strange and random happenstance

13 Months Haunted by Jimmy Juliano
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: August 12th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
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The official patter:
"From Dead Eleven author Jimmy Juliano, a twisty, edge-of-your-seat novel about a unique haunting in the early 2000s.

Piper Lowery, a public library clerk in charge of liaising with the local middle school, can tell right away there's something strange about the new girl in eighth grade. Avery Wallace won't touch any kind of technology, not even the computers at the library, and her mother comes to school with her every day, refusing to leave her side - not even when Avery uses the restroom.

And then there are the rumors, the whispers Piper hears from kids in the hallway and parents around town: Avery's mother is a witch. Her sister and father were killed by something supernatural. A strange virus killed them.

Seeing how isolated and lonely Avery is, Piper befriends her but quickly realizes it might just be the worst decision she's ever made. Because there's something dark inside Avery Wallace, and it's spreading..."

If you had an evil spawn of Satan baby wouldn't you home school it?

House of Monstrous Women by Daphne Fama
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: August 12th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young woman is drawn into a dangerous game after being invited to the mazelike home of her childhood friend, a rumored witch, in this Gothic horror set in 1986 Philippines.

In this game, there's one rule: survive.

Orphaned after her father's political campaign ended in tragedy, Josephine is alone taking care of the family home while her older brother is off in Manila, where revolution brews. But an unexpected invitation from her childhood friend Hiraya to her house offers an escape....

Why don't you come visit, and we can play games like we used to?

If Josephine wins, she'll get whatever her heart desires. Her brother is invited, too, and it's time they had a talk. Josephine's heard the dark whispers: Hiraya is a witch and her family spits curses. But still, she's just desperate enough to seize this chance to change her destiny.

Except the Ranoco house is strange, labyrinthine, and dangerously close to a treacherous sea. A sickly-sweet smell clings to the dimly lit walls, and veiled eyes follow Josephine through endless connecting rooms. The air is tense with secrets, and as the game continues it's clear Josephine doesn't have the whole truth.

To save herself, she will have to play to win. But in this house, victory is earned with blood.

A lush new voice in horror arises in this riveting gothic set against the upheaval of 1986 Philippines and the People Power Revolution."

Oh, yes, an oh so haunted house. My summer catnip! And right in time for my birthday.

The Society of Unknowable Objects by Gareth Brown
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: August 12th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
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The official patter:
"From the author of the internationally bestselling The Book of Doors, another fantastical, stand-alone novel in which a trio of seemingly everyday people are members of a secret society tasked with finding and protecting hidden magical objects - ordinary items with extraordinary properties.

The world of unknowable objects - magical items that most people have no idea possess powers - has been quiet for decades, but the three current members of a secret society have remained watchful, meeting every six months in the basement of a bookshop in London. They are pledged to protect their archive of magical items hidden away, safe from the outside world - and the world safe from them. But when Frank Simpson, the longest-standing member of the Society of Unknowable Objects, hears of a new artifact coming to light in Hong Kong, he sends Magda Sparks - author by day and newest member - to investigate.

Within hours of arriving in Hong Kong, Magda is facing death and danger, confronted by a professional killer who seems to know all about unknowable objects, specifically one that was stolen from him a decade before. Magda is forced to flee, using an artifact that not even the rest of the Society knows about.

Returning to London, Magda learns hers is not the only secret being kept from the other two members. And that the most pernicious secret is about the nature of the Society's mission. Her discoveries will lead her on a perilous journey, across the Atlantic to the deep south of the United States, now in pursuit of not an unknowable object, but an unknowable person: the professional killer she first faced in Hong Kong. In doing so, Magda begins to understand that there are even more in the world who are chasing these magical items, and that her own family's legacy is tied up in keeping all these secrets under wraps.

Magic has always been too powerful to reveal to the world. But Magda will learn there might be something even more powerful:

The truth."

For fans of The Librarians and Warehouse 13.

The Space Cat by Nnedi Okorafor and Tana Ford
Published by: First Second
Publication Date: August 12th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 176 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Invaders from outer space have descended on Nigeria. They have no idea whose home they're messing with.

