Sunday, February 2, 2014

Review: The Dark Victorian: Risen by Elizabeth Watasin


It is 1880 in a mechanical and supernatural London. Agents of Prince Albert’s Secret Commission, their criminal pasts wiped from their memories, are resurrected to fight the eldritch evils that threaten England. Amidst this turmoil, Jim Dastard and his new partner Artifice must stop a re-animationist raising murderous dead children. As Art and Jim pursue their quarry, Art discovers clues about her past self, and through meeting various intriguing women—a journalist, a medium, a prostitute, and a mysterious woman in black—where her heart lies. Yet the question remains: What sort of criminal was she? A new beginning, a new identity, and new dangers await Art as she fights for the Secret Commission and for her second life.


You can buy Risen here:

Amazon ~ B&N ~ Smashwords ~ Book Depository

*please note, this book was given to me for free in exchange for an honest review.


I had some trouble getting into this book in the beginning, not because of the plot, but because it took me some time to get used to the English that was used in this book. *can you tell I’m not born into the English language?* I even had to look up the term Quaker. Never heard about that before. Well, I learned something new. :-)

Once I came past the oldish English, I caught up with the story quickly and found myself locked into the mystery that was Art, Jim and the re-animationist who is making trouble wherever he goes.

Art is a ghost, a woman resurrected when she died, now working for the Secret Commission catching criminals. But not everybody is resurrected. Only former criminals are brought back to catch other bad guys, but in the process, they lose their memories of their previous lives. They know basic things, but everything personal is ripped away. Art is a former Quaker, and some of that is still lodged within her, and she know how she is supposed to act…. I liked Art, and I liked the mystery she represented, and that it was only in the very end we got to know more about her.

Her partner; Jim Dastardly is a skull with a wondrous appetite for the finer things in life and a need for smoke and fire. I have no doubts that Jim has his secrets as well, and I am hoping we get to see more of him and his past in future books. Imagine a skull shouting and screaming anything that comes into his mind, and at the same time, cares about his surroundings, the people in his life.  

Add into the story a mix of mystery, danger, amazing gadgets, magic….  And you’ve got the first book in Dark Victorian series.

I was intrigued after my initial problems in the beginning, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of this series.



 


Elizabeth Watasin is the acclaimed author of the Gothic steampunk series The Dark Victorian, The Elle Black Penny Dreads, and the creator/artist of the indie comics series Charm School, which was nominated for a Gaylactic Spectrum Award. A twenty year veteran of animation and comics, her credits include thirteen feature films, such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and The Princess and the Frog, and writing for Disney Adventures magazine. She lives in Los Angeles with her black cat named Draw, busy bringing readers uncanny heroines in shilling shockers, preternatural fantasies, and adventuress tales.
Follow the news of her latest projects at A-Girl Studio.

 
 

 

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