Welcome to the bizarre and dangerous world of Victorian London, a city teetering on the edge of revolution. Its people are ushering in a new er... read full description
reviews
Jan 24, 2011
Miriam
rated it: 
While in some ways original, this novel combines a number of themes which seem oddly prevalent in recent publications: zombies (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, World War Z An Oral History of the Zombie War, Patient Zero A Joe Ledger Novel, Breathers A Zombie's Lament, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), automata (The Invention of Hugo Cabret, The Alchemy Of Stone), airships (The Wizard Hunters, Clementine, New Amsterdam,Airborn) in a vaguely steampunkish setting ( Larklight A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space
More...
2 comments
like
(5 people liked it)
Apr 21, 2010
Dan
rated it:
Sir Maurice Newbury and his assistant Veronica Hobbes investigate an airship crash in Victorian London. Why were all the victims lashed to their seats? Where was the pilot? And why is the Queen so intent on Newbury and Hobbes finding out what happened? The trail leads them to the airship manufacturers who also happen to make automatons. Can Newbury and Hobbes solve the mystery before the mysterious glowing policeman takes them?
The Affinity Bridge is a fast-moving steampunk myste More...
The Affinity Bridge is a fast-moving steampunk myste More...
Feb 06, 2011
Tim
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Sep 19, 2011
Katie
rated it: 
Set in an alternative Victorian London populated with mysterious scientists, brass automatons, airships and zombies, this book was very silly but also very entertaining.
At times it seems as though Mann has a few too many subplots on the go at once and that certain aspects are being ignored for too long. However, he handles them all skilfully and eventually they become so impressively interwoven and dependent upon one another that I was willing to forgive their seemingly disparate More...
At times it seems as though Mann has a few too many subplots on the go at once and that certain aspects are being ignored for too long. However, he handles them all skilfully and eventually they become so impressively interwoven and dependent upon one another that I was willing to forgive their seemingly disparate More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Apr 22, 2011
± Colleen of the Crawling Chaos ±
rated it:
This wasn't a bad little story. It moved along at a fair pace, it had some interesting characterizations - and I love anachronistic female characters - and the mystery wasn't entirely obvious, though it was hardly surprising, either.
I figured it out the first time Veronica visited her sister, and I was kind of annoyed that she didn't.
I was going to bump this up to a 3 1/2 stars, but then came the part with the impossibly unstoppable man.
Ok - here be some spoi More...
I figured it out the first time Veronica visited her sister, and I was kind of annoyed that she didn't.
I was going to bump this up to a 3 1/2 stars, but then came the part with the impossibly unstoppable man.
Ok - here be some spoi More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jan 06, 2009
edifanob
rated it:
"Welcome to the bizarre and dangerous world of Victorian London, a city teetering on the edge of revolution. Its people are ushering in a new era of technology, dazzled each day by new inventions. Airships soar in the skies over the city, whilst ground trains rumble through the streets and clockwork automatons are programmed to carry out menial tasks in the offices of lawyers, policemen and journalists. But beneath this shiny veneer of progress lurks a sinister side. For this is also a worl
More...
3 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Oct 02, 2011
Bill
rated it:
A totally delightful tale of Victorian England, with the Jules Verne twist of steampunk. I found the sub plots a pure delight adding scope to the tale. A must read for steampunk, fantasy, and Sherlock Holmes lovers.
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jun 21, 2010
Libby
rated it:
3.5 stars – another reviewer stated that this was a pretty simple, straightforward book and I agree. Nonetheless, it was very enjoyable and I recommend it for a fun, easy read.
It’s a Sherlock Holmes, Victorian setting adventure with a Steampunk aspect – the story is predictable and the characters are stock but it’s still very well done. The author knew his genre and worked within it in a creative way. This is one of the better examples of this type of work.
If you enjoy S More...
It’s a Sherlock Holmes, Victorian setting adventure with a Steampunk aspect – the story is predictable and the characters are stock but it’s still very well done. The author knew his genre and worked within it in a creative way. This is one of the better examples of this type of work.
If you enjoy S More...
5 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Aug 10, 2011
A promising start to what could be a very enjoyable series. There's lots to enjoy: the steampunk aspects of the book are well realised, there are several enjoyable action scenes, and the main characters are likeable.
However, the writing is mixed. The vast majority of it is fine, if never exactly stupendous, but there are moments, particularly in exposition, where the dialogue is simply dreadful. Likeable though the characters are, there are moments when the respect and friendship of Newbery and More...