Ah, yes, the luxurious life of a well-loved cat. It's the best. And Periwinkle has it the cushiest. But there's more to this pampered pet than meets the eye. He's not just a house cat. He's a space cat. By day, he's showered with scritches, cuddles, and delicious chicken fillets. By night, he races through the cosmos in his custom-built spaceship.

Between epic battles with squeaky toys and working on ways to improve his ship, Periwinkle is never bored. And when his humans decide to leave the United States and move to the small but bustling town of Kaleria, Nigeria, he's excited to explore his new home - even after he learns that many Nigerians hate cats. After all, a born adventurer like Periwinkle doesn't shy away from new experiences. But not everything in Kaleria is as it seems. Soon enough, Periwinkle finds himself on his most out-of-this-world adventure yet, right here on Earth."

Even since I watched The Cat from Outer Space I have been obsessed by the idea of felines in space.

The Bone Raiders by Jackson Ford
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: August 12th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The start of an edge-of-your-seat, action-packed epic fantasy series from the irreverent Jackson Ford, where a wild band known as the Bone Raiders harness the power of gigantic, fire-breathing lizards to defend their homeland.

WE DIDN'T START THE FIRE...BUT OUR GIANT FIRE-BREATHING LIZARDS DID.

You don't f*ck with the Rakada. The people living in the grasslands of the Tapestry call them the Bone Raiders, from their charming habit of displaying the bones of those they kill on their armour. But being a raider is tough these days. There's a new Great Khan in the Tapestry. He plans to use his sizeable military to get rid of the raider clans. And then there are the huge fire-breathing lizards that are straying into the grasslands a little too often these days.

Sayana is a raider scout. She knows that to protect their way of life, she needs do something drastic. Like convincing her clan to ride those huge lizards, instead of horses. Sayana doesn't know how to do it without being eaten and/or cooked alive, but she'd better figure it out fast - or she and her clan, along with every other raider in the Tapestry, will be wiped out."

YAS, dragon riders by a slightly different bent.

Her Soul for a Crown by Alysha Rameera
Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: August 12th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For readers of Sarah J Maas, Scarlett St. Clair, and Tasha Suri's The Jasmine Throne, this epic, slow-burn romantasy inspired by Sri Lankan mythology follows a fierce orphaned young woman with an affinity for poisons and revenge who would do anything to end the reign of heartless rajas - even sell her soul to the most dangerous cursed god of all - the Blood Yakka, Reeri.

Anula Ramanayake of Anuradhapura calculated her ascent the moment she was orphaned - when her village burned in an endless war and the gods forsook her prayers. First, she would marry the raja. Then, she would poison him and take the throne for herself and her people. But when an unexpected coup thwarts her careful plans, Anula is left with one desperate option. She offers her soul to the cursed gods she renounced in exchange for the crown.

In the Second Heavens, Reeri the Blood Yakka, the most dangerous and powerful of his clan, hears her prayer. For eons, he's waited for such a valuable offering - one that could finally give him the chance to kill his divine tormentor and return his fellow Yakkas to their former glory on earth. Reeri accepts Anula's bargain, tethering them until their goals are achieved, or until they die.

As the war presses on, Anula must move quickly or lose her chance to become the first raejina. But while she is skilled at many things, especially in stopping hearts, the closer she grows to Reeri, the more she finds her own heart at risk. And when the time comes to fight enemies both human and divine, Anuradhapura and the Heavens will never be the same."

For fans of romantasy and Monstress. 

The Sun and the Moon by Rebekah Faubion
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: August 12th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Like the sun and the moon, these opposites can't escape each other's gravitational pull in this enchanting romance.

Cadence Connolly grew up in the cosmic shadow of her mother, the renowned psychic Madame Moira. Now, as a park ranger in Maine, she's carved out her own life far away from her mother's many premonitions and tarot cards...until she receives an invitation to Moira's engagement party. Cadence doesn't know what led to the thawing of her mother's heart, but she'll have to return home to discover the truth.

Sydney Sinclair's schedule as a pilot makes long-term relationships difficult, but at least she can fly anywhere in the world for free with only her emotional baggage as a carry-on. After her mom passed, it's always been Sydney and her dad against the world, so it's no wonder she doesn't trust the enigmatic Madame Moira - his newly minted fiancée.

