Sunday, July 24, 2011

Steampunk Sunday: Dead Iron by Devon Monk (Roc)


Devon Monk's Dead Iron is a beautifully written, Wild West-slash-Steampunk adventure. I was eager to read this book because steampunk is a genre that I've been trying to read more of and Dead Iron seemed like a new, interesting spin on it.  Monk sets her story in an alternate America in the 1800s where magic and steam technology combine in a way where one never outshines the other but rather they marry, and help create a harsh, gritty world; a world where a man can be cursed by gods, love reaches even beyond death and a man who is more than what he seems brings the promise of a bright,civilized future...but at what cost?

Dead Iron is told from different characters' perspectives; for me, this added to the storytelling, allowing the tale to unfold and weave in and out of itself while drawing me into each character's narrative.  I grew to care about each of them, and every time one of my favorites came into conflict I'd cross my fingers, hoping they'd get out of their predicament unscathed.

Because we spend so much time learning about the characters and the world they inhabit, the pace is a little slow but it does pick up as the story goes along; this is the first book in the series, so some exposition is required.  And again, Monk writes so well that Dead Iron is a very satisfying read with enough fey magic and gritty adventure that fans of steampunk and urban fantasy will want to visit the Age of Steam again and again. 

Dead Iron is a great start to a brand new series and I believe Devon Monk has another winner on her hands here!  Do yourself a favor and check out it out!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

New Cover Art: The Great Game, No Hero and the new The Dark Knight Rises poster!

Eye candy for the week:

From Angry Robot comes the first look of the cover for Lavie Tidhar's next entry in the Bookman Histories, The Great Game:

from the website: ..."David Frankland outdoes himself with this sterling shot of alien tripod war machines attacking the Middle Eastern city of Aksum in Abyssinia.  The Great Game, the third in Lavie Tidhar's increasingly astounding steampunk series, the Bookman Histories, will be published next February."

This is gorgeous and I can't wait to see where the story goes next; based on the cover, it's going to be another grand adventure!

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And here's the cover art for Jonathan Wood's new book from Nightshade Books, No Hero:

NoHero CoverPanel FINAL 662x1024

I've never read Wood before but he had me at the tentacles!

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And finally, the first official teaser poster for The Dark Knight Rises!  The movie won't be out til summer 2012 but I'm loving this poster and can't wait to see the trailer that is playing before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2!







Yea boy!