Scan barcode
dreizehn's review against another edition
3.0
I think I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. I enjoy the steampunk genre, but did not enjoy all of the stories in this anthology. All of the short stories are loosely tied together, that is, they take place in the same world of automatons. I found that I was not a huge fan of them when I was reading this book. My favorite selections were those by Chris Dolley (charming and funny), Pati Nagle (intriguing and interesting characters) and Katharine Kimbriel. The others I found merely average or forgettable. One thing that bothered me was the inconsistencies with terminology, grammar and spelling. However, that is rather easily overlooked. If you like automatons and steampunk, you will probably enjoy this compilation. However, if you dislike either, I suggest you look elsewhere.
This book was obtained freely through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review.
This book was obtained freely through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review.
djryan's review against another edition
4.0
Steampunk. Ooo-kay.[return][return]An anthology. Riiiight.[return][return]A self publishing co-operative. Hmmm[return][return]Soul-transfer. Oh God no.[return][return]This could have been so bad.[return][return]This could have been worse than the worst kind of Mary-Sue fan-fiction.[return][return]Actually, Book View Café’s shared universe collection The Shadow Conspiracy II was pretty decent, if rough in places. The usual steampunk tropes are there: Babbage’s invention of the computer two hundred years early, Lady Ada doing the science bit, zeppelins, romantic science, and lashings of adventure, and running through all the stories is the conspiracy for which the books are named. The ability to transfer the consciousness from human to steam-driven automata has been discovered and is being used by various dasterdlies for NO GOOD.[return][return]Anthologies are, by their nature, hit-and-miss affairs, but even the worst of the stories here are pretty decent, if forgettable, yarns. Standing out are Kimbriel’s Abide with Me – a tale of parental loss and hope – and Nagle’s Claire de Lune, which pits Vodon against a moustache-twirling villain.[return][return]While soul-transfer provides a pretty decent MacGuffin, there’s very little sign of any conspiracy (shadowy or otherwise) and any real future plot advancement will likely never happen. Not to worry, it took six seasons of Lost before the audience realised it, so they should be able to push out another four volumes.[return][return]These types of work have a habit of trying to be too clever and, without a ruthless editor, usually end up being awful but Radford and Bohnhoff did a good job of keeping any amateurish edges hidden. It’s not much more than the price of a pint, so you can do worse than picking up a copy.[return][return]http://bit.ly/dH0nvo
bojnberry's review against another edition
I always find anthologies a bit hit and miss, and it really depends on a good editor to pick the right stories to tie a theme together. This has happened here. I found the collection to be cohesive, and able to pull me through to the end. The stories were all heavily steampunk, some serious, some light, but I enjoyed them all
djryan's review against another edition
4.0
Steampunk. Ooo-kay.[return][return]An anthology. Riiiight.[return][return]A self publishing co-operative. Hmmm[return][return]Soul-transfer. Oh God no.[return][return]This could have been so bad.[return][return]This could have been worse than the worst kind of Mary-Sue fan-fiction.[return][return]Actually, Book View Café’s shared universe collection The Shadow Conspiracy II was pretty decent, if rough in places. The usual steampunk tropes are there: Babbage’s invention of the computer two hundred years early, Lady Ada doing the science bit, zeppelins, romantic science, and lashings of adventure, and running through all the stories is the conspiracy for which the books are named. The ability to transfer the consciousness from human to steam-driven automata has been discovered and is being used by various dasterdlies for NO GOOD.[return][return]Anthologies are, by their nature, hit-and-miss affairs, but even the worst of the stories here are pretty decent, if forgettable, yarns. Standing out are Kimbriel’s Abide with Me – a tale of parental loss and hope – and Nagle’s Claire de Lune, which pits Vodon against a moustache-twirling villain.[return][return]While soul-transfer provides a pretty decent MacGuffin, there’s very little sign of any conspiracy (shadowy or otherwise) and any real future plot advancement will likely never happen. Not to worry, it took six seasons of Lost before the audience realised it, so they should be able to push out another four volumes.[return][return]These types of work have a habit of trying to be too clever and, without a ruthless editor, usually end up being awful but Radford and Bohnhoff did a good job of keeping any amateurish edges hidden. It’s not much more than the price of a pint, so you can do worse than picking up a copy.[return][return]http://bit.ly/dH0nvo
More...