Heart of Iron

Sep 04, 2011 Jacob rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

September 2011

Marya Morevna was just a young girl in St. Petersburg when a bird outside her window fell from a tree, turned into a soldier of the Tsar, and married her oldest sister. That was her first glimpse of the magic of Russia, but by the time her third sister had been married off to a third bird-turned-soldier, "the face of the world had changed," and the magic with it: the soldier-bird was in the Red Army, and the eleven other families who lived communally in her great house had all brou...more September 2011

Marya Morevna was just a young girl in St. Petersburg when a bird outside her window fell from a tree, turned into a soldier of the Tsar, and married her oldest sister. That was her first glimpse of the magic of Russia, but by the time her third sister had been married off to a third bird-turned-soldier, "the face of the world had changed," and the magic with it: the soldier-bird was in the Red Army, and the eleven other families who lived communally in her great house had all brought their house spirits (a whole committee of domoviye!) with them. And still she hoped for a bird to come and marry her, but she also grew tired of watching--so when Koschei the Deathless, the Tsar of Life himself came to marry her, she never saw what other form he took.

And so began a marvelous (and dangerous) courtship, a fairy tale that had played out a thousand times before--and always ended in the same way. The face of the world may change, but the stories rarely do...

Wait, no. Sorry. My bad. That's actually a summary of Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente, another recently-published speculative fiction novel set in Russia. I only bring that book up because, if you are planning on reading a fantastic tale about a plucky young heroine from St. Petersburg who travels across Russia on her own grand heroic journey, you should really read Deathless. It's a damn good novel. Go on, you'll enjoy it.

If, however, you are planning on reading two fantastic tales about plucky young heroines from St. Petersburg who travel across Russia on their own grand heroic journeys, then by all means, read Heart of Iron too. But I have to warn you: Heart of Iron is the story of a young girl who disguises herself as a soldier and teams up with Spring-Heeled Jack to save steampunk Russia (airships and submersibles and trains, oh my!) from the wrath of deadly British spy Florence Nightingale, and it is also INCREDIBLY, MIND-NUMBINGLY BORING. And a book about cross-dressing heroines, Spring-Heeled Jack, and legendary bad girl Florence Nightingale storming through steampunk Russia should not--should NEVER--be INCREDIBLY, MIND-NUMBINGLY BORING. I mean, really! Steampunk! Trains and airships! Spring-Heeled Jack and evil Florence Motherfrakkin Nightingale! How could anyone -possibly- take those ingredients for a story and turn them into something DULL? It boggles the mind!

Deathless was a sensual fairy tale reshaped to fit the rigid confines of Soviet-era Russia. Heart of Iron is a steampunk spy thriller (without the thrills) from an alternate Nineteenth century, and it somehow manages to be boring.

No competition.

Edit: Changing the rating. One star seemed a bit harsh.(less)

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Nov 29, 2011 John Paul Capili rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, science-fiction

Summary: Heart Of Iron is a story about a Russian girl who traveled across the continent to seek an alliance against an emerging empire.
Good: book's only strength is in the narrator's voice; nice book cover art
Bad: too much ideas but little exploration; Florence Nightingale isn't threatening enough

The book presents so many ideas: politics, religions, races, genders, historical events, that they become too cumbersome for me, and yet still come up short. I also wish it has more sci-fi to it since...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Liviu rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011_release_read, genre-sf, read_2011

This novel tries to mix steampunk action with "realism" about race, gender, etc in the 19th century and it fails at that, being in fact a YA adventure with an enchanting heroine, but action without tension or danger in pulp mode, while said 'realism" about women in the 19th century society and to a lesser extent about races is very simplistic and soom essentially forgotten in the quest if our heroine to make everyone happy, the world a better place and the baddies repent,

Very fairytale and the l...more

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Aug 22, 2011 Jesse Bullington rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was fortunate enough to get an advance copy of this, and then July exploded in my face and I dropped the ball on posting a proper review when it launched. Better late than never, granted, but still--this book deserves attention, and a lot of it. Sedia's one of those authors who mines something new with every project rather than working the same material ad nauseam, and this one should have the broadest appeal yet while still tackling the weighty issues Sedia's never shied away from. Her fictio...more I was fortunate enough to get an advance copy of this, and then July exploded in my face and I dropped the ball on posting a proper review when it launched. Better late than never, granted, but still--this book deserves attention, and a lot of it. Sedia's one of those authors who mines something new with every project rather than working the same material ad nauseam, and this one should have the broadest appeal yet while still tackling the weighty issues Sedia's never shied away from. Her fiction always deftly balances escapism with engagement, and the juggling act she pulls off here is tremendous. Although not marketed as such, it should appeal every bit as much to young-adult readers as the grown folks, and serve as a grand introduction to Sedia's work for audiences of all ages and predilections.

