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Aungie
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pleasant adventure featuring likeable allies
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2016Verified Purchase
Really enjoy this series featuring Newberry and Hobbs. It's just a frolicking adventure featuring Sir Maurice and his assistant, the lovely (of course) Miss Veronica Hobbs. These stories feature a touch of the supernatural in an alternative England that uses machinery and life-extending science to capture the imagination. He takes the old London and adds fantastical elements that make me think, if only. I particularly like the author's fight scenes because he goes into detail and these fights are not over and done with quickly. These people are fighting for their lives and you feel it and root for those heroes and mourn the not-so-lucky victims. Just a pleasant reading experience with a plausible plot line the opportunity to view Victorian England in a new way.
VinceDude
4.0 out of 5 stars
Newbury & Hobbes Rock
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2012Verified Purchase
Part X-Files, part Murdock Mysteries, part SkyCaptain and the World of Tomorrow, with a soupçon of Sherlock Holmes thrown in, this series by Mann is excellent. I've read the whole series to date and enjoyed all the books. Hoping for more.
Fresh and bold storytelling. Mr Mann knows how to spin a yarn.
Not sure about the opium addiction subplot, but I guess every hero has his Kryptonite to bear. The relationship between Newbury and Hobbes is rather predictable, but its development through the series works well nonetheless. True to form, however, the main plot is anything but predictable, with many twists and turns that leave you guessing all the way through. I really enjoyed the Queen Victoria angle as well and am interested in seeing where that ends up. Would also like to see some positive resolution to poor Amelia's plight wherein she might overcome her "gift" and learn to control it. One can only hope.
"Something dreadful is coming..."
Can't hardly wait!
Fresh and bold storytelling. Mr Mann knows how to spin a yarn.
Not sure about the opium addiction subplot, but I guess every hero has his Kryptonite to bear. The relationship between Newbury and Hobbes is rather predictable, but its development through the series works well nonetheless. True to form, however, the main plot is anything but predictable, with many twists and turns that leave you guessing all the way through. I really enjoyed the Queen Victoria angle as well and am interested in seeing where that ends up. Would also like to see some positive resolution to poor Amelia's plight wherein she might overcome her "gift" and learn to control it. One can only hope.
"Something dreadful is coming..."
Can't hardly wait!
David F. Mamrak
4.0 out of 5 stars
Best of the Newbury & Hobbes Series
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2011Verified Purchase
The third book in the Newbury & Hobbes is a vast improvement over the first two books. The plot is more fleshed out this time around and the relationship between the two main characters is progressing along as well. Chief Inspector Bainbridge has more space in this novel and to good effect. Some might point to Newbury as a Sherlock Holmes clone with his opium addiction, but that is far as it goes. Readers will not recognize the Queen Victoria they read about in history books, but that is ok. She probably was this creepy in real life. The previous reviewer mistakenly called the book the 'Immortality Engine.' It would have made more sense if that had been the title. Read the book and you will understand.
Roy K. Farber
3.0 out of 5 stars
An Inventive Tale of Alternative History
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2014Verified Purchase
As one reviewer doth state, this volume is a galloping romp: for me, a roller coaster ride of thrills and chills, which suffices for many, of whom are encouraged to proceed to read. For others, we like to taste and digest, pause and then proceed, letting the ideas develop, and there are novel ideas sufficient in this novel to explore further without the unrelenting adrenaline rush. The author might be wise to dwell in detail, develop, then rise to the pinnacle and plummet, and then rise again, instead of attempting to maintain the racehorse speed throughout.
William Lovell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Engrossing
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2011Verified Purchase
While I have enjoyed all three books in this series, I think that this is the best so far. The interactions between the characters flow very naturally and easily. The conflicts and issues brought up in the first two books are not ignored, but are not allowed to bog down the story.
I found the book hard to put down as I was swept into the story of this alternative London. I like the way that Mann allows the characters to feel their way through the information that is provided and that each one brings a different perspective to the investigation and the new technologies that are introduced. I am eagerly looking forward to a fourth installment.
I found the book hard to put down as I was swept into the story of this alternative London. I like the way that Mann allows the characters to feel their way through the information that is provided and that each one brings a different perspective to the investigation and the new technologies that are introduced. I am eagerly looking forward to a fourth installment.
