at the full moon in order to hunt and kill the Strange magical folks beginning to swarm the West.
This is an ensemble cast with shifting POV; including the main villain, Shard Lafel, Mae Lindson, a white witch settled out in Hallelujah married to a black man, Jeb Lindson, her husband, killed by Lafel multiple times but pulled back to Mae by vows of love and marriage, Cedar Hunt, the cursed loner on the edge of town drawn to help find a lost boy because of how he lost his own brother, Rose Small, the adopted daughter of the town merchant who is decidedly unladylike in the ways she yearns to devise mechanical contraptions and can see the Strange.
Also important, but not POV, are the Madder brothers, who bring their own magic and ability with matics and tickers from the old country, and Mr. Shunt, a creepy and deadly servant of Lafel.
The richness of the characters, the well-realized town of Hallelujah inhabited by humans, witches, Strange (fae-like magic, but not exactly fae, so very interesting to people like me who've read widely. I especially liked the marriage of magic and mechanics used by the villains, black oil and bugs seeping form wounds-shiver-)and the sheer coolness of ideas makes this book stand out from the pack.
However, and there has to be a however because it doesn't get the whole hearted 5 stars, is my undercurrent of dissatisfaction with both the depth of characterization and the convoluted series of bargains, promises, and pleas made between the main characters.
The shifting POV, while keeping the pace fresh, was sometimes irritating when it shifted away from a POV right when that POV was getting interesting. I'm not talking about the cliff-hangar kind of action moment, but just as I, the reader, got comfortable with Rose or Cedar's voice and wanted to spend more time with them, we'd switch, sometimes for quite a long time.
This is a difficult thing to balance, and Monk does a fairly good job with this, but it did keep me from whole-heartedly jumping in bed with Rose or Cedar or Mae, despite wanting to.
The second issue, which is just a slight one, granted, is the complex series of bargains and deals made between Rose and Cedar, Cedar and Mae, Mae and the Madder Brothers, Madder Brothers and Cedar, Rose and the Madder Brothers, Shunt and Lafel....etc.
While providing a kind of reality to how life in that world must work (keeping one's word about promises made, and the magical aspect of vows) it got just a bit cumbersome keeping track of them all through teh shifting POV's. At one point, Mae's POV starts off looking outside at a darkening sky and realizing Cedar wasn't going to keep his promise to come back....and I had to go back through the book to remind myself which promise when she was referring to.
Regardless, it is a slight beef, not a quarter pounder beef with this intriguing start to Monk's series.
This Book's Food Designation Rating: A plate of delicious small "bites" appetizer-style, where just as you savor one awesome flavor combination, it's all over and you have to go on to the next.
Set in Hallelujah, Oregon, this book presents us with the tale of a magical creature's attempt to reopen the closed door to his own plane of existence.
Don't be fooled by the cover blurb, this story isn't centered around Cedar Hunt, the man cursed by Pawnee Gods to turn wolf at the full moon in order to hunt and kill the Strange magical folks beginning to swarm the West.
This is an ensemble cast with shifting POV; including the main villain, Shard Lafel, Mae Lindson, a white witch settled out in Hallelujah married to a black man, Jeb Lindson, her husband, killed by Lafel multiple times but pulled back to Mae by vows of love and marriage, Cedar Hunt, the cursed loner on the edge of town drawn to help find a lost boy because of how he lost his own brother, Rose Small, the adopted daughter of the town merchant who is decidedly unladylike in the ways she yearns to devise mechanical contraptions and can see the Strange.
Also important, but not POV, are the Madder brothers, who bring their own magic and ability with matics and tickers from the old country, and Mr. Shunt, a creepy and deadly servant of Lafel.
The richness of the characters, the well-realized town of Hallelujah inhabited by humans, witches, Strange (fae-like magic, but not exactly fae, so very interesting to people like me who've read widely. I especially liked the marriage of magic and mechanics used by the villains, black oil and bugs seeping form wounds-shiver-)and the sheer coolness of ideas makes this book stand out from the pack.
However, and there has to be a however because it doesn't get the whole hearted 5 stars, is my undercurrent of dissatisfaction with both the depth of characterization and the convoluted series of bargains, promises, and pleas made between the main characters.
The shifting POV, while keeping the pace fresh, was sometimes irritating when it shifted away from a POV right when that POV was getting interesting. I'm not talking about the cliff-hangar kind of action moment, but just as I, the reader, got comfortable with Rose or Cedar's voice and wanted to spend more time with them, we'd switch, sometimes for quite a long time.
This is a difficult thing to balance, and Monk does a fairly good job with this, but it did keep me from whole-heartedly jumping in bed with Rose or Cedar or Mae, despite wanting to.
The second issue, which is just a slight one, granted, is the complex series of bargains and deals made between Rose and Cedar, Cedar and Mae, Mae and the Madder Brothers, Madder Brothers and Cedar, Rose and the Madder Brothers, Shunt and Lafel....etc.
While providing a kind of reality to how life in that world must work (keeping one's word about promises made, and the magical aspect of vows) it got just a bit cumbersome keeping track of them all through teh shifting POV's. At one point, Mae's POV starts off looking outside at a darkening sky and realizing Cedar wasn't going to keep his promise to come back....and I had to go back through the book to remind myself which promise when she was referring to.
Regardless, it is a slight beef, not a quarter pounder beef with this intriguing start to Monk's series.
This Book's Food Designation Rating: A plate of delicious small "bites" appetizer-style, where just as you savor one awesome flavor combination, it's all over and you have to go on to the next.
texaswolfman's review against another edition
4.0
Good story. Great characters. Looking forward to the sequel.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
3.0
A kitchen sink kind of a book. Basically a steampunk western with witches and werewolves thrown in for good measure. Or bad measure as it was kind of over the top. But still enjoyable. This was an Endeavour read but not a bad one - I'll probably read the sequel. 3.5 of 5.