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232nd out of 471 books
—
2,479 voters
Homunculus (The Narbondo Series #2)
In 1870s London, a city of contradictions and improbabilities, a dead man pilots an airship and living men are willing to risk all to steal a carp. Here, a night of bangers and ale at the local pub can result in an eternity at the Blood Pudding with the rest of the reanimated dead.
Paperback, 248 pages
Published
July 1st 2000
by Babbage Press
(first published 1986)
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3.5 stars
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
"Does the night seem uncommonly full of dead men and severed heads to you?"
Langdon St. Ives is a man of science and a member of the Royal Society. With the help of his dependable and discreet manservant, St. Ives prefers to spend his time secretly building a spaceship in his countryside silo. But currently he’s in London to help his friend Jack Owlesby recover a wooden box containing the huge emerald Jack’s father left him for an inheritance. Thin...more
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
"Does the night seem uncommonly full of dead men and severed heads to you?"
Langdon St. Ives is a man of science and a member of the Royal Society. With the help of his dependable and discreet manservant, St. Ives prefers to spend his time secretly building a spaceship in his countryside silo. But currently he’s in London to help his friend Jack Owlesby recover a wooden box containing the huge emerald Jack’s father left him for an inheritance. Thin...more
Sep 08, 2008
Neb
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
lovers of Victorian fantastical fiction, Steampunk fans
Shelves:
own
I'm a huge fan of James Blaylock, so my reviews of his work are going to be very biased. "Homunculus" is a dizzy romp through a fictional late 19th century London populated by daffy gentleman Natural Philosophers, grizzled but upstanding inventors and adventurers, wicked and perverted mad-scientists, and the tout-hearted and unflappable women who support them (the good guys, not the creeps). The characters are pretty archetypal and typical of a story of this genre as, say, written by H. Rider Ha...more
James P. Blaylock in his new book, “Homunculus” a new book in Tale of Langdon St. Ives series published by Titan Books gives us another adventure with scientist/explorer Professor Langdon St. Ives.
From the back cover: It is the late 19th century and a mysterious airship orbits through the foggy skies. Its terrible secrets are sought by many, including the Royal Society, a fraudulent evangelist, a fiendish vivisectionist, an evil millionaire and an assorted group led by the scientist and explorer...more
From the back cover: It is the late 19th century and a mysterious airship orbits through the foggy skies. Its terrible secrets are sought by many, including the Royal Society, a fraudulent evangelist, a fiendish vivisectionist, an evil millionaire and an assorted group led by the scientist and explorer...more
Corpses are animated in 1870s London by a hunchbacked fiend. A man sees himself as a new messiah. A blimp piloted by a skeleton stays aloft for years. A space ship is invented, and possibly a perpetual motion machine. A tiny man said to be from another world is kept in a small box, the harnessing of his considerable powers a tug-of-war in a deadly-fun game between armchair adventurers/inventors and baddies and their weird science.
Yes, it's more James P. Blaylock fun. As usual, Blaylock, whose mo...more
Yes, it's more James P. Blaylock fun. As usual, Blaylock, whose mo...more
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This is one of my favorite books, a completely lunatic Victorian fantasy involving mad scientists, an alien being, grave robbers, anarchists, apocalyptic cults, a band of alchemical adventurers, a villainous sausage-maker, and the notorious Marseilles Pinkle. The story chronicles the adventures of the Trimegistus Society as they battle the sinister Dr. Ignacio Narbondo, while tracking a mystery airship piloted by a dead man.
Frankly, it's impossible to summarize the plot. This is the book that m...more
Frankly, it's impossible to summarize the plot. This is the book that m...more
The first book I read by Blaylock was All The Bells on Earth .
All The Bells On Earth
That book immediately won me over. It was an exquisite example of what Dark Fiction (or Urban Fantasy, or the new Weird, or whatever you call the genre) can do. Unfortunately, since that book I just haven't found another Blaylock book as good.
This book wasn't bad, and I guess I judged it two ways.
If I judged it on its own, I probably would have given it a 2. It starts slow, I didn't really find myself enjoying...more
All The Bells On Earth
That book immediately won me over. It was an exquisite example of what Dark Fiction (or Urban Fantasy, or the new Weird, or whatever you call the genre) can do. Unfortunately, since that book I just haven't found another Blaylock book as good.
This book wasn't bad, and I guess I judged it two ways.