When Cadence meets Sydney, they realize they share similar suspicions about their parents' impending nuptials. As they begin scheming to break up their parents' engagement - they can't possibly be in love after such a short time together - Sydney and Cadence discover an irresistible chemistry with each other instead. Despite not believing in fate, Cadence might just have found her soulmate in Sydney."

What if their parents set this all up because it was written in the cards?

Just Another Dead Author by Katarina Bivald
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: August 12th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The pen is mightier than the sword - but both are deadly in the wrong hands.

When mystery author Berit Gardner agrees to attend a writer's conference in the idyllic French countryside, she dreams of basking in the sun and nurturing budding talent. But her vacation takes a dark turn when the keynote speaker - a notorious literary titan known for his biting critiques - drops dead at the end of her lecture. As whispers of foul play swirl, Berit quickly realizes she's stepped into a tangled web of jealousy, betrayal, and long-held grudges.

Enter the French commissaire, who is less than thrilled to have a curious author meddling in her investigation. But as the suspects pile up - each with their own motive for wanting the egotistical writer dead - she reluctantly recognizes Berit's sharp instincts could crack the case wide open. With a colorful cast of authors, agents, and aspiring writers all hiding secrets, the stakes rise higher with every clue uncovered.

To make matters worse, a tenacious young journalist vows to outsmart Berit and solve the mystery first, placing herself in the killer's sights. Now, Berit must navigate a maze of deceit and danger while trying to keep the ambitious reporter safe. With time running out and the killer lurking in the shadows, can Berit unravel the truth before her own story ends in tragedy?"

I always love mystery authors trying to catch killers.

High Season by Katie Bishop
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: August 12th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Never speak of that summer.

On a beautiful summer's night twenty years ago, troubled seventeen-year-old Tamara Drayton was found floating face-down in the pool of her family's idyllic mansion in the south of France, leaving her twin brother, golden-boy Blake, to pick up the pieces of their shattered family.

Also left behind was their sister Nina who, at six years old, became the youngest person ever to testify in a French murder trial. Because she's the only one who saw what happened - who watched as her babysitter, Josie Jackson, pushed Tamara under the water, and held her there until she stopped breathing.

Didn't she? Twenty years later, Nina's memories have faded, leaving her with no idea of what really transpired that night. When a new true crime documentary about her sister's murder is announced, Nina thinks this might be her chance to finally find out.

But the truth always comes at a cost. Who will pay the price?

Set over two unforgettable summers two decades apart, High Season is a dark, tense exploration of the nature of memory, the enduring power of truth, and all the gray areas in between."

Long hot summers are always memorable. Through in a murder and it's a summer you're not bound to ever forget.

The Gossip Columnist's Daughter by Peter Orner
Published by: Little Brown and Company
Publication Date: August 12th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The cold case of a young Hollywood starlet's death sets a contemporary writer on an epic and comic quest to uncover the truth, and its connection to his own family - a new novel by "a major talent" (New York Times) and "one of the most distinctive voices of his generation" (Granta).

Jed Rosenthal hasn't published a book in fourteen years, the mother of his child left him in a "trial separation" that has stretched on indefinitely, and he struggles to navigate the daily sorrows of their co-parenting arrangement. But the implosion of Jed's family is simply a footnote in the larger history of the Rosenthal family's decline.

Just days after the JFK assassination, Karyn "Cookie" Kupcinet was found dead in her Hollywood apartment. The press reported that the 22-year-old was strangled, yet unanswered questions linger to this day. Cookie's parents - Chicago royalty, Irv and Essee Kupcinet - had been close friends with Jed's grandparents, but in the aftermath of her death, their friendship abruptly and inexplicably ended. Decades later, Jed pores over family stories, newspaper archives, old photos, and crime scene notes, believing that if he can divine the truth of Cookie's death - whether it was suicide, murder, or part of a larger conspiracy - it might shed light on a mystery closer to home.

Spanning seventy plus years, and weaving together family drama and a true-life unsolved case, The Gossip Columnist's Daughter is a singular, wryly comic, and deeply human exploration into friendship and the bonds that sustain us."

And who knows, a struggling writer solving a cold case would sure be a bestseller...