However, the writing is mixed. The vast majority of it is fine, if never exactly stupendous, but there are moments, particularly in exposition, where the dialogue is simply dreadful. Likeable though the characters are, there are moments when the respect and friendship of Newbery and More...
Feb 06, 2012
Lydia
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Dec 26, 2011
Blair
rated it:
I really wish that you could give half ratings, because I would definitely give this book a 3.5 out of 5.
I started this book because I thought that a steampunk motif would be a pleasant change from all the hard science fiction I've been reading, lately. About halfway through the book, I realized that the appeal of steampunk, for me, is largely visual. Almost exclusively visual. When combined with the very Victorian gender sensibilities, and the fact that there seemed to be far too many More...
I started this book because I thought that a steampunk motif would be a pleasant change from all the hard science fiction I've been reading, lately. About halfway through the book, I realized that the appeal of steampunk, for me, is largely visual. Almost exclusively visual. When combined with the very Victorian gender sensibilities, and the fact that there seemed to be far too many More...
Dec 07, 2011
Schweighsr
rated it:
Do all Steampunk fantasy books contain zombies? In this book they are called 'Revenants' and in the 'Clockwork Century' series they are called 'rotters', but they are both basically zombies.
The Affinity Bridge was exciting enough that I read it all in two sittings, I could barely put it down, but I gave it an average rating because of the shallowness of the plot and characters. In fact, although this was the first of the series, I was certain that there must be a book before this More...
The Affinity Bridge was exciting enough that I read it all in two sittings, I could barely put it down, but I gave it an average rating because of the shallowness of the plot and characters. In fact, although this was the first of the series, I was certain that there must be a book before this More...
Nov 29, 2011
Jenn
rated it:
I picked up The Affinity Bridge and its sequel, The Osiris Ritual, on a bookcloseouts.ca sale a while back. I had no idea what to expect, having never read George Mann before, but the premise--a classic mystery with a steampunk twist--was just too delicious to resist.
In some ways, The Affinity Bridge took me back to my Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie days. (I used to devour their work on virtually a daily basis.) The tone is quite similar, particularly to the Sherlock Holmes More...
In some ways, The Affinity Bridge took me back to my Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie days. (I used to devour their work on virtually a daily basis.) The tone is quite similar, particularly to the Sherlock Holmes More...
Nov 06, 2011
Bianca
rated it:
"Die Themse schlängelte sich in die Ferne davon, in der Nähe stießen die Fabriken und Industrieanlagen von Battersea Rauchfahnen in die Luft. Ein Stück entfernt hob sich die City of Westminster wie ein Edelstein aus der dichten Bebauung ab: stolze Bauten, öffentliche Parks, Museen und das Parlament. Majestätisch funkelte die Stadt, und darüber bildeten die Gewitterwolken ein dunkles, dräuendes Gewölbe."
"Affinity Bridge" von George Mann war eines der Bücher, auf die More...
"Affinity Bridge" von George Mann war eines der Bücher, auf die More...
Nov 01, 2011
Scott
rated it:
George Mann has written an original novel utilizing two dynamic characters while blending science fiction, horror, and fantasy genres in Victorian England. But, even as these elements add up to a highly entertaining work, it is not without faults.
The Affinity Bridge features Sir Maurice Newbury, an agent of Queen Victoria, and his newly hired assistant, Veronica Hobbes. They are a fun duo, both formidable in their own right, and soon after the beginning of the novel they are thrust int More...
The Affinity Bridge features Sir Maurice Newbury, an agent of Queen Victoria, and his newly hired assistant, Veronica Hobbes. They are a fun duo, both formidable in their own right, and soon after the beginning of the novel they are thrust int More...
Jul 29, 2011
I really liked this book. it took a couple of attempts to get into it, mainly because I was trying to read too many things at once, but I am so glad that I did.
The basic idea seems to be a mystery set in late Victorian England - but with science quite beyond what was available at the time. It is a Victorian London of airships, and steam powered coaches that drive alongside the more traditional horse drawn variety. So although it is a Science Fiction setting, the author has done an amazing j More...
The basic idea seems to be a mystery set in late Victorian England - but with science quite beyond what was available at the time. It is a Victorian London of airships, and steam powered coaches that drive alongside the more traditional horse drawn variety. So although it is a Science Fiction setting, the author has done an amazing j More...
Apr 10, 2011
Barbara
rated it:
The first book featuring Sir Maurice Newbury and Miss Veronica Hobbs is a rather uneven entry in the steampunk ranks. We are in an alternate Victorian-era London; one that is full of mechanical marvels like automatons and steam-powered road trains. The skies are filled with air-ship traffic. And the night streets are full of fog and revenants and the 'glowing policeman'.
Someone or something is killing the poor in Whitechapel. The the deaths are popularly linked of the return of the 'glow More...
Someone or something is killing the poor in Whitechapel. The the deaths are popularly linked of the return of the 'glow More...
Apr 05, 2011
John
rated it:
I believe this is my first time delving into a Steampunk book. Reading the excerpt, I was interested in trying out Steampunk and I also like detective books.
I'm pleased that my wife showed this book to me. It was a very fun read and I would love to see Mann continue the story of Newbury and Hobbes.
Content: For me, it was so nice to read an adult novel that didn't need to be sexualized and didn't need to use profanity...neither of which is in anyway necessary to write a More...
I'm pleased that my wife showed this book to me. It was a very fun read and I would love to see Mann continue the story of Newbury and Hobbes.
Content: For me, it was so nice to read an adult novel that didn't need to be sexualized and didn't need to use profanity...neither of which is in anyway necessary to write a More...
Dec 02, 2010
Karen
rated it:
George Mann's "The Affinity Bridge" was a real eye-opener for me. I am new to the steampunk genre and have been looking for books to read in order to quench that need. I have started several but became so bogged down in vampires and werewolves that I just stopped reading.
This book however is beautifully written. Yes, there are a few zombies, but they do not overwhelm the story. Mann captures the feel of the Victorian era with clever descriptions and remarkable characters. M More...
This book however is beautifully written. Yes, there are a few zombies, but they do not overwhelm the story. Mann captures the feel of the Victorian era with clever descriptions and remarkable characters. M More...
Jul 18, 2010
Barbara
rated it: 
The Affinity Bridge is Steed and Emma Peel meet steampunk, with entertaining consequences … and only a few annoyances.
What is "steampunk," you ask? If the industrial revolution in the late 1800s and early 1900s went strangely awry that would be steampunk. Take our modern machines that are powered for us by tiny batteries or gas engines or run via chip processors, and imagine that they are activated instead by many mighty gears and that steam pours out of their orifices. Ste More...
What is "steampunk," you ask? If the industrial revolution in the late 1800s and early 1900s went strangely awry that would be steampunk. Take our modern machines that are powered for us by tiny batteries or gas engines or run via chip processors, and imagine that they are activated instead by many mighty gears and that steam pours out of their orifices. Ste More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Mar 13, 2010
Richard
rated it:
This book is a passably entertaining foray into steampunk and a good way to while away a few hours. The principal characters, Maurice Newbury and Victoria Hobbes, are shamelessly modeled on Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic Holmes and Watson, and they're even more blatantly reminiscent of the X Files' Mulder and Scully. The plot moves quickly as the heroes grapple under unreliable gaslight with an array of zombies, robots, and human miscreants in Victorian London at the seemingly incessantly foggy daw
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 12, 2010
Amanda
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Sep 04, 2009
Robert
rated it:
Victorian London. Steampunk. Brass robots. Zombies. A detective who is a professor with an interest in the supernatural, and an assistant who is a plucky young woman.
Sounds quite enticing, doesn't it? The Affinity Bridge is the kind of book which would make for a rollicking, pretty movie. Unfortunately, as a written story, it falls strangely flat. If I had to put my finger on a cause, it is the way the story seems to be soulless, drawn by numbers, rather than energetic, innovative fare More...
Sounds quite enticing, doesn't it? The Affinity Bridge is the kind of book which would make for a rollicking, pretty movie. Unfortunately, as a written story, it falls strangely flat. If I had to put my finger on a cause, it is the way the story seems to be soulless, drawn by numbers, rather than energetic, innovative fare More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jun 28, 2009
Paul
rated it:
The year is 1901.
A strange zombie plague threatens the low class areas of London. Zeppelins fill the skies, piloted by mechanical men. Queen Victoria, with medical help, is still on the British Throne. A mysterious, glowing policeman has been strangling people.
Welcome to the world of George Mann's The Affinity Bridge.
