moirwyn's review against another edition
3.0
This review originally appeared on my blog, Books Without Any Pictures:
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/2016/04/03/dnf-review-the-bullet-catchers-daughter-by-rod-duncan/
The Bullet-Catcher’s Daughter by Rod Duncan is a steampunk fantasy novel about a young woman who leads a double life. Elizabeth Barnabus grew up as part of the circus, and learned from an early age how to use illusion to manipulate an audience. After her parents’ untimely deaths, Elizabeth cross-dresses and pretends to be her fictitious brother (also a private eye) in order to escape from the rigid confines of Victorian-ish society. One of her cases proves to be inordinately dangerous, and leads to entanglements with the dangerous Patent Office.
It’s been a while since I’ve written a DNF review, but I was inspired to finally do this one by a post from Anya at On Starships and Dragonwings entitled “What if DNF was your default option?” (http://www.onstarshipsanddragonwings.com/dnf-as-your-default/) While DNF (did not finish) is not my default option, one of my goals this year was to allow myself to let my reading be guided by my own whims rather than schedules or feelings of obligation. And even though there were a lot of things about The Bullet-Catcher’s Daughter that I enjoyed, I’ve spent about six months of reading a chapter here or a chapter there, and I just can’t bring myself to finish the book. It isn’t because I dislike it, but rather that it doesn’t grip me or excite me in the way that so many other books do. I’m giving myself permission to stop dwelling on it and move on.
That said, the setting and characters both appealed to me. I loved the description of Elizabeth’s riverboat home. I enjoyed seeing Elizabeth try to keep up her charade, especially as she became more and more socially entangled with her neighbors. I was intrigued by the lore spread among traveling performers, and the way that those legends and superstitions began to creep into Elizabeth’s life as she tried to untangle her story and understand her parents’ deaths. There was a very real sense of mystery, and the mystery/steampunk/fantasy genre-blend is something I usually enjoy. I’d definitely recommend The Bullet-Catchers Daughter to other readers. It just wasn’t for me, and I’m not entirely sure why.
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/2016/04/03/dnf-review-the-bullet-catchers-daughter-by-rod-duncan/
The Bullet-Catcher’s Daughter by Rod Duncan is a steampunk fantasy novel about a young woman who leads a double life. Elizabeth Barnabus grew up as part of the circus, and learned from an early age how to use illusion to manipulate an audience. After her parents’ untimely deaths, Elizabeth cross-dresses and pretends to be her fictitious brother (also a private eye) in order to escape from the rigid confines of Victorian-ish society. One of her cases proves to be inordinately dangerous, and leads to entanglements with the dangerous Patent Office.
It’s been a while since I’ve written a DNF review, but I was inspired to finally do this one by a post from Anya at On Starships and Dragonwings entitled “What if DNF was your default option?” (http://www.onstarshipsanddragonwings.com/dnf-as-your-default/) While DNF (did not finish) is not my default option, one of my goals this year was to allow myself to let my reading be guided by my own whims rather than schedules or feelings of obligation. And even though there were a lot of things about The Bullet-Catcher’s Daughter that I enjoyed, I’ve spent about six months of reading a chapter here or a chapter there, and I just can’t bring myself to finish the book. It isn’t because I dislike it, but rather that it doesn’t grip me or excite me in the way that so many other books do. I’m giving myself permission to stop dwelling on it and move on.
That said, the setting and characters both appealed to me. I loved the description of Elizabeth’s riverboat home. I enjoyed seeing Elizabeth try to keep up her charade, especially as she became more and more socially entangled with her neighbors. I was intrigued by the lore spread among traveling performers, and the way that those legends and superstitions began to creep into Elizabeth’s life as she tried to untangle her story and understand her parents’ deaths. There was a very real sense of mystery, and the mystery/steampunk/fantasy genre-blend is something I usually enjoy. I’d definitely recommend The Bullet-Catchers Daughter to other readers. It just wasn’t for me, and I’m not entirely sure why.
c_morning's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
ahumblepear's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
kittykornerlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Clever, engaging protagonist and an interesting setting and plot. Can't wait to read the sequel. My full review: http://blog.heightslibrary.org/steampunk-mystery/
elusivity's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 STARS
I found this mostly... Underwhelming.
The detective-seeking-lost-person-with-forbidden-treasure part was woefully thin and completely predictable.
For a place dumbed the Gas-Lit Empire, there was very little steam punk technology. The main setting was Victorian, with its strict code of social morality. And yes, there was flight by airship, and the main McGuffin was. Beyond that... Nope.
The ending was like deflating a balloon, and obliterated even my half-hearted enjoyment of the first 3/4.
Sigh.
I found this mostly... Underwhelming.
The detective-seeking-lost-person-with-forbidden-treasure part was woefully thin and completely predictable.
For a place dumbed the Gas-Lit Empire, there was very little steam punk technology. The main setting was Victorian, with its strict code of social morality. And yes, there was flight by airship, and the main McGuffin was
Spoiler
a laser created by mystery chemicalsThe ending was like deflating a balloon, and obliterated even my half-hearted enjoyment of the first 3/4.
Sigh.
mojoshivers's review against another edition
4.0
What a curious little book. It takes a hefty dose of steampunk and mixes it with a bit of Remington Steele-type of mystery. The world building is exceptional. I was immediately drawn to the alternate history and culture of the setting. And, gracious Providence, is Elizabeth one hell of a main character. I’d follow her lead through any number of books in this series. Funny in parts, sad in others, but always possessing a sense of action that drives the plot forward, I’d recommend The Bullet-Catcher’s Daughter to anyone who enjoys a good tale told well.
kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars actually
This rating is based on my preference for fantasy and alternate history (steampunk or otherwise) that sheds light on human relationships and emotions by putting people into situations that would be impossible otherwise.