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alysha Rameera, Daphne Fama, Gareth Brown, Gothic, Jackson Ford, Jimmy Juliano, Katarina Bivald, Katie Bishop, Nnedi Okorafor, Peter Orner, Rebekah Faubion, Tana Ford, The Cat from Outer Space, The Librarians, Warehouse 13

Colonel William Reid. AKA, a hard man to pin down. He's such a vibrant and amazing character but I kept getting caught up on the fact he was a ginger instead of trying to cast to the character as Lauren had written him. That's when Anthony Stewart Head popped into mine.

Name: Anthony Head

"Dream" Character Casting for the Lauren Willig Miniseries: Colonel William Reid

First Impression: Do you remember those old Taster's Choice commercials? I'm sure you do. Though I personally have no recollection of Trevor Eve being in them, it is what I remember Anthony Head from. In fact I remember going to a Doctor Who convention back in the 90s when Buffy had just started and I saw that Anthony Head, aka, the guy from the Taster's Choice commercials was there. I wanted to see him, my friend I was with declined. We made it up to him years later when we went to a Buffy the Vampire Slayer convention in the Catskills.

Why they'd be the perfect actor for the Lauren Willig Miniseries: Forget for a moment that he's not a ginger. The reason I think Anthony Head would be perfect is that, aside from being an amazingly talented actor, he has this ability to light up a room when he smiles. There's an infectious mirth that I think is inherent in the character of William Reid that is also part of who Tony is. There's also a bit of a rogue in him. He can also be scary and commanding when needed. Oh, and he looks fabulous on a horse. Is that enough?

Lasting Impression: While technically it is probably the Taster's Choice commercial, I didn't remember his name or anything from that, so I'm counting the lasting impression as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As Rupert Giles he made librarians sexy. He also showed an amazing range from action and adventure, to comedy, to scary dark depths, his name was Ripper! Now I want to go watch all of Buffy again. Dammit. I knew choosing him as William was a trap somehow. OK, queue up all seven seasons, let's get this started.

What else you've seen them in: That picture of the two of us on my wall? No, that's only for me, let's get to you all. Um, everything awesome? He's played the aging playboy in Manchild and The Invisibles, the sexy Prime Minister on Little Britain. The sophisticated aristocrat in a world about to go to war in Dancing on the Edge. He's played evil fantasy fathers in Merlin and Galavant, with singing! He's shown his comedic chops and his ability to navigate dating a younger woman on the fabulous You, Me and Them. He showed his more shallow side as a certain Regency father in Persuasion, and his sexy evil side on Warehouse 13, seen above, go Paracelsus, kill them all, um, I didn't mean to say that out loud. And of course, he was on Doctor Who. It's not like I've watched everything he's ever been in... I'm sure I've missed one or two. Maybe.

Can't believe it's them: Love in a Cold Climate! Seriously! This is awesome! Look at little Tony Head as another Tony, Tony Kroesig, Linda Radlett's husband! Thankfully this has been reissued on DVD so that you and sqwee with me every time he comes on screen.

Wish they hadn't: Left Buffy to be in Manchild? And no, not a joke. Manchild is ok and all, it's just not Buffy. I mean, it's awesome how they had him leave and then come back, both at the end of Season 6 and then in Season 7, but I missed my Giles! Also I totally still want the Ripper movie, I don't care of the comics have covered it, I still want it.

Bio: Anthony Stewart Head, he had to use the Stewart stateside because there was already another Anthony Head over here, was born into a family that prized the arts. He grew up in Hampton and attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. Tony's father was a documentary filmmaker, his mother is an actress, his brother is a famous musical theater star, and his long term partner, Sarah Fisher, was a theatre administrator, while their two daughters are actresses as well, Emily even played his daughter on The Invisibles. Like his brother he has a love for singing and has released some music both with a band and solo, where he even wrote some of the songs, as well as starring in musicals. He also has a love of horse riding and his house in Somerset with his horses was featured in season 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Head is one of those rare actors who is popular on both sides of the ocean and knows who his fans are and continues to make great shows within the sci-fi community but also expands his repertoire with period pieces. He has been acting as long as I have been alive and I hope to see him popping up in shows for years and years to come. I especially loved his random appearance in Galavant recently, such an awesome surprise. He's my William any day!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anthony Stewart Head, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who, Lauren Willig, Little Britain, Love in a Cold Climate, Merlin, Persuasion, Rupert Giles, The Passion of the Purple Plumeria, Warehouse 13, William Reid

