A review by silvernfire
Unseemly Science by Rod Duncan

3.0

Last year, I read [b:The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter|20697500|The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter (The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire, #1)|Rod Duncan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1399112088s/20697500.jpg|40316944] and enjoyed it. But it didn't end on a cliff-hanger, so I was in no real hurry to start Unseemly Science. As it turned out, I waited a bit too long. By the time I read this, I'd forgotten a lot about the world of the Gas-Lit Empire, and while I remembered why Elizabeth was taking refuge in the Republic, I couldn't remember much else about her or several of the other characters. Maybe all that forgetting was part of why I didn't like this book as much. The first part of the book, when Elizabeth struggles to avoid being extradited to the Kingdom, failed to grab me. I'd been hoping for a mystery, and the plot I was getting was realistic and tense, but not what I'd been expecting. When Elizabeth does get a mystery to solve, the book picks up speed, and I got to that good place where you can barely make yourself put the book down. And I'll probably read [b:The Custodian of Marvels|25488847|The Custodian of Marvels (Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire, #3)|Rod Duncan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1443099070s/25488847.jpg|45263398] sometime (preferably before I forget all the world-building details again)—I'm still waiting for that promised fall of the Gas-Lit Empire!