The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Burton & Swinburne, #1)

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The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Burton & Swinburne #1)

by Mark Hodder (Goodreads Author)

3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 · rating details · 2,425 ratings · 447 reviews

London, 1861.

Sir Richard Francis Burton—explorer, linguist, scholar, and swordsman; his reputation tarnished; his career in tatters; his former partner missing and probably dead.

Algernon Charles Swinburne—unsuccessful poet and follower of de Sade; for whom pain is pleasure, and brandy is ruin!

They stand at a crossroads in their lives and are caught in the epicenter of an e...more

Paperback, 371 pages

Published September 7th 2010 by Pyr (first published 2010)

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Community Reviews

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Oct 10, 2011 Stephen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: punked, science-fiction, 2006-2010, ebooks, award-nominee-philip-k-dick, mystery, alternative-history, sherlockian

This super debut novel is like a sweet, dainty cup of mild English tea...if it was spiked with Absinthe, poured into a heavy brass goblet and served with Laudanum-laced cookies shaped like medical experiments gone awry. In other words, a great blend of prim, proper and the freakishly bizarre...somebody pass the hookah, this one’s gonna get weird.

Set in 1861 in an ~~Victorian~~ Albertian England, Mark Hodder has created one of the most enticingly strange and intriguing steampunk worlds I have come a...more

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Jun 28, 2011 Kelly Leigh rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: history buffs who love them some fantasy and everyone else

Shelves: fantasy-historical, steampunk, mystery-thriller, speculative-fiction, time-travel

Mad props to author Mark Hodder for the amount of research and time that went into writing this novel. It had to be a veritable migraine tidying it all together into book form. And I hand out an A+ for originality.

The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack is a madcap, whimsical tale of epic proportions centering around actual historical figures who lived during the Victorian period. Specifically the explorer/anthropologist Sir Richard Francis Burton and his very own Watson - the unabashed Marqui...more

9 likes · like · see review

Jan 22, 2012 mark monday rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: foggy-nights, i-gave-up

EH? EH! this desperate steampunk non-adventure plays like an overly hysterical farce with delusions of grandeur. although seemingly full of creative ideas, those ideas have run sadly amuck. there is no grounding of the frivolity in interesting characterization or sparkling dialogue - both of which remain almost obstinately insipid and amateurish; famous english personages are tossed around willy-nilly with little sense and zero resonance; cutesie-poo preciousness is found everywhere, from the li...more

20 likes · like · see review

Sep 01, 2011 Eric rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Steam-punk fans

Shelves: steam-punk, science-fiction

I'm so glad I stumbled onto this imaginative steam-punk series. I loved the protagonist, a fictionalized Sir Richard Francis Burton, his side-kick, an equally fictionalized Algernon Charles Swinburne, and their adventures in this alternate Victorian England, complete with genetically modified animals, steam engine-propelled penny farthings and flying rotochairs (view spoiler).

I loved the inclusion of so many personalities of the time, such as Charles D...more

4 likes · like · see review

Oct 12, 2010 Reg rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk

I'm not a huge fan of steampunk but any book that has Sir Richard Francis Burton as a protagonist automatically predsposes me towards liking it. In this case the fact that the book is well written and researched historically and features a plethora of other famous Victorians of whom I am quite fond only furter ehances the appeal. A very promising debut novel and one of the rare instances where I am fervently hoping for a sequel. Well done.

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Jan 03, 2012 Ala rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A steampunky alt-history story involving famous historical figures doing things they never would've done in a world gone mad with genetic trickery and technological advancements far beyond what they should've had.

It was a slow start, got interesting with the introduction of the title character, then meandered a bit towards the end.

All in all, a decent read.

Two and a half jacks.

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Nov 17, 2011 Chance Maree rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, fantasy, steam-punk, alternative-history

I enjoyed reading this time travel/ alternative history novel, and probably would have relished it to a greater extent were I more familiar with English historical events and figures. Even so, I recognized most of the main characters and parts of London I've seen, so the setting and actors came alive. The fantastical elements were great fun, full of imagination and humor, like a bit of old fashioned Sherlock Holmes mixed with the craziness of Austin Powers - the writing was very visual.

