What do you think?
Rate this book
Prosperity #1
Prosperity
A breathtaking tale of passion and adventure in the untamed skies!
Prosperity, 1863: a lawless skytown where varlets, chancers, and ne’er-do-wells risk everything to chase a fortune in the clouds, and where a Gaslight guttersnipe named Piccadilly is about to cheat the wrong man. This mistake will endanger his life . . . and his heart.
Thrill! As our hero battles dreadful kraken above Prosperity. Gasp! As the miracles of clockwork engineering allow a dead man to wreak his vengeance upon the living. Marvel! At the aerial escapades of the aethership, Shadowless.
Beware! The licentious and unchristian example set by the opium-addled navigatress, Miss Grey. Disapprove Strongly! Of the utter moral iniquity of the dastardly crime prince, Milord. Swoon! At the dashing skycaptain, Byron Kae. Swoon Again! At the tormented clergyman, Ruben Crowe.
This volume (available in print, and for the first time on mechanical book-reading devices) contains the complete original text of Piccadilly’s memoirs as first serialised in All the Year Round. Some passages may prove unsettling to unmarried gentlemen of a sensitive disposition.
Prosperity, 1863: a lawless skytown where varlets, chancers, and ne’er-do-wells risk everything to chase a fortune in the clouds, and where a Gaslight guttersnipe named Piccadilly is about to cheat the wrong man. This mistake will endanger his life . . . and his heart.
Thrill! As our hero battles dreadful kraken above Prosperity. Gasp! As the miracles of clockwork engineering allow a dead man to wreak his vengeance upon the living. Marvel! At the aerial escapades of the aethership, Shadowless.
Beware! The licentious and unchristian example set by the opium-addled navigatress, Miss Grey. Disapprove Strongly! Of the utter moral iniquity of the dastardly crime prince, Milord. Swoon! At the dashing skycaptain, Byron Kae. Swoon Again! At the tormented clergyman, Ruben Crowe.
This volume (available in print, and for the first time on mechanical book-reading devices) contains the complete original text of Piccadilly’s memoirs as first serialised in All the Year Round. Some passages may prove unsettling to unmarried gentlemen of a sensitive disposition.
235 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 27, 2014
49 people are currently reading
2163 people want to read
About the author
Alexis Hall
56 books15k followersOne of those intricate British queers.
Please note: I don’t read / reply to DMs. If you would like to get in touch, the best way is via email which you can find in the contact section on my website <3
Please note: I don’t read / reply to DMs. If you would like to get in touch, the best way is via email which you can find in the contact section on my website <3
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 236 reviews
February 21, 2016
sing hallelujah, julio—because otherwise your mouth's hangin' open for nothing.
the setting.
nineteenth century AU england.
a lawless prospecting town floating in the sky.
airships that run on magic—and the interdimensional sky-krakens who threaten them.
now, if that's not the most gloriously batshit thing i've ever heard of—
...why are you still sitting there with that face on? why haven't you bought it yet?
the characters.
a black, bisexual, teenaged card-sharp, fresh from the gutter and lookin' to score. [hot as fuck.]
a fallen missionary with everything to give—built like a boxer, with a heart of gold. [hot as fuck.]
a murderous crimelord, as vicious as he is beautiful, after one last payday before he dies. [hot as fuck.]
a lesbian, opium-addicted navigatrix who can hear the kraken stirring in their sleep. [hot as fuck.]
and
an androgynous skycaptain in piratical boots and fluttering petticoats, with eyes like twin portals to an infinity of stars.
[hot.] [as.] [fuck.]
doesn't that sound awesome?
c'mon, you know that sounds awesome.
gimme five.
do you see? do you see, now?
i am nearly deranged with the happy.
whores! and pirates! and yet more whores!
did i fucking tell you about the motherfucking krakens in the sky???
the story.
from the first line to the last, my ass was so riveted i could barely trouble to fap during any of the spectacular love scenes.
i read a late draft in march, and it was so good that i immediately pinged my editor to inform her in tones of both the vilest jealousy and the most overwhelming stupefaction:
"i've just read my favorite book of 2014."
i wasn't even kidding.
because even now, 200 some-odd books later and possessed of a knife-edged weariness for all things Shitty Writez, i am still in love with this amazing book.
i've just read it for the second time, y'see? and... i tried. i did. tried to take my time, to really appreciate all the lovingly inlaid nuance and cleverness; all the heartbreak and the magic; all the passion, and insight, and beauty, and romance—
—but no.
just like the first time, i got really, really into it.
inhaled that fucker all over again, like it was dick-flavored, crack-infused deliciousness in an awesome awesomesauce sauce.
people of earth: i tell you it's bloody wonderful.
crackling with energy and humor so sharp and sweet i cackled like a witch over a cauldron.
full of everything that makes everything fun—i told you about the krakens in the sky?—but also with the kind of inimitable joy and wonder you only find in the most truly special stories of all.
five. fucking. stars.
obviously.
i fell in love. i fell in love and my world can never go back to what it was.
and—because i am apparently beloved by god as well as alexis hall—it doesn't have to.
