Steam Queen

by
Jack Hessey

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Steam Queen

by Jack Hessey (Goodreads Author)

3.27 of 5 stars 3.27 · rating details · 15 ratings · 9 reviews

Europe is a dangerous, virtually lawless place. Armed bandits prowl the railway lines in their armed Steam Locomotives, looking for easy marks and heavily armed mercenary engines travel from town to town looking for work in a world where every day is a struggle for its civilians.

Erica, an emotionally disturbed girl from England, finds herself joining one of these mercenary...more

Kindle Edition

Published November 26th 2010

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Jun 12, 2011 Alice Yeh rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: hide-and-read-reviews

In Steam Queen, the opening scene introduces us to Erica, an eighteen-year-old with the megalomania and proclivity towards violence of a sociopath. In spite of her self-righteous and self-centered administration of justice, however, she also feels a deep love for her father. This devotion is what lands here with the Steam Queens, a mercenary team that hunts down targets via locomotive. With a new assignment, they find themselves caught between a female general with a disregard for consequences a...more In Steam Queen, the opening scene introduces us to Erica, an eighteen-year-old with the megalomania and proclivity towards violence of a sociopath. In spite of her self-righteous and self-centered administration of justice, however, she also feels a deep love for her father. This devotion is what lands here with the Steam Queens, a mercenary team that hunts down targets via locomotive. With a new assignment, they find themselves caught between a female general with a disregard for consequences and a kaiser who has an almost fanatical love for diesel engines.

Steam Queen is, as one might expect, a steampunk novel. Admittedly, I had to spend some quality time with Wikipedia to familiarize myself with the subgenre, whose illustrious residents include The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novels and HG Wells' The Time Machine. This gave a bit of context to the story and helped me resolve some anachronisms, the most glaring of which was the use of English as a dominant language when the common tongue during the industrial era was French. In an alternate reality, authors are entitled to these kinds of liberties.

Erica proves to be one of those characters that are likeable within the context of the story but not someone you would ever choose to befriend in real life. Her pathological aversion to dirt and her inability to see things from others' point of view make her as entertaining as she is frustrating. There is a brief inconsistency in her personality roughly halfway through the book, but she bounces back readily enough only to slip again towards the end. On the whole, however, her strident personality makes this novel command your attention. The supportive cast is appropriately entertaining without stealing the limelight.

For the first third of the book, I did have a great deal of difficulty understanding the world in which Erica and her companions dwell. In many ways, I felt as if the author was in such a rush to reach the meatier parts of the story that relevant background information was discarded by the wayside. Details were given only when they became immediately relevant, such as the long-winded explanation about the star painted on the side of the Steam Queen. A seamless integration of the information would have rendered the awkward text unnecessary.

One of the reasons that it took me so long to work my way through this novel is because of the writing itself. A fast-paced storyline and plentiful vocabulary do not substitute for adherence to basic rules of grammar. There were several sentences that attempted to convey too much in a disjointed fashion that was difficult to follow. Also, British colloquialisms, such as "was sat", managed to work their way in. While this is appropriate in dialogue (e.g. Holly's use of "have done"), it does not have a place elsewhere in the text.

This book is certainly interesting, but it could stand a few edits for the aforementioned reasons and then some. The copy that I received was rife with errors, including frequent confusion concerning homophones and the inconsistent (and often inappropriate) use of commas, apostrophes, and periods. As much as I liked the adventure, its conveyance left much to be desired.

Steam Queen has the potential to be a great read. Further editing, however, and the inclusion of more well-timed explanations would benefit it greatly. Note: Some of the violent content may not be for the squeamish. Personally, it made me a little sick.

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Feb 26, 2011 I Love rated it 5 of 5 stars

Steam Queen isn't your traditional steampunk novel, instead moving the genre out of the usual Victorian setting and instead focussing on a more 1920's type era with heavy influences from the Old West. It makes for a really unique and interesting setting for the novel.

The world is imaginative. Railway lines are used as the main form of transport, criss-crossing across Europe to connect the many small towns and villages that litter the landscape. Europe is a dangerous place with bandits and mercen...more

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Apr 17, 2011 Leslie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-reviews, fantasy, fiction, steampunk

Article first published as Book Review: Steam Queen by Jack Hessey on Blogcritics.

In a Europe known for its lawlessness, mercenaries travel from town to town selling their security. Railway lines are the travel preference of the ruthless bandits that use Steam Engines to travel the country looking for easy marks. Only the most ruthless of people join the ranks of paid protectors. War is at hand when two of the largest cities are looking for change but in different and opposing ways. Unable to a...more Article first published as Book Review: Steam Queen by Jack Hessey on Blogcritics.

In a Europe known for its lawlessness, mercenaries travel from town to town selling their security. Railway lines are the travel preference of the ruthless bandits that use Steam Engines to travel the country looking for easy marks. Only the most ruthless of people join the ranks of paid protectors. War is at hand when two of the largest cities are looking for change but in different and opposing ways. Unable to agree, they decide to fight for the survival of their own ideas.

The traditionalists of St. Vith feel that steam power is the way. The Wintescheid Diesel Empire opposes St. Vith; they feel that diesel is the only power. The fighting is dirty and messy, and the traditionalists have come up with a new ploy to get more soldiers to their side. Death and destruction continue on both sides.