The stor...more

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Mar 13, 2012 Paul rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

Actual rating: 2.5 stars.

I read The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack on the recommendation of a friend who is into steampunk and "bizarro world" novels. So far I've taken a pass on the bizarro world genre, but I do read some steampunk. My preference in steampunk novels is with those that teach us about human nature and the alternate timeline that branched off to become our own; I'm thinking particularly about China Miéville and his Perdido Street Station, or Dexter Palmer's The Dream of Perp...more

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Jun 29, 2011 Shanshad Whelan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction, steampunk, time-travel, urban-fantasy

I picked this up after a run of perfectly uninspiring urban fantasies. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but was delighted with what I found. An alernate Victorian history steampunk novel full of familiar characters in unfamiliar roles. An engaging and fascinating romp through an England I've never even thought to imagine, but fully enjoyed seeing crafted on the pages I read.

Rather than a plucky young heroine or hero engaged in a wild steampunk ride, our protagonist is none other than Sir...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Jürgen Zeller rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Spring Heeled Jack ist eine der urbanen Legenden und zugleich Rätsel der viktorianischen Zeit in England. Er war eine Schreckgestalt, ein Märchengespenst mit dem Mütter ihren unartigen Kinder drohten "Benimm dich! Oder Spring Heeled Jack kommt dich holen!" Die Kreatur fiel während eines Zeitraumes zwischen 1837 und 1888 unverhofft über arglose Bürger her. Auf Deutsch übersetzt bedeutet sein Name etwa "Sprungfeder-Jack". Sein bizarres Aussehen und seine Fähigkeit riesige Sprünge zu vollführen ers...more Spring Heeled Jack ist eine der urbanen Legenden und zugleich Rätsel der viktorianischen Zeit in England. Er war eine Schreckgestalt, ein Märchengespenst mit dem Mütter ihren unartigen Kinder drohten "Benimm dich! Oder Spring Heeled Jack kommt dich holen!" Die Kreatur fiel während eines Zeitraumes zwischen 1837 und 1888 unverhofft über arglose Bürger her. Auf Deutsch übersetzt bedeutet sein Name etwa "Sprungfeder-Jack". Sein bizarres Aussehen und seine Fähigkeit riesige Sprünge zu vollführen erschreckte die Menschen zutiefst. Der Schriftsteller Mark Hodder hat um diese Sagengestalt eine wirklich gute Geschichte geschrieben bei dem Fantasy-Elemente eine ebenso grosse Rolle spielen wie reale historisch bekannte Personen die zahlreich in diesem Roman auftreten. Irgendwo in diesem verworrenen Netz der Geschichte könnte möglicherweise eine unentdeckte Wahrheit im Verborgenen liegen die eine Erklärung für das unerklärliche Phänomen sein könnte.

Die Hauptfigur Sir Richard Francis Burton war ein berühmter Afrikaforscher, Offizier, Konsul und Übersetzer. Er wird vom Premierminister höchstselbst damit beauftragt nach Spring Heeled Jack zu suchen und ihn wenn möglich zu verhaften. Unterstützt wird er vom jungen Dichter Algernon Charles Swinburne der alsbald zum Enfant terrible der Literaturszene wird, dem Alkohol alles andere als abgeneigt ist und körperliche Schmerzen als enorm lustvoll empfindet. So stöbern sie im Auftrag des britischen Empires und als Agenten des Königs in übelst stinkenden Londoner Stadtteilen ebenso rum wie auf dem malerischen Lande.

Das Buch ist im Prinzip in einer recht einfachen und leicht verständlichen Sprache geschrieben. Inhaltlich ist es allerdings alles andere als leicht zu lesen und zu verstehen. Es dauert etwas bis man begreift worauf der Autor hinaus will aber es gewinnt während des Lesens laufend an Konturen. Es ist ein Mix aus klassischem Schauerroman, bei dem auch Werwölfe nicht fehlen, einer Detektivgeschichte und fantasyhaftem Steampunk. Es ist randvoll mit hochinteressanten Szenen und Remineszenzen an bekannte Schriftsteller dieser Epoche und es spielt mit den Standpunkten der Genetiker, Technokraten und den Freigeistern der Libertins. Mit den vielen philosophischen Themen die angeschnitten werden dürften jugendliche Leser wahrscheinlich mehrfach überfordert sein und sich teilweise langweilen und so ist es für mich trotz des Covers ein Buch das ich ausschliesslich Erwachsenen Lesern empfehlen würde. Wobei ich von mir selbst nicht behaupten kann, jegliche Anspielung verstanden zu haben und gewachsen zu sein.

