Lucci's List: May 2020

All steampunk, all month.

"Building Steam" by Renee J. Fleury

"Building Steam" by Renee J Fleury is a time travel epic journey with romance, pirates, a mad scientist, and Nikola Tesla! This steampunk novel has it all, with smooth phrasing and exceptional writing. The dialogue is gritty and real; the characters are other-worldly yet believable.

What a wild whirlwind of steampunk adventure! Packed with surprises and powerful plot twists, "Building Steam" will have you cheering and howling.

"Timepiece" by Heather Albano is a gripping steampunk time travel novel. Battles abound throughout alternate histories in a Waterloo you never imagined. The author writes with expert formal language while providing a smooth reading experience.

"It was as if we bred Bengal tigers to exterminate...well not rats. Wolves, perhaps. Now the wolves are gone, and we are still riding the tigers."

This story with its heart-dropping surprise ending will have you clamoring for more.

“The Steampunk Handbook” by Phoebe Darqueling, illustrated by P.R. Chase, is a fact-based historical resource for fans of steampunk. It delineates between the different kinds of “punk” in literature and other arts. Providing modern examples and contrasting them with classics makes the reader aware of just how steampunk is different from other esthetics.

Each chapter is its own interesting lesson, and not need be read in order. This book is like a mini-encyclopedia with subjects relating to creating personal steampunk characters and worlds.

All in all, “The Steampunk Handbook” is a quick and easy read, with ideas sure to interest any steampunk fan.

"The Steampunk Adventures of Harry Lampeter" by Roger Ley is a romp for the ages!

Raunchy, wild, impulsive characters and plot make this book a refreshingly naughty read!

Harry Lampeter is wickedly moveable. He has a way with the ladies, which doesn't mean it's always HIS way.

"Harry laughed, pulled the covers down and gave Emma a playful slap on her naked right buttock."

The dialogue is witty and lends itself to humour. "‘You should have taken it off, Telford. Nobody would have noticed you in your pants at the seaside.’ ‘Afraid I wasn’t wearing any, Harry, tradition and all that."

I highly recommend this steamy fast-paced adventure.

"The Gestalt Job" by Josh Rhodes is a steampunk adventure that zooms with action.

Vasili is an airship captain who has been caught in a tangled web of lies. He has committed no wrongdoing; at least he doesn't remember so. He knows he has instead been the victim of heart paining betrayal. Seeking justice, he appeals to the local law enforcement for answers. Instead, Gestalt, the "Dirty Harry" officer, takes this opportunity to use the young man for his own goals.

Gestalt takes what truth he can from Vasili's story, and realizes that the young man knows more than he realizes. Vasili is recruited to do a job for the court. Vasili agrees because of the excellent pay and benefits. Still, he has a nagging feeling that he should not trust Gestalt too deeply.

With his airship repaired better than new, and a healthy new crew assigned to him, Vasili is ready for adventure. His heart and head may be in the clouds, but his drive for justice will not be distracted for long.

I am a huge fan of steampunk, and this novel is an excellent example of steampunk writing done right. The descriptions were impeccable. I felt like I could see every detail. The Wild West steampunk world was a dream come true for me.

The plot led to page-turning action-packed scenes with steampunk science that was thrilling.

I enjoyed the dialogue throughout this book. It was often humourous, and added a lot of fun in between the blasts of action.

Vasili and his adventure reminded me of Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon. I wonder if the author had that in mind. Also, the name "Gestalt" gave me a lot to think about.

I found myself confused sometimes, about the relationships between characters, and the timeline. A few parts, especially in the beginning, I had to re-read a few times to get what was going on. I did not read book 1 of the series (this is book 2), so that might be why.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this to fans of steampunk, sci-fi fantasy, alternate worlds, and adventure.

I received an ARC of this book and have enjoyed reading and reviewing it.

You can also find my own steampunk novels and related writing on Amazon or my Etsy store. May your clocks always chime!