Series: LONDON STEAMPUNK
Plot Type: SMR, HIS, Steampunk fantasy
Ratings: V4; S4; H2
Publisher and Titles: Sourcebooks
Kiss of Steel (9/2012)
Heart of Iron (5/2013)
WORLD-BUILDING
In this world, the vampirism—called the craving virus—first manifested itself in the Far East, where the Imperial family of China viewed the virus as a divine gift. When an English traveler became infected, he wrote a book about his adventures and sold his blood to the aristocracy as he traveled, spreading the virus across Europe, primarily to France and England. The French blue bloods were wiped out during the French Revolution, which frightened the English blue bloods into building their own security force called the Guild of Hunters, which uses both mechanical and human soldiers. The robotic soldiers are metal jackets, which shoot fire, and earth shakers, which can tunnel underground. The human troops are called the Nighthawks—blue bloods who are infected with the virus and then pressed into military service.
Aristocratic society in London is called the Echelon, and it is ruled by the blue bloods. Echelon males usually undergo a blooding ritual when they are 15 years old during which they are infected with the craving virus through an injection of infected blood. This gives them increased strength and stamina, better vision, longevity, and freedom from disease, but it means that they must sustain themselves on human blood. It also sentences them to a horrible end-of-life cycle during which they will inevitably "fade"—transitioning from blue blood to vampire, a mindlessly violent condition from which there is no recovery. Once a blue blood becomes a vampire, he is executed.
The powerful blue bloods of the Great Houses rule society with an iron fist. They are mostly arrogant egotists who abuse their powers and don't worry too much about anyone but themselves. The females in Echelon society generally spend their lives as thralls—blood sources for the blue bloods. Although the law purportedly prohibits a blue blood from infecting others—especially the unwilling, the arrogant blue bloods do what they want, and they sometimes infect a person just for the novelty of it. Not everyone makes it through the change process; some become vampires instead of blue bloods and must be killed immediately.
The powerful blue bloods of the Great Houses rule society with an iron fist. They are mostly arrogant egotists who abuse their powers and don't worry too much about anyone but themselves. The females in Echelon society generally spend their lives as thralls—blood sources for the blue bloods. Although the law purportedly prohibits a blue blood from infecting others—especially the unwilling, the arrogant blue bloods do what they want, and they sometimes infect a person just for the novelty of it. Not everyone makes it through the change process; some become vampires instead of blue bloods and must be killed immediately.
England is ruled by the Prince Consort, a blue blood whose human Queen is frequently drugged and is just a puppet under his power. The citizens of London are forced to pay blood taxes to the blue bloods, and many of them also sell their blood to the drainers (wholesale blood dealers) in order to survive in this poverty-stricken city.
Werewolves (aka verwulfen) also exist in this world, but not many because the blue bloods killed most of them off, believing them to be dangerous enemies. The Scandinavian countries are ruled by the verwulfen, and in Germany they are used in the military.
This series has many similarities to Kate Locke's IMMORTAL EMPIRE SERIES, which is also London steampunk with an aristocratic vampire class. Click HERE to read my review of that series.
BOOK 1: Kiss of Steel
The heroine of book 1 is Honoria ("Honor") Todd, a young woman who has been forced to move herself and her siblings to Whitechapel after the murder of her father, an inventor and a scientist involved in attempts to create a serum that will cure the craving virus. Whitechapel—an East End neighborhood that has been nicknamed the Rookery—is under the control of Blade, a rogue blue blood with the nickname "Devil of Whitechapel." Honor is making her living teaching young women how to fit into high society so that they can become successful thralls. Her sister, Lena, works in a clock factory, and their brother, Charley, is quite ill, actually in the beginning stages of the craving virus. After their father's murder, the three had to make a quick escape from the Duke of Vickers, a powerful blue blood who had been making violent sexual threats against Honor. Honor has hidden her family deep in the Rookery, hoping to keep out of Vickers's sight.
One day, Honor is commanded to appear before Blade, who has heard that Vickers has put a price on her head and is wondering just what is going on. He requires payment from Honoria for the safety of her and her family, and she fears that her safe haven in the Rookery is in danger and that Blade is a villain just like Vickers. What she doesn't know is that Vickers was the one who infected Blade with the craving virus when he was just a boy and then engineered his out-of-control blood lust into madness that caused him to kill his own beloved sister. Blade's goal has always been to kill Vickers for what he has done. Blade is nearing the fade—the point at which his dark side will take over and he will lose all control.
