Good intro to the world of steampunk
348910
***I received a free copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review***

Being only loosely familiar with the Steampunk genre, I was really excited about sinking my teeth into this. Right off the bat, Ms. Creeden sets up an incredible world full of cogs and steam-powered gadgetry, and gives us a fierce, worthy-of-adoration heroine to take us through her tale. I can forgive a lot for a badass with a crossbow and the ability to rock a corset.

I didn't really need to forgive much, however -- while there are a few plot points I felt were a little tropey, and some smatterings of redundant prose I think were left over from the original breakdown of four separate parts of the story, those were relatively minor and not really in need of a lot of waxing on about. The central struggle centers around Raven and the young Baron Darius, who needs her protecting from his malicious father. Raven doesn't seem much the maternal-type, given her long journey as a reaper (assassin), but the bond forged between the pair is really excellently done without being hammy. Jack Grant, of the sinister Duke's employ, adds a little touch of swoon-worthiness to the proceedings, but really, its the lush world they traverse that's the star of the story.

Definitely recommend to those wishing to dip their toes into the realm of steampunk, and who want a badass heroine to cheer on while they're at it.
2374238
One of the best steampunk books I've read. The characters were interesting with flaws and faults that made them seem like real people even though they are part of a fantastical era. Both authors did a wonderful job of keeping the characters' voices clear and full of personality without over doing it. I saw a few reviews that complained about the editing, but I didn't see too many problems in that area--and I am a book editor. It's written with English phrasing/spelling (as it should be considering the setting) and not American English, which might confuse some people.

I've already picked up the next book in the series to start soon.
1308467
Camera Obscura by Lavie Tidhar is a fascinating steampunk novel. I read this novel as an e-galley without having read the previous novel, Bookman. The book stood well on its own; however, I am sure that I missed some finer points of the story for having missed the previous book.  Camera Obscura is a story of individuals, and the larger world, under siege from something that most people are unaware of even existing.

Lady de Winters works for an underground government, the Council, doing their dirty work. On the job investigating a murder, she discovers a strange grey infection that is reanimating the dead. No one is telling anyone else everything they know about the infection, the murders or the missing object. However, everyone wants to find a special object that is at the heart of the infection. But just what is the object? Is it a living creature, machine, key, or something no one can imagine?  Why does everyone what it so badly and what are their plans for it? In addition, what are the plans of that object or those that made it? There is also the murderous former agent the Phantom who is torturing and killing women, who De Winter is compelled to stop despite it being outside her orders.

The characters in Camera Obscura are engaging and well explored, with hints of characters that you might think you now. Because of se new flavors to old names, there was the occasional feel of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which was made even stronger by the steampunk elements. There was a little bit of a Doctor Who feel to the story as well mainly found in the combination of the fantastic accepted with a practicality that is often present in that series . References to nineteenth century literature and culture abound, which made the story that much more interesting to me.

Camera Obscura is a fast-paced story is full of action, adventure and mystery. However, it is not for everyone. The story is told from a couple different viewpoints, which might confuse some readers. I found that it work well to explain the complexity of how the world came to the vortex of activity and danger that we witness in the story. I need to go back, read Bookman, which is about different characters in the same world, and then will likely re read Camera Obscura. Then I can only hope that another book follows so that I can further explore Tidhar's world.
3647210
I enjoyed the world building here very much. The idea of our world turned nearly upside down amply demonstrates that all people are people. A world where white men inhabit the lowest social stratum is one many women, and people of color, wish for. But as is shown in this book, even in this steampunk world, it's not a utopia.

The story is complex and engaging. The references to delicious foods made my mouth water (What? No recipes?) and managed to push the story forward without becoming a distraction. (The protagonist is a chef; what else did I expect?)

The writing would have benefited from a good editor and there were a few spots where the descriptions took over and made it hard to follow the scene. But those are cosmetic details. The story and characters and world were good and full of potential for future fun.
110731
If you're interested in attempting to create some Steampunk inventions yourself this will give you lots of ideas and even instructions on how to do it.
Teresa R.
2464366
*This Book Was Given To Me By The Author In Exchange For An Honest Review*

This is the first book I have read by new to me author Pamela Lyn and it was definitely a fun read. Steampunk is one of the bigger up and coming genres in my opinion and this book is a good one for people who may be unsure about trying it to jump in with as there is a good mix of mystery and romance thrown in too.