I won't get into into the plot, as I prefer to go into book's as clueless as possible, but the AV Club's review of the novel hit the nail on the head in pointing out that the main draw of the book isn't the plot but our narrator Sasha Trubetskaya. She's such a great, perfectly-realized protagonist that even without any plot whatsoever Heart of Iron would be an engaging read, but I enjoyed Sasha's literal journey every bit as much as her internal one. The supporting cast, in particular Sasha's aunt Eugenia, are deftly rendered and enjoyable, and Sedia's tweaking of history is both clever and ingenious--rather than assuming that actual persons would be the same individual in any mildly altered version of our history, Sedia twists familiar figures into intriguing new shapes. It's a great subversion of our expectations, and enjoyably raises more questions than it answers regarding other discrepancies between our historical record and Sasha's world.

Heart of Iron takes its time in carefully detailing its characters, world, and action, and yet still whizzes by at such a tremendous clip that the the reader can scarce believe it's over when the story rolls into its final destination. It's a great piece of storytelling that is every bit as beautiful and elaborate as the costumes and locales that Sedia describes in loving (but never excessive) detail, and one that is a testament to the author's prodigious prowess. This smart and relevant literary progeny of the wuxia adventure and the penny dreadful is a grand tale for fans of history, steampunk, and anything and everything in between.(less)

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May 12, 2013 Cécile Cristofari rated it 3 of 5 stars

An enjoyable story with lots of thoughts about colonialism and international politics. The writing didn't strike me as exceptional, but the construction of the story and the unfolding of the heroin's journey is worth anybody's time, if only to see what can be done when an author decides to be a little bit more realistic than average and ditch the "lone ballsy hero saves the world on his own" trope.

As an additional plus, this books has wonderful female characters. I won't say "strong" because I...more

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Jan 07, 2012 Alytha rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Finished Heart of Iron by Ekaterina Sedia.

After readin The Secret History of Moscow, and The Alchemy of Stone, I thought that Sedia was one of those authors who reliably publish highly imaginative and interesting novels. Unfortunately, it turns out I was wrong, as this one is very disappointing.

The heroine, Sasha, is a terrible Mary Sue, to whom the most unlikely and nice things happen on her dangerous, solitary journey to China. Everytime she gets a bit stuck, immediately there's a bunch of Chi...more Finished Heart of Iron by Ekaterina Sedia.

After readin The Secret History of Moscow, and The Alchemy of Stone, I thought that Sedia was one of those authors who reliably publish highly imaginative and interesting novels. Unfortunately, it turns out I was wrong, as this one is very disappointing.

The heroine, Sasha, is a terrible Mary Sue, to whom the most unlikely and nice things happen on her dangerous, solitary journey to China. Everytime she gets a bit stuck, immediately there's a bunch of Chinese kung-fu artists, convenient rough but hearty hussars, her aunt, or Jack around. Through all her adventures, she's still arch-conservative, and despite everything sees women in general, her servants, and the Chinese as second-rate humans, and still has unquestioning faith in the Czar and Christianity. There's just far too little introspection in her.

Talking of Jack...so, totally randomly, Spring-heeled Jack appears in St. Petersburg. Now, if there had been any kind of indication, that there's more of these mysterious supernatural creatures about, and that they're all spying or working for Queen and country, that might have made his presence a bit more logical. But as it is, he's totally random, and the story of how he got his powers is a bit weak too. Then again, he tells that, so it might not be true.

There only seem to be about a dozen people in the world, because she keeps running into all of them, all the way from Petersburg to Beijing. Especially annoying is Florence Nightingale, who, in this version of history, is not a gentle nurse, but a sadistic spymistress with bad manners and the habit of showing up all over the place.

In addition to that, the pacing is pretty bad. The beginning, her first semester at university, is still quite ok, but once she embarks on her rather silly endeavour to save the world, there's just about 150 pages of train scenes, problems, running into unexpected friends, fighting, more train, and so on. The resolution happens in the last 30 pages of the book, via auntie ex machina.