The plot follows the budding romance between Honor and Blade as both withhold secrets for one another until well into the story. The love story plays out nicely—without the ubiquitous instantaneous love/lust/sex found in many series. Instead, the two proceed cautiously; they're attracted to one another but slow to act on that attraction. That builds the sexual tension and allows the romance to simmer to its inevitable boil. The action part of the story is built around Blade's search for a vicious vampire who is killing people in the Rookery and who seems to be fixated on the Todd siblings. Of course, Vickers is a part of the action as well, and the reader knows from the beginning that he will get his comeuppance eventually.
This has the makings of a good solid series. The steampunk isn't overwhelming; there's just enough to flavor the story (e.g., steam carriages, robotic soldiers). The characters are well drawn, and the hero and heroine are particularly well developed. We get their full back-stories and understand the reasons both are afraid to trust and to love. Honor has one or two TSTL moments, but on the whole, she is a courageous and intelligent heroine. Blade is the typical tortured alpha hero who has trouble communicating and has always believed that he will never find true love. The author tells a good story, and she threads the angst through the story lines in a skillful and graceful manner, for both the main and supporting characters.
Book two will tell the love story of Lena Todd, Honor's sister, and Will Carver, Blade's verwulfen sidekick. That book will deal with the Humans First Party, a nascent humanist movement that is forming in opposition to London's vicious blue bloods. Click HERE to read an excerpt from that book.
Just one last word about the cover art: Neither of the characters pictured on the cover appears in this book. Honoria is a buttoned-up, proper lady who would never show her legs in public, not to mention the fact that she is malnourished and exhausted through most of the book. Blade has white-blond hair and extremely pale skin because he is so close to the fade. I'm guessing that the publisher is marketing this as an urban fantasy and chose a cover design that is stereotypical for that genre.
One day, Honor is commanded to appear before Blade, who has heard that Vickers has put a price on her head and is wondering just what is going on. He requires payment from Honoria for the safety of her and her family, and she fears that her safe haven in the Rookery is in danger and that Blade is a villain just like Vickers. What she doesn't know is that Vickers was the one who infected Blade with the craving virus when he was just a boy and then engineered his out-of-control blood lust into madness that caused him to kill his own beloved sister. Blade's goal has always been to kill Vickers for what he has done. Blade is nearing the fade—the point at which his dark side will take over and he will lose all control.
The plot follows the budding romance between Honor and Blade as both withhold secrets for one another until well into the story. The love story plays out nicely—without the ubiquitous instantaneous love/lust/sex found in many series. Instead, the two proceed cautiously; they're attracted to one another but slow to act on that attraction. That builds the sexual tension and allows the romance to simmer to its inevitable boil. The action part of the story is built around Blade's search for a vicious vampire who is killing people in the Rookery and who seems to be fixated on the Todd siblings. Of course, Vickers is a part of the action as well, and the reader knows from the beginning that he will get his comeuppance eventually.
This has the makings of a good solid series. The steampunk isn't overwhelming; there's just enough to flavor the story (e.g., steam carriages, robotic soldiers). The characters are well drawn, and the hero and heroine are particularly well developed. We get their full back-stories and understand the reasons both are afraid to trust and to love. Honor has one or two TSTL moments, but on the whole, she is a courageous and intelligent heroine. Blade is the typical tortured alpha hero who has trouble communicating and has always believed that he will never find true love. The author tells a good story, and she threads the angst through the story lines in a skillful and graceful manner, for both the main and supporting characters.
Book two will tell the love story of Lena Todd, Honor's sister, and Will Carver, Blade's verwulfen sidekick. That book will deal with the Humans First Party, a nascent humanist movement that is forming in opposition to London's vicious blue bloods. Click HERE to read an excerpt from that book.
Just one last word about the cover art: Neither of the characters pictured on the cover appears in this book. Honoria is a buttoned-up, proper lady who would never show her legs in public, not to mention the fact that she is malnourished and exhausted through most of the book. Blade has white-blond hair and extremely pale skin because he is so close to the fade. I'm guessing that the publisher is marketing this as an urban fantasy and chose a cover design that is stereotypical for that genre.
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