House of Sable Locks

By: Elizabeth Schechter

Narrated by: Priscilla Carson, Roger Frisk

Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's Summary

From Passionate Plume award finalist Elizabeth Schechter comes a steampunk novel of dark passion.

In a respectable neighborhood, on the top floor of a beautiful house, crouches the Succubus; by design, and by temperament, she is all that men crave and fear. To the wealthy and privileged men of London, the Succubus is a test they must pass to gain access to the House of Sable Locks, the most exclusive brothel in town. However, to William, a wealthy young man born and raised in India, she is the very essence of his desires.

William is recovering from the loss of everything he knows and loves when he first meets the Succubus. With great care she tears him apart - and he falls in love again. But their idyll cannot last: there is a killer loose in London, and the darkness of William's past is about to collide with the terror of his present.

Based on the story "The Succubus" from the acclaimed erotic steampunk anthology Like Clockwork, House of Sable Locks lets us enter the mysterious brothel listeners previously only had a glimpse of.

©2013 Elizabeth Schechter (P)2014 Audible Inc.

An Astonishing Steampunk Fairy Tale

Elizabeth Schechter has written a stunner of a an erotic steampunk tale. She explores the roots of eroticism in our psyches, and our turn ons in our fears and in our playfulness. She takes her time revealing nuance and plot, but her confident, sensual prose immediately intrigues.

The idea of exploring the intersection of man and machine is crucial today. Schechter makes us think about it afresh by placing the question in Victorian England. It's part ghost story, part sic-fi, and thoroughly romantic.

Priscilla Carson and Roger Frisk add brilliant performances. Carson's mastery of languid pacing in her voicing of the Succubus gave me chills, and Frisk inhabited his characters. Right away, you could here the authority of class, and the insecurity beneath it. I couldn't wait for his capitulation and release.

porn with a thin veneer of steampunk

I grabbed this because I've read and liked steampunk in the past. I slept from about hour one to about hour eight. I didn't feel like I missed a thing. Usually, when that happens I listen again until I'm sure about all the transitions. I felt like the story had barely advanced or transitioned. Also, I thought that the steampunk stuff added little or nothing to the story. Yes, I know that one of the main characters was a steampunk AI (until it wasn't) but it could have been a present day AI, a future day AI, or a mystical oracle from any era. The porn wasn't my cup of tea. This read like someone wrote a porno, and then was told to set it in Victorian London and call it steampunk.

I can't find any reason to recommend this audio book.

I gave the performance two stars because the different voice actors were miked at noticeably different levels.

Fun and different

I stumbled upon this and picked it up without reading much about it, as I have always thought steampunk sounded interesting. Well I wasn't disappointed - wasn't aware of the adult angle but enjoyed that as well.

The idea of using to narrators works, but even though both of them are really good, there was a little too much of a contrast between them in terms of speed and flow.

Quite a ride, twists and turns galore!

What did you like most about House of Sable Locks?

Two interwoven stories, each focused on a strong character who develops as the story progresses. Two good performances by the narrators. I was also rather intrigued by the "alternative" Victorian world.

What was one of the most memorable moments of House of Sable Locks?

No specific things spring to mind, but the book was full of entertaining incidents, adventures and experiences.

What does Priscilla Carson and Roger Frisk bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Their voices portrayed the twin story threads very nicely. The choice of narrating voice also matched the period

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Kept me completely engaged and waiting to see how it developed.

Any additional comments?

Nicely told tale, weaving quite dramatic kinky sex, two characters developing and a slowly-building mystery/adventure element. Thoroughly enjoyed it.