And cool ideas and gadgets.
But if the cool alternate history idea (in this case a British empire split in two between flamboyant Kingdom and sober Republic) and the gadgets/alchemy/magic are the main meat-and-bones of a book with relationships/emotional arc definitely secondary-- it's not my cup of tea.
Such is the case with Bullet-Catcher's Daughter. Uber-cool ideas (illusionist tricks and advice sprinkled throughout, a cross-dressing main character, intrigue, alternate history) but I never emotionally connected with the emotional arc the main characters was going through, nor did I get a sense of anybody other than Elizabeth herself.
There were so many sub-characters that could have been awesome, but we spend too much time in Elizabeth's rather dry, factual accounting of her adventures. In particular, her protege says to her at the end upon discovering her secret "Your brother was real to me, Elizabeth. I'd imagined...I'm imagined a future with him" but considering we only see the protege and the brother together during one incident (he's asleep all the time otherwise) this seemed rather hard to believe. And yet there would have been all kinds of emotional gold to be mined here in this awkward love triangle that could have revealed a bunch about Elizabeth's character and self-identity.
Cool ideas, needs more emotional cowbell.
This rating is based on my preference for fantasy and alternate history (steampunk or otherwise) that sheds light on human relationships and emotions by putting people into situations that would be impossible otherwise.
And cool ideas and gadgets.
But if the cool alternate history idea (in this case a British empire split in two between flamboyant Kingdom and sober Republic) and the gadgets/alchemy/magic are the main meat-and-bones of a book with relationships/emotional arc definitely secondary-- it's not my cup of tea.
Such is the case with Bullet-Catcher's Daughter. Uber-cool ideas (illusionist tricks and advice sprinkled throughout, a cross-dressing main character, intrigue, alternate history) but I never emotionally connected with the emotional arc the main characters was going through, nor did I get a sense of anybody other than Elizabeth herself.
There were so many sub-characters that could have been awesome, but we spend too much time in Elizabeth's rather dry, factual accounting of her adventures. In particular, her protege says to her at the end upon discovering her secret "Your brother was real to me, Elizabeth. I'd imagined...I'm imagined a future with him" but considering we only see the protege and the brother together during one incident (he's asleep all the time otherwise) this seemed rather hard to believe. And yet there would have been all kinds of emotional gold to be mined here in this awkward love triangle that could have revealed a bunch about Elizabeth's character and self-identity.
Cool ideas, needs more emotional cowbell.
tesssheerman's review against another edition
3.0
This took me a while to read as the first half was quite slow and I didn't have much time to read. However, the second half picked up a lot quicker and became a lot more interesting - I am considering reading the next book too!
xeni's review against another edition
4.0
While reading this book I always felt that I should be enjoying it more than I was. I liked the premise a lot. I liked a lot of the elements (the split England into Republic and Kingdom, the fact that the protagonist is both herself and her brother, the circus moments) but I am not sure I liked them together.
I kept having to push myself to continue reading. I often found myself just putting down the book and not being too inclined to pick it up again. But it was well written, it was interesting, it had something special and different. I just don't think it entirely worked for me.
I wanted to love this book far more than I did. In it's elements it's perfect for me: alt-history britain which splits off into Republic and Kingdom halves, however the actual main power in this world is the Patent Office. The protagonist is a woman (but at the same time also her twin brother who never actually existed, but was a creation in her childhood her circus-running father helped her maintain) who is hired to investigate a missing nobleman from the Kingdom.
It is at times a mystery, at times an adventure tale. Elizabeth ends up living at a different circus for a while. Then she's on the run (again) across to the Kingdom this time, where she is a fugitive. It's all quite a lot, and I think I would have loved it more if I wasn't always on the edge of my seat. I dislike that much tension.
Also I did not understand a lot of the character motivations, I did not understand a lot of this world. I think it was grittier and darker than it intended to be; than the surface appears. It was a tough read for a myriad of reasons, not all of which I have understood yet.
But it's also incredibly unique, rather well written, plays around with interesting gender issues in a patriarchal world that you don't often see.
I kept having to push myself to continue reading. I often found myself just putting down the book and not being too inclined to pick it up again. But it was well written, it was interesting, it had something special and different. I just don't think it entirely worked for me.
I wanted to love this book far more than I did. In it's elements it's perfect for me: alt-history britain which splits off into Republic and Kingdom halves, however the actual main power in this world is the Patent Office. The protagonist is a woman (but at the same time also her twin brother who never actually existed, but was a creation in her childhood her circus-running father helped her maintain) who is hired to investigate a missing nobleman from the Kingdom.
It is at times a mystery, at times an adventure tale. Elizabeth ends up living at a different circus for a while. Then she's on the run (again) across to the Kingdom this time, where she is a fugitive. It's all quite a lot, and I think I would have loved it more if I wasn't always on the edge of my seat. I dislike that much tension.
Also I did not understand a lot of the character motivations, I did not understand a lot of this world. I think it was grittier and darker than it intended to be; than the surface appears. It was a tough read for a myriad of reasons, not all of which I have understood yet.
But it's also incredibly unique, rather well written, plays around with interesting gender issues in a patriarchal world that you don't often see.
andimontgomery's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. The pacing was a bit off, and it took me a bit to get into this story. But this was generally a satisfying read. I'm just not sure I like the characters or world enough to continue with this series.