Noura Al Noman
4.0 out of 5 stars
A whole 'nother level
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2017Verified Purchase
The best of the series so far. Either I am more invested now or the plot has thickened enough. Still a few hasty resolutions here and there, but overall much better.
Larry Grimaldi
5.0 out of 5 stars
Victorian spy thriller
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2016Verified Purchase
Somewhat incredible Victorian spy series of the Queen running her own agents. Lots of technology from the era, as well as super agents and villains.
Paul V. Foree
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very enjoyable book. You have to look in the ...
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2017Verified Purchase
Very enjoyable book. You have to look in the book sleeve to discern which order to read the books. This is the third Newbury and Hobbes investigation.
Top reviews from other countries
Alisha Bookseller
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better and better
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 31, 2016Verified Purchase
I've said it before, and I'll say it again...I freaking love this series! It's like a steampunk Sherlock Holmes, with Veronica the Watson to Maurice's Holmes. Each book gets better and better as more and more is clearly going on outside of the respective cases of the book.
The Immorality Engine is atmospheric right from the opening, as soon as you start reading you can feel the fog closing in, everything takes on a slightly darker tinge, you can hear the rain and smell the not entirely pleasant smells of London. You fall in to the book and remain there until the very last page.
The opening this time was a bit different than usual as we start off in the future, then go back several days. The time jump was brilliantly done, the opening however was a little bit grim. To quote Newbury "The soft loam sucked at his boots, thick and oozing, as if trying to pull him down in to its slick, waterlogged depths, down amongst the corpses and the coffins of the dead." You can see why the book pulled me in to the book, with writing like that! The opening had me panicking a bit actually, being a huge fan of the books! I should have known better than to panic, but panic I did! I had a horrible sense of foreboding and dread for the entire book, a sense that increased steadily the closer we got to the climax of the book, I knew nothing good was going to happen and I was heart broken by the opening. But like I said...I should know better by book three! All is not as it seems in this book!
As I've just mentioned, Mann creates some fantastic descriptions that really spark your imagination and pull you in to the book, as the setting rises up around you. "A perimeter of uniformed bobbies stood like ghostly sentries, half visible in the vaporous morning." I just love the imagery Mann writes, it creates a specific image in your mind, waking up your imagination, and creating a certain tone and feel to the book. His writing is simply fantastic, and the pace of the book is brilliant. The mystery is always wrapped up expertly, with but a few threads woven in at the end, ready for the next book. His writing never fails to be compelling, atmospheric, cinematic and at times, entertaining. As always we are straight in with the mystery and it's a particularly good one!
Veronica continues to be one of my favourite characters. She doesn't do or want to do anything a regular lady of the time period would. She walks in to a rather nasty crime scene, determined to do her part. She's daring and courageous, and she doesn't take any of Newbury's crap. She's disappointed in him, but she still believes in him and hopes for the best. I enjoy the fact she's not afraid to get her hands dirty, and will run around and fight just as much as Newbury. She's not your typical Victorian lady and she's brilliant and intelligent and just fantastic! I enjoyed her even more in this book because we see another side to her, with everything going on with her sister, and the thing with the Queen. She's not quite as composed as she usually is at one point.
Newbury continues to fascinate me. He's a very flawed character, but he's also very likeable and has a certain dramatic flair. He uses opium and we've watched him fall, inevitably, more and more in to addiction over the course of the books. I like that he's flawed, opium addiction was common at the time, I'm fairly certain, and it's being explored so well in these books. In this book, he's pretty heavily under the influence, it's not a pleasant book for him, with withdrawal symptoms and so on. Veronica and Charles's reactions are very realistic and very natural, and I felt a certain sense of pride in Newbury when he determined to get along with out it after a particularly brutal scene. It'll be interesting to see if he actually manages it. His flaw is what makes him so very realistic, but there's so much more to him than his addiction. He's ridiculously intelligent, and I'm rooting for him to finally kick the habit.
I need to mention Bainbridge because he and Newbury are quite the pair. He cares so much about his friend, but has a bit of a hard time showing softer emotions, and his particular brand of caring is a bit gruff, it was quite amusing, especially as Veronica was on to him. It made me sad in this book, how Newbury and Hobbes weren't entirely sure if they could entrust him with the truth. I'd like to think he'd be on their side, and I'm hoping they'll trust him eventually.
