A good little bit of background about the language and naming system of all things Fortune.
Best read before any of the books as it’ll help make sense of some of the words used.
Category: Steampunk
Fortune’s Fool — Kathleen McClure
A super good story continuing Gideon Quinn’s adventures after all the shenanigans we all totally enjoyed in Soldier of Fortune.
I found the pacing of this quite different to Kathleen and her co-writer’s other books, which was not a bad thing at all, i rather liked it. While the story mostly drives along in Kathleen’s usual fast paced style we are also left with the crew back at Doyle Street who have no idea what is going on with Gideon — and all the others who have gone missing — while getting the cafe ready to open and having a baby. So it’s quite nice to get these little breathers between the fast paced scenes involving Gideon and co. to catch our reading breaths.
And not only do we have all our favourite characters back and in the thick of it, but we have a few new ones to meet and enjoy reading about, yes, even those nasty ne’er-do-wells.
All in all, once again, brilliant writing, great characters, and great story telling. I just can’t wait for Kathleen to add the finishing touches to the next Fortune book, The Crew Who Came in From the Cold, which i will be diving into with absolute joy.
And i’ll say it again, like i say on all of books coming out of Outrageous Fiction, if you’re looking for some great action packed character driven story telling then look no further than their website for all your reading needs. You shall be satisfied.
Kathleen’s Page
#steampunk #kathleenmcclure
The Longest Shard — Kathleen McClure
If you like really good steampunk with really good characters navigating a really good world then The Fortune Chronicles by Kathleen McClure will be right up your alley.
Every one of the Fortune books i’ve read so far has left me really glad i bought it and always leaves me eagerly awaiting more. Kathleen is one of those writers who, once she’s got you started in a book, just ain’t gonna let you off the hook until the very last word. It’s just non-stop, gritty, character driven stuff with great world building that will keep you up late reading when you should be getting some sleep.
The Longest Shard is a really well written, fast paced novella giving us the full tale of Gideon Quinn’s time in Morton Barrens up to the time he leaves at the start of Soldier of Fortune. I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary to have read it before Soldier of Fortune, so if you missed it and want some more Fortune and Gideon Quinn then jump straight into this as soon as finished Soldier of Fortune.
Seriously folks, if you like steampunk give Kathleen, Fortune and Gideon Quinn a chance: you won’t regret it.
Kathleen’s Page
#steampunk #kathleenmcclure
Orphan, Dodger, Soldier, Spy — Kathleen McClure
This is a back story to the main Gideon Quinn adventures, giving us a bit more of Gideon’s past than is revealed to us in the main books.
In this book we’re taken back to Gideon’s time in the war when Gideon takes a couple of his soldiers to go behind enemy lines to steal some secret documents. We also get to know how Gideon ends up with all the scars.
Only a short novella kind of thing, but still a good little episode that gives us a bit more history to Gideon’s character.
I would suggest reading this after Soldier of Fortune, and then follow it up with The Longest Shard, which i have jumped straight into after finishing this book.
Kathleen’s Page
#steampunk #kathleenmcclure
Outrageous Fortune — Kathleen McClure and Kelley McKinnon
Click on picture to get your copy.
In this story we get to hear all about the crew of the airship Errant, whom we briefly met when Gideon and Mia delivered Jinna for safe-keeping in Soldier of Fortune. Not only do we get to hear all about them and their pasts, but we also get to go on another great adventure on the planet Fortune with shenanigans galore.
To write this book Kathleen teams up with Kelley McKinnon and while i found there’s a slightly different feel to the writing, it’s certainly just as good as, and flows perfectly on from, Soldier of Fortune. Once again, we are feasted to our heart’s content with great characters who just keep the story rip-roaring along for the reader’s complete entertainment.
This book is mostly set at the same time of the events in Soldier of Fortune, and if you haven’t read that first then i would suggest doing so before embarking on this book.
Another winner from the brilliant writers at Outrageous Fiction.
Kathleen’s Page Kelley’s Page
#steampunk #kathleenmcclure #kelleymckinnon
The Angel of Khan el-Khalili — P. Djèlí Clark
The second story from the Dead Djinn Universe, which i only just got hold of with it having been quite some time since i finished the other three books (silly me thought it was a trilogy). But not to worry, while it would have been better to have read it before The Haunting of Tram Car 015, it was very much worth reading still and doesn’t detract from anything i’ve already read in this series.
Once again, all the super good writing we’ve come to enjoy from Djèlí, my only question would be is will there be any more Cairo books? I do so hope so, this is a fantastic world Djèlí has created that begs to be explored a lot more. And i totally recommend this whole series for everyone, even if you’re not already into steampunk flavoured fantasy with a North African twist you soon will be.
This is available in the anthology, Clockwork Cairo and also can be read for free over at Tor.com.
P. Djèlí Clark’s Page
#steampunk #fantasy #pdjeliclark
The Engineer Wore Venetian Red — Shelley Adina
With a Golden Risha — P. Djèlí Clark
Available in the periodical, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly — Issue 23.
To begin, a risha is to an Arabian oud as a plectrum is to a guitar. If you want to know more you can read all about ouds and rishas by clicking here.
So, with that out of the way, let’s get to a review.
Great book. This is early Djèlí introducing steampunk elements into his fantasy. Our story begins with our oud player, Saleh, getting rescued by a philosopher pirate (captain who’s not a captain), Usman, and the rest of the crew of the airship The Beggar. Then we’re off on a 537-kindle-loc-point adventure to find treasure, amongst which is a magical golden risha with which Saleh gets to play his oud.
I really enjoyed this book and hopefully, one fine day in the future, Djèlí might even sit down and write some more stories with Saleh and Usman. There’s got to be some great stories to be told about a philosopher pirate captain and his side-kick minstrel oud player.
And so, next up in my Djèlí reading list will be The Things My Mother Left Me
P. Djèlí Clark’s Page
#fantasy #steampunk #pdjeliclark
Steampunk! — Anthology
Some Fortunate Future Day — Cassandra Clare
The Last Ride of the Glory Girls — Libba Bray
Clockwork Fagin — Cory Doctorow
Seven Days Beset by Demons — Shawn Cheng
Hand in Glove — Ysabeau S. Wilce
The Ghost of Cwmlech Manor — Delia Sherman
Gethsemane — Elizabeth Knox
The Summer People — Kelly Link
Peace in Our Time — Garth Nix
Nowhere Fast — Christopher Rowe
Finishing School — Kathleen Jennings
Steam Girl — Dylan Horrocks
Everything Amiable and Obliging — Holly Black
The Oracle Engine — M. T. Anderson
#fantasy #corydoctorow #mtanderson
The Black God’s Drums — P. Djèlí Clark
Take some super good fantasy with a good African/Caribbean flavour, season with a nice hint of steampunk, and bake slowly for a few of hours in an althist New Orleans: what more can you ever want from a book?
This good length novella is from around the same time as Djèlí was writing the Dead Djinn series, and with all of these stories you really pick up on the time in Djèlí’s writing that he begins to introduce steampunk elements into his unique and wonderful style of fantasy.
A really well written, really enjoyable read.
For my next P. Djèlí Clark story, i’m going back in time. I managed to track down some earlier stories of his that i missed: gotta read them all. First up of those will be The Things My Mother Left Me.