|
When Veronica Hobbes is
called to the scene of a crime, it starts off a chain of events
that ends in her needing a new heart. Told in alternate chapters,
we get to discover why a corpse that appears to be turning
into a plant culminates in Veronica’s troubles, while
Sir Maurice Newbury and Amelia race to St Petersburg to see
Fabergé. This would be easier if the train wasn’t
filled with dangerous adversaries…
I do enjoy a good steampunk yarn, and this series consistently
delivers the goods. The author has made enough changes to
the world of 1902 to make it more than just a historical novel
with some extra additions, and he certainly knows how to keep
the pages turning. This is another pacy, exciting story that
has the reader wondering on the one hand what happened to
Veronica to entail her needing a new heart, and on the other
seeing Newbury and Amelia squaring up to revenants and a mad
cultist. Having the two threads run concurrently works better
than I might have anticipated and adds even more to the story.
The only alloy in all this is that we are treated to a tantalizing
description of what to expect in St Petersburg and given a
tiny taste before the action returns to London. As all the
other books have dealt with this location and fights with
zombies aren’t exactly new (although even this gets
a fresh twist in these books) I would have loved to have spent
longer in a different place. The book ends with a short story
with an open end and also a new development with the characters
(no, not romance), so it looks as though the author has not
run out of steam yet, pardon the pun. Whatever happens in
future books, I hope some of it takes place in the original
and intriguing sounding St Petersburg.
Reviewers
Note: Some gory moments
|