The Constantine Affliction

A Pimm and Skye Adventure, Book 1

De: T. Aaron Payton

Narrado por: John Lee

It is 1864, and London is a city in transition. The Constantine Affliction - a strange malady that kills some of its victims and physically transforms others into the opposite sex - has spread scandal and upheaval throughout society. Scientific marvels and disasters, such as clockwork courtesans, the alchemical fires of Whitechapel, electric carriages, and acidic monsters lurking in the Thames, have forever altered the face of the city.

Pembroke "Pimm" Hanover is an aristocrat with an interest in criminology, who uses his keen powers of observation to assist the police or private individuals - at least when he’s sober enough to do so. Ellie Skyler, who hides her gender behind the byline "E. Skye", is an intrepid journalist driven by both passion and necessity to uncover the truth, no matter where it hides.

When Pimm and Skye stumble onto a dark plot that links the city's most notorious criminal overlord with the Queen's new consort, famed scientist Sir Bertram Oswald, they soon find the forces of both high and low society arrayed against them. Can they save the city from the arcane machinations of one of history's most appalling monsters - and uncover the shocking origin of... The Constantie Affliction?

©2012 T. Aaron Payton (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Sub characters more interesting

The story reminded me of a mashing of a bunch of ideas into one; steam punk, Frankenstein, h.p. lovecraft... etc. The main characters are so full of themselves it almost seems as if being characters in a story was an inconvenience. The sub characters on the other hand were well formed and the dialog was interesting. over all, not today exciting of a story because nothing bad would ever happen to the main characters

An fun romp of a story with a superb narrator

What did you love best about The Constantine Affliction?

The narrator did an excellent job, and the author provided him some excellent tools to display his craft.

If you’ve listened to books by T. Aaron Payton before, how does this one compare?

This is my first T. Aaron Payton (AKA Tim Pratt) book

What does John Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He brings a great series of voices, and does an excellent droll rendering of some quite silly scenes

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Victorian England is struck by a plague that converts men to women, and women to men... and this is the least of their problems

Good Story!<br />

i only wish there was more set in this, or at least i have not found it. it is a unique story line which is hard to come by nowadays. I highly suggest it. it's a little bit of a harsh start, but it quickly all comes together.

A Mash-Up that Gels into a Rollicking Adventure

Steampunk that works on every level with alternate technology woven seamlessly into the plot (not just tossed in for effect) with a mash up of genres (melodrama, alternate history, paranormal, horror, romance) and flavored with a bit of everything (romantic comedies of the 40's, Dr. Frankenstein, Regency tales, etc.). The plot sizzles and steams until all these bits and pieces gel into a wonderfully fun and cohesive story that will have a permanent home in My Library. It would be a spoiler to detail anymore of the plot than provided in the Publisher's Summary, but the premise of a disease that causes gender change in a person during a era when genteel people would never mention the word gender much less sex and in a time when men held most of the property and power and women were not guaranteed basic human liberties obviously provides a setup for some interesting conflict. T. Aaron Payton (pseudonym for Tim Pratt) has used this terrific premise to lay out a very engaging story that is fun and funny while still providing some food for thought. I have liked some of Tim Pratt's previous books, but I'm glad I didn't realize Payton and Pratt are the same person before I read the book because The Constantine Affliction is a major cut above and I'm really glad this book is a "Book 1" because I want much more of this. The characters are well developed (I could so picture Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell or Katherine Hepburn playing the leads in this), the plot is crazy but coherent, the biological bent of the alternate technology is a nice new twist on steampunk, and John Lee's narration is truly great. Even if you have given up on steampunk (because, hey, there is a lot of it that isn't very good), I'd urge you to try this one - first rate entertainment!

And the Kitchen Sink, too!

What did you love best about The Constantine Affliction?

This book is hilarious, in a good way. I can tell the author was having a blast writing it. It seems like T. Aaron Payton sat down one day, made a huge list of guilty pleasures and then set about working it all together in a story. Good fun that made me smile all the way through. I had hoped Audible would have the second book but I don't see it here. Too bad!