strange and random happenstance

Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris
Published by: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: April 26th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Agent Eliza Braun lives for field work. Agent Wellington Books lives for his archives. Both working within The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, a secret agency within Queen Victoria's government, they never have had much time for each other. Eliza was always off on some dangerous mission, hopefully involving dynamite, while Books had his files and artifacts and tea, deep within the bowels of  "Miggins Antiquities." That all changed when one day, Books was Eliza's mission. He had been kidnapped by the enemy and whisked away to a secret base in Antarctica. Eliza arrived guns a blazing and rescued Books, returning the two of them to jolly old England. Only, she didn't follow directions, per se.  Doctor Sound had ordered Wellington to be decommissioned, in the most final way possible, in case he had let any secrets be spilled. Yet Eliza knew that Wellington hadn't been compromised, deep in her bones.

Her penance for such belief in Wellington? Being demoted from field agent to assist him in the archives. Both of them view this as the worst kind of hell imaginable. Wellington doesn't like interlopers in "his" archives. Early morning hours and the complete tedium of filing isn't what Eliza thinks of as a good time either. Though the archives do hold some interest for her... deep within the darkest reaches there are unsolved cases. One of those cases involves her ex partner, Harry. They had been investigating a series of gruesome murders together when Doctor Sound told them to abandon the case. Yet the files indicate that Harry kept working the case secretly, until his disappearance and subsequent reappearance in Bedlam.

Eliza will not let this rest. Slowly she convinces Books that it's in their best interest to continue Harry's investigation. She'll investigate it with or without him, so Books might as well come along. Soon there's buildings blowing up, high speed carriage chases, fights during the opera and secret societies. Working side by side, Books and Braun have to learn to trust each other and believe in their new partner. Yet for Eliza, relying on an agent, untrained in field ops, while being deep undercover could be the riskiest decision she ever made. For Books, leaving the archives was his riskiest decision.

I think I have quite probably found my new favorite series. The mystery, the chemistry, the humor are all perfectly balanced to create one of the best reads out there, Steampunk or otherwise. The polar opposites of toffy, British to the bone, Books and trigger happy, dynamite loving New Zealander Braun can easily go down as one of the best pairings since Mrs. Peel and Steed, Maddy and David, Sam and Diane, Castle and Beckett. They just fuel each other to new levels of ingenuity and snarky, witty banter. They are the chemical equivalent of dynamite, a comparison I know full well Eliza would love. There's a part of me that spent the entire book just hoping they'd get together, and another part of me just loving this long tease... I trust in the writers that everything will be worth my wait and the payoff will be sublime.

Almost a Victorian version of The Avengers, I find that with the artifact nature of many of the investigations, that the book can be favorably compared to one of my favorite series, Warehouse 13. I would not be surprised if at any moment HG Wells popped up and asked for a little help from Books and Braun, creating the best fan fic mash-up of the Victorian Era. Everything about the book just worked. The mystery changes directions many times throughout the lengthy story, yet I enjoyed every minute of the ride and the denouement brought everything back together. The Steampunk elements fit in the story and never once felt out of place or forced, which is a hard thing to do with techno babble. Just wonderful worldbuilding on the parts of Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris.

The authors where even able to take a trope that I've come to hate and make it fresh. The Hellfire Club. Anything Victorian or Regency, or really, any time they can in anything slightly period or historical in a British setting, or British Coloney, the Hellfire Club will rear it's head. Heck, they even did it in The Avengers. Yet the Phoenix Society, while having the debauchery of said predecessor, goes beyond just the wanton lust of what came before. They have a secondary agenda too, yet that isn't what made it work. What made the society work was that the way the authors set up the weekend of loose morals was by creating the perfect British Country House weekend and then skewing it. Like a very dark Gosford Park. Personally, I adore mysteries in a Country House setting. Therefore by adding this level of aristocratic sheen and typical behaviour over the atypical club, I never once was raising my fist going, "Damn you Francis Dashwood and your Monks! Damn you to a real, not intentional hell. Devils poking you... oh wait, you'd probably like that."

Also, as is my way, sometimes when reading a book I totally see one actor in my head immediately. Obviously, the agent Bruce Campbell, would be played by Bruce Campbell, that isn't up for negotiation. For Books I was trying to think of someone stuffy, but who could kick ass and be menacing when need be. The obvious choice is Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndam-Pryce from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and later Angel. Can't you just picture his stammering and lecturing of Eliza? I sure can!

Here is "Books" in lecture mode, disgruntled lecture mode, hence the tie being loose, when he has had one too many problems with Eliza. Once again trying to explain the taxonomy of the filing and how work starts not near lunch or in the afternoon but in the morning.