As if that wasn't enough...technology. Ok, tech is a bit more advanced in this timeline, because the Czar's brother is now Czar instead of him (?!), so they have submarines, the Transsiberian Railway with very regular service 50 years early, and airships (which would also a bit early, but that's beside the point, as they're not actually airships, as they don't have balloons, they're ornithopters.)
Now, in reality, no matter which timeline, a giant, metal ornithopter like the one in the book simply wouldn't work, unless aerodynamics and gravity are radically different over there. Such things annoy me. Professional deformation. I have no clue about submarines, otherwise I might rant about those too.

In conclusion: pretty boring, unrealistic plot with a really Sue-ish protagonist.
4/10(less)

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Nov 09, 2011 Laura Davis rated it 1 of 5 stars

I was so excited about this book. The premise is great! What if the Decembrist Revolt had gone the other way? I love steam punk, I love Russian history, and I love alternate history. I had every reason to expect that I would love this book, and I wanted to. In the end, though, I felt robbed in a "The Cake is a Lie" kind of way. Writing this review is really saddening.

I think that a more skilled editor would have benefitted the book greatly. There are many places where the author takes off on tan...more

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Nov 08, 2011 Alan rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Elegant petitioners at a foreign court

Recommended to Alan by: Previous work

An elegant, well-mannered steampunk kung-fu alternate-universe novel? Well, yes, I think that's a fair description.

I've gone on about Ekaterina Sedia's mellifluous name and charmingly askew émigré prose before, so I won't belabor those points now. Those elements are still present in this new work, to be sure, but what they are in service of here is a rather new thing.

Sasha—Alexandra Trubetskaya, to be more formal about it—is a young Russian lady of noble birth and good breeding, if perhaps not t...more An elegant, well-mannered steampunk kung-fu alternate-universe novel? Well, yes, I think that's a fair description.

I've gone on about Ekaterina Sedia's mellifluous name and charmingly askew émigré prose before, so I won't belabor those points now. Those elements are still present in this new work, to be sure, but what they are in service of here is a rather new thing.

Sasha—Alexandra Trubetskaya, to be more formal about it—is a young Russian lady of noble birth and good breeding, if perhaps not the best prospects for a suitable marriage, coming of age in the mid-19th Century, during the reign of the reformist Emperor Constantine... a name which doesn't exist in our own history, where Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich disappointed the moderate Decembrists by removing himself from the line of succession in favor of his brutal and reactionary younger brother, Nikolas Pavlovich Romanov.

In Sasha's timeline, Constantine was prevailed upon to claim the throne, which accelerates Russia's development tremendously. Backed by the Russian Guard, Emperor Constantine established a constitutional monarchy—freeing the serfs and introducing Western-style reforms in emulation of the British Empire whose accomplishments he admired. Prince Nikolas was given control of the police, a role to which he seems to be altogether too well-suited. A technological naissance for Russia began; Emperor Constantine's forward-looking policies included building a transcontinental railroad system and fostering research on submarines and airships. Sedia vividly evokes the heady feeling of a young nation's first romance with the power of steam.

That's the alternate-universe, steampunk part. The elegant and well-mannered part comes through the eyes and lips of Alexandra as she, prompted by her tough-minded spinster aunt, the Countess Eugenia, becomes one of the first young ladies to attend the university in St. Petersburg. Sasha's voice—Sedia's auctorial voice—is very distinct, very auditory, at least to me... I could easily hear in my mind's ear the protagonist's careful diction, and kept wanting to sound out the long Russian place names along with her.

At St. Petersburg University, Sasha learns philosophy, physics, and Professor Ipatiev's biological and anthropological theories—such incontrovertible scientific facts as the manifest unsuitability of women to absorb higher learning (due to the smallness of and lack of convolutions in their brains), and the inevitable brutishness of the Asiatic races.

After classes, though, Sasha learns a quite different perspective on such things. She befriends Chiang Tse, one of a handful of young Chinese men also attending St. Petersburg University in hopes of gaining a Western education. As Sasha's friendship with Tse deepens, it sits less well with her fellow students, and with others... such as the Nikolashki—Prince Nikolas' secret police. An altercation between some Nikolashki and Sasha's friends in front of the Crane Club leads to an unexpected intervention... and propels Sasha into the midst of a continent-spanning, multinational chase, the outcome of which will determine the fates of at least three great nations.