The characters and setting are both well written and the relationships believable but at times thigns moved a little to quickly and jumped around a little for me hence the 4 not 5 star rating. That being said I think this would be enjoyed by a large number of readers.

4 stars form me and I look forward to the sequel. V""V

***Review has been done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official.***
4520686
I downloaded this book when it was a free offering through both Amazon and Carina Press. I had never heard of the author and was only a little bit familiar with the steampunk genre, so I thought this was a good opportunity to check out something new with no risk.

Given the limitations of the book due to the novella length, I was very pleased. The characters were well-defined and the plot was fascinating. I understand that this was the sequel to Ms. Pape's Steam and Sorcery. I think the book stood up very well as a stand-alone - I wasn't aware this was a sequel until I saw the reviews.

I do agree with the reviewers who mentioned that the book's ending seemed rushed. That's the only thing that was marred by the shorter length of the book.  I've purchased Steam and Sorcery and will be interested to see what the author does with the same setting in a longer format. I would highly recommend this book as an introduction to the author's work.
2794561
I'm not really into steampunk, so keep that in mind when reading this review. It was a well written book, but too many strange gizmos (and their names) for me to really enjoy the book fully. Though I did really enjoy the plot. If you like the more eclectic stories or a die hard steampunk fan, this would definitely be the book for you.
3058021
I recently got into steampunk novels and decided to try this free read. I liked it. Willing to try out more Bec McMaster books. There is some romance, lots of intrigue and some action. It's worth trying out.
4744901
*Disclaimer: I received this book complimentary in exchange for an honest review.*

First I would like to say thank you to the author for sending me a copy of this book.
Now as for the book, I was really interested to see what this genre was about. I had never heard of the steampunk as a book category before. I have heard of the steampunk fashion, but not anything to do with reading. Or maybe I had and overlooked it, but as far as I can recall this was my first steampunk book. So this is my review from the standpoint of a newbie.
 I really liked how the author immediately jumped into the story, however, I always felt like something was missing in the beginning. Maybe a prologue or prequel. Something that would be helpful just so I could understand what was going on for the first chapter or so. Especially since this was book 1. For a good portion of the story I felt like I was reading based on a chapter missing from the beginning and it left me feeling lost at times.
I finally understood what my friend meant when she says I get excited sometimes and start in the middle of stories I am trying to relate to her. It makes it hard to get the whole picture or you feel like you are straggling behind and left out of this huge secret others are supposed to know. Because of that it took me awhile to get through the beginning of the story at certain parts because I felt left out in some way.
Jacob the Smuggler and his defiantly witty tongue proved to be just enough sarcasm and defiance where you began to expect him to say something  snarky but not where it was overdone. It wasn't a scenario where you just got irritated at Jacob to the point where you just hurl the book across the room.
Some of the mentions of coils cogs and togs (were togs in there? Did i just make that up?) again left me feeling lost and confused where I kind of got restless at points and needed to give my brain a break because the initial mention of them left me feeling lost.
I couldn't help thinking that a brief glossary would have been helpful at times. If only because I'm guessing that other steampunk writers probably have different meanings for similar terms.
On the other hand the developing friendship between Whistler and Jacob, the connection between Taberah and Jacob and the betrayal by one of those within the Order's camp was a really interesting storyline.
I know this is the first book in the series but the mention of Taberah's amulet condition made me wonder what exactly the amulets purpose was for. I was able to guesstimate it, but that came very far along in the story. Her ending outcome was a good way to draw interest to reading the second book though. Other things that were mentioned kind of led me back to the lost realm again, like the mention of Rommond and his connection with Brooklyn, or Domas and Cara and how they seemed to have known Jacob and Taberah.
Finally, why was Brogan's job still the same if he kept falling short of the job? I realize he had a connection to Taberah but maybe he would have been more useful in another position since he seemed to have a shortcoming of the need to gab.
I'm also not a fan of anything to do with demons but that's a personal preference and I had no way or knowing that there were any in this story. However it was a mention here or there. Nothing too overwhelming or enough to make me quit reading midway through though.
In conclusion, I look forward to reading more pieces from Dean F. Wilson in the future.
4427158
Great start to a steampunk series but overly violent (dismemberment).  Superb artwork but a bit of bait and switch since Green Hornet and Kato don't show up in costume (you might miss them).  Wouldn't have known that the heroine was Vampirella if I hadn't  read it in the reviews.  Like the other one I've read in the series, a very short piece of the story's arc.
1174988
I was fortunate to be able to get this one on the kindle for free. It was certainly worth the original 2.99 or even more.

