**I was given this book in exchange for an honest review**
Creeden, Pauline. Chronicles of Steele: Raven, The Complete Story. AltWitPress, 2014.
249
pages
Reviewed
by J. d’Artagnan Love
Raven
is a reaper. She has been trained as an assassin, but for every life she takes
she must redeem another. Her latest assignment is to protect a young boy, Darius, who
has fits that cause electric and steam devices to go haywire. He’s the son of a
duke who plans to have him killed if his fits are not cured. Raven’s job is to
take young Darius to the Wood Witch in search of a cure.
Chronicles
of Steele: Raven is a set of installments that were previous published separately.
This steampunk fantasy novel takes readers on a magical quest. There are many
stories woven into this journey from a romance turned heartbreak and the
unbreakable bond between a daughter and her father. These stories are
intriguing and, as a reader, I wish they were fleshed out more thoroughly. The
story of Raven and her father could have been so much more touching had readers
been given more details. I wanted to know her father’s quirks and see more of their
interactions. I wanted more information about his death and why Raven felt so
responsible for his death. I wanted more information about Gregory; what were
some of the sweet moments they shared as children? I wanted to know more about
Captain Jack. What is his back story? What has shaped him? These questions were
left unanswered.
Chronicles
of Steele is categorized as a steampunk fantasy novel and for people who have never read steampunk before, this would be a good starter. There wasn’t a whole lot
of steam in the steampunk, though. Some of the genre staples were present:
zeppelins, Victorian age clothing styles, steam powered horses and automaton
servants. I wanted more of this stuff though! Steampunk is a genre that relies
on details. Some of the reaper weapons were fantastic steampunk elements but
there is more that could have been done here as well.
That
being said I really enjoyed this book for its entertainment value and its girl
power. Raven is a wonderfully feminist lead character. She’s someone I’d want
as a friend and companion and I believe her to be a solid role model for young
girls. The mission and story of the reapers was also interesting and I
certainly hope that Creeden will continue writing stories about these
mysterious warriors.
3 darts
out of 5
This
book is FOR: people who want a good introduction to steampunk and a powerful
female protagonist.
This book
is NOT FOR: people who are deep into steampunk already.
2 comments:
This sounds like an interesting series. I will have to add it to my list - my long list! The raven motif sounds like it's something out of Norse mythology - the Valkyries and all that?
Hi Ian, thanks for the comment. You should definitely check out this little series. I hope there are more to come. There is a bit of Norse mythology in it, but not an overwhelming amount. It's pretty subtle.
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