I couldn't finish this book. I could barely start it. It's just a stupid rehash of every post feminist fantasy steampunk cliche I've ever seen. I gave it 70 pages and gave up.

I think a better medium for this story would be graphic novel, since it was the cover that sold me on the book. In a graphic novel, you'd have some nice art, a lot less pseudo-Victorian narrative to wade through, and you could finish it in twenty minutes. It's not worth a second more of anybody's life than that. I give it two stars for the cover.

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It's a zany quirky and delightful read among the most unlikely and imagined mechanical creatures. Emma Bannon, a sorceress extraordinaire, seeks to protect the queen of a very different British Isles known as Brittania. The book is labeled as steam punk but the author called it fantasy with a few ideas thrown in to make the story better. And, better it is, so much better.

The cast of human characters includes an analyical mentath, Archibald Clare, who is interested in how just about everything works. He is so different from Bannon that the contrasting two form a wonderfully compatible pair to investigate and derail the threats to the throne. Actually, there are three threats so the cast enlarges to include two shields whose primary role is to protect Miss Bannon unless told to do otherwise, a German entrepreneur who loves all things mechanical and an Italian murderer who works for hire.

The tale is fast paced and serious as the group seeks to halt the threats to the queen who herself holds the wisdom of past monarchs in her mind. I loved this rollicking story as it zooms from scene to scene and meets so many dangers. Miss Bannon escapes death again and again with the help of her cohorts. In short, this is a read that is just pure fun. Kudos to the author for her writing, plot and unforgetable characters.

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