The Diamond Conspiracy by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris
ARC Provided by the Publisher
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: March 31st, 2015
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Wellington Books and Eliza Braun are reveling in each other as they return home from the United States. They are finally as one, on the field and in the bedroom. Though their luxuriant revels come to an end when Eliza gets a ping from the distress beacon she left with her maid Alice and the street urchins that are under her protection, known as the Ministry Seven. They race to their rendezvous point in France to discover that their situation is dire. Queen Victoria has decided that The Ministry is a danger to her reign, and in particular to her plans for her Diamond Jubilee, and is using her other secret organization, the Department of Imperial Inconveniences to eliminate the Ministry. The Department in their signature tweed has been dispatching Ministry agents around the globe with alarming efficiency. Though the Ministry is far from beaten. Director Sound has enacted Shadow Protocol and the disparate agents from around the world are gathering, to regroup and figure out just why they were such a danger to the Queen and how they can stop her.

Half the fun of two strong leads is the will they won't they factor. More then one story has hinged on the sexual tension between the protagonists, or antagonists as it were. The problem that arises from this situation is that if you lead your audience on for too long they get frustrated. Likewise, if the relationship doesn't successfully gel after consummation, then you are in another dire situation, and sometimes go to drastic lengths to solve this problem, yes I'm looking at you Battlestar Galactica. An unsuccessful resolution has spelled the end for many franchises; it is what I like to call the Moonlighting factor, and yes, I know I'm not the only one to use this delightful eighties show as the case study for what not to do with a storyline. Moonlighting quite literally imploded when the leads, Maddie Hayes and David Addison, slept together at the end of the third season. The show spiraled out of control with a lame marriage plot and Maddie miscarrying her and David' child, till a show that was so bright ended with a whimper and the too appropriate epitaph "romance is a fragile thing." Therefore, while I have been delighting in the romance brewing between Books and Braun, I was also very wary.

Yet the time had more then come for Books and Braun to finally get their act together. The previous installment, Dawn's Early Light, was the tipping point with their antagonism and jealous acts. The Diamond Conspiracy opens up with the agents in full blissful coupledom. And here is where I say that thankfully they have avoided all the snares and dangers that were in their paths, huzzah! All gadgets and gizmos have been disarmed and dismantled and what has emerged is even sexier then before. Pip and Tee have managed to keep the tension between Welly and Eliza while simultaneously having their relationship develop into the next stage. Their blissful journey across the Atlantic and their stolen moments are what true sexual chemistry is all about. Yet, to me, the most romantic aspect is not their sexual chemistry, but the way they work as a team. They know the other one always has their back. They are a perfect unit and it is this connection that brings back the fresh dynamic of the first book in this series as it simultaneously sets a sturdier base for continued adventures.

With this consummation of their attraction and their developing relationship we have a very character driven story which spills out into the rest of the book. I think this is the best thing that could have happened for this series. The characters have always been the heart of the story, they have always shone while the plot flounders. The Diamond Conspiracy has stripped down this unwieldy universe that Pip and Tee have created and made it hinge on the human element. They have pulled in all the disparate elements and agents from around the globe that have featured in the Tales from the Archives and parred it down to a manageable amount. At times prior to reading this installment I have felt that their world with all it's tangential stories was almost too hard to hold onto, all the different threads of all these different stories turning to water in my hands and running away from me. This felt like a great spring cleaning, the house has been made new by brushing the cobwebs away. The Diamond Conspiracy feels like a new start for all our characters and it has invigorated me, in fact after finishing the book I felt so optimistic that I didn't want to pick up the next book I had ready to go and instead I started to clean my library, and yes, this is a very daunting task and perhaps shouldn't be started late on a Sunday night... what can I say, the book did it to me!