This novel is not entirely perfect. The proofreading was lax. Perhaps it was in an effort to preserve the character of Sedia's unusual prose—but there were several outright errors, transposed and missing words that could not have just been due to Sedia's voice. And there were times when there was more than a whiff of the penny-dreadful to the plot's twists and turns. Perhaps that was even intentional. But all in all I really liked this book, and I think that if you are a young man or woman of good character and breeding, you will most likely enjoy it too.(less)

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Sep 20, 2011 Savannah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: alternate-history, families, fantasy, fiction, friendship, librarybook, politics, steampunk

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 09, 2011 Allyson rated it 2 of 5 stars

Disappointing. It started out as a very promising book, with interesting characters and an intriguing plot. I hoped that the development would continue and the world would continue to be fleshed out. Combined with the exoticism of an alternate Cyrillic landscape, the story had the potential to be an engaging, exciting ride.
However, once the action moved away from the 'heart' of the country, the development petered out and ultimately failed to deliver. The brief descriptions of scenery and cultur...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Ab rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: hints-of-magic, kickass-female-protagonist

Russian history, industrialization, Russia+China, English=traitors, and one "unruly" recently debuted girl attending university for the first time that women are allowed to attend, in St. Petersburg, due to her unconventional, strong-willed "spinster" aunt 'bullying' Emperor Constantine in front of his countrymen. Add to this a handful of 'Chinamen' also attending the university, who begin to go missing, while sneaky plainclothes Russian secret police hang out near their quarters. Also, Sasha (g...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Nenia Campbell rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: x-2011s, beautiful-words-lets-swim-in-them

This could have been SO GOOD. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't SOOOOOOO GOOD, either. I mean, RUSSIAN AND CHINESE STEAMPUNK, PEOPLE. ISN'T THAT ALL THE PROMPTING YOU NEED?

Heart of Iron is an alternate history of Russia, in which the Decemberists' rebellion was successful, and Constantine is czar isn't of Nicholas, and there are fantastic steampunked-out trains and airships. The main character, Sasha Trubetskaya, is a distant relation of the czar. And she's just been awarded a fantastic opportun...more

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Sep 15, 2011 Chris rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-steampunk, lit-russia

Train rides are wonderous things. The sound of the machine, the scenery, the quiet, the conversation, the fact you can read without throwing up. Wonderful things train rides. No wonder that there have been several romantic, mystery, action, and what not written involing trains, including this book, which concerns the Transsiberian express (Yeah, I thought it was just the orchestra too, go figure).

Sedia does a good job of catching the feeling of a train ride in this novel, at least in some points...more

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Jan 31, 2012 Pygmy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, interracial_love, steampunk, whites_in_asia

Almost finished and liking it lots! A young Russian woman of society is one of the first few weomen to enter university. There, she meets Chinese students, gets caught up in war intrigue, and sets out on a journey to China to ally Russia to whichever Chinese power is winning. There are trains, airships, flying kungfu people, hussars, mysterious and/or evil English ppl, cross dressing, and a love triangle of sorts between Russian girl, English thief/spy and Chinese student. I say "of sorts", beca...more

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Jun 19, 2013 Lianne Burwell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: library, fantasy, alt-history

Heart of Iron covers a lot of ground in content. It's alternate history, it's steampunk, it's early feminism, it's a spy novel, and it touches the edge of fantasy (with the Spring-Heeled Jack elements). Oh, and it's set in Russia.

Sasha is a young woman being raised, since her father's death, by her slightly silly mother and her intensely practical maiden aunt, Eugenia. During her 'coming out', Sasha's aunt gets into an argument with the Emperor (who is obsessed with all things English), that res...more

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May 16, 2013 Nicholas rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reading-differently-50, steampunk

I did not do a good job as a reader on this book. I read it as I was falling asleep or to fill in time between appointments and while watching TV. I am certain that there was a better book than the one I read in the pages, had I only given it the opportunity it deserved.

That said, this was a very good book. Sedia writes excellent characters and has chosen her settings with exquisite care. Really, this is genius work finding the setting and plotting the action as her characters moved through them...more

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Jun 22, 2012 Richard rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: alternate-history

I first heard of Heart of Iron on a troll blog that wrote acerbic reviews of YA literature for perceived racial/gender/cultural insensitivity. The review was sparkling, affirming that the story is "unapologetically feminist." Despite the source, I stupidly didn't realize it was intended to be a YA book until past half way of the book. However, I honestly didn't notice for most of the reading. Heart of Iron imagines an interesting alternate history where the Decemberist indie rock band took over...more I first heard of Heart of Iron on a troll blog that wrote acerbic reviews of YA literature for perceived racial/gender/cultural insensitivity. The review was sparkling, affirming that the story is "unapologetically feminist." Despite the source, I stupidly didn't realize it was intended to be a YA book until past half way of the book. However, I honestly didn't notice for most of the reading. Heart of Iron imagines an interesting alternate history where the Decemberist indie rock band took over Russia in the 1800s. Or the eponymous revolt, the book does not go into detail on the subject. Which is its downfall. The book supposes a world where the Decemberists have reformed Russia, airships and submarines are in use, and next door in China the Taipings are winning- and doesn't explain any of this to the reader. We don't get much of a picture of the world that the author is trying to present, nor an explanation of what these things are. These subjects are glossed over with passages that refer to the wackiness of Hong Xiuquan, or how the Han and the Manchu didn't get along, most likely confusing most readers who aren't familiar with the historical background.

