Review of The Immorality Engine – A Newbury & Hobbes Investigation by George Mann

This book is the third full length novel in this steampunk adventure series set squarely in Victorian times.  Sir Maurice Newbury and his feisty sidekick Veronica Hobbes are called on to investigate a wave of crimes identical to committed by a murderer who the police have just found dead. Their enquiries lead them to the Bastion Society, and personal physician to Queen Victoria, Dr Lucius Fabian. Why is he so interested in Veronica’s sister, Amelia, and can Newbury and Veronica help free her from a terrible fate as a slave to the Empire?

I’ve enjoyed this series so far – but for my money, this is the book where all the ingredients mix together to provide a really gripping story with some horrific overtones. And the steampunk adventure stops being some slightly daft version of Sherlock Holmes and hits its stride.

Maurice Newbury is fighting his own demons – and the consequences of his experimentation bite deep into his personal life and create major strains in his partnership with Veronica Hobbes. Who has major problems of her own, given her concern and guilt about her sister’s fate… These internal conflicts add extra depth to these two characters, whose rather breezy attitude to date gave this series a certain amount of charm – but also allowed us to dismiss the shenanigans going on in Mann’s version of Victorian England as an amusing pastiche of the darker reality. It was also enjoyable to see that one of the characters who has regularly turned up as a regular bit player in the earlier books, Inspector Bainbridge, has been given a far larger slice of the action this time around – to the extent that we actually see the action through his viewpoint on several occasions.

There is a sombre feel to this novel that gives it extra edge, right from the beginning, with the bleak funeral scene that wouldn’t look out of place in a Dickens novel. Queen Victoria is something of a shock – the terrifying monster lurking in the shadows and kept alive by her steam-driven chair is a world away from the white haired matron we are used to seeing adorning various history books and stamps.

What hasn’t changed, is the speed at which the narrative whisks along. Mann is adept at interleaving the necessary scene setting with the various actions scenes that regularly punctuate this engrossing book. While the previous steampunk adventures have always been entertaining – which was why I made a point of picking up this book – this time the narrative braids all the various sub-plots into a really satisfying climax that contributed to the explosive denouement – literally. The fall-out from all the action is equally intriguing and the final hook has left me determined to track down the sequel, The Affinity Bridge. Where I enjoyed the previous books, this one is my favourite steampunk novel to date – and I’m very much hoping that the next book will deliver yet more steam-driven goings on with a same calibre.
10/10

Review of The One World School House: Education Reimagined by Salman Khan

Over the years, a distressing scene has been replayed in homes across the land far too many times… A panic-stricken child finally realises that parents aren’t – after all – capable of helping out when really needed. While said parents, irritable and helpless when confronted with modern Maths/Chemistry/typically hard subject, find they aren’t remotely equipped to assist with their child’s homework. Tempers fray under the pressure and the generation gap yawns into an unbridgeable chasm. However this scene can be consigned to history, thanks to Salman Khan and his Khan Academy.

But don’t take my word for it – this is what Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft has to say on the subject, “I discovered Sal Khan and Khan Academy like most other people – by using these incredible tools with my own kids. Sal Khan’s vision and energy for how technology could fundamentally transform education is contagious. He’s a true pioneer in integrating technology and learning. I’m happy that, through this book, even more people will be introduced to this ground-breaking innovation.”

A free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere: this is the goal of the Khan Academy; a passion project that grew from an ex-engineer and hedge funder’s online tutoring sessions with his niece, who was struggling with algebra, into a worldwide phenomenon. Today millions of students, parents and teachers use the Khan Academy’s free videos and software, which have expanded to encompass nearly every conceivable subject, and Academy techniques are being employed with exciting results in a growing number of classrooms around the globe.

I first heard about the Khan Academy from the talented science fiction writer Tricia Sullivan at Eastercon, where she enthused about teaching herself Maths up to calculus level, thanks to the online lessons now available to anyone with a computer and internet connection. Immediately, I checked it out and was extremely impressed at the extensive series of colourful, unthreatening lessons and the self-testing tasks to ensure you have fully grasped the concept before you move on.

So it was a real treat when my mother sent me this book as an extra Christmas pressie (thank you, Mum!). Khan has lots of fascinating things to say about the current, unsatisfactory manner in which we teach children. As an ex-primary school teacher, I found myself muttering in agreement at his observations at the broken-backed system that – as far as I can see – is in place as a cheap way of keeping children off the streets rather than equipping them with relevant knowledge fit for the 21st century.