The feeling of this new beginning though needs to have follow through. The Big Bad of these books has gone a little blurg. While Doctor Jekyll does have a lot going for him as the ultimate puppet master, I seriously might go crazy if Sophia del Morte shows up yet again. In my mind she has never nor will never bring anything to these books. There comes a point when new evils need to be faced and the old evils put away. If there's one thing that I can't stand is the magical return of some long defeated foe. Pip and Tee have defeated quite a few, now let them all rest. Bring in a new villain to go with the new outlook on this series. Keep developing the villains just as Books and Braun's relationship has developed. But don't bring in new angles on old foes. Yes, that little twist that you end The Diamond Conspiracy with is interesting, but still, it's just the old with a twist of the new. The worst season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is easily season seven, because they brought back a villain who could also mimic every other villain ever seen on the show. Please. Move it along.

Despite my little rant there, the villains and their dirty deeds were really just a blip, they were part and parcel of the story and is more a warning rant then anything specific in this volume. The truth is this was a near perfect return to form if it hadn't been for the H.G. Wells factor. In previous volumes august personages have made appearances, as is logical for there are distinct people who unknowingly formed what we now know as Steampunk. From Edison to Tesla to Wells, their visions of the future formed the literature of the future, and the television shows, and the movies. The problem I have with Wells is that it comes too close to another Steampunk franchise I love, and that's Warehouse 13. There is no denying the similarities of The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences and Warehouse 13. With Wellington's archive and the Warehouse, we have two places that collect and store dangerous Steampunky artifacts, occasionally using them to solve their cases. One is present, one is past, I have no problem with them coexisting in my brain or in the world. What I do have a problem with is H.G. Wells being in both in such a similar manner. And H.G. was part of the Warehouse team over a year before the very first Ministry book came out. Just saying, even if Wells is so important to the Steampunk movement, perhaps Wells needs a little distance from the Ministry to not feel like a rip-off.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawn's Early Light, H.G. Wells, Moonlighting, Pip Ballantine, Steampunk, Tales from the Archives, Tee Morris, The Diamond Conspiracy, The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, Warehouse 13

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

Well, for those who don't know me that well, or haven't been following me for that long, Monday was my birthday! Same as Alfred Hitchcock, yo. So, yeah me... I guess... seems weird to be applauding yourself, like at awards shows when nominees applaud themselves, you think, wow, now there's someone who thinks highly of themselves. So, whatever, yeah me, I'm a year older, yadda yadda. Also, this blog is very much, well, yes, me, but more, how other's works effect me. Literature filtered through a Miss Eliza shaped brain. Therefore, while I do talk about myself, I'm mainly talking about things that others have done or written. So for a change, the reason I'm talking about me, besides the whole birthday, is, I figured, I've made everyone else answer my silly Steampunk questions, it seems only right I answer them myself! Therefore, in honor of the day my mom gave birth in a horrible heatwave in the 70s, I present, my Steampunky brain, unfiltered.

Question: What is the definitive Steampunk book for you?

Answer: For me, it's Soulless by Gail Carriger. While there are books I've read since that I might love more, in fact, some of the ones I love more are by Gail Carriger, it was this book that made me more overtly aware of Steampunk, therefore, the definitive Steampunk book for me.

Question: What drew you to this genre?

Answer: While Soulless did draw me to the genre, I think that the reason I was ready for it was my love of the Young Sherlock Holmes. This movie influenced me at a very young age, instilling a love of Victoriana, flying contraptions, wacky inventors, sleuths, and evil Egyptian cults, the cult thing leading to nightmares to this day, damn you Lord Bobbins for playing the cult's music at Teslacon's mummy unwrapping last year! That, and Nicholas Rowe. Also, the romantic in me loves to think that because of a lose at an early age, Sherlock was never able to love again... even if it's totally against character, it made my adolescent heart ache.

Question: How do you take your tea?

Answer: Lots of milk and lots of sugar. What's the point of drinking tea any other way but the way you like it, which is the valuable lesson from Shaun of the Dead.

Question: Must have sartorial accessory?

Answer: Bomber jacket. Because it appeals to my golden age of travel/exploration fantasies... also, just an all round good coat.

Question: Sartorial leaning: Street Urchin, Tinker, Explorer or Aesthete?