...bcuz there's more on the way.
more.
several more stories in this universe.
on the way.
to me.
(and also you. but whatever.)
and you can trust me on that—because i've already read them, too.
and just like 2014 before it...
the year 2015 is spoken for.
__________
the setting.
nineteenth century AU england.
a lawless prospecting town floating in the sky.
airships that run on magic—and the interdimensional sky-krakens who threaten them.
now, if that's not the most gloriously batshit thing i've ever heard of—
...why are you still sitting there with that face on? why haven't you bought it yet?
the characters.
a black, bisexual, teenaged card-sharp, fresh from the gutter and lookin' to score. [hot as fuck.]
a fallen missionary with everything to give—built like a boxer, with a heart of gold. [hot as fuck.]
a murderous crimelord, as vicious as he is beautiful, after one last payday before he dies. [hot as fuck.]
a lesbian, opium-addicted navigatrix who can hear the kraken stirring in their sleep. [hot as fuck.]
and
an androgynous skycaptain in piratical boots and fluttering petticoats, with eyes like twin portals to an infinity of stars.
[hot.] [as.] [fuck.]
doesn't that sound awesome?
c'mon, you know that sounds awesome.
gimme five.
do you see? do you see, now?
i am nearly deranged with the happy.
whores! and pirates! and yet more whores!
did i fucking tell you about the motherfucking krakens in the sky???
the story.
from the first line to the last, my ass was so riveted i could barely trouble to fap during any of the spectacular love scenes.
i read a late draft in march, and it was so good that i immediately pinged my editor to inform her in tones of both the vilest jealousy and the most overwhelming stupefaction:
"i've just read my favorite book of 2014."
i wasn't even kidding.
because even now, 200 some-odd books later and possessed of a knife-edged weariness for all things Shitty Writez, i am still in love with this amazing book.
i've just read it for the second time, y'see? and... i tried. i did. tried to take my time, to really appreciate all the lovingly inlaid nuance and cleverness; all the heartbreak and the magic; all the passion, and insight, and beauty, and romance—
—but no.
just like the first time, i got really, really into it.
inhaled that fucker all over again, like it was dick-flavored, crack-infused deliciousness in an awesome awesomesauce sauce.
people of earth: i tell you it's bloody wonderful.
crackling with energy and humor so sharp and sweet i cackled like a witch over a cauldron.
full of everything that makes everything fun—i told you about the krakens in the sky?—but also with the kind of inimitable joy and wonder you only find in the most truly special stories of all.
five. fucking. stars.
obviously.
i fell in love. i fell in love and my world can never go back to what it was.
and—because i am apparently beloved by god as well as alexis hall—it doesn't have to.
...bcuz there's more on the way.
more.
several more stories in this universe.
on the way.
to me.
(and also you. but whatever.)
and you can trust me on that—because i've already read them, too.
and just like 2014 before it...
the year 2015 is spoken for.
__________
October 22, 2014
This book is bloody fantastic and you should read it.
Skyships! Victorianish alt worlds! Unfathomably hot antihero! Glorious set up! Linked novellas all over the place! The cover!
Quite seriously, I adore the writing of this, it's doing such interesting things with narrative and the romance form, it's part of a terrific set of fascinating stories. It's playful and serious, it uses the pulp*-iest and funnest of settings and concepts to say real important things. I love everything about the Prosperity world and I can't recommend this and the linked books highly enough.
*Pulp is my highest form of art, just so we're clear.
Disclaimer: I'm friends with the author. I'm friends with a lot of people, and I don't go round rating all of them five stars. Possibly I'm a crap friend. But I rave about a book when I mean it and not otherwise.
Skyships! Victorianish alt worlds! Unfathomably hot antihero! Glorious set up! Linked novellas all over the place! The cover!
Quite seriously, I adore the writing of this, it's doing such interesting things with narrative and the romance form, it's part of a terrific set of fascinating stories. It's playful and serious, it uses the pulp*-iest and funnest of settings and concepts to say real important things. I love everything about the Prosperity world and I can't recommend this and the linked books highly enough.