But world-building, of course, isn't anything. At its heart, the story is a coming-of-age tale about a girl in the Victorian Era going on a quest. The narrator does come off as a level-headed protagonist who isn't annoying plucky like most similar heroes would be, and goes off on adventures with a personality that brings to mind certain other feminine heroes in contemporary steampunk series. Her thoughts and characterization seem believable, and not too anachronistic. The problem is that her adventure is ultimately underwritten: Sasha Trubetskaya is the daughter of a widow and niece of a progressive proto-suffragette who becomes among the first women to be educated in the university in St. Petersburg. Besides encountering the prejudice of the time she meets Chinese and British exchange students there, international intrigue develops relating to the Great Game, and embarks in a His Dark Materials-esque northern expedition to Siberia and points east.

Unfortunately, while this has a lot of potential, and does indeed have a few entertaining developments, most of it end up barely sketched out. It feels like the writing style of this book can be characterized as "tell, not show." While Sedia certainly can conjure up a good mental image of a place, she chooses not to in many places, and so the environments that her protagonist moves through seem underwritten. Much of the action seems muted, as well. The book simply comes off as rather bland.

Finally, a lot of the steampunk elements aren't really developed. Submarines are mentioned a lot for no apparent reason, yet do not appear in the story. Also, the explanation for one of the more anomalous characters is mystical and unconvincing. The book is a solid read for any YA reader, yet I can't help but to hope that a sequel that better fleshes out the world will be written.(less)

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Nov 22, 2012 Seventeenseventy6 rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: quit

Sadly, I think that I have to give up on this one for the time being. I'm about half-way in and it still just hasn't hooked me. Instead, I find my eye constantly drawn to the lower right hand corner of my kindle to check my progress. The number I see always seems a little like an affront.

Heart of Iron is an alternate history steampunk tale set in 19th century Russia. The main character and narrator is Sasha, scion of a noble clan that's seen its fortunes slide somewhat in the political upheaval...more

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Nov 11, 2011 Marcus rated it 5 of 5 stars

With the exception of Lavie Tidhar, I have thus far only read steampunk novels from countries which were at one time or another part of the British Empire, most are still part of the Commonwealth. So, I was rather interested in Hearts of Iron, since Ekatarina Sedia is from what used to be the Russian Empire. The Russian Empire under the Czars also forms the backdrop of the story.

Heart of Iron CoverHeart of Iron is a very different reading experience to any of the other steampunk novels I have re...more With the exception of Lavie Tidhar, I have thus far only read steampunk novels from countries which were at one time or another part of the British Empire, most are still part of the Commonwealth. So, I was rather interested in Hearts of Iron, since Ekatarina Sedia is from what used to be the Russian Empire. The Russian Empire under the Czars also forms the backdrop of the story.

