The Trident of Merrow by Amber Marshall and Kristopher Lewis (2011)

Smashwords / Amazon / Author’s Site

3/5 stars

Description:
Toshala Flemmish has been waiting for her chance for years. A tomboyish steam mechanic, she has been beneath the notice of Germaine Billings since they were children. Today is different. Today, Tosh has a new dress, a new look, and will not be denied. Unless of course she’s kidnapped by pirates at the behest of a monster from her childhood nightmares. Now Tosh is getting the attention she’s wanted all along as her father sends Germaine in pursuit of the pirates. The race through the seas and skies begins, and unless she can escape, Tosh will be sacrificed to resurrect a demon god who will plunge the island nations of Aquan beneath the ocean.

Review:
Readers who enjoy their adventure stirred with some romance will find much to like in The Trident of Merrow. The story moves swiftly, following two separate crews:  the Sea Drake, where Tosh is imprisoned by the pirate Jebediah Blud and a powerful Strega witch with an agenda, and the Gallows Jig, captained by Tosh’s childhood friend Germaine . From mutiny and sea monsters to airships and ancient rituals, The Trident of Merrow delivers action at a blistering pace.

The first pages immediately throw the reader into Tosh’s world: not just a mapping of the circumstances surrounding her current life but also a taste of the place she inhabits. She and her father live in Kingsport but their lives and trade revolve around the Shardsea. By the end of the chapter (it must be noted that the chapters are relatively short), Tosh’s adventure is already well underway. The action is instinctive. It sweeps the readers from the sea into the air; one can almost hear the John Williams soundtrack.

I liked how the magic elements were handled here. Ships employ a weather mage, with limited but useful abilities to calm huge waves or dispel a fog, but who can also appeal to and negotiate with various elementals to help them with more difficult tasks. I also enjoyed reading about the melding of magic and technology; at one point they even use it to create the Aquan equivalent of a missile.

Another interesting aspect of the story is its mythology. Aquan gods and goddesses are binaries: brothers and sisters are also rivals locked in battle. For instance, the Strega witches worship the Abyssal Lord Merrow as the god of the sea while sailors believe in Tryta, the Harlot Mother of Tides. I thought this framed the other binaries of the narrative quite nicely: magic and technology, the Gallows Jig and the Sea Drake, the Rozinante and the Colossus, Germaine and Massimo.

Unfortunately, Tosh is not as strong a character as she first appears to be. It’s evident that the authors tried to distance her from other literary damsels in distress by making her useful and allowing her attempts to rescue herself from her captors (she’s a steam mechanic, with life skills that come in handy once in a while). But there’s something about her that just falls short of being a compelling and relatable lead. It seemed rather unfortunate that the story’s main conflict revolved around Tosh and Massimo when they could be counted among the weaker characters.

However, that doesn’t diminish the impact of the other characters in the story. The Brinhold twins, Brion and Gage, are colorful members of the team who present interesting perspectives. Their backstory alone paints an intriguing culture and dynamic that I hope can be further explored should the authors choose to expand the book into a series. There is also Ama, the resident Manic Pixie Girl-type, an endearing addition to the story even if she only appears in the latter half of the book. Even Germaine, the knight errant, has moments of conflict and introspection, which surprised me because I had expected him to be a one-dimensional character. They might all fill certain stock roles, but they evade the predictability of their tropes just enough to ensure that the story remains memorable.

Despite the non-stop adventure, readers are constantly reminded that The Trident of Merrow is also a romance. In fact, it ends with a realization on Tosh’s behalf regarding the nature of love: not as a rosy-colored, sugar-coated fantasy [but]… seeing someone at their worst, a filthy keening animal. Wise words, but when concluded by someone whose own romance unfolds like the nautical equivalent of the Stockholm Syndrome, it just doesn’t deliver the desired impact. It’s actually the romances in the story that prevent me from fully enjoying the story; sometimes it can get cloying, other times just plain confusing.

Though The Trident of Merrow winds down to a predictable conclusion (the final confrontation with the Big Bad seems almost anti-climactic), there are a lot of moments in the journey that are exhilarating. Young adult readers will enjoy this alternative to the sword-and-sorcery medieval fantasy, and even older ones won’t regret a brief afternoon spent lost among the waves of the Shardsea.