*Pulp is my highest form of art, just so we're clear.
Disclaimer: I'm friends with the author. I'm friends with a lot of people, and I don't go round rating all of them five stars. Possibly I'm a crap friend. But I rave about a book when I mean it and not otherwise.
Read
October 28, 2014DNF at 18%
There is a LOT of love for this book out there, and I'm sure I would have enjoyed it too... if I could only read it.
I would urge potential buyers to try the sample of this one. The narrator talks in heavy slang, and I found myself reading sentences over and over to try to understand him. I never got into the story at all because I was too caught up with the words.
So, I really can't rate this one because I don't feel like I "got" it at all. And I'm pretty bummed about that.
There is a LOT of love for this book out there, and I'm sure I would have enjoyed it too... if I could only read it.
I would urge potential buyers to try the sample of this one. The narrator talks in heavy slang, and I found myself reading sentences over and over to try to understand him. I never got into the story at all because I was too caught up with the words.
So, I really can't rate this one because I don't feel like I "got" it at all. And I'm pretty bummed about that.
October 30, 2014
So, one day, Alexis Hall decided to write a book about longing, and he called it "Prosperity." Because he's an ironic motherfucker with a twisted sense of humor. He also happens to be in possession of a well of compassion so deep, there might be kraken in it.
This story is gorgeous in places and fun in others. It's told from the first person point of view of one Picadilly, who is sort of irrepressible and sweet in spite of not spending much time on the right side of the law.
The secondary characters are complex, and their relationships to each other are complicated by the twisted personal ethics one devises when existing in society. Love and trust can be a man's greatest strength or his greatest weakness, and the girl who is constantly high because she sees monsters is the only person who can truly keep her head in a crisis.
It is fantastic and exciting, and full of the devastating hope of the human condition.
Recommended. :)
This story is gorgeous in places and fun in others. It's told from the first person point of view of one Picadilly, who is sort of irrepressible and sweet in spite of not spending much time on the right side of the law.
The secondary characters are complex, and their relationships to each other are complicated by the twisted personal ethics one devises when existing in society. Love and trust can be a man's greatest strength or his greatest weakness, and the girl who is constantly high because she sees monsters is the only person who can truly keep her head in a crisis.
It is fantastic and exciting, and full of the devastating hope of the human condition.
Recommended. :)
June 13, 2016
Review written June 5, 2016
4.8 Stars - My huge love and admiration after listening to a GREAT audiobook editon
This was in the last minute decided buddyread (this lovely sunny June weekend - a fantastic mood boost) with the very best Sofia (THANKS for joining me in such short notice) . When I saw there was a newly published 6 hours audiobook narrated by Nicholas Boulton (an outstanding great narrator) I just knew I needed to do this.
Happydancing happy!
So many friends has written good reviews and talked about Prosperity - It was the right time. I'm glad I took it. Tremendously happy.
**********************************************
Prosperity is a steampunk fantasy fairytale about love, feelings and the hopes to be seen and cared for. In much about these characters struggle with tough relationship and life choices. All seen and told from memoirs by the always curious lovely young Piccadille (Dil)
It is 1863 and most of the story is set traveling on the M'lady aka Shadowless, the fastest ship in the sky. There on the ship are by chance Dil with a bunch of people knowing each other more or less. (Add loving / liking each other more or less as well.) Dil is immediately sucked in and amazed by his new friends world and they are soon all five traveling together on an exciting suspense filled journey.
... That's enough, I will not try to tell or explain any more. — Read, be surprised and discover by yourself. This magnificent inventive tale deserves open unspoiled eyes and ears.
**********************************************
Not everyday English speaking I'm very glad I chosed the audiobook because this FABULOUS narrator made me understand what they all said (Prosperity is written in a quite hard to read British local speaking style) without problems. —Mr. Nicholas Boulton makes me feel he's reading beautiful poetry. I'm sure I soon will pick up and re-listening just for his sake soon.— On the other hand was it anyway a bit hard to some time understand everything about the plot, the world building and what and why some stuff were happening here.
~ Maybe I'm a bit "short and slow" but I surely could need some extra explanations from you Prosperity experts. ~
I'm not sure I would label Prosperity a M/M romance. There are indeed a not insignificant amount of explicit smexy steam (very hot!), a lot of romantic elements (so sweet!) but most important, you can't be sure you in all ways get that end you usually expects in romances. Don't worry, we leave them in a nice place but nevertheless.