Heart of Iron CoverHeart of Iron is a very different reading experience to any of the other steampunk novels I have read so far. For one, it is far less fantastic, it is rather low-tech steampunk. The protagonists are with one notable exception are all regular people, all accidental heroes.
The central character and narrator, Alexandra “Sasha” Trubetskaya, is a young girl of minor noble background forced to fight several personal wars. First, due to intervention by her aunt, she is admitted to university, as a member of the first group of women ever to study at a Russian university. She has to battle the sexism, chauvinism and elitism of her male fellow students and professors and the stance of some of some of the other girls who would rather get married than study.
Ekatarina Sedia describes Sasha’s situation as a matter of fact. There is no feminist message there, just the harsh reality of a male dominated society. It makes you cringe and angry, but this is how it was and sometimes still is.
The characterisation of the Russian males is also simply accurate, they are so certain of their superiority as males and Europeans, it hurts. Yet, if you know your history, you know this was the mindset of the white male at the time. Male and white superiority was a law of nature.
Again, Ms Sedia states facts, no moral message, but none is needed. The facts speak loudly.
In contrast to this white male racism and chauvinism stand the Chinese students ath St. Petersburg University. Hard-working, gentle, civilised and prevailing despite harassment by Russian students, professors and the Russian secret police. They form a stark contrast to Russian society, yet, they are not used as a mirror, the Chinese have their own troubles, they are far from perfect.
Through her contact and friendship with the Chinese, Sasha is dragged into a series of events which lead to an adventure and an epic mission she had never imagined possible. She makes some very interesting friends, among them the one truly fantastic character of the novel (no, I will not spoil anything), a well known English gentlewoman in a thoroughly different role, several Chinese fur traders with a more aces up their sleeves than one would expect and some very friendly and remarkably philosophical Russian hussars.
But Sasha’s main enemy remains the time she lives in. She is a young girl setting out to save two empires at a time when young girls are supposed to get married. She has to hide, she has to pretend. She faces the constant threat of discovery and disgrace, yet she prevails, she grows with her tasks.
Ekaterina Sedia has created a wonderful tale of a normal girl going on an epic adventure in a believable, highly realistic alternate version of mid-19th century Russia. There are some steampunk elements, notably airships, which are crucial to the story, and submarines but Hearts of Iron is not about technology, it is about the heroine’s journey.
Ekatarina Seida has also avoided a lot of the tropes common in steampunk novels. Neither English nor Americans are central or the true heroes. Instead, she offers a wonderful view on a completely different part of the world and the picture she shows is realistic, enthralling and beautiful.
If your ideas about 19th century Russia and China hail from TV series and films made for western audiences, you will be in for a few surprises. If you know what really happened, it will add to your enjoyment.
Although Heart of Iron is completely different to Lavie Tidhar’s Camera Obscura, it ranks right up there at the top with it.(less)

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Oct 11, 2011 Shawn rated it 2 of 5 stars

I wanted to like this book, I really did, but I just could not get over how simple and unrealistic it was (Even for steam punk)

Personally, I wish Ekaterina Sedia would just go back to her roots with novels like 'The Secret History of Moscow' and forsake this stupid steam punk bullshit once and fore all. Because all the airships and submarines in the world could not make this book worth reading. She has a wonderful chance to teach us so much about Russian history and culture and it's tainted by t...more

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Oct 03, 2011 Darling Cruella rated it 2 of 5 stars

i picked up this book because i thought it had an interesting premise. then i just kept reading and reading and reading while waiting for things to really kick in and blow my mind. because heaven knows this story should be amazing. as soon as i realized it had spring heeled jack in it and an evil version of florence nightingale, and the story was set in steampunk russia, i just knew, knew!, that it had to be good.

but, sadly, it fell short of my expectations. ekaterina sedia had a brilliant idea,...more

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Aug 22, 2012 Shara rated it 4 of 5 stars

The premise: ganked from BN.com: In a Russia where the Decembrists' rebellion was successful and the Trans-Siberian railroad was completed before 1854, Sasha Trubetskaya wants nothing more than to have a decent debut ball in St. Petersburg. But her aunt's feud with the emperor lands Sasha at university, where she becomes one of its first female students - an experiment, she suspects, designed more to prove female unsuitability for such pursuits than offer them education. The pressure intensifies...more The premise: ganked from BN.com: In a Russia where the Decembrists' rebellion was successful and the Trans-Siberian railroad was completed before 1854, Sasha Trubetskaya wants nothing more than to have a decent debut ball in St. Petersburg. But her aunt's feud with the emperor lands Sasha at university, where she becomes one of its first female students - an experiment, she suspects, designed more to prove female unsuitability for such pursuits than offer them education. The pressure intensifies when Sasha's only friends - Chinese students - start disappearing, and she begins to realize that her new British companion, Jack, has bigger secrets than she can imagine! Sasha and Jack find themselves trying to stop a war brewing between the three empires. The only place they can turn to for help is the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace, newly founded by the Taiping rebels. Pursued by the terrifying Dame Florence Nightingale of the British Secret Service, Sasha and Jack escape across Siberia via train to China. Sasha discovers that Jack is not quite the person she thought he was...but then again, neither is she.

My Rating: Excellent

This book's gotten a lot of varied reviews, but as a fan of Sedia's, who I think improves with each new story, I think this is my favorite to date. I latched onto the characters immediately and was instantly absorbed into the setting and the world-building. I was recommending this book to people before I even finished it! The steam-punk is on the light side, and the alternate history may or may not be obvious depending on how well you're versed in Russian history itself, but it's a compelling read nonetheless. While I preferred the first half of quiet tension to the second half, it was an utterly enjoy read that I ended up finishing in a surprisingly fast amount of time. An easy book to recommend, especially for fans of the author.

Spoilers, yay or nay?: Nay, with the tiny exception about love stories and how it's a non-issue in this book and why. The full review may be found at my blog, and as always, comments and discussion are most welcome. You can read the full review by clicking the link below.

REVIEW: Ekaterina Sedia's HEART OF IRON

Happy Reading!(less)

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Oct 29, 2012 Alice rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, historical-fiction, library, literary, steampunk, fantasy, political, romance, science-fiction, thriller

This is the fourth book I've read by Ekaterina Sedia, and it's the most fast-paced. It's steampunk, set in an alternative 1800's Russia, and it borrows from the penny dreadful style one of the characters reads avidly.

The story follows Alexandra (Sasha) Trubetskaya, whose aunt shames the emperor into letting women into the university at St. Petersburg. Sasha meets a great cross-section of Victorian society there, including the English spy Florence Nightingale, Spring-Heeled Jack, and Chiang Tse,...more This is the fourth book I've read by Ekaterina Sedia, and it's the most fast-paced. It's steampunk, set in an alternative 1800's Russia, and it borrows from the penny dreadful style one of the characters reads avidly.

The story follows Alexandra (Sasha) Trubetskaya, whose aunt shames the emperor into letting women into the university at St. Petersburg. Sasha meets a great cross-section of Victorian society there, including the English spy Florence Nightingale, Spring-Heeled Jack, and Chiang Tse, a scholar from China. Sasha's friendship with Chiang Tse leads her across Siberia on the newly built Trans-Siberian railroad, chased by British agents and the deathly cold of Russian winter.

The steampunk trappings (airships, submarines, trains before their time, machines that can play music) are mostly background, as well they should be. I'm always annoyed by narratives threads that break just to marvel at how cool the world-building is. Sasha is impressed by the modern age she lives in, but she has greater concerns.

What I really love about the setting is that it changes the focus from where we usually see Victorian or alternate-Victorian literature. This isn't set in Britain, or the western portion of Europe. This book resists British influence, and the characters are struggling against colonialism. If you can't get the notion out of your head that steampunk equals Victorian, this book may give you some cognitive dissonance. As for myself, I loved the alternate take.

I also loved the characters. Sasha has no powers or special strength to protect her, aside from an upbringing that gave her freedom to learn what she wanted. She's treading new ground, literally and figuratively, in a world not built for her. She disguises herself as a young soldier for her journey, but many of the people who help her see through her costume. They help her, anyway, because she shows strength and intelligence that earns their respect.

I liked how the romantic subplot turns out, too. There's some uncertainty, in the end, though it's clear she prefers Chiang Tse. Jack, who's good and deserving of love, doesn't win her just because he's the dashing, brave hero. Sasha wonders what's wrong with her, that she can't love him back, but she never forces it. Though Jack obviously wishes it were otherwise, neither does he. It's a far wiser and more mature outlook on love than I've come to expect in books with a romantic subplot, and I wish more books employed it.

Goodreads tells me I'd have to flip through some short story anthologies to read anything else Sedia has written to date. I may do just that.(less)

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Jul 31, 2011 the golden witch. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, arc-galley, ebook, steampunk, reviewed, alternate-universe-or-history, net-galley

If there’s no other genre I love, it’s alternate history/steampunk. Why? It lets us dream about what could have been had we chosen another path. And one of the most recent masters of alt-history lit is Ekaterina Sedia, who I’ve been hearing nothing but good things about. Her newest book, “Heart of Iron” does not disappoint, and if you like historical fiction and/or sci-fi, you should definitely give it a read.

One thing that Sedia does well (to put it lightly) is immersing her readers in the scen...more If there’s no other genre I love, it’s alternate history/steampunk. Why? It lets us dream about what could have been had we chosen another path. And one of the most recent masters of alt-history lit is Ekaterina Sedia, who I’ve been hearing nothing but good things about. Her newest book, “Heart of Iron” does not disappoint, and if you like historical fiction and/or sci-fi, you should definitely give it a read.

One thing that Sedia does well (to put it lightly) is immersing her readers in the scene and characters. I’ve never been to Europe, much less Eurasia/Russia, yet I felt as if I were right there with Sasha, Jack, and the rest. Her prose is lush and gorgeous, and so comfortable that it’s like one of those old couches that you’ve worn a butt grove into that you’re loathe to leave after you sit down. It sucks you right in, and you don’t want to leave.