You might like this if you like…
Pirates, airships, brooding emo boys, krakens as pets

High Society by Paolo Chikiamco and Hannah Buena (2011)

Flipreads / Amazon / iTunes

4/5 stars

Description:
Take your first step into a world of automata, magic, and alternative history! The year is 1764, and, for the first time in nearly two centuries, the Spanish forces have been repelled from the great walled city of Manila. While the Spaniards are quick to lay the blame at the feet of the invading British and their clockwork machines, the secret to the success of the Filipinos may lie closer to home, with an ally that is both ancient and new, mythical and mechanical. “High Society” is a stand-alone steampunk comic book in the “Wooden War” series.

Review:
High Society is an excellent start to a steampunk comic series set in Spanish colonial era Philippines, an alternate history take on the struggle for independence. The issue is in black and white and only 24 pages long, but it’s packed with adventure, creative world-building, and an inspiring spirit.

Chikiamco’s 18th century setting weaves together steampunk and Filipino mythology in an innovative way, but it’s not done for novelty—they’re part of the post-colonial themes that the series promises to explore. It’s not post-colonial merely in the strict historical sense (in the fight against Spain), but it’s also about reclaiming a people’s humanity and self-determination.

Did you know, that before the Spanish arrived, we had a goddess of lost things? I wonder if everything we’ve ever lost is still out there somewhere…

When the Carpenter whispered that line, my eyes welled up. The last time I had that emotional reaction to a comic was in The Watchmen, during the final conversation between Doctor Manhattan and Laurie Juspeczyk. Maybe High Society has such a strong tug on my heart strings because I am both a Filipina and an immigrant, but I’m confident that readers of all backgrounds will find the characters and their aspirations compelling.

Rita is an intriguing heroine, skilled at both courtly intrigue and whoop-their-ass action. It’s delightful that the story is told from her point of view, clearly illustrating how she feels about the Spanish. I’d love to learn more about her.

The comic does a good job of immersing the reader in the setting while still keeping it accessible for readers who aren’t familiar with the Philippines. I love details like the use of Filipino sound effects (e.g “bog!” instead of “wham!”). There are a few Filipino and Spanish terms thrown around, but they’re not used excessively, and you’d be able to infer the meaning from context. What non-Filipino audiences would need some getting used to is the mythology, but that’s what Wikipedia is for. There’s a mini glossary of terms at the end, which is helpful, but not necessary to enjoying this wonderful issue.

Buena’s art is expressive and dynamic, with a subtle manga influence that makes everything extra adorable. It has a bit of of a sketchy feel because some of the pencils are visible, but it I think it’s aesthetically pleasing. I’m not an expert on comic art, but there were a few panels that would have benefited from more value contrast. The art is bursting with life, the composition is great, but there’s a lot of detail which sometimes overwhelms the primary action. Using more contrast would help the reader figure out what to focus on. That’s my only teeny nitpick.

Also, a technical consideration, the Kindle version of the comic is meant to be read for e-readers/tablets with higher resolutions than the Kindle 3. Sample it first to see if you’ll find it readable on your device, but I had a better experience just reading it on my computer.

High Society is a rich alternate history adventure with a dose of post-colonial badass. I’m eager to read the next issue coming out in May 2012!

Other reviews of this comic: One More Page

You might like this if you like…
Steampunk; historical fantasy; mythology and folklore; post-colonial badass

Paolo Chikiamco is a busy chap! Other than being a spec-fic writer, he also runs Rocket Kapre, an independent publisher of speculative fiction from the Philippines. There’s actually a short story anthology coming out this week called Alternative Alamat, featuring contemporary fantasy writers retelling Philippine mythology. Yes, it’s coming out in ebook form, and it’s definitely worth a look.

You can listen to a podcast interview with Paolo about this comic and other projects on Charles Tan’s blog.

FYI: Charles Tan is a famous spec-fic blogger with SF Signal, and has worked hard to put Philippine spec-fic on the map. There’s lots of fascinating stuff coming out of that community. I’m so glad that the ebook revolution is here!

Look Homeward, Clockwork Angel by Elias Anderson and E.C. Belikov (2011)

Smashwords / Amazon / Author’s Site

3/5 stars

Description:
Stanford Parker has a choke-hold on the legalized slave industry. Breeding his brand of clones for whatever horror his clients may have in mind—from hard labor to spare organs—there’s no questioning his product’s quality. But his days may be numbered when someone hires the crew of the airship Masamune to put him out of business. Violet: the gun-slinging airship captain, Moriarty: a disgraced former Inspector, and Tibbs: a genius inventor struggling with a ‘pheta addiction, have a tall order in front of them in bringing down Parker’s heavily defended ranch. They have a plan, but a secret from one of their pasts will endanger the mission; tensions between Violet and Tibbs over differing moral ideals will heighten; and Moriarty’s inquisitive nature will draw him to ask: why haven’t they met their client?

