steampunk
Review of ‘Bodacious Creed and the Jade Lake
James ‘Bodacious’ Creed, a former U.S. marshal turned vigilante turned private investigator, was killed and then brought back to life thanks to the scientific skills of his daughter, Anna. One night he hears screams and the sound of shots and finds a young Chinese woman dying next to the bodies of two dead men. After the woman dies, Creed discovers that she has strength augmentations like his and later that she was an enslaved prostitute who had tried to escape her bondage. The authorities, overtaxed with other cases, don’t give her case the attention Creed believes it deserves, so he takes it own himself, and soon finds himself at odds with a slavery ring run by the tong, and learns that an old nemesis he thought dead is in fact still alive.
Bodacious Creed and the Jade Lake by Jonathan Fesmire is a follow-on to Bodacious Creed and continues the steampunk zombie western style that Fesmire did so well. His creation of an alternate history, with slightly altered physical laws is shockingly realistic, and there’s enough shoot-em-up action to satisfy the most rabid action junkie. Non-stop action from first page to last will keep you turning pages.
I received a complimentary copy of this book and give it an easy five stars.
Review of ‘Bodacious Creed’
After his wife and daughter are killed in a fire, U.S. Marshall James ‘Bodacious’ Creed has only his profession—catching criminals—to fall back on. One day, outlaw killer, Corwin Blake, catches Creed by surprise and kills him. Creed awakens in an underground laboratory, resurrected by a mysterious young woman who, in addition to running the town brothel, is an accomplished robotics engineer. Now faster and tougher and before, Creed is conflicted. On the one hand, he is still driven to catch bad guys, but, on the other, he misses the peace of death. When he discovers a secret society bent upon using the techniques of resurrection for illicit purposed, though, he decides that his death can wait.
Bodacious Creed by Jonathan Fesmire is a rip-roaring steam punk zombie western story that will captivate you from beginning to end. Outlandish technology, walking dead, and plenty of black-hat villains, facing off with an undead, and conflicted hero, this story has all the elements of each genre that it represents, all coming together in an unforgettable adventure.
This is the first book in a series that is just begging to be made into a TV series. I received a free copy of this book.
I give it five stars.
Review of ‘Fly Like an Eagle’
In Philadelphia, in 1824, Samantha Ronaldson’s father wants her to marry his older business partner in order to keep his industrial secrets in the family. Samantha, on the other hand, only wants the freedom to explore science, and she allies herself with the partner’s half-Indian son, Eagle, and accompanies him on a journey through the Flow, back and forth through time on an amazing journey of discovery.
Fly Like an Eagle by S.B.K. Burns is a difficult book to categorize. A steam punk, sci-fi novel, it has elements of the paranormal, as well as steamy romance, that offers a bit of everything for lovers of a variety of genres. A tantalizing romp that challenges historical and scientific truths, it explores the boundaries between science and spirituality in a thoroughly entertaining story that will grab and hold your attention from the first page to the last.
I give this one four stars.
Review of ‘Steemjammer: Through the Vertgaat’
An odd house stands at the edge of a small Ohio town. The residents use steam rather than electricity, and raise all their own food. As you might imagine, this draws the attention of their neighbors, especially an exceptionally nosy and intrusive one across the street. That, though, isn’t their worse problem—they are hiding from an evil force, the Rasmussens that is out to enslave or destroy them.
When young Will Steemjammer’s father and mother disappear, it’s left to him, his sister Angelica, and their cousin Giselle, to discover the secrets of their house, find their father and mother—as well as Giselle’s father—who have vanished without a trace.
In Steemjammer: Through the Vertgaat by John Eubank steampunk meets urban fantasy in a fantastic world that looks like it was invented by someone on some serious psychedelic substances. Excitement, humor, and more pratfalls than a Three Stooges film mark the author’s tribute to his children. Thankfully, a glossary and pronunciation guide is provided for the author’s creation of a language that’s Dutch without actually being Dutch, and a world that could only exist in an imagination that hasn’t escaped from the youthful ability to fantasize.
Follow Will and his crew through one hair-raising episode after another until you reach a conclusion that leaves you hanging on every word with awe, and anxious to pick up the sequel to see what he gets up to next.
I give this opening salvo four stars.
Charles Ray's Ramblings 