Das Roman als Ganzes ist mir einen Tick zu lang geraten. Man hätte hie und da die eine oder andere ausführlich erzählte Szene etwas kürzen können oder ganz weglassen. Aber das ist Kritik auf hohem Niveau und tut dem Lesevergnügen insgesamt keinen Abbruch und ich will dafür auch keinen Stern abziehen. Meiner Meinung nach ein phänomenales Buch!(less)

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Feb 03, 2013 Scurra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: alt-history

Time-travel - at least in the paradox-inducing non-linear form - is challenging to do well. You have to decide how you are going to handle the consequences of introducing a time-traveller at all, especially into recorded history, and you need to ensure that the incidents that occur "out of sequence" don't feel arbitrarily forced into the narrative, and you need to

In this entertaining alternate history novel (I guess you could call it Steampunk given the heavy Victoriana clockwork technology inv...more

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Dec 08, 2012 Campbell Mcaulay rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Victorian London is stalked by a mad-eyed leaping sex-pest/assassin and a gang of vicious "loup-garous" intent on abducting the capital's chimney sweeps. Who better to divine their nefarious intentions and solve these apparently unconnected mysteries than the unconventional explorer and adventurer, Sir Richard Francis Burton and his trusty sidekick, poet and libertine Algernon Swinburne.

Take a covey of well-known Victorian (well, sort of Victorian) personalities, drop them into an alternate hist...more Victorian London is stalked by a mad-eyed leaping sex-pest/assassin and a gang of vicious "loup-garous" intent on abducting the capital's chimney sweeps. Who better to divine their nefarious intentions and solve these apparently unconnected mysteries than the unconventional explorer and adventurer, Sir Richard Francis Burton and his trusty sidekick, poet and libertine Algernon Swinburne.

Take a covey of well-known Victorian (well, sort of Victorian) personalities, drop them into an alternate history, add a goodly dose of steampunk, a thick London pea-souper and some exploding werewolves and shake well. Spring-Heeled Jack is, on the face of it, a great idea. No... it's a wonderful idea! Admittedly it reads a bit like a Sherlock Holmes pastiche in places and this may offend the more hardline Holmes & Watson Taliban. But, if you accept this, it is certainly exciting, fun, suspenseful and not without a gentle undercurrent of wit. It's packed full of adventure and it doesn't let up for a moment.

Neither is it without its flaws, however. Another reviewer has suggested that Hodder had a headfull of great ideas and fully intended cramming them all into this one novel. I can't disagree that it is a little //too// packed with steampunk inventions, historical exposition and background (at least in the first half). I felt that that Hodder would have done well to park some of these ideas for subsequent episodes (there are two; The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man and Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon) and let the story unfold by itself... to "show, and not tell".

A few more minor gripes; the nature and intent of Spring Heeled Jack (if not his ultimate motive) is mostly pretty obvious from quite early on in the story. The characterisation is generally well done although, having read two Burton biographies (A Rage to Live and The Devil Drives), I can't say that I was entirely concvinced by Hodder's portrayal which made Burton a little too lighthearted, not as darkly menacing as his biographers would have us believe. If you want more Burton fiction, do try the Riverworld series - PJF did the great man rather better in some ways. The dialogue is good Victorian stuff, although Hodder's attempts at East End Cockney are... misguided to say the least.

All told, this is a ripping yarn, steampunk but skirting the borders of fantasy; well executed if a little unpolished and definitely worth a stab. If Hodder was able to calm his style down a little, the follow-ups should be well worth a look. (less)

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Nov 05, 2012 Loki rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you’re a fan of Dr Who or Steam Punkery, this book is definitely something you’d be interested in. It doesn’t take long to realize that this is NOT the Victorian England you read about in History class. With genetically engineered dogs who deliver the mail, mechanized velocipedes, giant swans that provide air transportation, Hodder’s vision of Victorian England is a menagerie. When you add in that society is torn into factions of steam punk engineers, mad scientists and revolutionaries, you g...more

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Sep 26, 2012 Pandem rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, steampunk, sci-fi

I picked this up at Powell's in Portland in February. Huge bookstore; you'll need the maps they give out at the front desk. Go there if you get the chance, though the graphic novel selection was a little skimpy.