Khan suggests that instead of having a teacher deliver a lesson to a group of children in a totally arbitrary manner, they learn individually at their own pace using modern technology with the teacher acting as enabler. He also suggests that a far more creative, wide-ranging curriculum should be in place, where children undertake complex self-directed tasks in groups. A revolutionary approach to state-funded education? Absolutely. But our current system produces far too many children unable to master the basics, who, frustrated and angry, become an unemployable underclass. Government’s constant tinkering only further undermines discouraged teachers and destabilises an already creaking system.

Read Salman Khan’s solutions to our educational problems – and then could someone point the Minister of Education in the direction of this book? Please?? We cannot continue to squander our most precious resource – our children.
10/10

Review of Born of Shadows – Book 4 of The League series by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Although I’d heard of this series, I hadn’t read any of Kenyon’s books, so when the opportunity came to whip a copy of this off the shelves, I took it. However, it meant that I was reading the book completely out of sequence. So, did that significantly affect my reading pleasure – and did I enjoy the Kenyon experience?

For Caillen Dagan, a defiant soldier of fortune, survival isn’t a right: it’s a brutal daily battle. Moving through the Ichidaian universe like a wraith, his brushes with the law and death are legendary. But when an act of rare heroism reveals his hidden birthright, he’s forced into a world much more dangerous and cold-blooded than the bloody streets where he was raised – one of obscene wealth and lethal politics.

Ferocious and determined, Desideria serves as an official bodyguard for her queen. Born of questionable genetics, she will do anything to prove herself worthy of the weapons she carries and the position she’s won by combat. But when she uncovers a ruthless plot to assassinate the queen and overthrow her country’s government, Desideria is caught in the crossfire.

And that’s the starting point for both of our protagonists. Of course, it’s a no-brainer that they are going to get together. This, after all, is romantic fantasy. Kenyon wraps up the age-old boy meets girl scenario in a cool world which I found well detailed and convincing. In fact, it was Kenyon’s ability to spin a cracking good tale that held me through the story, rather than the unfolding romance – or the characters. To be honest, I found Caillen’s initial tantrums about having to dress in court clothes and adopt the customs and manners of court life more than a tad tedious. And at odds with the depiction of this experienced, pragmatic smuggler who could blend into any situation – he came over more as a whiny teenage brat than an intelligent survivor of a hundred tricky situations…

Desideria was far more convincing as the mixed-blood outsider whose affection for her foreign father had set her up as a target with her half-sisters and haughty, uncaring mother. As for their unfolding romance – some of the repartee worked well, but I could have done with less of the smart replies between the pair of them. However, once the action really got going and Caillen’s team joined the fray, the pace picked up and Kenyon’s supporting characters were all effective, as were her action scenes. She writes tension-filled danger very well.

The fact that it was the fourth book in the series didn’t impact on my enjoyment in any way. Kenyon has been smart enough to ensure that though there is obviously a cast of characters who are steadily developing throughout the series, the storyline isn’t strongly tied to the previous book. While I got the impression that I would have known a bit more about Caillen’s mates, my ignorance of their backstory didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the adventuring that went on in Born of Shadows. All in all – apart from some exasperation with Caillen – this was a fun read and a slickly written fantasy romance with plenty of excitement and adventure thrown in with the mushier stuff. No wonder Kenyon has such a strong fan base.
7/10

Review of Wizard Undercover – Book 4 of the Rogue Agent series by K.E. Mills

If you happen to come upon this book and you haven’t read the three previous books, The Accidental Sorceror, Witches Incorporated and Wizard Squared – don’t. Go back to the beginning and track down these other books, first. Otherwise there will be a whole raft of asides and references that you will simply miss or find irritating, which would be a real shame.

This is a really interesting fantasy series – it started off quite light with plenty of humour and some sharp-tongued exchanges between the main characters, who nonetheless are very fond of each other. But in the third book of the series, the whole premise takes a left turn into something a whole lot nastier and darker, making Wizard Squared a compelling page-turner. So, can Mills sustain that angst and tension in Wizard Undercover?

Wedding bells are ringing for the constantly battling nations of Splotze and Borovnik and the upcoming royal nuptials could at last put an end to their dangerous hostilities. But in a development that hardly bodes well, one of Gerald’s fellow janitors goes missing – after delivering a dire warning of danger surrounding the marriage treaty. So Gerald must embark on a perilous mission to uncover the troublemakers, before wedded bliss becomes international war. But going undercover isn’t as easy as it looks, even with Melissande and Emmerabiblia for camouflage. Soon Gerald finds himself fighting for his life as well as world peace.