However, one of the pitfalls of the novel early on is that there is a bit more telling instead of showing than I could tolerate, but that was soon fixed as the novel went on. I guess, in an alt-history book a certain amount of telling is something that can’t be entirely avoided, so I will give that to Sedia. But at least it’s not ALL telling, and once we’re with Sasha in school, the telling stops and the showing goes into glorious overdrive.

And then there’s another added element which she kind of sneaks in under the reader’s nose – the paranormal. Paranormal in alt-history and steampunk genre books isn’t at all rare, but the way Sedia wove it into her story was so subtle, I actually had to go back and reread a small portion to catch it. One of the problems with being an aspie is to over-notice things, and the fact she got it by me is an achievement in of itself. And the best part? It’s not overbearing, nor is the budding romance between two of our heroes (I won’t say who, that’d spoil things), which made me extremely happy.

In short? Sedia is an author not to be missed, nor is “Heart of Iron” a book you should ignore. It’s awesome. It has something for everyone, and isn’t derailed into any one genre or market for gender, age, or nationality. It includes everyone, and it felt great to be so welcomed into a world of words.

I definitely now want to go back and read anything and everything Sedia’s written so far, you can be sure of that. She’s a quiet voice in sci-fi/fantasy genre lit, but she deserves far more attention than she’s getting. So if you want something new and awesome, try out “Heart of Iron”, and savor the difference between this story and all of the others told so many times before.

(posted to goodreads, librarything, shelfari, and witchoftheatregoing.wordpress.com)(less)

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Jan 31, 2013 Noelle rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, silly-fiction

Fun, but needs more world-building. Everything-but-the-kitchen sink was thrown at the reader (Submarines and air ships! Alternate Russian history! Possible alternate Chinese history happening after the book ends, maybe! Evil Florence Nightingale! Spring-heeled Jack...?), but there was no explanation for why things were this way. I wanted backstory.

(view spoiler)...more

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Dec 30, 2011 Tamara added it

Shelves: politics, author-female, female-protagonist, didactic-much, railway, russia, siberia, st-petersburg, steampunk, adventure, travel, europe, asia, you-can-choose-your-friends, historical, alt-history, china

A bit too lightweight to be really enjoyable. The plot is paper thin and full of holes. None of the characters except the protagonist have any personality at all, and she's a 19th century Russian aristocrat with improbably 21st century notions of proper identity-politics PC conduct. Even the setting doesn't have much going for it beyond mild geographic novelty - the alternative history is barely fleshed out, bits of English Victoriana show up nonsensically and the steampunk is halfhearted. Reall...more

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May 04, 2013 Anzu The Great Destroyer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-is-dead, punks-who-are-into-steam, excitement, could-have-been-sooo-much-better, fat-kitty-judges-you, good-guy-greg, i-am-disappoint, reviewed-2013

Ekaterina Sedia is an amazing writer. I absolutely fell in love with her style after reading The Alchemy of Stone, and I was expecting Heart of Iron to be the same. Sadly, it wasn’t. I mean writing-wise it was pretty good, Sedia does have some mad writing skills, but the story wasn’t really my cup.

I also liked the characters, especially Sasha and Jack, who made a great team imho. The rest of them didn’t really impress me much, but they were still cleverly built.

…

Yeah. I’m absolutely out of id...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Stephane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Take one part Russian literature, one part boy's own adventure, one part steampunk and mix. What you'll get is Heart of Iron, a book set in 1825 Russia, right after the successful December revolution. While not always successful (the main protagonist, Sasha, is a little too passive for my taste), it does take some interesting twist and turns (Spring Heeled Jack as a British spy? and employed by Florence Nightingale, as a spy master?) but is very light on the steampunk that it claims allegiance t...more

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Feb 06, 2012 Kristin added it

Shelves: ra

This book didn't hold my attention or interest. When I started it, I was pleased by the writing style; and I enjoyed the setting of historical Russia. It had historical detail, which gave it authenticity--but then it suddenly launched into descriptions of the bizarre machines that didn't really exist in history. I know, I know: that's what Steampunk is. And this was my first experimental reading of Steampunk. But I found the disparity between historical accuracy and historical inaccuracy too jar...more

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Nov 27, 2011 Gerritt rated it 3 of 5 stars

I appreciate the effort of writing an alternate Russia and China, in which Tsar Nicholas never took the throne, and the Qing Dynasty never received aid from Europe to defeat the Taiping Rebellion. The little nuggets of historical in-jokes were amusing, and unlike some others, I found the protagonist likable, if somewhat improbable (how, again, would she actually have managed to get from St. Petersburg to Beijing?)

But ultimately, I felt like nothing actually happened in this book. The conclusion...more

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