Anyway.

I love this book. I love this book not because of its perfect pacing, its bizarre-yet-intriguing characters, its many nods to history, or that I appear to be stuck in a Victorian steampunk/sci-fi rut(I read this series and the first two books of Gail Carriger's "Parasol Protectorat...more

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Sep 13, 2012 Timothy Lewis rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you have not given this book, the first of three in a series, a look yet then shame on you. Mark Hodder brings the fictional out of non-fictional characters without going to far out of the realms of possibility in The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack. The author gives us a novel that falls into the What If? sub-genre of books that give Steampunk novels their bite. Here we have two real people, Sir Richard Burton and Algernon Charles Swinburne, made into larger then life characters that ar...more

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Aug 16, 2012 Bek rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Very strange, steampunk alternate history twisted-time adventure mystery set in the Victorian era. I really did not know what to make of this pretty much the entire time I was reading it. I'm still not sure how I feel about it, but I believe I'm leaning towards positive. It's kind of like a throwaway pulp fiction adventure from yesteryear. The storytelling style is quite unique. The fake quotes and adverts at chapter beginnings I quite liked, they helped to add flavour and depth to the bizarre w...more

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Jun 18, 2012 NibbledToDeathByCats rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: steamy-fantasy, reviewed

Two stars means it was okay, and three stars means I liked it, so call it a 2½ or a 2¾. I wanted to like this book, and it was filled with great ideas, and really did have its moments, but the things that dragged it down for me were lackluster prose that felt incongruous with the Victorian setting, the predictability of the plot, the villain's stupidity (SHJ), a catalog of names and dates to keep track of without sufficient supporting context (should have made a cheat sheet!), and elements of fa...more Two stars means it was okay, and three stars means I liked it, so call it a 2½ or a 2¾. I wanted to like this book, and it was filled with great ideas, and really did have its moments, but the things that dragged it down for me were lackluster prose that felt incongruous with the Victorian setting, the predictability of the plot, the villain's stupidity (SHJ), a catalog of names and dates to keep track of without sufficient supporting context (should have made a cheat sheet!), and elements of fantasy that were way out of proportion to the setup. Setting up the alternate history as departing from our history at SHJ's "intervention" didn't square with pre-existing elements of fantasy like the power of mesmerism and the rapid success of eugenics; those things would have impacted earlier history as well. (Or am I just trying to fit a fantasy shaped peg into a science-fiction shaped hole?) I definitely had a hard time getting on board with the full extent of the eugenics (and cybernetics!) depicted in this story.

Some of the famous personages, notably Darwin, were way out of character — he might as well have been named Evil Arch Villain #1 instead of Darwin for all the resemblance the character bore to the beloved naturalist; he was like a caricature drawn by his enemies. And what was up with Florence Nightingale, mastermind eugenicist?

Note the curious blend of mutability and immutability in this book's flavor of time travel: the past was mutable when Oxford first went back to encounter his ancestor, but immutable thereafter — why? As the inventor of the time machine, one would think Oxford would have had a better understanding of the nature of time travel from the outset. We also saw in Oxford a level of bad planning in his venture that was so astonishing it strained plausibility. Time travel stories must always walk a fine line, free will versus predestination, revelation and exposition, while keeping a few surprises in store; this book offered no surprises.

What did I like about this book? Burton, Swinburn, Trounce, Honesty, Oliphant, and even Oxford, all enjoyable characters. Victorian mannerisms and turns of phrase that occasionally peeked through the flat prose always made me smile. I love the idea of Spring Heeled Jack's suit, and how it turns a curious Victorian myth into a thing of science fiction.