Answer: Explorer... but that's I think because I lack the courage to try to pull off Aesthete. But I am a tinkerer at heart and I loved to dress up as an urchin as a child, it was that or Bat Girl, so, yes, Explorer overall, but really, I love them all.

Question: Top hat or bowler hat?

Answer: Both. Different occasions, outfits, social rankings, require different hats.

Question: Subgenre you most identify with: Boilerpunk, Clockpunk, Dieselpunk, Gaslight Romance, Mannerspunk, Raygun Gothic or Stitchpunk?

Answer: Gaslight Romance, because of the aforementioned Young Sherlock Holmes.

Question: If there was one thing that could truly exist from the world of Steampunk what would it be?

Answer: A super steam train. Seeing as I only travel over land, not high over land, a faster train is a must in my mind.

Question: If there was one element in the Steampunk genre you could remove forever what would it be?

Answer: Nothing. Because, while there are tropes and situations that are played out, every once in awhile there's a book or author that is able to take that trope and reinvent it. If I was to censor something, I might be inadvertently stopping a work of genius.

Question: Favorite movie or television series with Steampunk elements?

Answer: Oh, just too too many. Doctor Who, The Avengers, Warehouse 13, Jack of All Trades, on and on and on. But if you can get Bruce Campbell in there, all the better!

Question: Preferred mode of transport: celestial, aether, terra firma or aquatic?

Answer: Terra Firma. I like my feet to not leave the ground, or at least something connected to the ground, thank you!

Question: Victorian or Wild West?

Answer: Victorian. While younger, I did love the West, and Laura Ingalls Wilder, at some point, the Anglophile in me took over.

Question: Would you like an automaton butler or ladies maid, considering that it might be the first step in the robotic apocalypse?

Answer: I'm lazy, and I don't like people touching my stuff, so logically, a robotic butler or ladies maid would be wonderful, but than I think of Cylons, and no way! I mean, did you read that article a few weeks back about a computer who didn't know what I cat was who was able to teach itself! Machines are starting to think. That day will be the day people look back on as the beginning of the robopocalypse.

Question: If The Doctor showed up at your door, where would you go?

Answer: I have always wanted to solve histories unsolved crimes. Jack the Ripper, what really happened with Marilyn Monroe and Natalie Wood? What did Agatha Christie really do when she disappeared? Black Dahlia, Zodiac Killer... you get the idea. Oh, and it'd be nice to meet Jane Austen. This, of course, is presuming I survived long enough on our first unexpected jaunt.

Question: Favorite Queen to have had a diamond jubilee, Victoria or Elizabeth?

Answer: I'm going to be the only one, but I'm going with Elizabeth. One, because no one has been showing her the love. Come on people! And two, how cool was the bit at the Olympics with her and Bond? Queen Victoria never jumped out of a helicopter to open the Olympic ceremonies!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Agatha Christie, Black Dahlia, Corgis, Doctor Who, Gail Carriger, Jack of All Trades, Jack the Ripper, Nicholas Rowe, Queen Elizabeth, Shaun of the Dead, The Young Sherlock Holmes, Warehouse 13

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

As I walked in, having arrived early for the Gail Carriger author reading event at the Sunnyvale Public Library, already I knew I was in the right place with several people decked out in full Steampunk regalia. Mostly, however, it was a subtlety of Steampunk; an octopus necklace here, a gear pin there. There was a particular irony in that nearly everyone waiting was playing on the modern technology of their smart phones. I, however, was standing, pen and pad in hand, in a vintage look which tends to be my regular attire, but was also intended as an homage to what I understood to also be the author’s every day style.

When the doors finally opened, I sat quite literally front and center. Hey, I’ve never been accused of being shy, and I wanted to absorb as much as I could from this lovely and talented lady. She appeared in an elegant 50’s ensemble, and lit up the room from the moment she entered, starting with some basics of introductions for the odd few that perhaps merely wandered in after the crowd trying to comprehend the “interesting” clothing of several of the other attendees.

