Smashbomb

Holy crap. I have only read the first two of this series – I have three more to read. (My Lady Quicksilver, Forged By Desire, and Of Silk and Steam, with a second series in the same universe called The Blue Blood Conspiracy.) (Edit: I have now read three and four, and they are also excellent!)

THESE ARE SO GOOD.

Victorian Steampunk in London with vampires, mechs, and werewolves (sort of) with romance, a political conspiracy plot, and plenty of action? YES PLEASE. These books are excellently written, with a hefty plot that moves at a perfect pace. Both romances have been very believable and intertwined seamlessly with the larger world’s plot. Each book is a hefty length, enough to really get absorbed in and flesh out everything that needs to be covered, without dragging on and getting old. The characters are fascinating – even the side characters are interesting enough that I really hope future books focus on them.

I don’t have a single bad thing to say about this series, and I can’t wait to read the next books. I am forcing myself to take a break from the series, even though I have the next two books, because I have library books that are due sooner that I need to read!

See all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com

Kudos

The Ninth Child

Sally Magnusson

10.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

A spellbinding novel combining Scottish folklore with hidden history, by the Sunday Times...

Victorian Scotland Scottish Folklore Social reforms

Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Oliver Twist in Books

Oct 10, 2017 (Updated Oct 11, 2017)

Oliver Twist

Charles Dickens | 2014 | Children

7.6

(13 Ratings)

Book Rating

Bleak but beautifully written

I bawled while reading this as a child, especially reading this horrendously bleak tale. Orphan Oliver Twist escapes a rundown orphanage and workhouse only to live in further poverty at the hands of a terrible thief, who exploits young children to do his bidding. Oliver, a very simple and innocent boy, moves from one place to another in order to survive the harsh streets of early 19th century England.

It literally is a never-ending saga of one horrific incident after another, highlighting Dickens' strong views about how children were treated during Victorian times. And while there is a bittersweet ending, it leaves you with a feeling of deep sadness for these lost children.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) in Movies

Feb 15, 2018 (Updated Feb 15, 2018)

Mmmm, Blood of Dracula

Superior Hammer horror movie. Victorian hypocrites looking for naughty kicks get mixed up with one of Dracula's disciples, inadvertently bring him back. Dracula is not grateful and uses their own children to get them.

Usual strong Hammer cast, polished production values, lush James Bernard score - topical (for the time) subtext about the generation gap, and the depiction of Dracula as an avenging angel of darkness is an interesting new twist on a character who seemed in danger of running out of things to do. Dracula was originally supposed to be reincarnated as Ralph Bates, but the distributors insisted they get Lee back, much against his will as usual.