Yet, he can totally bring the "dapper" for a night out at the opera to enjoy some Macbeth or to infiltrate a Country House Party that has nefarious undertones.

For Eliza, I wanted someone young and plucky, who looks like they are a little cherubic, until they pull a gun on you. While she is The Doctor's next companion, it was Jenna Louise Coleman's performance in the Titanic miniseries by Julian Fellowes that shows she has Eliza's competence, quick wit and sharp tongue.

Also, she can bring the glam, but that reinforced corset might need some adjustments...

Moste Importante Steampunkery:
While there are many great Steampunk inventions in the book, many designed by Books himself, the prize has to go the Mad McTighe's coin-operated Combobula Bar. Lord McTighe was a gallant nutter who disliked women having to be bar maids because "women shouldna be pawed by drunk patrons!" So he invented the Combobula Bar where you can listen to "Onward Christian Soldiers" while waiting for the machine to mix and serve you drink. Yet what makes this shiny brass-and-wooden bar stand out is that it can somehow sense a bar fight and close in on itself, protecting the machinery, but, more importantly, the booze.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bruce Campbell, Buffy, Eliza Braun, Hellfire Club, Jullian Fellowes, Ministry of Peculiar Occurances, New Zealand, Pip Ballantine, Tee Morris, The Avengers, Victorian, Warehouse 13, Welling Books

The Janus Affair by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris
Published by: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: May 29th, 2012
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Eliza and Wellington have been behaving themselves... mostly. Since the to-do with the Phoenix Society, Eliza's desire for field work has been mildly slacked. But even Welly MUST admit that when a case just falls into their lap it can't be ignored. Even if it wasn't so much the case fell as a lady disappeared in front of them on a hypersteam train from Scotland to London. Eliza had just met the lady in question at a Suffrage meeting and now she's all screaming and lightning and gone. Yet their boss Dr. Sound doesn't follow the logic of Braun. She's too close to the case and therefore shouldn't investigate. But for Eliza this is exactly the reason why she must investigate, that and the knowledge that their fellow agent assigned to the case, Bruce Campbell, will do nothing. A promise he lives up to when he quickly sends the case down to the archives as closed... but not solved.

Eliza might have been convinced by Welly to back down if they didn't see it happen again. They are wandering around the park and head over to Speaker's Corner. There is a large Suffrage rally in progress and a large shock in store for Eliza. Kate Sheppard is there. Eliza hasn't seen Kate since the incident that made Eliza an outcast, no longer welcome in New Zealand. Kate is looking pretty good with her half metal face, she's not one to back down when the going got tough! Then all of a sudden the same metallic tang fills the air and Eliza knows Kate is going to be snatched. Jumping to the podium, Eliza once again saves Kate, but the other girl wasn't so lucky.

Now that there are two cases, Eliza combs the archives and finds even more. Key women to the Suffrage movement snatched out of thin air. But why? And why bury the cases? Are they being killed, kidnapped, ransomed? Or is this all just to undermine the movement? Because not knowing what is happening is sewing more fear than a direct attack would. Yet Kate is ready for a fight if Eliza is! Too bad Kate brought her son Douglas along... Eliza's first true love. No matter who is behind this or why, Eliza will solve this, job and life be damned. Yet, with the forces of darkness aligning themselves against the agents and their ministry, could it really be the end for Books and Braun?

First, make sure you've read the first book, second, make sure you've read the short story The Evil that Befell Sampson, which really should be required reading to get this book, ok, done? Now we can discuss. I adore Books and Braun. Their chemistry and their combined talents are such a perfect match. Yet, with just the two of them, you'd have a decent book. It is all the perfectly formed peripheral characters that make this book so much more. From Eliza's Ministry Seven, her answer to the Baker Street Irregulars, to her kick ass half steam maid, to their fellow agents whom you not only fall in love with but mourn. Even the baddies fascinate me! Usually the adversary is some mysterious, convoluted, not very well plotted big bad, yet here, we have Sophia and Lord Sussex and the conflicted Bruce. You are almost cheering them on as much as the protagonists. I want to know more about them, I want to know more about the mysterious Maestro. I want to know exactly what is happening to Sussex, because right now I have fifty million theories, and most point to a Jekyll and Hyde scenario. I never have cared much for villains in the past, maybe a passing interest in a roguish cad... but actual villains? Nope.