The story is easy to follow, the storyline is enjoyable, the character development is solid.

Plenty of reviewers have already summarized the story, the bottom l line is this is a good book by a talented author. The steampunk connection is not the main focus of the story and while the genre is represented, the main focus is the story, which simply makes the story better.

Overall a worthwhile read for fans of steampunk, mystery, or those who like good stories.
3840541
This story held my attention throughout.
I have been following Andrew Knighton's blog for some time, and am pleased to see that his writing carries out the promise of his blogging.
The idea of steampunk is fascinating, and he does a good job in this short story. It is well written, with characters who engaged my sympathy, and a suspenseful plot. I am looking forward to reading his book of short stories, Riding the Mainspring.
2450181
Right up front, let me say that I'm quite pleased with this collection.

I've picked up many of the Greenberg collections over the years and I'm almost always quite pleased with them--a solid collection of ten or more stories (this book has 16) stories by writers famous and new focused on a particular topic.  In this particular case the focus is on "love stories" set in a steampunk universe.

As one might expect there are hits and misses, but the good thing about a book like this is that if a story isn't working for you it's easy to skip to the next one.  Overall I liked 13 of these stories quite a bit and found a couple of them very innovative (there's one about an adventurer in a dirigible looking for a magical city that's quite well done).

Some of the stories are "barely" steampunk and there seems to be a heavy emphasis on either airships or geared automatons rather like the one in the movie Hugo, but leaving that aside this is a great collection.

Highly recommended for any lover of good steampunk stories.

Steve
4305607
I have read both the first and second books in this series and I am anxiously awaiting further books. I experienced the same phenomenon with both of the books. The first 10% or so... I wasn't hooked. Oh I enjoyed it. I like the writing, the description of the characters, the world they live in... but something didn't just totally grab me in that "I will stay up late reading this book" sort of way. HOWEVER! Once I reached about 10% in for both of the books in the series, I was hooked.

I love these characters. Eliza D. Braun is what I envision I would be like if I were ever in that world and those situations. She's strong, fearless, but not flawless. She makes mistakes. I thought the relationship between Books and Braun was realistic. This book provides a few additional details to some of the lesser mysteries that were introduced in the first book, but not enough to solve anything, which makes me hungry for the next book in the series (unfortunately, there's no information yet on when that is coming).

The action sequences are well written, and I can picture the scene in my mind. I love the description of the tools, weapons, and modes of transportation. If you're new to steampunk, you won't be lost, and if you're a steampunk fan, you'll be rewarded as well. I can't wait to find out where our interpid heroes go next.
489894
This is a bit of romance with a dash of Steampunk. The author created a very believable and realistic world. I greatly enjoyed it and can't wait to read the next book in the series.
861584
Originally reviewed at Reading the Paranormal - [...]

This is a short and sweet little steampunk novella that has enough going for it to be a expanded or extended into a full length novel. I loved Kali's prickly can-do attitude. She's used to taking care of herself and she does just that. Cedar intrigued me. I'd love to hear his backstory and see more of what made him into the man he turned into.

As short as this story is, it easily drew me into Kali's life and the hardships she faces. Sure, I'm a sucker for steampunk and all the fun gadgets that go with it, but this was just fun to read. I would totally be game for more stories set in this world.

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal