Dawn's Early Light

Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences

By: Tee Morris, Pip Ballantine

Narrated by: James Langton

Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

After being ignominiously shipped out of England following their participation in the Janus affair, Braun and Books are ready to prove their worth as agents. But what starts as a simple mission in the States - intended to keep them out of trouble - suddenly turns into a scandalous and convoluted case that has connections reaching as far as Her Majesty the Queen. Even with the help of two American agents from the Office of the Supernatural and the Metaphysical, Braun and Books have their work cut out for them as their chief suspect in a rash of nautical and aerial disasters is none other than Thomas Edison. Between the fantastic electric machines of Edison, the eccentricities of MoPO consultant Nikola Tesla, and the mysterious machinations of a new threat known only as the Maestro, they may find themselves in far worse danger than they ever have been in before.

©2014 Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris (P)2014 Tantor

Better and Better

This series gets better and better with each book. A interesting blend of steampunk action adventure, a pinch of romance & history, and heaping handful of imagination. Likable and interesting characters keep us guessing...and looking forward to the next book!

Full Steam Ahead

Love the Series, Love the Characters and Love the Action; with that said, I'll be blunt, this was my least favourite installment so far. Why? I hate romantic angst, especially when it seems be slapped onto a story line like Bondo on a cheap auto body repair. I get little enjoyment from the peaks and valleys of the "will-they won't-they" type sub plot because the longer it continues the greater the chance it will become the main plot. If the main characters' on again off again relationship become the sole focus of the plot, you're left with only two outcomes: the main characters are never happy, or, the main characters get happy and the series dies.

Sorry about the negative tone of my review, I really do love this series and I did enjoy most of the story. The introduction to all things American and the vilification of Edison were fantastic.

Will I get the next installment? Yes I will. I can't wait.

Great Steampunk; a little too romantic.

I really enjoy this series. This book in particular was a little too sappy for my taste, but it was good in overall sorry telling.

the best

wonderful story and action packed, enjoyed the change of location to America
love meeting US counterparts

Very Entertaining!

A true 'Odd Couple ' ! Cool story, great narriration. The tweaks to "historical facts" are certainly within the realm of believability. I normally stay within the fantasy genre, but glad I ventured out a tad. See? They even have me using their brand of slang... Very cool! Check these stories out, you won't be disappointed 'Old Chap!'

Victorians in the Wild West

Any additional comments?

This adventure features agents, Books and Braun taking their newly formed partnership to the US. Tensions flare between the two as the attentions of their American counterparts lead to jealousy and confusion. Also look out for the James Bond style car in this action packed installment.

When is the latest one available !!!

What did you love best about Dawn's Early Light?

Loved all the books and waiting for #4 to be available !!

Thrilling Tales of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences

Ends with a bang!

This story started out in the usual way of a Books and Braun novel with the two of them starting an assignment. This time it was in America. Although I thought there was too much of Welly's car in the story, the interactions with America - dressed up a lot like the wild west with steampunk, was really good. All the way through it was as quality as any other of the Ministry novels but I think they really outdid themselves at the end. I won't give away any details except to say that you actually meet the Maestro and boy won't you be surprised. - Or maybe not, but I sure was.

So my suggestion on this one is : Yes Read It !! . . Read them in order for the best effect. You can read this one as a single, but you'll be missing parts of the story that help fill things out.

Read this steampunk adventure!

Found this on an , "if you like Gail Carriger" list and wasn't disappointed! Great book, Great audio.

Even better than the first two!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would hand this to any young adult or adult who likes fiction--especially if they're into steampunk. It's well written, with a fast moving plot and a cast of vivid, fascinating characters.

What did you like best about this story?

I couldn't decide which characters I liked best--they were all incredible and I wanted to get to know them each personally. We get more and deeper insights into the series story arc as well, which is awesome. And, of course, the romantic byplay is highly entertaining. And, of course, seeing the fight between Edison and Tesla in a new context is awesome if you're at all familiar with their real life story. The descriptive quality of the narrative is also worth mentioning--the world is brilliant and alive, but holds also some of the creeping edginess of good horror, with a sort of sepia overtone as the result of its setting in time. REALLY good narrative flavor.

Have you listened to any of James Langton’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I love Langton's narration of these books! I think I've only heard him do this series, but he does an excellent job with the various accents involved--especially when it comes to a character with their own strong native accent attempting to mimic someone else's! Very nice. Of course, I always want to hear Pip's voice doing Eliza and Tee's doing Wellington. But Mr. Lanton does both of their voices well enough that I am not jarred and can almost hear the voices as I've come to know them through the authors.

Any additional comments?

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences has been described as "Steampunk X-Files". If you're at all familiar with these two things, then you have grasped the flavor of these books. But don't just read them for that delightful combination--read them for the elegance of the narrative, and the complexity of the characters. Make sure you let go of any technological expectations ahead of time--the prevalence of tech in this book threw me a bit until I decided to just go with it. And it ends with a heck of a plot tease! But when it comes to dynamic duos, Books and Braun are at the top of my list, and I can't WAIT to hear more of their story. And actually, I want to read absolutely everything ever written by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris, because they are just that awesome.