Amelia has always intrigued me, I like how she won't let her fear show to Calverton. How determined she is to be brave and remain strong. She's not had a brilliant life up until now, and we see more of her this book as she's at the Grayling Institute with Fabian. I don't want to say too much, because it will be too spoilery, but I'm still waiting to see how Mann is going to handle things with Amelia, I'm hoping it'll all end well for her, but I'm not entirely sure.
I spent the most of the book feeling like Dr. Fabian was incredibly shady. You get such shady vibes from him but it takes a while for you to work out why, or see why, which I actually liked, rather than being told straight out he was shady! It was nice to get a sense of wrongness from him, but not being entirely sure if it's founded or not. Calverton is incredibly creepy. The Queen herself is in this book a hell of a lot more than usual. I've never been entirely sure of her. Like Newbury I assumed some of the stuff she did was a one off, or for the good of everyone. This book does not pain a pleasant picture of her. She is not nice, not that she ever really was a barrel of sunshine and rainbows. But in this book, I feel we see her true colours, and I'm slightly scared by what might come about in the next book, and whatever it is she's planning. I actually found myself agreeing with the bad guys a little smidgen in this book!
As with the other books, we get more than one POV. In this book we get a lot of Amelia's POV, more so than usual that is, as well as a little bit of Fabian's, which provided in an insight in to what it is, exactly, that he does or rather did for the Queen. As well as being the means to see a rather ugly side to the Queen up close. We also get the usual POV's of Veronica. Maurice and Bainbdridge. Poor old Charles got in a bit of a scrape in this book, and it was brilliant to see him hold his own! Each character has their own distinctive narrative, and each change in point of view is done without a hitch, carrying on the narrative without any trouble. I enjoy seeing the other characters through the eyes of, well, other characters. I like knowing what's going on in each character's head and how it matches up with the others and so on.
The world of the book is so authentic. The steampunk elements are plentiful, but not in your face, there's no pages and pages of over blown descriptions of the devices/machines/etc or telling you how they work in exact detail for an entire chapter, like I've encountered before. The steampunk elements/devices seem to naturally belong in the world. I love getting lost in these books, it's such an original world, and I love reading about new devices and exploring new areas of this London.
So much is unsaid between Newbury and Hobbes in this book, that needs to be discussed. I was wondering what would happen after the end of the last book, but it would appear they went the not talking about anything route. I mean, partially it's pushed to the side because of Newbury's little opium problem and the case, but both of them had their reasons for not mentioning things that needed to be mentioned like ya know...the Queen...and feelings. Them being them, they eventually did talk about it...but in the worst possible place after me spending the entire book wishing they'd save themselves some hassle and jus have a chat!
I genuinely ship them so badly it's not even funny. They're so perfect together, and so good for each other. They suit each other rather. This book had me cheering so badly at some points, and getting all excited, but the romance element, is as ever, subtle and the main focus of the plot is the mystery. The romantic bits that there are, are very well done, and there was one scene that was just so them. Things have been building up over the course of the books and this is the book where it finally all comes together. I'm even more excited for the next book to see what happens with them!
As usual, Mann manages to weave plenty of plot threads in to one complex plot. Mann is a truly brilliant storyteller and weaves deductions with action, romance with mystery and so on. There are multiple threads, some seemingly unrelated to the case at hand, but involving other things, all woven together to give you a complex plot with multiple things going on, and an over-arcing plot becoming more and more fleshed out. Well, I think there is, because you all mark my words, the Queen is so up to no good.
I feel like there's higher stakes in this book, considering at one point we have a medieval army meeting steampunk and ready to take down the monarchy. There's also stuff going on with Veronica's sister that involves the Queen and it was truly shocking to me because even I didn't expect the Queen to be THAT bad. It's become obvious she's up to something and there's more going on with her. What I found most interesting is that having staunchly been the Queen's operatives, you see Veronica lose all trust and respect in the Queen, and Newbury struggling with his own thoughts on the Queen. He clearly supports Veronica, at least in this situation, but he isn't sure overall what to do. I found it very interesting watching this all go down with the two of them, especially when Veronica had a little freak out about not being able to leave.
The Immorality Engine is another thrilling instalment in a brilliant and original series that hooks you in from the beginning. You root for Newbury and Hobbes, you spend the book trying to work out what exactly is going on and how everything fits together, and delight in being completely wrong, because Mann always manages to surprise you at every turn and it's no fun working out a mystery before the characters! The initial mystery leads perfectly in to a much bigger plot, it's merely the first step in a more complex scheme.
