“Wrecked” by Meljean Brook

I have said before, all over these intrawebs, that I am a fan of Meljean Brook’s Iron Seas stories.

First, there’s the top-notch world-building: steampunk, alternative history that involves actual political and economic forces behind the different players’ actions, and internal consistency. Then, there are the wonderfully realized characters. What’s not to like?

Well, there’s one teenie teensie tiny snag: how few of these stories there are, and the likelihood that no more are forthcoming. :sigh:

Ah, well, fans of the series can always re-read the published stories–which is what I’ve been doing lately.

Behold, a review!

“Wrecked” by Meljean Brook¹

While this story is set in the Iron Seas universe, and was published after the first three length novels, it is not connected to any of those characters or stories, so I believe it can be read on its own. Keep in mind that that is hard to judge, though, because I read the stories in order, and I cannot un-know what I already know about the world Ms Brook has created.

Here’s a blurb:

Elizabeth has spent the past five years running from her father; her father’s huntsman, Caius, has spent the past five years pursuing her. But when he finally catches up to her on an airship flying above Europe’s zombie-infested cities, Elizabeth discovers that Caius isn’t the only danger she has to fear—and now that he’s found her, Caius doesn’t intend to let her go…

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The Kraken King, by Meljean Brook

I have said before that I am quite the fan of Ms Brook’s Iron Seas steampunk romance series. I have all the novels in print, on my shelf, where it makes me happy to look at them. I also have all the short stories released by themselves in my phone, so I can get a quick Iron Seas fix every so often.

And yet, to date I have only reviewed one of the stories set in this world.

I know, I suck.

I probably  should start with the novel that started it all, The Iron Duke, but I have found myself utterly captivated by the latest full length novel published, and so here we are.

The Kraken King, by Meljean Brook

This novel was originally published as a digital serial starting in April 2014, with the print book coming out in early November. At 568 pages, this is by far the longest of the four novels so far released in the series. Let me tell you that not one of those pages is filler–between action, characterization, and setting, every word matters.

As I said, this is the fourth full length novel, but it is actually the tenth story set in the Iron Seas world. I believe that new readers could read this story without getting lost, though obviously fans will get a lot more out of it, particularly when it comes to some secondary characters. Still, one of the things Ms Brook does best is that she manages to provide enough information about the world within just a few pages so that even a reader utterly unfamiliar with the world can quickly grasp the gist, filling in the blanks as the story progresses.

The blurb from the author’s site:

“Frozen” by Meljean Brook

“Frozen” by Meljean Brook

First thing you need to know, in case you’ve missed it–or if you are new here, in which case, Hi, there! welcome to my little, often profane corner of the internet!-: I’m a fan of Meljean Brook.

I absolutely adore her Iron Seas stories–she has created an amazing, complex and fully developed world that I wish I could spend more and more time in. Because I suck, I’ve only reviewed the first novella in the series, “Here There Be Monsters,” so far but I aim to correct that horrible, terrible, no good oversight this year.

Anyway.

Something else you may not know is that I am absolutely not a fan of serials, or even of those trilogies/series where you have the unresolved romance, with cliffhangers, for a number of books.¹ I need to know there is an end before I get hooked, as I’ve been burned a few times too many with dangling plot lines and orphaned characters.

So, as a rule, I just don’t do serials.

However, when Ms Brook said she would be posting “Frozen” as a serial on her blog–back in August 2014–I faithfully stalked the place until the last delicious line came out.

(And that, even though I had signed on to get an ARC well before this.)

Of course, I did get the ARC later on, and then promptly bought my very own copy once it came out, ’cause I like it just that much.

And here, just a teenie tiny little bit late *cough* is my review.

Man of Steel (sort of a movie review)

A while back, Meljean Brook posted the trailer for Man of Steel, the latest movie iteration of Superman.

Now, I’m not much of a comic heroes’ fan, but I confess that the trailer did catch my eye (in more ways than one):

First of all, this is a much darker movie–both in the deliberate use of light and color and in the story itself–than, say, Christopher Reeve’s Superman. There’s a bit more of an exploration of life in Krypton, its story, society, and the reason for its collapse.

There is also a more realistic approach to what it would be to be so utterly, intrinsically different from everyone else around you–the total isolation in the midst of crowds.

I confess that I ate the first two thirds or so of the movie up. First of all, I liked how the story was structured, and virtually all the casting choices are excellent.¹

Burning Up (Angela Knight, Nalini Singh, Virginia Kantra, Meljean Brook)

As much as I talk about Meljean Brook’s amazing Iron Seas series, it came as a surprise that I had never reviewed the story that forever hooked me on it. I hereby hasten to correct that egregious oversight.

It will be brief, but it will be done!

Burning Up by Angela Knight, Nalini Singh, Virginia Kantra and Meljean Brook

Not too long ago, in one of the Smart Bitches podcasts, there was a conversation on how effective are novellas as a way to introduce new series to readers.

My knee-jerk reaction is to say that they don’t work for me, but the truth is that they don’t when:

1. the world building doesn’t hold up in the novella,
2. events that are essential to the longer stories happen in the novellas (I like the shorts as extras, not compulsory reading, myself), and
3. when the novella is actually the first few chapters of a novel (yes, this has happened–ask Nora Roberts about Laurell K Hamilton and the Out Of This World anthology)

Three out of the four stories in Burning Up are part, or the starting point, of series of different lengths and success. I will review them as they appear in my print copy. Please do be aware the there’s explicit sex, and in some quite a bit of it, in all four stories.

Despite appearances, not everything sucks

For those who have been reading this here blog for the past oh, three weeks? It may seem that indeed I’m always in a rage–or at least fairly angry on a regular basis.

Bad of me to disappoint you, but this is  not true.

In fact, again despite appearances, I’m often quite happy.

Help me decide: happy or sad ending?

A long time ago, I saw this video over at Meljean Brook’s awesome blog:

So, help me decide: does the sound at the end means a parachute opens or… ?

*gulp*