Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "steampunk"

Fire Aloft: Revenge of the Aero-Pyrates by Rev DiCerto

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In the midst of a battle between Union and Confederate airships in 1869, Billy Leary knows he’s about to die. After leaving Ireland, neither he nor his brother Jimmy thought to become entangled in this bloody war. But the Union hadn’t offered them a choice. No sooner had they stepped ashore than they were conscripted into the air corps, and now, the Rebel commander, Garrett Prescott, has fired on the Union airships after they surrender. In spite of being an engineer there is nothing Billy can do to prevent his vessel’s explosion. At least Jimmy yet lives.

But Billy’s demise doesn’t occur. When he regains consciousness, he finds himself in a Rebel field hospital where Prescott offers him a choice – serve in the Confederate Aerial Navy or be confined in Andersonville. Since the latter is more a death trap than prison camp, Billy opts for the former. To prevent the possibility of being called a traitor for switching sides, he changes his name to Billy Reilly. When the War of Confederate Independence finally ends, Billy eventually marries, has a family, and decides to open a store in the Dakota Territory. That decision leads to a tragedy that alters his life, and Billy finds himself once again crossing paths with the infamous Prescott.

In 1880, Captain Gallagher, aka Jimmy Leary, has finally found something he’s good at. He loves being a buccaneer of the air, and he’s worked hard to create a haven where the aero-pirates can gather in relative safety in a fledgling mining town in the Arizona Territory. He and his crew, aboard the Anna Sable, swoop down and attack trains, regardless of whether they belong to the Union or the Confederacy. His favorite targets are those carrying cargo and money belonging to Thom McGuire, a rich and powerful man who’s determined to rid the airways of the aero-pirates.

Justine Arthurs dreams of commanding an airship, but she’s too darned good at being an agent. During the war, she was a Pinkerton agent working behind enemy lines. Now’s she works for McGuire, and her current assignment is to offer Garrett Prescott a lucrative job. He agrees on two conditions: declare the Arizona Territory a company protectorate and name him as its governor. With assistance from the Union Aero Corps, Prescott vows to defeat the aero-pirates in a year or less.

Union airships converge on the aero-pirates safe haven and an overeager officer offers them a pardon. If they renounce their old ways and swear allegiance to the Union, the buccaneers will be granted amnesty for past crimes. Gallagher counsels feigning acceptance, but Bart Scharf refuses to sign and vows to make war on those who do.

Not believing the aero-pirates have truly surrendered, Prescott sends Justine to find out all she can about Gallagher any way she can. Her task proves easier than she expects, but as she gets to know him and he lets her command the Anna Sable, she finds that she’s not immune to his charms. Best to put an end to this charade as soon as possible. To that end, she arranges an ambush, but killing the buccaneers isn’t as easy as she expects. Nor is it a simple thing to keep Gallagher far from her thoughts.

In spite of losing his heart to the woman he knows as Faye, Gallagher has enough sense to be wary of her. Her betrayal cuts him to the quick, and he’s determined to make her pay. But getting revenge must wait until after he and his fellow aero-pirates stage the biggest haul of their lives.

Fire Aloft is a rousing steampunk adventure filled with intrigue, romance, and treachery. While much of the story is set in 1880, numerous flash backs covering a time span of twelve years are interspersed throughout the story until the death-defying, heart-pumping, spectacular show-down. Doc Holiday is among the host of unique characters populating the story, and there is a restaging of the gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone. This may be about air pirates, but historical piratical elements are seamlessly woven into the story. For example, the offer of amnesty, Prescott’s no-nonsense suppression, and Scharf’s belligerent refusal to renounce his criminal ways are reminiscent of Governor Woodes Rogers’ ousting of the pirates from the Bahamas and Charles Vane’s audacious escape.




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Invasion by Julian Stockwin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Having cleared his name, Thomas Kydd returns to his beloved Teazer albeit with a new first lieutenant who is reliable but neither ambitious nor innovative. Orders return them to the coast of France to search for enemy vessels. These are to be destroyed or taken in any way possible, for Napoleon is preparing to invade England and the Royal Navy is the country’s first line of defense. Upon encountering an enemy escorting a British prize, Kydd attempts a night boarding to retake the ship. The unsuccessful bid results in Nicholas Renzi, Kydd’s longtime friend and ship’s clerk, to suggest an alternative. The risk is high, but Kydd takes the chance. The result makes Admiral Saumarez realize that Kydd and Teazer are needed elsewhere where they can be used to better effect.