The book ends on a note of foreboding tinged with anticipation all thanks to Amelia and her visions, and there's one last twist at the end that you know will not be at all good. The next book has been perfectly set up, and my mind is racing with all the possibilities for it, that will no doubt end up being wrong.
The Immorality Engine is a fantastic book, characters continue to have hidden depths, continue to be brilliantly written and come alive as you read about them. The book sucks you in with the continued fantastic world building, that's atmospheric and cinematic in equal turns. Immorality Engine has a world you can truly get lost in, and a plot you become fully invested in and get surprised by at every turn. While the main mystery is left neatly solved, there's an over arcing plot involving the Queen, and some other little threads that set you up for the next book, that you find yourself needing ASAP! I can't wait to see where the characters go next, or what mystery they'll next come face to face with.
The Immorality Engine is atmospheric right from the opening, as soon as you start reading you can feel the fog closing in, everything takes on a slightly darker tinge, you can hear the rain and smell the not entirely pleasant smells of London. You fall in to the book and remain there until the very last page.
The opening this time was a bit different than usual as we start off in the future, then go back several days. The time jump was brilliantly done, the opening however was a little bit grim. To quote Newbury "The soft loam sucked at his boots, thick and oozing, as if trying to pull him down in to its slick, waterlogged depths, down amongst the corpses and the coffins of the dead." You can see why the book pulled me in to the book, with writing like that! The opening had me panicking a bit actually, being a huge fan of the books! I should have known better than to panic, but panic I did! I had a horrible sense of foreboding and dread for the entire book, a sense that increased steadily the closer we got to the climax of the book, I knew nothing good was going to happen and I was heart broken by the opening. But like I said...I should know better by book three! All is not as it seems in this book!
As I've just mentioned, Mann creates some fantastic descriptions that really spark your imagination and pull you in to the book, as the setting rises up around you. "A perimeter of uniformed bobbies stood like ghostly sentries, half visible in the vaporous morning." I just love the imagery Mann writes, it creates a specific image in your mind, waking up your imagination, and creating a certain tone and feel to the book. His writing is simply fantastic, and the pace of the book is brilliant. The mystery is always wrapped up expertly, with but a few threads woven in at the end, ready for the next book. His writing never fails to be compelling, atmospheric, cinematic and at times, entertaining. As always we are straight in with the mystery and it's a particularly good one!
Veronica continues to be one of my favourite characters. She doesn't do or want to do anything a regular lady of the time period would. She walks in to a rather nasty crime scene, determined to do her part. She's daring and courageous, and she doesn't take any of Newbury's crap. She's disappointed in him, but she still believes in him and hopes for the best. I enjoy the fact she's not afraid to get her hands dirty, and will run around and fight just as much as Newbury. She's not your typical Victorian lady and she's brilliant and intelligent and just fantastic! I enjoyed her even more in this book because we see another side to her, with everything going on with her sister, and the thing with the Queen. She's not quite as composed as she usually is at one point.
Newbury continues to fascinate me. He's a very flawed character, but he's also very likeable and has a certain dramatic flair. He uses opium and we've watched him fall, inevitably, more and more in to addiction over the course of the books. I like that he's flawed, opium addiction was common at the time, I'm fairly certain, and it's being explored so well in these books. In this book, he's pretty heavily under the influence, it's not a pleasant book for him, with withdrawal symptoms and so on. Veronica and Charles's reactions are very realistic and very natural, and I felt a certain sense of pride in Newbury when he determined to get along with out it after a particularly brutal scene. It'll be interesting to see if he actually manages it. His flaw is what makes him so very realistic, but there's so much more to him than his addiction. He's ridiculously intelligent, and I'm rooting for him to finally kick the habit.
I need to mention Bainbridge because he and Newbury are quite the pair. He cares so much about his friend, but has a bit of a hard time showing softer emotions, and his particular brand of caring is a bit gruff, it was quite amusing, especially as Veronica was on to him. It made me sad in this book, how Newbury and Hobbes weren't entirely sure if they could entrust him with the truth. I'd like to think he'd be on their side, and I'm hoping they'll trust him eventually.