Look Homeward, Clockwork Angel is the first in a series of Steam Punk novellas and stories chronicling the harrowing post-apocalyptic adventures of the crew of the airship Masamune and the lives they touch along the way.

Review:
Though the premise makes it look like your standard-issue adventure fare, Look Homeward, Clockwork Angel plumbs unexpected depths to make the reading experience quite worth your while. The prose is certainly hardworking. It never lets the reader forget its steampunk roots as it weaves generous descriptions and terminologies into the alternative western story. I didn’t feel that there was an excess of information provided; the wordbuilding was on-key. Unfortunately, there are times when the text descends into dry, almost didactic narrative of the tell, not show variety (‘Moriarty now sat down to a hot meal and thought back at that fiery day, seven months ago, when what was now his family, for better or worse, had come together’ p20) and forced sentiment (Violet compares a suitor to ‘a lone rose in the middle of a pallid desert wasteland’ p32). Thankfully, the uneveness doesn’t last long. At 30,000 or so words, things tend to move pretty quickly. Aside from an obligatory origin chapter, the action is managed well, each move calculated, nothing wasted.

I was ready to write this off as a run-of-the-mill action-adventure story when the last few chapters happened. This is when things really get interesting, and it switches the dynamic of the story from a oneshot adventure session into a harsh moral dilemma. Although there are already hints of issues cropping up in previous chapters (most intriguing for me was the Augmentation Society and its implications), what occurs in the last third of the book is a major turning point not just for the story but for the world it inhabits.

I thought the characters here were a mixed bag. Take Violet, the captain. I don’t adhere to the school of thought that to escape female stereotypes, a beautiful woman must be anti-female; in this novella, Violet hates dresses and heels, hates being ordered for, hates being reminded that she is a woman. Even when her past is revealed and in the light of what had happened to her, I believe we can expect more challenging characterizations from our authors than the shopworn variety. I’m also not convinced of Moriarty’s role in this enterprise. I’m guessing his presence in the triumvirate is to be the moral compass, the everyman that may give the readers familiar ground, but so far there is little development in his area. The most intriguing character in my opinion is Tibbs, whom at first I had written off as a mere third wheel. In the course of the novel he had leaped to the forefront as a gamechanger. Most of your questions about the characters are answered by the time the novella closes, and I appreciated that the authors didn’t feel the need to tease the readers more than was necessary.

One thing that greatly bothered me in this book was the way Violet, Moriarty, and Tibbs treated Harris, a secondary character who had the job they needed to fulfill theirs. Suffice to say that it left me just as horrified as what Parker had been doing at his ranch. Whether it had been deliberately made to add to the existing issues of the book or not, it had me reassessing my opinion of the crew.

Let’s talk marketing and branding for a moment. Judging books by their cover is a reader-response that most authors must deal with. Look Homeward, Clockwork Angel‘s own cover is cleanly-executed but it has grim and serious quality to it. While it does echoes the heavier themes that the novella bravely tackles, I also think the tough alternative western, action-adventure aspect of the novella could be further highlighted to draw more interest to the e-book. Another suggestion would be tighter editing. The western slang adds color and can’t be faulted, but the novella could use another editing eye (with careful attention to comma use).

In the end, despite my problems with the uneven prose, I still found this a solid effort and a laudably courageous start. It looks like there is plenty to look forward to — both in action and in character growth — as the rest of the series unfolds.

You might like this if you like…
Steampunk; alternate westerns; action-adventure; Firefly

The Emperor’s Edge by Lindsay Buroker (2010)

Smashwords / Amazon / Author’s Site

4/5 stars

Description:
Imperial law enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon is good at her job: she can deter thieves and pacify thugs, if not with a blade, then by toppling an eight-foot pile of coffee canisters onto their heads. But when ravaged bodies show up on the waterfront, an arson covers up human sacrifices, and a powerful business coalition plots to kill the emperor, she feels a tad overwhelmed.

Worse, Sicarius, the empire’s most notorious assassin, is in town. He’s tied in with the chaos somehow, but Amaranthe would be a fool to cross his path. Unfortunately, her superiors order her to hunt him down. Either they have an unprecedented belief in her skills… or someone wants her dead.

