The Iron Wyrm Affair: Bannon and Clare, Book 1

If you're tired of traditional steampunk (do we have "traditional steampunk" yet?), Bannon and Clare are a wonderfully novel approach to the gothic Victorian magic-and-metal genre. The book is, at its heart, a mystery, heavily reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes, with distinctly dark undertones. The main characters take a little bit of warming up to (which is probably just how they like it) but are well-written and multi-faceted. The supporting characters are fascinating, and make you want to read more about them. Moira Quirk is an excellent reader, and her cultured voice is well-suited to the book - or, it should be.

Yet somehow, Quirk's reading and Saintcrow's writing mix like oil and vinegar. Something about the style of writing, which is heavy on rapid-fire conversation with very delicate exchanges, makes it very difficult to follow when Quirk is reading. I frequently had to stop, back up, and listen to a passage again to figure out what had just happened, because I'd glazed over what was spoken. This review doesn't have a plot summary included because there are huge portions of the book where I'm not quite sure what happened.

To be fair, I much prefer to listen to books I've already read than those I'm encountering for the first time, so some of this may be personal preference. If you are an ardent audiobook listener, by all means, give this one a shot. But I've listened to many audiobooks that kept me alert on a long drive, and this one would not have done so.

This was an enjoyable book, and I am crossing my fingers and hoping Saintcrow brings Bannon and Clare back for more. But I think I'll read the next one in print.

I normally eat up this type of world; set in a Victorian England with lots of steampunk toys and plenty of supernaturals. This just didn't hold my attention. Very disappointing.

I liked Quirk's narration. Unfortunately, Saintcrow's attempt to describe Bannon and Clare's surroundings, the mystery they were trying to solve, and the undertones of the character's relationships were all a jumbled mess. It didn't come together like many other Saintcrow books I have read. My comprehension skills are just fine, but I found it hard to make sense of the plot at certain points. I think the story needed to be restructured before it should have been published.

In terms of the storyline itself, I was equally disappointed. For every positive aspect of this book, there is a negative one. The most obvious example I can think of is Clare and Bannon. Archibald Clare is observant, pleasant, and candid. Clare's antithesis is definitely Emma Bannon. She came off as self-centered, haughty, and callous. I will openly admit that it has a lot to do with the social/class system. Nevertheless, it was disturbing. The Prime/Shield relationship seems to be set up to breed narcissists and lapdogs. I liked the 'mentaths,' but sorcery world's caste-like power system offended my American sensibilities.

I would try one in a different set than these but if it turned out a bad a this one then no more.

I was expecting an enjoyable pairing between the two main characters trying to solve a mystery (in the Sherlock variety). Ended up with two characters with no chemistry to be believable partners nor a mystery worth solving.

The narrator was good... I could not fault the drivel she had to work with

80% of the entire plot...

I wanted to like this book. I usually get a kick out of the Steampunk genre but this really wasn't Steampunk.

The author kept going on and on about Primes, Shields, and Mentaths over and over. Got it already... two or three references then using the characters names... fine... but havethose three words pop up in every other paragraph really grated on my nerves and had me putting the book down several times.

Was a very hard book to push myself thru to finish and at this point I don't even know why I bothered.

When book reviews are lower than I would think I usually try to give the benefit of the doubt but in this case I should have heeded others advise.

Thoroughly disappointed.

I actually listened to it twice to gather up some things I missed.

The well developed magic and mech world.

very proficiant narrator.

It as temping, but I read it in two.

I felt we really missed from some of Lilith Saintcrow's normal strenght. I believe she can thrive in this new Genre but she felt a little timid and if she spent more time in a few books I believe her talent, her tenacity and fanbase has the potential to make this a sucsessful series. As a first venture into a new Genre she has shown serious fundamental strengths in what appears to be a new series in a new Genre.

Only to some one into period para normal, it can be hard to follow if you're not knowledgeable of English history so you can grasp the alter parallel universe. The story is interesting, and I may get the next book, but I'll have to see what the story is about first.

See what I said about Why I would or would not this question is redundant

Miss Bannon was most enjoyable

Not really it is very complicated, and you really have to stretch your imagination. (not always what I want to do)

The story and characters are very complicated, and it is an alternate universe of Great Briton during Queen Victoria's time. It looses a lot for me because there is a lot of stretching of how Miss Bannon survives some really difficult situations. How come she survives and everyone else doesn't. It really doesn't follow a sequence that is enjoyable or even fun. However if the next book has a simpler story to follow, it may be more enjoyable.

If the author didn't get all fancy in her descriptions. There were times when she would use terms to describe things that didn't make sense. I even rewound the audio to listen again and still couldn't get what she was talking about. also the magic itself was very confusing, and half the time i didn't understand what was going on in her "action" scenes. I have listened to hundreds of audio books, and honestly it took a lot out of me to listen to the end.

I am sure all the events and their descriptions looked right in the author's head, but they forgot to explain it to the rest of us. Also there needed to be a bit of comedy in the book. none of the characters are enjoyable......at all. Then there was the whole love triangle part between the sorceress and her guard, but it fell flat and had me scratching my head, wondering why. Sure I assume the author wanted to have some sort of triangle of love later, but all of it, every last bit fell flat on it's face.

flat singular voice

It had potential if the author only stopped trying to be so damn fancy with her descriptions, and just tell the story like most the other authors out there.

I love steampunk, but this one fell so flat that i am not going to bother with the next in the series. if you want a good listen in the Steampunk world get Pip Ballantine's books instead. now that is a male female duo that makes sense and works.

I have listened to other books by this author-but this is a new category for me. It didnt hold my attention. If you like steampunk you may enjoy it, I personally didnt.

Does the accents well

I will try something else new.

Fun Steampunk Adventure

Moira Quirk was an excellent narrator. Her tone and accent were perfect, and she was pleasantly expressive without going overboard. I will look forward to listening to her again the next time she narrates a title of interest to me.

I am not sure

The characters were flat

Someone with a little more flair.

Its so hard to choose

I have been a fan of Lilith Saintcrow fan for quite sometime and have read many of her books and this one just didn't catch me. I would rather her do a Demon Librian series as opposed to Bannon and Clare. I think I will try this in paperback it might be more exciting.