As I have composed this review, I have wondered, maybe steampunk just isn't the genre for me; I seem to come at it from the point of view of someone who wants hard science fiction, and I need to remind myself that steampunk is more about going back to the steam era and speculating forward from what they might have thought of the future, plus a few elements of what we know really did happen. Spring Heeled Jack tries to do both of those things, and the mixture came out rather awkward.
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Mar 19, 2012 Lightreads rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, historical, science-fiction

Feh. I haven't run across a time-traveler this toe-curlingly incompetent since the last time I read Connie Willis.

Promising start, irritating and disappointing everything else. I like steampunk, I like alternate history, I like historicals featuring famous people. This had all of the above going for it . . . and proceeded to make them all deeply obnoxious. This doesn't just feature Sir Richard Burton (the explorer, Jim, not the actor), it scrapes up every godforsaken contemporary of his and shoe...more

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Feb 26, 2012 Michael Davis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Good stuff, even though I read the second one first, then this first one second. I've been totally drunk on Steampunk of late, and don't see myself sobering up any time soon.

Can't put my finger on it, but Hodder's Steampunkian visions are slightly different than other authors of that genre, in the same way that Cherie Priest is a little different from Devon Monk who's a little different from George Mann - each of whom I'll gladly read whenver they have anything new out. I think it's a case of gr...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Alyssa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I usually quite like steampunk, so I was pretty excited to start reading this book but in the end, it somehow fell short for me. I suppose the main thing that bothered me about it was that EVERYONE seemed to be a historical figure, and not all of them really made a whole lot of sense in the alternate reality of the story (not that I actually know a whole lot about the history). I guess it just felt a bit gimmicky to me :( The other big thing I had a hard time with was... (view spoiler)...more

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Nov 28, 2011 Jimm Wetherbee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Spring Heeled Jack was a real character of the 19th century, or at least as real as alien abductors are. Jack first made his appearance in the mid 1830's and while reports were concentrated then and in the 1860's, sightings continued into the early 1920's. Jack was described as having red eyes, a large helmeted head, a bat-wing like cape, stilt-like heels, and prodigious jumping ability. Some reports had him jump twenty feet in the air. Jack was also notorious for molesting very young women. Wit...more Spring Heeled Jack was a real character of the 19th century, or at least as real as alien abductors are. Jack first made his appearance in the mid 1830's and while reports were concentrated then and in the 1860's, sightings continued into the early 1920's. Jack was described as having red eyes, a large helmeted head, a bat-wing like cape, stilt-like heels, and prodigious jumping ability. Some reports had him jump twenty feet in the air. Jack was also notorious for molesting very young women. With such a reputation, Spring Heeled Jack lived on through penny dreadful and pulp magazines, making an appearance in 2003 in the Dr. Who magazine. It should not go unremarked that the early appearances of Jack almost coincide with the failed assassination attempt upon Queen Victoria.

Mark Hodder recasts Jack into the realm of steam punk. Or to be more precise, Jack is responsible for making a world that we would recognize as steam punk. It would not give up too much to say that Jack, in an effort to remove the tarnish on his family's name, seeks to erase from history the aforementioned assassination attempt and in the process assures its success. Albert becomes king and there is no Victorian age for the 20th century to snicker over. I am not giving up much because this event is not what changes history. Like Ray Bradbury's “Sound of Thunder,” it is a very little thing, that should have gone unnoticed that at once sends technology out of control and sets social forces to play that would make libertines look like choir boys. Not even 25 years after Jack's first appearance there are steam-powered hansoms, personal flying machines (also steam-powered), roving incinerators, and more smog than can possibly be imagined. Darwin also was less controversial and Mendel started (and published) his work decades ahead of time. The result here would be a genetically enhanced menagerie the would rival anything seen in the “Flintstones.” One might suppose the cause for this would be to make the obligatory introduction of the werewolves of London more plausible.

Even at that, just as Victoria's demise was of little importance to this steam-driven world, Jack is not even close to one of the main characters. That honor would be shared by Sir Richard Francis Burton and Algernon Charles Swinburne. Burton may be best know as the first European infidel to enter the Ka'aba in Mecca and see the l-Ħajaru l-Aswad. Swinburne was a Victorian poet of some note relished his reputation for deviance, a reputation that likely far outstripped the facts. In the Victorian age, they never met. But here, why not.

