Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris – review

From the Harper Collins website:

Evil is most assuredly afoot—and Britain’s fate rests in the hands of an alluring renegade . . . and a librarian.

These are dark days indeed in Victoria’s England. Londoners are vanishing, then reappearing, washing up as corpses on the banks of the Thames, drained of blood and bone. Yet the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences—the Crown’s clandestine organization whose bailiwick is the strange and unsettling—will not allow its agents to investigate. Fearless and exceedingly lovely Eliza D. Braun, however, with her bulletproof corset and a disturbing fondness for dynamite, refuses to let the matter rest . . . and she’s prepared to drag her timorous new partner, Wellington Books, along with her into the perilous fray.

For a malevolent brotherhood is operating in the deepening London shadows, intent upon the enslavement of all Britons. And Books and Braun—he with his encyclopedic brain and she with her remarkable devices—must get to the twisted roots of a most nefarious plot . . . or see England fall to the Phoenix!

From reading this blurb I expected a steampunk styled adventure story with gadgetry, weapons, lots of tea and great costumes.  Guess what I got?  A steampunk styled adventure story with fun gadgets, weapons, lots of tea and great costumes with some very intricate sub-plotting, several different villains that were not only plausible but also fit for the story, as well as a bit of social satire. 

The adventure starts out strong with Agent Braun and Agent Books meeting for the first time in unusual circumstances in a remote location as Agent Braun works to liberate Agent Books.  I loved the characters, though I felt they needed a little bit of refining, and I really wanted to tag along with them as they investigated.  I liked that the reader gets several viewpoints throughout the story, the two main characters, their boss, some villains, and more.  I love the gadgets, the descriptions of the Archives, the clever little ways that Agent Books both deceives and surprises everyone.  While many of the gadgets in the book were over-the-top and nearly impossible to believe, they were fun–and being a tad outrageous actually added to the narrative rather than detracting from it in this instance.  I also enjoyed the (belated of course) chuckle I got when I realized that their names were also who they were; Agent Books is the brain, and Agent Braun is the brawn. 

There were a couple of sub-plots that I expect will be explored in more detail in future volumes.  One of them involved the head of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences and some clandestine activities the reader isn’t privy to.  The other was much more difficult to pin down; it was clear that outside forces were trying to replace the Ministry with some sort of group of their own, but it wasn’t clear what the objective truly was, and there weren’t a great many clues as to whether this plot was being masterminded by one of the two groups of villains in the story.  Possibly other readers may see more than I did; I’ve been known to be obtuse when it comes to these kinds of things.

While I enjoyed the book for the most part, one scene felt out of place to me.  I didn’t actively dislike it, but it was jarring–it didn’t fit with the style of the story or the genre and did not advance the plot in any way I could fathom.  Additionally, there was a great deal made of the mutual animosity between Colonials (from Australia or New Zealand) and Britons that might only be entertaining to those familiar with both cultures.  There was also a smattering of unfamiliar slang terms that made the dialogue a little bit of a bumpy ride.  This is the kind of thing that may smooth out in future books, but for the first one was just slightly off-putting.

I love the style of the cover–the colors and the placement are wonderful.  The costumes are also good, though Agent Braun’s is a little scantier than the description in the story makes it out to be.  Additionally, her stance is much less “I’m dangerous, you might want to back up now” and more “I’m sexy and I’m holding a gun,” and it just doesn’t fit with the character.  I also thought it was a kind of cheat for Agent Books to be obscuring his face with a cup of tea–though that does fit better with his character, as he is happy being obscure and unnoticed in the Archives, as it allows him to actually get stuff done.  I like the city street they are standing in, but the corner pieces just don’t work for me.  They are, in my opinion, de trop.  Especially since the image of the characters and the actual title screams steampunk, thus there was no need to add unnecessary frills that may, or may not, appear steampunkish.  Also, the cover text is handled poorly.  Phoenix Rising needed to be much larger and in a better font with the long subtitle being smaller and in the same font as the title.  As it is the title detracts from the image and is crowded and dull and just does no justice to the nice art it is gracing.

Would I recommend this book, and if so, to whom?  As to the first:  I would absolutely recommend this.  I feel that the authors will only get better as they improve their craft and their characters begin to fill themselves out.  I have high hopes for this new series.  Anyone who has enjoyed George Mann’s Newberry & Hobbes Investigations (The Affinity Bridge) will most likely enjoy this new series.  Fans of other recent steampunk titles like Gail Carriger’s Soulless, Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan, or Cherie Priest’s Boneshaker may enjoy this, as well.  It is also possible that romance fans who have read Katie MacAlister’s Steamed and those that have never read any steampunk but enjoyed Indiana Jones might also like this new series.

Editor’s note:  This book is scheduled to be released on April 26, 2011.