In this Victorian AH Steampunk world, meet Sir Maurice Newbury and his assistant Miss Veronica Hobbes. Agents of the Crown, its their job to More...
A strange zombie plague threatens the low class areas of London. Zeppelins fill the skies, piloted by mechanical men. Queen Victoria, with medical help, is still on the British Throne. A mysterious, glowing policeman has been strangling people.
Welcome to the world of George Mann's The Affinity Bridge.
In this Victorian AH Steampunk world, meet Sir Maurice Newbury and his assistant Miss Veronica Hobbes. Agents of the Crown, its their job to More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jun 19, 2010
Josephine
rated it:
A zombie plague! Mysterious clockwork automata! Airship crashes! What more could Crown Investigator Sir Maurice Newbury and his capable assistant Miss Veronica Hobbes ask for?
(Maybe... an editor?) The story was... solid, I suppose, but I felt no connection whatsoever to the characters, and there was only one part of the mystery that even mildly surprised me. The prose was functional but not clever, and the dialogue seemed to waver confusedly between Victorian and modern (neither of w More...
(Maybe... an editor?) The story was... solid, I suppose, but I felt no connection whatsoever to the characters, and there was only one part of the mystery that even mildly surprised me. The prose was functional but not clever, and the dialogue seemed to waver confusedly between Victorian and modern (neither of w More...
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
May 04, 2010
Jasmyn9
rated it:
This story had so many different elements to it...a zombie plague, a ghostly policeman, an airship crash, crazy scientists, and a touch of the paranormal. It was almost too much to keep up with. I can's imagine how Sir Newbury managed to keep up with it all, but somehow he did with the help of his beautiful assistant, Veronica.
The story starts off with the investigation of a glowing policeman that seems to be responsible for several murders. As Sir Newbury begins the investigation he More...
The story starts off with the investigation of a glowing policeman that seems to be responsible for several murders. As Sir Newbury begins the investigation he More...
Nov 27, 2011
John
rated it:
Once I realized this was really a detective/thriller with the brass parts shined up, I enjoyed The Affinity Bridge more than I had been. There was almost no supernatural element to this story, and what little there was was referred to in exposition.
What I liked:
The opening scene in India was done well.
I thought some of the characters' emotional calculus was interesting, especially Newbury's addiction problems. The romantic tension seemed predictable, althoug More...
What I liked:
The opening scene in India was done well.
I thought some of the characters' emotional calculus was interesting, especially Newbury's addiction problems. The romantic tension seemed predictable, althoug More...
Aug 01, 2011
Cori
rated it:
Way late to the Steampunk-ness, but I finally arrived. I blame it on my slow dirigible.
Despite being a little rough around the edges, I enjoyed the Affinity Bridge. This steampunk world of automatons, steam-powered machines, blimps and, oddly, zombies, was a place I’d never encountered before. And it worked for me, especially in regard to the plot. I liked how Mann brought the several different plot threads together (well, most of them at least) and tied them up at the end, while leavi More...
Despite being a little rough around the edges, I enjoyed the Affinity Bridge. This steampunk world of automatons, steam-powered machines, blimps and, oddly, zombies, was a place I’d never encountered before. And it worked for me, especially in regard to the plot. I liked how Mann brought the several different plot threads together (well, most of them at least) and tied them up at the end, while leavi More...
Nov 12, 2009
Ryan
rated it:
The Affinity Bridge is a fairly straightforward, simple book. The plot is hollow and the characters shallow. It's redeeming feature is that it is a steampunk, automata, and zombie mashup. Unfortunately Mann spends more of his time describing the overly simplified emotions and thoughts running through the character's heads and repeating himself than on the action that appears to be going on around the characters. There were only a few pages where I felt truly engaged as a reader, and at no point
More...
Jul 20, 2010
Paulette
rated it:
If you're really, really desperate to read something in the Steampunk genre and the only thing you can find is this book, by all means read it. However, please don't think this is what the genre is all about.
My biggest complaint with Mr. Mann's book is that the characters, from the atypical Victorian female protagonist down to the lowliest soon to be victim Bobbie, are inconsistent. One minute they are all proper and speaking in a quaint variation of period English and the next minut More...
My biggest complaint with Mr. Mann's book is that the characters, from the atypical Victorian female protagonist down to the lowliest soon to be victim Bobbie, are inconsistent. One minute they are all proper and speaking in a quaint variation of period English and the next minut More...
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