Burton has been assigned, by the Prime Minister, to investigate a series of abductions associated with the appearance of werewolves. The government feared that the technological class had become too independent. If he has time, he can also look into Spring Heeled Jack. These case (of course) converge. Those that know of Burton far better than I would know that after 1861 he spent a declining career moving from one minor diplomatic post to another. At least in this steam punk world Burton is able to bring talents to their best uses. These talents are considerable and it is the character of Burton that stands out. The pairing with Swinburne would seem odd (this Swinburne does live up to most his Victorian counterpart's reputation). Burton is purposeful, clear-headed, and, well, might even best Chuck Norris or whoever the current testosterone-addled action figure might be. Swinburne is small, dissipated, and often muddle-headed. Nevertheless Burton sees something in Swinburne.

Hodder gives the reader a simply excellent yarn, engagingly told. In the Burton brings matters to a close, without exactly putting things to rights. That may not be so good for you and me (or humanity in general) but, it at least gives Hodder the chance to tell his next tale, The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man. What Hodder does not do, however, is explain the reports of Spring Heeled Jack in our world.(less)

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Aug 24, 2011 Charles Dee Mitchell rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-sf

Hodder needed a different, meaner editor for his first novel. Anywhere from 20% - 25% could go. Every incident goes on a little too long. The second half of every compound sentence could be dropped. Conversations are over before Hodder cuts them off. He never got the memo on adverbs.

This is the steampunk novel I have read, and I am not the best audience. I don't care about the gadgetry, and the gadgetry seems to be much of the attraction here. On the other hand, I am a sucker for time travel sto...more

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Aug 14, 2011 Tarl rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: steampunk

The first thing about this book is that it's LONG. Half way through I was starting to look at the pages left and wondering just how much longer I had to go. There is an awful lot of detail in this book, some of it a bit tedious and rather uninteresting. I loved the world, I loved the things that came from it, especially the different factions and their play on the steampunk world.
That being said, this book suffers what most time travel books to, especially when one goes from the viewpoint of one...more

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Jul 18, 2011 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Okay, so it’s July, and you and I both know that at some point this summer you’ll have to crack open whatever book the schools have decided you need to read this summer. Fine, you gotta do what you gotta do. (Can you tell I’m no great fan of assigned summer reading?) Here, then, is my antidote to the summer reading assignment: “The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack,” by Mark Hodder (Pyr, 2010). It’s a rollicking, head-spinning steampunk adventure that is unlikely to find its way onto any summ...more Okay, so it’s July, and you and I both know that at some point this summer you’ll have to crack open whatever book the schools have decided you need to read this summer. Fine, you gotta do what you gotta do. (Can you tell I’m no great fan of assigned summer reading?) Here, then, is my antidote to the summer reading assignment: “The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack,” by Mark Hodder (Pyr, 2010). It’s a rollicking, head-spinning steampunk adventure that is unlikely to find its way onto any summer reading list.

The book’s hero is Sir Richard Francis Burton, the great British explorer, linguist, and scholar, and his diminutive sidekick, Algernon Charles Swinburne, the thrill-seeking young poet. (In an appendix titled “Meanwhile, in the Victorian Age,” Hodder gives brief biographies of these and the many other real-life characters who appear in the book.)

Although it opens in London, 1861, this is not the familiar Victorian London. For one thing, the young Queen Victoria was assassinated in 1840; her husband, Albert, is King. The country is in the midst of a technological and social upheaval. Engineers, part of the new Technologist caste, have created steam-driven velocipedes, flying rotorchairs, and giant crab-like robotic street cleaners. Eugenicists, the other half of the Technologists, have created messenger parakeets with the unfortunately tendency to pepper their messages with insults, giant swans pulling passenger-carrying box kites, and most frighteningly, werewolves that carry off young chimney sweeps. The new Libertines oppose repressive laws, while the Rakes dabble in magic, drugs, and anarchy.

Enter Spring Heeled Jack, a bogeyman legendary for groping young women, leaving them shocked or permanently damaged. After an encounter with the strange creature, Burton is commissioned to investigate. I don’t want to give too much away, but the Rube Goldberg-style plot reveals just how Victorian London was transformed into Steampunk London, and it’s satisfying indeed. Throw in a talking orangutan, a sinister albino panther-man, appearances by Charles Darwin, Francis Galton, and Florence Nightingale, and you’ve got one heck of a fun summer read.