Ms. Carriger then delighted us by reading excerpts from her new book Etiquette and Espionage, the first in her upcoming young adult series set some twenty or so years previous to her famous Parasol Protectorate, though set in the same alternate Victorian Era Steampunk universe. The book starts with the protagonist in the midst of quite a kerfuffle. Yet again the reader (or listener) is drawn in by humor, calamity, and gloriously independent and interesting characters. She, of course, left us hanging, and most definitely wanting more. We did eventually find out that there will be some repeat characters from the afore mentioned series! I must interject here that, guaranteed, the majority of the audience contemplated absconding with that single copy of Etiquette and Espionage as it will sadly not be released until February 2013. Such is the nature of the publishing industry.

Soon enough, Ms. Carriger entranced us with her effervescent, gracious, and mannerly comportment. What followed was an afternoon of what seemed an intimate conversation among new friends, but which masqueraded as a Q and A session. A bevy of topics were covered – would that I could convey them all in a timely manner in this article. Instead, I will give a few highlights and hope that, should the occasion occur for you to attend such an event, that you will indulge and attend to discover for yourself Ms. Carriger’s grace and wit.

She waxed about her beginnings in a small artist/beat poet community where she went in the very different direction of archeology, so that I began to think of her as a young Mary Cassatt (or Diane di Prima) - Indiana Jones hybrid, but with panache. Ms. Carriger had a friend who, at 15 years of age, had a short story published. Describing herself as someone who was constantly writing, Ms. Carriger realized at that moment that SHE could be published as well. And she did have short stories published here and there. So she continued to write, branching into novels… and be rejected for nearly 10 years. At some point she noticed what would get published was her humor, whereas her novels generally followed another style. When she sussed out how to stretch comedy, which she defined as creating “the opposite of expectation,” into a tale the length of a book, she was finally an author.

So that’s the road she took to get here, a very successful Steampunk author. How she writes is equally interesting. Ms. Carriger says for every hour she writes, there is an hour of research that goes into it. She is a “social writer,” preferring to write with an author friend sitting across from her. Both being comedy writers, she says they will be doing their own thing and one will start snickering a devilish little laugh at something they just did to one of their characters, and the other must, of course, be told what is funny. Or one will be stumped with how to phrase a particular idea, or trying to come up with that word that is eluding them at that moment, and enlist the other’s aid. Personally, I think this would be the ideal writing environment, though both Ms. Carriger and I are aware it isn’t suited to everyone’s style.

One of the things Ms. Carriger delights in is the naming of characters. She says that they are often “cookies” (in the gaming sense) to the nature of the characters. A little Google here and there will lend considerable insight. When this question came up, she commented on how much fun she has with it, and mentioned how she didn’t understand authors who used names like John… or EDWARD. I must say, this brought the best laugh of the day. I’ll take an Akeldama or a Hisselpenny, a Featherstonehaugh or a Tarabotti over the prosaic, common names every time. I might add, for me, a favorite of her names, purely for the humor of it, is Major Channing Channing of the Chesterfield Channings… and boy-howdy, does he live up to it!

So many interesting things were covered, far too many to put down here, but what I most came away with was the knowledge that the author actually outshines her fantastic books. This was underscored at the end of the event when she took the time to talk with anyone who stood in line to meet her or get an autograph or photo. Also, I’m so glad she wears vintage 50’s white gloves, too… I thought I was the only one.

This is your Cub Reporter*, signing off.

*Thanks to my bestie Moxie aka, my Californian Cub Reporter, for covering Gail's Sunnyvale event for Steampunk Summer. I think it was fate that she was supposed to attend, do you notice how amazingly their outfits complement each other! A perfect ending for the Gail Carriger portion of Steampunk Summer, make sure to stop by Friday to see which author or authors will be next! Also, be sure to enter my giveaway to win Steampunk Swag, one of which is Gail's favorite book! Moxie will hopefully be back later in the summer to discuss Warehouse 13 with me (that's if I can get the article rolling). She also claims she will be my dedicated photographer for Teslacon III, though I'm sure her outfits will knock it out of the park compared to mine, so that you'll get a few more high quality photos of my costume, which I'll be discussing as per usual in my Sartorial Sundays post.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Channing Channing, Etiquette and Espionage, Finishing School, Gail Carriger, Lord Akeldama, Mary Cassatt, Moxie, Steampunk Summer, The Parasol Protectorate, Warehouse 13