But poor old Gerald is still reeling from his terrible experiences in the previous instalment – should someone still traumatised and possibly unstable be sent out without a suitable recovery time? And if international relations and potential war looms, is that sufficient reason to also risk two spirited young women? These are the kinds of moral questions that confronts Gerald’s devious superior, Sir Alec.

Other than that, we still have the wonderfully bossy Reg, a talking bird who has adopted Gerald and has a frighteningly indepth knowledge of all sorts of gnarly magic – although there are now some uncomfortable issues around Reg, after the fallout from shocking events described in the previous book… There is a love interest between Gerald and his best friend’s sister, Emmerabiblia Markham. However after the last book, where all these characters were confronted with a terrible evil and many of them simply didn’t prevail, there is the after-echo of that experience that still reverberates through this story. I found it added a darker twist that Mills skilfully played on throughout the book.

I was worried that after the last book, I would find this something of an anti-climax, but of course Mills is far too experienced and adept to commit that kind of crime against her readers. While this episode in the series doesn’t hit the same savage climaxes as those in Wizard Squared, there is still plenty of tension and pace as Gerald desperately tries to pinpoint exactly who is creating such vile magic. I also very much appreciated the fact that Mills isn’t minded to roll her adventures blithely forward without showing the battle scars still evident in all her main characters after their terrible experiences. All in all, a great addition to the series which left me wanting more.
8/10

Review of Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold

This is the latest offering from Bujold’s long-running Miles Vorkosigan series – or is it the last instalment? It certainly feels as if this is a final round-up of some of the major characters that we’ve seen steadily develop over the years as we’ve followed Miles’ adventures.

Captain Ivan Vorpatril sometimes thinks that if not for his family, he might have no troubles at all. But he has the dubious fortune of the hyperactive Miles Vorkosigan as a cousin, which has often led to his getting dragged into one of Miles’ schemes, with risk to life and limb – and military career – that Ivan doesn’t consider entirely fair. Although much practice has made Ivan more adept at fending off his mother’s less-than-subtle reminders that he should be getting married and continuing the Vorpatril lineage.

Fortunately, his current duty is on the planet Komarr as staff officer to Admiral Desplains, far from both his cousin and his mother back on their homeworld of Barrayar. It’s an easy assignment and nobody is shooting at him. What could go wrong?

Plenty, as it turns, out when Byerly Vorrutyer, an undercover agent for Imperial Security shows up on his doorstep and asks him to make the acquaintance of a young woman, who seems to be in danger. That Byerly is characteristically vague about the nature of the danger, not to mention the lady’s name, should have been Ivan’s first clue, but Ivan is no more able to turn aside from aiding a damsel in distress than he could resist trying to rescue a kitten from a tree. It is but a short stage down the road of good intentions to the tangle of Ivan’s life, in trouble with the Komarran authorities, with his superiors, and with the lethal figures hunting the mysterious but lovely Tej and her exotic blue companion Rish – a tangle to test the lengths to which Ivan will go as an inspired protector.

In the rest of the books, Ivan is depicted as the physically handsome, rather feckless cousin that Miles manages to drag along in his wake, who is allergic to any real responsibility – not a helpful attribute to one of the main heirs to the Barrayan throne. So it was a real treat to find him the main protagonist in this romp.

For those of you who haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading the Miles Vorkosigan books – don’t open this book, yet. Track down at least one omnibus edition of Miles’ adventures – better still, give yourself the best present of the decade and tuck into the whole riveting canon. Bujold’s world is a joy and her ability to depict a complex world undergoing major social upheavals through the viewpoint of one very driven, high-ranking character with singular physical disabilities has earned her a hatful of awards and a unique place in the science fiction world. While it is possible to enjoy this book without having read any of the previous novels, there are so many asides, allusions and in-jokes referring to Miles that you will miss if you haven’t read anything else set in this world.

This book doesn’t have the frenetic forward tilt of Miles’ adventures, mainly because Ivan has lived his life trying to stay away from the sort of excitement that Miles generates by being… Miles. It is far more a romance with a sharply clever under-achiever as the main protagonist, who once more finds himself in a mess not of his own making. Bujold’s characterisation is absolutely spot on – she knows these characters inside out, and it shows in the slick writing and enjoyable humour that constantly bubbles under the surface.

At times, that humour tips into farce – the fate of the Imperial Security headquarters, for instance, had me laughing aloud. Yet, it is finely balanced. Barrayar is always dogged by its recent violent past – and the account of the short memorial service to Ivan’s dead father is poignant and one of the standout moments of the book for me, more so because it is so beautifully understated.
While it isn’t Bujold’s best book – and there is one glaring anomaly with the world that her beta readers certainly should have picked up – it was a joy to read and a worthy addition to an awesome series.
9/10