Erica is an emotionally troubled girl with a penchant for trouble, and on her last good footing with the law. Her father is forced to send her to work as a mercenary with a reputable group to keep her from arrest. She is brash and insists on punishing those she considers to have done her wrong. Her feelings are somewhat stunted and she does not care for people. She uses a knife and a gun like actual appendages, something that will useful in her new life as a mercenary. She is oddly afraid of dirt and cannot abide touching or being around any type of filth. Her new surroundings are not what she is prepared for; she will be living and moving from place to place in a Steam Engine called Steam Queen. She is not impressed with her compatriots, and makes it very clear in very short order. When her crew is pulled into the war, she has no choice but to come along. Fascinated by the diesels, Erica makes herself known in her usual but somewhat alarming fashion, by creating a scene. Trapped in the situation they find themselves in, can they survive the war?

In Steam Queen, Jack Hessey has built a story around the Steam era. It is a fascinating world set with odd and yet likable characters. Written in the steampunk tradition, it resonates with action. Set amidst gangs, bandits and soldiers, it is a world in turmoil, with different factions believing their side is right.
Erica is an interesting hero, unlikely and yet she seems to fall into the fray without trying. Always looking to punish those who wrong her often puts her in precarious situations. The rest of her crew is quite gregarious and have their own set of characteristics. While I have never read steampunk before, I found it to be very quick paced and often just a bit ‘tongue in cheek’. It was strangely addictive, and when I put it down, my mind kept traveling back to the story.

This is a great book for those that enjoy the steampunk genre. I have seen other books described as steampunk, and I was not sure of the category; I do believe I understand now. You have to like a girl that carries a gun named Mr. Pop Bang, and a knife called Mr. Slice. It is an intriguing story, full of spunk.

This book was received as a free download from the author. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material. (less)

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Jul 13, 2011 Literary rated it 2 of 5 stars

Cover

I like the cover - The mostly dark cover with the lightness of dawn in the background ... it's interesting to look at. The locomotive on the front lets you know that trains will play a major factor in the story.

Plot/Main Characters

In the beginning we see that Erica's father signs her up with a mercenary clan, I think, to get rid of her. I mean, this girl has some serious emotional issues. It was on the border of ridiculous in how fast Erica got mad and exacted punishment to the wrong-doer ....more Cover

I like the cover - The mostly dark cover with the lightness of dawn in the background ... it's interesting to look at. The locomotive on the front lets you know that trains will play a major factor in the story.

Plot/Main Characters

In the beginning we see that Erica's father signs her up with a mercenary clan, I think, to get rid of her. I mean, this girl has some serious emotional issues. It was on the border of ridiculous in how fast Erica got mad and exacted punishment to the wrong-doer ... sometimes over the stupidest things! She frustrated me to the point that I almost stopped reading the book.

However, I pressed on. The team Erica joins are an eclectic bunch. There's a set of twins who think they're better than everyone else, especially Erica.

Jemima is the clan leader and makes the decisions on which jobs they take. She refuses to take attitude from anybody and eventually puts Erica in her place.

Jacques is the tough French mercenary who is also a gentleman. I liked Jacques. He was a good guy who did what he had to do in order to protect his clan.

There's a lot of action in this novel between an deceitful power-seeking General, an evil King, orphaned children, OLD BOB and a metal-armed man.

I would like to think that Erica learned that it's okay not to be so daggum angry all the time, but I don't think she ever did. I believe Erica will continue to dole out her form of punishments until the day she dies ... especially now that she's a murderer and she sees how easy it is.

Overall

I think I would've enjoyed this novel more if Erica wasn't so intense. It was almost too much for me to handle. However, the action scenes and plot were well-thought out. There were grammatical issues in the novel (words missing, incorrect word usage and misspelled words) that interrupted my reading flow due to having to stop and try to figure out what was trying to be said. If the book would've been better edited, it would've been a well-written novel and one I would've recommended ... despite Erica's intensity.(less)

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Mar 07, 2011 Chibineko rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: steampunk

I have to admit, I wasn't really expecting to get into this novel. Overall I do like steampunk, but I've never really sought out any books in the genre. Most of my experience has been through movies & the odd webcomic such as Girl Genius. That's why I was pretty surprised that I was so easily drawn into this book.

The author takes a huge amount of risks in this book & I respect that. Not only did is the main character a complete sociopath that kills animals & maims people in retributi...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Debra Martin rated it 2 of 5 stars

STEAM QUEEN is a steam punk novel about a group of mercenaries aboard a steam engine who are tricked into serving in a war with a maniacal general. The war is between the traditional Steamers and the up and coming Dieslers and the fate of Europe is dependent on the outcome of the war. Both leaders have no compunction about using weapons of mass destruction in order to win. It's an intriguing premise and I was excited to read this book.

The main character, Erica, is forced to serve as a mercenary...more

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Jul 04, 2011 Melissa rated it 1 of 5 stars

I'm calling this book an "unfinished". Unfortunately, I couldn't get past the sociopathic nature of the main character, Erica. The story sounds like a great premise, but I just can't get into it, despite having tried off and on for months. I feel terrible that I can't provide the review that the author asked me for, but I just can't judge a book on a couple of chapters. And I haven't been able to force myself any further than that.

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Jun 21, 2011 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: blog-reviews

I've chosen to forgo a complete review on this title. Unfortunately, Steam Queen did not work for me. I really found myself struggling with the large number of structural and grammatical issues that interupted the flow of the storyline and proved such a distraction I was unable to involve myself in the characters or the plot.

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Feb 11, 2011 Erika marked it as own-not-yet-read

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Shelves: science-fiction, thriller, steampunk, war

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About Jack Hessey

Born and raised in Mansfield, England, I am currently a full time student studying Zoo Biology at Nottingham Trent.

Once my education is over, I'd love to work either abroad in Wildlife Conservation or here in the UK at a Zoo or a Sea-life Centre, whilst also continuing with my career as an author.

I enjoy sports, my favourites being football and boxing. I also enjoy watching WWE wrestling - have b...more

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