Amelia has always intrigued me, I like how she won't let her fear show to Calverton. How determined she is to be brave and remain strong. She's not had a brilliant life up until now, and we see more of her this book as she's at the Grayling Institute with Fabian. I don't want to say too much, because it will be too spoilery, but I'm still waiting to see how Mann is going to handle things with Amelia, I'm hoping it'll all end well for her, but I'm not entirely sure.
I spent the most of the book feeling like Dr. Fabian was incredibly shady. You get such shady vibes from him but it takes a while for you to work out why, or see why, which I actually liked, rather than being told straight out he was shady! It was nice to get a sense of wrongness from him, but not being entirely sure if it's founded or not. Calverton is incredibly creepy. The Queen herself is in this book a hell of a lot more than usual. I've never been entirely sure of her. Like Newbury I assumed some of the stuff she did was a one off, or for the good of everyone. This book does not pain a pleasant picture of her. She is not nice, not that she ever really was a barrel of sunshine and rainbows. But in this book, I feel we see her true colours, and I'm slightly scared by what might come about in the next book, and whatever it is she's planning. I actually found myself agreeing with the bad guys a little smidgen in this book!
As with the other books, we get more than one POV. In this book we get a lot of Amelia's POV, more so than usual that is, as well as a little bit of Fabian's, which provided in an insight in to what it is, exactly, that he does or rather did for the Queen. As well as being the means to see a rather ugly side to the Queen up close. We also get the usual POV's of Veronica. Maurice and Bainbdridge. Poor old Charles got in a bit of a scrape in this book, and it was brilliant to see him hold his own! Each character has their own distinctive narrative, and each change in point of view is done without a hitch, carrying on the narrative without any trouble. I enjoy seeing the other characters through the eyes of, well, other characters. I like knowing what's going on in each character's head and how it matches up with the others and so on.
The world of the book is so authentic. The steampunk elements are plentiful, but not in your face, there's no pages and pages of over blown descriptions of the devices/machines/etc or telling you how they work in exact detail for an entire chapter, like I've encountered before. The steampunk elements/devices seem to naturally belong in the world. I love getting lost in these books, it's such an original world, and I love reading about new devices and exploring new areas of this London.
So much is unsaid between Newbury and Hobbes in this book, that needs to be discussed. I was wondering what would happen after the end of the last book, but it would appear they went the not talking about anything route. I mean, partially it's pushed to the side because of Newbury's little opium problem and the case, but both of them had their reasons for not mentioning things that needed to be mentioned like ya know...the Queen...and feelings. Them being them, they eventually did talk about it...but in the worst possible place after me spending the entire book wishing they'd save themselves some hassle and jus have a chat!
I genuinely ship them so badly it's not even funny. They're so perfect together, and so good for each other. They suit each other rather. This book had me cheering so badly at some points, and getting all excited, but the romance element, is as ever, subtle and the main focus of the plot is the mystery. The romantic bits that there are, are very well done, and there was one scene that was just so them. Things have been building up over the course of the books and this is the book where it finally all comes together. I'm even more excited for the next book to see what happens with them!
As usual, Mann manages to weave plenty of plot threads in to one complex plot. Mann is a truly brilliant storyteller and weaves deductions with action, romance with mystery and so on. There are multiple threads, some seemingly unrelated to the case at hand, but involving other things, all woven together to give you a complex plot with multiple things going on, and an over-arcing plot becoming more and more fleshed out. Well, I think there is, because you all mark my words, the Queen is so up to no good.
I feel like there's higher stakes in this book, considering at one point we have a medieval army meeting steampunk and ready to take down the monarchy. There's also stuff going on with Veronica's sister that involves the Queen and it was truly shocking to me because even I didn't expect the Queen to be THAT bad. It's become obvious she's up to something and there's more going on with her. What I found most interesting is that having staunchly been the Queen's operatives, you see Veronica lose all trust and respect in the Queen, and Newbury struggling with his own thoughts on the Queen. He clearly supports Veronica, at least in this situation, but he isn't sure overall what to do. I found it very interesting watching this all go down with the two of them, especially when Veronica had a little freak out about not being able to leave.
The Immorality Engine is another thrilling instalment in a brilliant and original series that hooks you in from the beginning. You root for Newbury and Hobbes, you spend the book trying to work out what exactly is going on and how everything fits together, and delight in being completely wrong, because Mann always manages to surprise you at every turn and it's no fun working out a mystery before the characters! The initial mystery leads perfectly in to a much bigger plot, it's merely the first step in a more complex scheme.