Kydd’s new orders assign him to Admiral Keith’s Downs Squadron, situated near the English Channel and close to the action. A brief meeting with his commanding officer makes it clear that on this station, Kydd’s first duty is to destroy the enemy no matter what. First, though, he must learn exactly what he faces and how dire the situation is for his country. This takes him to London where he becomes privy to closely guarded information about Napoleon’s plans and capabilities, as well as English plans to thwart the invasion. The newspapers are also rife with rumors of all sorts of strange inventions that the French emperor will use to achieve his goal of conquering England. Kydd’s secret meetings reveal that anything, even the most preposterous idea, may indeed be possible. Before long, he discovers the reality of this and the dilemma it poses to the way naval wars are fought.

During this time, Kydd returns home to visit his family. The experience makes him realize just how much he has changed since he first departed Guilford as a wigmaker. He decides if he wishes to go any further in his career, he must reenter society. To that end he hires a special tutor to turn him into the gentleman he must be to hobnob with those with power and influence.

Renzi, on the other hand, is summoned to a secret tête-à-tête to which not even Admiral Keith is privy. He is asked to participate in the negotiations for a prisoner exchange, although this is merely a cover for his real purpose. The cartel ship will get him into France and while there, he is tasked with finding an inventive American and persuading him to work for the English, whom he detests, instead of Napoleon. Otherwise, Renzi must kill him.

This tenth installment of the Kydd Sea Adventures provides a rousing fresh perspective about the invasion threat that England faced during the Napoleonic Wars. Stockwin draws the reader in with danger and possibilities and then clearly shows the personal struggle that seamen faced as new ideas threaten duty, morality, and traditional rules of engagement. Woven into this excellent tapestry are elements of everyday naval life, such as the savagery of sea combat and hand-to-hand fighting, searching for an AWOL crew member, and edge-of-your-seat lifesaving gambles. At the same time, readers glimpse life in Paris during the war and what it’s like for an enemy to openly walk the streets there. Equally compelling are the scientific inventions that are introduced, the conflicts they arouse, and how personal experiences can be melded with new ideas to provide alternative ways of achieving goals. Along the way, readers meet such historic people as Robert Fulton, William Pitt, Admiral Keith, and Captain Frances Austen (Jane Austen’s brother). Invasion is a thought-provoking experience filled with exploits to interest fans of historical fiction, nautical fiction, and even steampunk.


(This review originally appeared at Pirates & Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/Stockwin.h...)




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Corsair and the Sky Pirates by Mark Piggott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Inspired by the writings of Jules Verne and having discovered a new source of power, Nikola Tesla collaborates with the author to create new machines that combine imagination and science. Within two decades the course of human history has changed and it pits Tesla against Thomas Edison. Tesla wishes to make life easier for the common man. Edison craves wealth and power. Theirs is a struggle that leads to many confrontations, one of which takes place over the English Channel in 1907.

Corsair, one of several infamous pirates who work for Tesla, and John Kreusi, Edison’s number two man, both seek the same thing. A pure and large fragment of Uriel, remnants of a comet that provide constant heat that never dies and have allowed the two inventors to create innovations that allow people to travel by air, land, and sea. Kreusi also knows a terrible secret about Uriel, and he’s determined to acquire this larger power source no matter the cost. If he succeeds, his boss and the powerful people who work with him can finally achieve the maniacal scheme that will lead to world domination.

The odds may be against Corsair and his sky pirates, but they always have several unexpected tricks up their sleeves. These come in handy when they drop in on the Zeppelin Valiant, where their nemesis has set a trap. They manage to evade the trap and gain the plunder they come for, as well as a few items (including a Hollerith Thinking Machine) that turn out to have unexpected dividends once they return to Tesla’s secret base in an Icelandic volcano. Both the pirates and the enemy know this encounter aboard the pride of the White Star fleet is but the first engagement in an ever-escalating game of high stakes and deadly consequences.

This steampunk adventure has an intriguing cast of characters. The enemy includes such historical personages as Edison, Wilhelm Röntgen, Mata Hari, the Pinkertons, and Marjorie Meriweather Post. The sky pirates are unique individuals with singular talents, including a blind navigator, a female spy who blends into any background, a garage mechanic turned engineer with a penchant for taking Verne’s ideas and making them a reality, and an Apache warrior. They also have an assortment of colleagues who have made their mark on history, like Sam Cody, Pancho Villa, and Geronimo. Filled with unexpected twists, betrayal, and nail-biting danger, Corsair and the Sky Pirates visits Egyptian pyramids, French caves, and the desert of the American southwest in a race to acquire what may be the only surviving pure remnant of a comet that has the potential to enrich or destroy the world. The questions are who will triumph and what will happen next?

(Review originally appeared at Pirates and Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/adult-scif...)



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