Review:
The Emperor’s Edge is a charming and exhilarating fantasy adventure set in an era of steam. It follows Amaranthe, a lawful good-type police officer, who ends up being charged for crimes against the throne. She finds herself working with unlikely allies, including an amoral assassin, as they try to stop nefarious plots to kill the emperor, with a lot of adventure, mystery, and humour.

It’s fast-paced, action-packed, and it grabbed me right from the first page. It keeps a playful tone with a lot of banter and witty commentary on each page. With the writing style’s wit and genre-savvy moments, I’ll venture out on a limb and compare it to Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series. Buroker also does the world-building so smoothly that the reader doesn’t notice that they’ve absorbed essence of the city of “Stumps” with each newspaper headline of bear attacks on Wharf Street and each strange beheaded statue.

The world is really interesting. It’s high fantasy, yet it takes place in an empire where magic is outlawed and is only used by foreign subversives or urban gangs. Amaranthe working as an enforcer is quite the exception, as women have dominated the eras of commerce, but haven’t been accepted in other sectors of this militaristic empire. It’s filled with lively interactions between denizens of various social classes, and it makes the setting very distinctive.

Amaranthe is a likeable and memorable protagonist. She has some combat ability, but her skill lies in persuading others to work with her and coming up with creative ways to solve problems. There’s quite a bit of chasing, escaping, and combat, and it’s all refreshingly fun to read because of the original methods she employs. She uses a lot of odd props and the environment to her advantage, and comes up with a zany but practical plan to save the emperor. The other characters are also lively individuals with a lot of depth, and I liked every member of their misfit crew.

What makes this book especially strong is the conflict between Amaranthe’s goals and the amoral approaches to attaining them. While there are a few evil guys, everyone else is just a normal person doing their jobs. She feels sympathy for many of the mooks that they have to take down, because she used to be an enforcer just like them. I liked how she didn’t take the decision to harm others lightly, and the choices she made were consistent with her values.

There were a few eyebrow-raising moments. I felt like that a few humourous quips were taken too far, as they didn’t fit the tone of the scene. I was also a bit skeptical of the extent of Amaranthe’s ability to charm others. Somehow for me, it wasn’t established that Amaranthe was that charming until midway through the story. But these moments only happen a couple of times, so these are minor nitpicks that won’t affect your enjoyment of this book.

The Emperor’s Edge is a fantastic novel, and it’s one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read this year. If you’re looking for a fantasy adventure, you really can’t go wrong with this one. It’s highly recommended and I’m definitely reading the sequel.

Other reviews of The Emperor’s Edge: SFBook, Reader review by m. s. jackson

You might like this if you like…
Steampunk, a fantasy adventure with a sense of humour, Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series, intelligent protagonists that find creative ways of knocking down/subverting mooks, some pretty zany city architecture

If you’re looking for a new fantasy series to follow, you’re in luck! The sequel, Dark Currents, is already out on Smashwords and Amazon, and with more installments to come. I also reviewed Flash Gold, which shares a similar mix of (1) action-packed fantasy adventure (2) wintery steampunk setting (3) female protagonist with moxie partnered up with a tall, dark, and assassiney sorta fellow. Encrypted is set in the same world as The Emperor’s Edge and it’s also been getting excellent reviews.

Reader Review: The Emperor’s Edge by Lindsay Buroker (2010)

Smashwords / Amazon / Author’s Site

Hey, it’s our first reader review! This review is from m. s. jackson who blogs at Lapsus Calumni. He reviews fantasy books and blogs about fantasy, RPGs, and other sorts of goodness.

Reader rating for The Emperor’s Edge: 4/5 stars

I will be honest, I picked up this eBook with a bit of trepidation. Ms Buroker is a new, fledging author and even though I loved her other book, I wondered if Flash Gold could have been a fluke. I will also admit the cover threw me off. Looking at the cover (I had not seen the previous cover), it reminded me of some dramatic rambling historical love story, or one of those serious thought provoking explorations of love amid the backdrop of World War II on an Indian island.

That said, wow was I wrong!

The book is sub-titled “A high fantasy novel in an era of steam” and is a hybrid of Victorian era stylings with touches of steam technology and fantasy elements such as slight magical effects and spells. Neither of these play too much importance in the story. Magic only affects the story by forcing the characters to take certain paths mainly because they themselves have almost zero access to magic. This setting is exactly the sort of thing I enjoy and has all of my favorite things. Lindsay, add a zeppelin and I could marry you.

I will set up the tale briefly. The book tells the tale of a strong, smart and exceptionally able young woman named, Amaranthe Lokdon. Due to Ms Buroker’s great skill at writing, I will put aside my normal complaint of odd names that are a pain to mentally read each time I come across them in text.