If I judged it on its own, I probably would have given it a 2. It starts slow, I didn't really find myself enjoying...more
The plot takes place in a strange magical steampunky Old London Town. The streets are walked by preachers and zombies and zombie preachers. The skies are ridden by a skeleton pirate in a gondola under an airship blessed by a (nearly) perpetual motion device. There are alarms and excursions to the countyside where a moon rocket launch goes a little arwy. A strange small man with a lot of power is hidden in a box somewhere, so is an emerald, so is an aeration device for a moon rocket. Who has whic...more
3 likes · like · see review
I read this during a brief dalliance with steampunk. It was brief because of books like this. Weak characterization (or shall we say no characterization), and the bad guys are just plain ol' bad guys and the good guys are just plain ol' good guys and completely generic and interchangeable. Fun concept and good Victorian sci-fi/fantasy vibe, but you gotta give me more than that.
Professor Langdon St. Ives and the Trismegistus club battle to keep the secrets of the universe out of the hands of evil industrialists, a depraved genius vivisectionist who re-animates the dead, and a fanatical cult leader. A wonderful story full of rich characters who you can only love or hate.
Favorite quote:
"The problem with the philosophers was that they were short of practical advice."
Favorite quote:
"The problem with the philosophers was that they were short of practical advice."
Apr 09, 2013
Hearts On Fire Reviews
added it
Reviewed by:Mallory
Genre: Historical Fiction/Steampunk
Rated: 5 Stars
Check out the review at: Hearts On Fire Reviews
Genre: Historical Fiction/Steampunk
Rated: 5 Stars
Check out the review at: Hearts On Fire Reviews
I so wanted to like this book -- it's one of the first steampunk novels, and it features neat stuff like the Trismegistus Club and a sort of Flying Dutchman dirigible and the reanimated head of late 18th century mystic Joanna Southcote.
But like the skeletal remains of Southcote, it's just somehow not fleshed out. The characterization is all on the surface, and the writing just seems to skitter around from subplot to subplot, without sufficiently developing anything. It also harps, with mean-spir...more
But like the skeletal remains of Southcote, it's just somehow not fleshed out. The characterization is all on the surface, and the writing just seems to skitter around from subplot to subplot, without sufficiently developing anything. It also harps, with mean-spir...more
Hugely entertaining romp, mixing aliens, fantasy and Victoriana to dizzying effect.
Bizarre & I loved it.
*note to self. Copy from A. (different cover and edition) scan later.
*note to self. Copy from A. (different cover and edition) scan later.
I just couldn't get into this book and considered giving up at several points. Probably my last one from this author...
A most witty book. Very VERY difficult to keep track of all the characters and the plot??? Well, it definately could have used one that didn't wander all over the place. It was hard to get into Homunculus and at times felt like I was walking through the ocean looking for seashells as the tide was coming in.
Nicely done story by the King of Steampunk: Mr. Blaylock. The author includes everything: an airship, animated corpses, dancing skeletons, an evil doctor, heroic heroes, and lots of top hats and gears. I will be reading more of this series.
I found it ponderous, and the pacing quite slow. It is clear Blaylock is a lover of the written word, but if HOMUNCULUS is any indication of his skills, I will likely not read any more of his work.
I enjoyed this book. It was well paced and funny. I had trouble following what was going on at times... I chalk that up to this being in England.
Mar 31, 2013
Mallory Anne-Marie Forbes
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Mallory Anne-Marie by:
Hearts on Fire Reviews
Reviewed for Hearts on Fire Reviews; will post here after published there.
An enjoyable steampunk tale involving infernal devices, mystery, alchemy, necromancy, and a miniature man.
Wanted to like it more than I did.
May 21, 2013
Neil Mitchell
is currently reading it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
steampunk,
science-fiction
May 19, 2013
William Isenberger
marked it as to-read
May 18, 2013
Lizkdy
marked it as to-read
May 17, 2013
CJ
marked it as to-read
May 16, 2013
Jaimee Popp
marked it as to-read
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James Paul Blaylock is an American fantasy author. He is noted for his distinctive style. He writes in a humorous way: His characters never walk, they clump along, or when someone complains (in a flying machine) that flight is impossible, the other characters agree and show him why he's right.
He was born in Long Beach, California; studied English at California State University, Fullerton, receivin...more
More about James P. Blaylock...
He was born in Long Beach, California; studied English at California State University, Fullerton, receivin...more
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