The world of this novel makes me want to curl up in it and never leave, which is why I'm so excited they put out so many short stories, because how else would I survive till the next book comes out? Still, there where a few things in this book that made it click a little less for me. What I loved most of all was that the arrival of Douglas threw Eliza and Wellington's feelings for each other into relief. We also had the closure of the Douglas chapter of Eliza's life. There could be no romantic entanglement between the two of them till at least the most obvious of the obstacles where removed, ie, Eliza's former partner, her former love. That isn't to say that there aren't tons of other problems, psychological and ideological that could get in their way... but now the real hurdles have been passed.

The Suffrage movement, personally, I could take it or leave it, but that's probably because I have grown up in a world that has never banned me from voting. I love this historical aspect and the little things, like the distinction of calling the women Suffragists not Suffragettes. Also, the fact that Kate Sheppard was a real hell cat for New Zealand, minus the bionic makeover, makes this ever more real. Yet, the fact that this struggle is somehow the final straw that broke our villain's back and had the world heading for... I'll be good, no spoilers... well, something really bad, I didn't really buy.

What I didn't like? I missed the archives! Which, because of this book's ending, I fear I will continue to miss. I liked the idea of them having a base of operations within this larger organization. I loved them thwarting their boss and trying to cover up what they where up to with elaborate shadow play and excuses. I missed the research in that dank little cellar! The archives are a character all it's own and I missed it! Plus, the archives has so much to offer, and really, it is their job! I found it not that feasible that they where not missed at all for the entire duration of the book. They maybe stopped by once or twice and no one commented on their absence? Really!?!

Though the thing that bothered me the most was a lack of copy editing. Hell, I would personally copy edit these books for free to avoid the grammatical errors and the occasional missing words which would make a sentence not make sense unless your brain filled in the gaps, which my brain is quite used to. Though, I think a continuity editor would be even better because of one niggling thing that drove me bonkers. The added elevator. In the first book, Phoenix Rising, there is a scene when Welly has to take the drunken Eliza home. He has to carry her comatose body up flights and flights of stairs. It was a struggle because that little pepper pot (a word starting to get overused in the chapter headings) was wearing her reinforced corset... yet in the second book, after Douglas shows up at Eliza's when Welly is there, Welly and Douglas leave together and glare at each other while riding the elevator to the ground floor. Say what!?! If there was the option of an elevator when Welly was lugging around a drunk Eliza, I think he would have taken it! Also, not much time has passed since the first book, so I find it highly unlikely that an elevator was installed. So, magically appearing elevator... yeah, no thanks. Yet, even these detractions can't take away my love of this series and the fact that I am desperate for the next volume... which probably won't be out to next year... sigh, sob and wail.

Moste Importante Steampunkery:
Sophia de Morte's Lococycle. It's basically Batman's Batcycle but cooler! Especially so once Wellington finishes adding some of his touches, sure to be far more effective than that lame crotch rocket Christian Bale was riding in The Dark Knight Rises! Though I think Sophia would approve of Catwoman having her own. Meow! This "infernal contraption" might be inelegant to the eyes of some, Sussex cough cough, the "two wheels, one in front of the other like a bicycle" added with pistons and valves makes this the fastest mode of transport for delivering messages to your dark master or rescuing your partner. It also scares the hell out of horses.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Batman, Bruce Campbell, Catwoman, Christian Bale, Eliza Braun, Kate Sheppard, Ministry of Peculiar Occurances, Phoenix Rising, Suffragettes, The Dark Knigt Rises, The Janus Affair, Wellington Books

Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris
Published by: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: April 26th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Agent Eliza Braun lives for field work. Agent Wellington Books lives for his archives. Both working within The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, a secret agency within Queen Victoria's government, they never have had much time for each other. Eliza was always off on some dangerous mission, hopefully involving dynamite, while Books had his files and artifacts and tea, deep within the bowels of  "Miggins Antiquities." That all changed when one day, Books was Eliza's mission. He had been kidnapped by the enemy and whisked away to a secret base in Antarctica. Eliza arrived guns a blazing and rescued Books, returning the two of them to jolly old England. Only, she didn't follow directions, per se.  Doctor Sound had ordered Wellington to be decommissioned, in the most final way possible, in case he had let any secrets be spilled. Yet Eliza knew that Wellington hadn't been compromised, deep in her bones.

Her penance for such belief in Wellington? Being demoted from field agent to assist him in the archives. Both of them view this as the worst kind of hell imaginable. Wellington doesn't like interlopers in "his" archives. Early morning hours and the complete tedium of filing isn't what Eliza thinks of as a good time either. Though the archives do hold some interest for her... deep within the darkest reaches there are unsolved cases. One of those cases involves her ex partner, Harry. They had been investigating a series of gruesome murders together when Doctor Sound told them to abandon the case. Yet the files indicate that Harry kept working the case secretly, until his disappearance and subsequent reappearance in Bedlam.