Amaranthe is what amounts to a beat cop as the story begins, but she soon finds herself thrown into the middle of a mysterious whirlwind of crime, royalty, and organized crime. Beginning as a bit goody-two-shoes and wet-behind-the-ears regulation spouting stuffy she changes during the course of the book. As the story unfolds, Amaranthe comes into her own and ends up being a confident and formidable opponent, usually not by her skill at weapons, but her deft and admirable wit. She is a very likable and interesting character. I often found myself chuckling at the sidebar mental comments she has, especially when she is dealing with the other main characters in the book. Ms Buroker is amazingly witty in her prose.

I do not want to give away too much, but the colorful troupe of characters she ends up running with are some of the most entertaining fellows one could hope to meet. Maldynado, I think I spelled it right, was instantly my favorite and his interaction with Amaranthe are some of my favorite in the book. The budding romances Amaranthe finds herself drawn into (mind you these never get beyond thought and in no way is this a romantic story) add depth and sub-plots that the author could easily expound upon in the future.

Each of the characters are well thought out and have a recognizable ‘voice’ if you know what I mean, making conversations easily read without the usual descriptors to define who is speaking. The individual side plots of redemption and discovering that you are more than a simple hunky model, or street scum, or old drunkard, or murderer are all engaging and make you want the character to not only survive their ordeal, but rise to the top. There is a moment, oh so Hollywood, where the lead character says she will go alone, that this is not their fight and then one by one they all select to follow her. This scene is…well, heartwarming and cliché but Ms Buroker’s skill makes it hard to recognize it as cliché ! I found myself very pleased that events progressed as they did.

My only complaint with the tale was that Amaranthe seems strangely adept at getting herself into trouble throughout the book. At one point near the end, I actually said to myself “Oh goodness, she gets captured…again!” That said, these do serve a point and clearly shows the depth of Amaranthe’s growth as a character in the course of the book. In the beginning she clearly needed rescuing, not even considering an escape, by the end, escape is formulating in her mind before they have shut the cell door behind her.

I have a hard time doing this because having rated Flash Gold four stars, no doubt someone will just say I was bribed, or I am a friend of the author, but I have to say this book was so excellent, such a good read, that I am giving it four stars as well. It is easily one of the best I have read in a long time. I spent an entire Sunday, that I should have been doing other things, doing nothing but turning my digital pages, eager to see what happens next.

Do yourself a favor and get in on the early works of a great up coming author, and don’t miss the great adventure she has spun for us to enjoy.

This review can also be found on m. s. jackson’s blog here.

Thanks to m. s. jackson for the review. I’m reviewing The Emperor’s Edge in a little bit, so it’ll be interesting to compare our thoughts on the book. My first introduction to Buroker’s work was also Flash Gold. It’s starting to make me wonder if her books could be described as (1) action-packed fantasy adventure (2) set in a steampunky and cold environment (3) female protagonist with moxie paired up with a tall, dark, and assassiney sort of guy. Feel free to chime in if you’re familiar with Buroker’s other work. I’m not complaining about that mix (especially when I really enjoyed it the first time around), but it’s hard to not notice the similarities 😛

Lovers and Beloveds: An Intimate History of the Greater Kingdom by MeiLin Miranda (2010)

Smashwords / Amazon / Author’s Site

4/5 stars

Description:
Naive and sheltered Prince Temmin, Heir of Tremont, is newly arrived from his peaceful childhood home to his father King Harsin’s intrigue-filled court in the City. He quickly finds himself the target of assassins sent by enemies he didn’t even know he had, confronted with his past mistakes by his family’s immortal advisor Teacher, and falling for the beautiful twins Allis and Issak.

But the twins are holy figures, the embodiments on earth of the Gods known as the Lovers. To be with the twins, Temmin must serve in the Lovers’ Temple for two years, the fulfillment of a prophecy so old it’s moved into folklore. Harsin believes its fulfillment will mean the end of the monarchy, and does everything he can to stop it.

Haunted by stories of his ancestors found in a magic book, Temmin must choose a path: one will lead to ultimate glory for Tremont, one will lead to its end, but no one knows which path is which.

Review:

“If the women were so important, why aren’t they in the histories?”

-Prince Temmin

If George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series captures the gritty realism of medieval history, Lovers and Beloveds reveals the intimate and personal dynamics of power in aristocracies. It weaves together a rich multi-layered story that explores how sex and power shape history and individual destiny—sharing a perspective that’s beyond the “men, swords, and thrones” (capital H) history that’s often seen in fantasy.