... Anyway, not understanding every storyline turn & twist or every single word and it's meaning, Prosperity is without doubt an unforgettable tale and fantasy journey.
Last and not unimportant: A HIGHLY recommended audiobook narrated in the best way imagined. —Just sit down (in a sun-chair like me this splendid summer weekend or clean your windows sparkling shining, also like me early this morning) and simply let you be amazed, amused and truly enjoy in six quickly passing hours.— This is really good stuff = HAPPYDANCING!!
**********************************************
I LIKE - in every little piece, turn and twist
4.8 Stars - My huge love and admiration after listening to a GREAT audiobook editon
This was in the last minute decided buddyread (this lovely sunny June weekend - a fantastic mood boost) with the very best Sofia (THANKS for joining me in such short notice) . When I saw there was a newly published 6 hours audiobook narrated by Nicholas Boulton (an outstanding great narrator) I just knew I needed to do this.
Happydancing happy!
So many friends has written good reviews and talked about Prosperity - It was the right time. I'm glad I took it. Tremendously happy.
**********************************************
Prosperity is a steampunk fantasy fairytale about love, feelings and the hopes to be seen and cared for. In much about these characters struggle with tough relationship and life choices. All seen and told from memoirs by the always curious lovely young Piccadille (Dil)
« Prosperity, 1863: a lawless skytown where varlets, chancers, and ne’er-do-wells risk everything to chase a fortune in the clouds, and where a Gaslight guttersnipe named Piccadilly is about to cheat the wrong man. This mistake will endanger his life . . . and his heart. »
« ...the opium-addled navigatress, Miss Grey. — Disapprove Strongly!
Of the utter moral iniquity of the dastardly crime prince, Milord. — Swoon!
At the dashing skycaptain, Byron Kae. — Swoon Again!
At the tormented clergyman, Ruben Crowe. »
It is 1863 and most of the story is set traveling on the M'lady aka Shadowless, the fastest ship in the sky. There on the ship are by chance Dil with a bunch of people knowing each other more or less. (Add loving / liking each other more or less as well.) Dil is immediately sucked in and amazed by his new friends world and they are soon all five traveling together on an exciting suspense filled journey.
... That's enough, I will not try to tell or explain any more. — Read, be surprised and discover by yourself. This magnificent inventive tale deserves open unspoiled eyes and ears.
**********************************************
Not everyday English speaking I'm very glad I chosed the audiobook because this FABULOUS narrator made me understand what they all said (Prosperity is written in a quite hard to read British local speaking style) without problems. —Mr. Nicholas Boulton makes me feel he's reading beautiful poetry. I'm sure I soon will pick up and re-listening just for his sake soon.— On the other hand was it anyway a bit hard to some time understand everything about the plot, the world building and what and why some stuff were happening here.
~ Maybe I'm a bit "short and slow" but I surely could need some extra explanations from you Prosperity experts. ~
‘I mean, I ain’t got no book learning, but one thing I do know is calling morts “feisty wenches” when they threaten to kill you is not the best way to keep your dick.’
I'm not sure I would label Prosperity a M/M romance. There are indeed a not insignificant amount of explicit smexy steam (very hot!), a lot of romantic elements (so sweet!) but most important, you can't be sure you in all ways get that end you usually expects in romances. Don't worry, we leave them in a nice place but nevertheless.
... Anyway, not understanding every storyline turn & twist or every single word and it's meaning, Prosperity is without doubt an unforgettable tale and fantasy journey.
Last and not unimportant: A HIGHLY recommended audiobook narrated in the best way imagined. —Just sit down (in a sun-chair like me this splendid summer weekend or clean your windows sparkling shining, also like me early this morning) and simply let you be amazed, amused and truly enjoy in six quickly passing hours.— This is really good stuff = HAPPYDANCING!!
**********************************************
I LIKE - in every little piece, turn and twist
September 18, 2014
So, I suppose you wonna know how I ended up like this....Yeah that's right tizz ME....
Well t'was 1863 I was passing thru a place called London very proper t'was, but not the saloon I stepped into thou.
That t'was where I set eye's on him, that card shark Alexis Hall with his punk'd up top'at all a squiff on he'z head.
He gestures for me to take a seat, I'd heard of him ...folk say he'z fall of shit most the time telling tall tales of far away places, places with names lik EsSEX.....tales of glitter pirates an'suchlike!!
So I take a seat, he push's a bottle of liquor towards me....”DRINK” he slur's. He was baballing on about a place called Prosperity.
I didn't much like the look of hiz friends Chancers an Varlet's, except one PICCADILLY t'was hiz name. He poured me a drink from the bottle t'said.....