I found this book on the adult science fiction shelf in the library, but it’s suitable for older teens. There is some rough language, the most colorful of which is spoken by the messenger parakeets (“Message for the Marquess of buttock-wobbling Waterford!”), talk of attempted rape, and the sort of violence you’d see in superhero movies, including exploding werewolves. If you liked this book, Burton and Swinburne return in “The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man” (Pyr, 2011).

This review originally published in The News-Gazette (www.news-gazette.com), July 17, 2011. (less)

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Jun 23, 2011 Kim Ryser rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011booksread, steampunk

A great steampunk novel. It's difficult to really get into what this book is about without spoiling it some. I went in blind, and it was really fun to read and figure out what's going on as you read, so if you prefer, just go read this book and don't read the rest of my review.

Ok, they're gone. So the book is about Sir Richard Francis Burton, who is asked by the Prime Minister to look into some strange happenings in London. It becomes apparent that we're dealing with an alternate Victorian peri...more

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May 27, 2011 Forrest rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cbriii

The only reason you can’t hear me giggling like a lifetime Bedlamite right now is because I accidentally corrupted the recording I made while I was finishing The Strange Affair. Hodder’s alternate history of the early years of Victorian England is the best iteration of the modern penny dreadful I’ve ever read. It doesn’t set out be funny, but the final product is so completely over the top that it’s hard not to laugh at the villainous caricatures and bizarre steampunk contraptions. At the same t...more The only reason you can’t hear me giggling like a lifetime Bedlamite right now is because I accidentally corrupted the recording I made while I was finishing The Strange Affair. Hodder’s alternate history of the early years of Victorian England is the best iteration of the modern penny dreadful I’ve ever read. It doesn’t set out be funny, but the final product is so completely over the top that it’s hard not to laugh at the villainous caricatures and bizarre steampunk contraptions. At the same time, there’s a decent adventure story here, and some very interesting pseudoscience behind the crazy. And the history is just accurate enough to prompt further exploration, which is exactly what alternate history should be.

The events of Spring Heeled Jack come fast and furious. Set in the slightly unrecognizable London of 1861, where the peasoup fogs are more coal exhaust than real fog, and giant horses and swans are accepted forms of transportation. The action jumps from Richard Burton’s unresolved conflict with his former partner John Hanning Speke to a bizarre confrontation with a man in a fish-scale suit with spring-stilts. And it just gets better from there. Hired by the Prime Minister, Burton is charged with unraveling the mysteries of disappearing chimney sweeps, the disturbing Spring Heeled Jack and even the assassination of Queen Victoria.

Hodder is quite skilled at weaving a cohesive story out of history, fantasy and insanity; however, he may have taken on a few too many concepts here. Burton’s London is rife with werewolves, robots and some of the darkest takes on steampunk I’ve seen. It’s a world where technological development has far outstripped the ability of the populace to deal with it. The reaction of the populace is a numb acceptance of each new marvel, without any real thought to the wider ramifications. There’s a real message here, but it gets lost in the story as it careens from plot point to disconnected plot point. There is a strong attempt to pull every mystery together in the end, but there are still a number of threads that get left on the floor, explained, but unresolved.

Having picked my nits, I will say that the end product is still really enjoyable. The main plot line is wonderful, from concept to conclusion, and sets up this darkly comic alternate history for Hodder to play with in the sequels. Perhaps the best part of the entire novel is the post script where the author explains the real history under his fantasy, and why the changes he’s made to the past have accelerated the timeline. The only piece here that feels really out of place is the character of Algernon Swinburne. I’m really not clear on why, of all the brilliant literary figures of the late 1800s, Hodder picked Swinburne to be the comic foil to Burton. Hell, Oscar Wilde is in the book, and despite being relegated to a miniscule role, is still much more interesting than Swinburne.