The book ends on a note of foreboding tinged with anticipation all thanks to Amelia and her visions, and there's one last twist at the end that you know will not be at all good. The next book has been perfectly set up, and my mind is racing with all the possibilities for it, that will no doubt end up being wrong.
The Immorality Engine is a fantastic book, characters continue to have hidden depths, continue to be brilliantly written and come alive as you read about them. The book sucks you in with the continued fantastic world building, that's atmospheric and cinematic in equal turns. Immorality Engine has a world you can truly get lost in, and a plot you become fully invested in and get surprised by at every turn. While the main mystery is left neatly solved, there's an over arcing plot involving the Queen, and some other little threads that set you up for the next book, that you find yourself needing ASAP! I can't wait to see where the characters go next, or what mystery they'll next come face to face with.
Temple Phoenix
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Game is Afoot Once Again
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2011Verified Purchase
This is the third Newbury and Hobbes investigation, and it's good to have them back. After the slightly disappointing Ghosts of Manhattan, it's also great to see that Mann has his mojo back.
It's immediately apparent from the first view chapters that Mann's writing skill has come on in leaps and bounds; his previously sometimes stilted prose now flows, and his characters are beginning to have distinctive voices of their own.
This time around, the plot revolves around the mystery of a burglar that has died twice, and takes in a pro-chivalry society and Veronica Hobbes's clairvoyant sister. The steampunk elements of the setting are perhaps not as omnipresent as in the previous books, but are great when they appear, such as automaton horses and armoured exoskeletons.
The book is largely told from Veronica's point of view, and is much the better for it. Her distress at Newbury's opium addition, the plight of her sister and her own nature as a spy of sorts is well portrayed, and adds a great deal of humanity to the tale.
There are definite developments in the overall plot, as well, as Victoria's agents finally begin to realise that their monarch is perhaps not as altruistic as they would like. The ending promises dramatic repurcussions for the setting in the next installment; I for one cannot wait.
It's immediately apparent from the first view chapters that Mann's writing skill has come on in leaps and bounds; his previously sometimes stilted prose now flows, and his characters are beginning to have distinctive voices of their own.
This time around, the plot revolves around the mystery of a burglar that has died twice, and takes in a pro-chivalry society and Veronica Hobbes's clairvoyant sister. The steampunk elements of the setting are perhaps not as omnipresent as in the previous books, but are great when they appear, such as automaton horses and armoured exoskeletons.
The book is largely told from Veronica's point of view, and is much the better for it. Her distress at Newbury's opium addition, the plight of her sister and her own nature as a spy of sorts is well portrayed, and adds a great deal of humanity to the tale.
There are definite developments in the overall plot, as well, as Victoria's agents finally begin to realise that their monarch is perhaps not as altruistic as they would like. The ending promises dramatic repurcussions for the setting in the next installment; I for one cannot wait.
Greenrig
4.0 out of 5 stars
Getting more complex.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 19, 2019Verified Purchase
Getting more complex. The characters are more developed than previous books. The themes and scenes are darker and more gothic. Very linear story and action scenes well described. The protagonist pair are implausibly invulnerable in the face of violence and mayhem. . Lots of scope for sequels
Dragon63
4.0 out of 5 stars
Steampunk alive and kicking
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 2, 2012Verified Purchase
Finished reading this on Saturday, on the train back from the British Fantasy Society Convention. One of the panels asked if Steampunk was on the way out - if this is anything to go by, the answer is a resounding no. This is the third volume in a series. Newbury and Hobbes are an interesting pair - a Sherlockian dilettante and his capable female assistant. The love affair between them is a little obvious, but the author has built it up over the three books and it works well enough. The plot itself is a little wild and woolly, but it's fun and fast-paced. I enjoyed it; I will be interested to see if the author thinks he can take the sequence any further.
lovereading
2.0 out of 5 stars
Couldn't be botheredness?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 2, 2014Verified Purchase
Liked the first two, this was a total waste of time. The author seemed not to be bothered writing it. It is all a cliché of characters, endless action with scant evocative descriptions which are at the core of a well written alt hist/adventure/steampunk story. The only parts I got interested in were those with, albeit brief, descriptions of inner feelings (the opium addiction for example); but there were too few and more than once I was tempted to skip pages. Female character is not convinving and Newbury is still roughly sketched. Pity.