Eliza will not let this rest. Slowly she convinces Books that it's in their best interest to continue Harry's investigation. She'll investigate it with or without him, so Books might as well come along. Soon there's buildings blowing up, high speed carriage chases, fights during the opera and secret societies. Working side by side, Books and Braun have to learn to trust each other and believe in their new partner. Yet for Eliza, relying on an agent, untrained in field ops, while being deep undercover could be the riskiest decision she ever made. For Books, leaving the archives was his riskiest decision.

I think I have quite probably found my new favorite series. The mystery, the chemistry, the humor are all perfectly balanced to create one of the best reads out there, Steampunk or otherwise. The polar opposites of toffy, British to the bone, Books and trigger happy, dynamite loving New Zealander Braun can easily go down as one of the best pairings since Mrs. Peel and Steed, Maddy and David, Sam and Diane, Castle and Beckett. They just fuel each other to new levels of ingenuity and snarky, witty banter. They are the chemical equivalent of dynamite, a comparison I know full well Eliza would love. There's a part of me that spent the entire book just hoping they'd get together, and another part of me just loving this long tease... I trust in the writers that everything will be worth my wait and the payoff will be sublime.

Almost a Victorian version of The Avengers, I find that with the artifact nature of many of the investigations, that the book can be favorably compared to one of my favorite series, Warehouse 13. I would not be surprised if at any moment HG Wells popped up and asked for a little help from Books and Braun, creating the best fan fic mash-up of the Victorian Era. Everything about the book just worked. The mystery changes directions many times throughout the lengthy story, yet I enjoyed every minute of the ride and the denouement brought everything back together. The Steampunk elements fit in the story and never once felt out of place or forced, which is a hard thing to do with techno babble. Just wonderful worldbuilding on the parts of Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris.

The authors where even able to take a trope that I've come to hate and make it fresh. The Hellfire Club. Anything Victorian or Regency, or really, any time they can in anything slightly period or historical in a British setting, or British Coloney, the Hellfire Club will rear it's head. Heck, they even did it in The Avengers. Yet the Phoenix Society, while having the debauchery of said predecessor, goes beyond just the wanton lust of what came before. They have a secondary agenda too, yet that isn't what made it work. What made the society work was that the way the authors set up the weekend of loose morals was by creating the perfect British Country House weekend and then skewing it. Like a very dark Gosford Park. Personally, I adore mysteries in a Country House setting. Therefore by adding this level of aristocratic sheen and typical behaviour over the atypical club, I never once was raising my fist going, "Damn you Francis Dashwood and your Monks! Damn you to a real, not intentional hell. Devils poking you... oh wait, you'd probably like that."

Also, as is my way, sometimes when reading a book I totally see one actor in my head immediately. Obviously, the agent Bruce Campbell, would be played by Bruce Campbell, that isn't up for negotiation. For Books I was trying to think of someone stuffy, but who could kick ass and be menacing when need be. The obvious choice is Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndam-Pryce from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and later Angel. Can't you just picture his stammering and lecturing of Eliza? I sure can!

Here is "Books" in lecture mode, disgruntled lecture mode, hence the tie being loose, when he has had one too many problems with Eliza. Once again trying to explain the taxonomy of the filing and how work starts not near lunch or in the afternoon but in the morning.

Yet, he can totally bring the "dapper" for a night out at the opera to enjoy some Macbeth or to infiltrate a Country House Party that has nefarious undertones.

For Eliza, I wanted someone young and plucky, who looks like they are a little cherubic, until they pull a gun on you. While she is The Doctor's next companion, it was Jenna Louise Coleman's performance in the Titanic miniseries by Julian Fellowes that shows she has Eliza's competence, quick wit and sharp tongue.

Also, she can bring the glam, but that reinforced corset might need some adjustments...

Moste Importante Steampunkery:
While there are many great Steampunk inventions in the book, many designed by Books himself, the prize has to go the Mad McTighe's coin-operated Combobula Bar. Lord McTighe was a gallant nutter who disliked women having to be bar maids because "women shouldna be pawed by drunk patrons!" So he invented the Combobula Bar where you can listen to "Onward Christian Soldiers" while waiting for the machine to mix and serve you drink. Yet what makes this shiny brass-and-wooden bar stand out is that it can somehow sense a bar fight and close in on itself, protecting the machinery, but, more importantly, the booze.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Bruce Campbell, Buffy, Eliza Braun, Hellfire Club, Jullian Fellowes, Ministry of Peculiar Occurances, New Zealand, Pip Ballantine, Tee Morris, The Avengers, Victorian, Warehouse 13, Welling Books