It follows Temmin coming of age as he gains a fuller understanding of the responsibilities that he holds with his privilege. He learns about intimacy and dominance from court servants, religious figures, and an ancestor’s curse. What is coercion, trust, and consent? How would he rule differently from previous rulers?

The prose is lush and beautiful, which perfectly reflects the aristocratic steampunk world that Temmin lives in. The setting is fascinating and could be described as a fusion of Victorian England with Classical Greece. The narrative draws you in quickly and immerses you in life in the royal court. The characters of various classes are fleshed out with interactions that are full of wit and colour. Since sex is an important theme in the work, it’s heavy on the erotica, but it’s woven well into the plot and setting that none of it feels excessive. Also, it doesn’t hurt to have plenty of fetish fuel to go around.

Since most of the conflict revolves around Temmin’s personal development, it does follow a spoiled royal heir for over 400 pages, which understandably may not be for everyone. But I found him to be so well characterized and endearing that none of that mattered to me. I find it refreshing to see characters that are such a clear product of their upbringing and personal history. Regarding the world-building, there are some words mentioned that’s only explained in a glossary, but it’s a minor nitpick that wouldn’t affect your enjoyment of this book.

This is an intelligent, insightful, and beautiful fantasy novel. I highly recommend Lovers and Beloveds. The term “fantasy erotica” can’t describe the depth of this work. Even if you don’t think this subgenre is for you, I urge you to read the sample anyway and see if it draws you in. I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Other reviews of Lovers and Beloveds: Fantasy Book Critic, MotherLode

You might like this if you like…
Jacqueline Carey, court intrigue, “story in a story” narrative structures, plenty of fetish fuel goodness

If you grabbed the book from the free giveaway and liked the book, please consider giving a Paypal donation to the author.

Lovers and Beloveds was a crowdfunded project. Based on a draft posted in installments on the web, fans bought $2500 worth of pre-sale packages so the author could hire a professional editor, typographer and cover artist. In return, those fans wanted only the story received the advance manuscript, an ebook, and an autographed paperback with their name in the acknowledgments. Well, that explains the awesome Art Nouveau cover and the perfectly polished nature of the book. I’d be ecstatic if the $13.99 ebooks I bought from big publishers were as properly edited and formatted as this. Hats off to the indies!

Steampunk Adventure in the Yukon: Flash Gold by Lindsay Buroker (2011)

Smashwords / Amazon / Author’s Site

4/5 stars

Description:
Eighteen-year-old Kali McAlister wants to leave Moose Hollow forever. She enters a 3-day dog sled race to win the grand prize of a thousand dollars with her steam-powered “dogless” contraption.

While that’s already a lot of pressure–bandits, treasure seekers, and airship pirates are out to sabotage her race as they want to steal her father’s alchemical secret–the flash gold.

Review:
This is an enjoyable adventure novella. The steampunk creations fit well with the Yukon gold rush setting and adds a rich flavour to a fast-paced race and chase plot.

Kali is a fun heroine–she’s got moxie and a host of creative bombs and modified weapons. Her gadgeteer genius skills would make Tony Stark jealous. Most of her interaction with others take the form of banter and gunfire, which makes her my kind of lady.

She’s accompanied by Cedar, a mysterious sword-slinging bodyguard, and the dynamic between the two characters is brilliant. They don’t know what to make of each other, but they still manage to fight off bandits and saboteurs while dodging airborne harpoon attacks.

My only complaint is that it just feels like the beginning of an even bigger adventure, as some of the details are more like hints that teases the reader. The world of steampunk Yukon with Kali and Cedar is rich and promising–calling for a full-length novel. I suppose that’s more praise than complaint, because I’d be the first in line to read any sequels that Buroker releases next.

Review blogs such as the Fantasy Book Critic and SFBook Reviews have recently covered Buroker’s other work, Encrypted, and gave it very positive reviews. The Scattering will also be reviewing Encrypted in August. There’s a reason why her books are making waves in the blogosphere–she writes great SF and is definitely a new author to watch.

Other reviews of Flash Gold: Mythik Imagination, Reading the Paranormal.

You might like this if you like…
Steampunk, Jack London, YA with no vampires or paranormals, a good old 3-day sled race with an army of thugs ready to harpoon you

P.S. Lindsay Buroker over at her E-book Endeavors blog has some great posts about e-publishing and marketing. It’s a great site for anyone who’s interested in seeing how authors are doing it right in the new publishing age.