Not for the first time this Cannonball, I’m forced to excuse some of the failings of a book because it’s the author’s first time at bat. I’ve already picked up my copy of Spring Heeled Jack’s sequel, The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man, which should be a fairly strong recommendation in and of itself, but I have faith that Hodder will improve with time and experience.(less)

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Feb 27, 2011 Laurie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As the long title suggests, Sir Richard Francis Burton and Algernon Swinburne, real Victorians, are the lead characters in this novel that is at once mystery, fantasy, alt history and steampunk. And possibly a few other things, too. It includes not just not just real people Burton and Swinburne, but also Darwin, Galton, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Florence Nightingale and Oscar Wilde, among others. Add airships (but not, alas, dirigibles), flying arm chairs, foul mouthed parakeets that act as messe...more

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Jan 24, 2011 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 2 of 5 stars

I suppose after consideration, that maybe I'm just not going to be a fan of "Steam Punk". I've tried several books, I'll read the synopsis and think "wow, good idea, I should like this". I get the book, I go in expecting to be interested and to like the novel....but I don't.

Pretty much the same here. I considered giving the book 3 stars. I just couldn't justify going that high when by the end of the book I'd lost interest, didn't care much about the characters and was fairly glad to see it end....more I suppose after consideration, that maybe I'm just not going to be a fan of "Steam Punk". I've tried several books, I'll read the synopsis and think "wow, good idea, I should like this". I get the book, I go in expecting to be interested and to like the novel....but I don't.

Pretty much the same here. I considered giving the book 3 stars. I just couldn't justify going that high when by the end of the book I'd lost interest, didn't care much about the characters and was fairly glad to see it end. I started out interested (of course I'm interested in the era, in the exploration of Africa, Sir Richard Burton, Stanley and Livingston, etc. so it started out with some things to boost my interest). The book opens with Sir Richard Burton as the protagonist, except that he had been knighted years too soon. We soon are introduced to the steam punk elements of the novel. I'll try not to give any spoilers here but....as in most steam punk universes the anachronisms include far more than simply steam technology. Electricity and the interest of the day in eugenics (which continued over into the 20th century) are referenced (and of course played fast and loose with) to give just a "teaser".

The problem here is that the story takes a nose dive as we get further into it, the characters are sometimes interesting but at other times too familiar. I found much of it annoying. There comes a point where I suspect most of you will say..."okay I see what's going/gone on here". Without a spoiler I suppose I can say that a big part of the story here involves time travel and unintended consequences.

The writer plays fast and loose with the people of the day and while I suppose the argument that this is a different world might be applied, they are still supposed to be the same people from history. The book ends or ties up with a short synopsis as to what actually went on in the time span involved in this book.

So, as often before I'll say, I didn't hate this book I simply found it sliding from interesting to slow, you may find it less so. Try it, see what you think. I wasn't impressed, but then as noted, my record in liking steam punk is that I generally don't. So...only 2 stars. (less)

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Nov 17, 2010 Libby rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, made-me-laugh

This is an amazing book. It is not at all my usual cup of tea, but its hero(?) is Sir Richard Francis Burton, whose career has always fascinated me, so I tried it. A page and a half into the book I was utterly captured. Its milieu is an alternate London in the mid 1800's, a world where/when Victoria has been assassinated and Albert reigns over a bizarre technological revolution. The eminent Victorians (Albertians?) featured in the plot include Florence Nightengale, Oscar Wilde, Isambard Kingdom...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Mary Rose rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I could (and would prefer to) have read an entire book about Swinburne being a poetic, masochistic and amusing delight while Burton grumps around about Africa and young Oscar Wilde is adorable. To hell with Charles Darwin the absurd cartoon villain and Spring-Heeled Jack, the futuristic gutter-mouth who cares way too much about his family history to be a realistic portrayal of some guy from the twenty-first century. This was, unfortunatelty, not the case. As is, it's fairly standard Steampunk wi...more

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About Mark Hodder

British writer living in Valencia, Spain.

Mark Hodder is the creator and caretaker of the Blakiana: The Sexton Blake Resource web site, which he designed to celebrate, record, and revive Sexton Blake, the most written about fictional detective in English publishing history.

A former BBC writer, editor, journalist, and Web producer, Mark has worked in all the new and traditional medias and was based...more

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Books by Mark Hodder

The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man (Burton & Swinburne, #2)

Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon (Burton & Swinburne, #3)

Great Great Great (And So Forth) Uncle Dragoslav

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