So without further ado....I drink the wretched liquor.
My vision goes funny, then I notice as I look down..... I got 4 frickin legs!!!!
I only ad one drink.... what the fuckery was going on.
Perrrrrrfect....now I even sound like a mangy cat. Well 'll be damned I've been steam punk'd....
Would you Adam an Eve it!!!
All a sudden, all hell breaks loose, that's when that guy PICCADILLY grab's me, sticks me under hiz arm and leg's it....don't know how far or where we was....next thing I know we're on a aethership, Shawdowless the ship of ships that dreams were made of glidding thru air....
I escape PICCADILLY's hold and scarpper, finding refuge behind some crates that's where I watch this story unfold
The story of my beloved PICCADILLY as he swoon's over some cove called Ruben Crowe.
I loved the characters from navigatress, Miss Grey, the dashing skycaptian, Byron Kae. Even that dastardly crime prince, Milord stole a piece me'heart.
I ain't giving nuffing away, y'all just have to read this tall tale of wonders in the sky. I don't quite know how to describe it, cept t'was adventurous, magical, entertaining and all kinds of PRETTY.
But there's no mistaking....T'izz not to be missed. All you die hard Alexis Hall fan's are in for a treat!!
Read it and be dazzled.........T'was Perrrffffectt
I would just like to say a big THANK YOU to Riptide and Netgalley for my ARC
Prosperity is due for release 27th October 2014
Well t'was 1863 I was passing thru a place called London very proper t'was, but not the saloon I stepped into thou.
That t'was where I set eye's on him, that card shark Alexis Hall with his punk'd up top'at all a squiff on he'z head.
He gestures for me to take a seat, I'd heard of him ...folk say he'z fall of shit most the time telling tall tales of far away places, places with names lik EsSEX.....tales of glitter pirates an'suchlike!!
So I take a seat, he push's a bottle of liquor towards me....”DRINK” he slur's. He was baballing on about a place called Prosperity.
I didn't much like the look of hiz friends Chancers an Varlet's, except one PICCADILLY t'was hiz name. He poured me a drink from the bottle t'said.....
So without further ado....I drink the wretched liquor.
My vision goes funny, then I notice as I look down..... I got 4 frickin legs!!!!
I only ad one drink.... what the fuckery was going on.
Perrrrrrfect....now I even sound like a mangy cat. Well 'll be damned I've been steam punk'd....
Would you Adam an Eve it!!!
All a sudden, all hell breaks loose, that's when that guy PICCADILLY grab's me, sticks me under hiz arm and leg's it....don't know how far or where we was....next thing I know we're on a aethership, Shawdowless the ship of ships that dreams were made of glidding thru air....
I escape PICCADILLY's hold and scarpper, finding refuge behind some crates that's where I watch this story unfold
The story of my beloved PICCADILLY as he swoon's over some cove called Ruben Crowe.
Love isn't earned Dil. It's given."
I loved the characters from navigatress, Miss Grey, the dashing skycaptian, Byron Kae. Even that dastardly crime prince, Milord stole a piece me'heart.
I ain't giving nuffing away, y'all just have to read this tall tale of wonders in the sky. I don't quite know how to describe it, cept t'was adventurous, magical, entertaining and all kinds of PRETTY.
But there's no mistaking....T'izz not to be missed. All you die hard Alexis Hall fan's are in for a treat!!
Read it and be dazzled.........T'was Perrrffffectt
I would just like to say a big THANK YOU to Riptide and Netgalley for my ARC
Prosperity is due for release 27th October 2014
Read
January 23, 2015I consciously don't use DNF.
I just stopped to read at 23% and moved it to my maybe-later shelf. Let me say, I put it on hold.
Right now I'm not ready for this masterpiece(no,I'm not sarcastic) and my head is on the edge of exploding.
Maybe I'll come back after taking some intensive and challenging lessons in English and attending a course in creative writing. Not for the purposes to start to write CREATIVELY, but to understand writers who do it. Because I don't understand what I've just read.
I was so focused on the wording and telling language that I totally missed the plot. I've caught some beautiful thoughts( like the darkness and the light dancing together like lovers in his eyes." or "God lies not in the words of priests or the pages of the Bible. Supreme moral authority- God, if you wish-lies within the conscience of every individual."), but I couldn't connect them with the story, they were just lines for me. I was totally lost in this slang full of:
mebbe=maybe
sommat=somewhat/something(?)
'twasn't
'em
'twas
o'er
'ave=have
ol'=old
y'know
yer=your
gettit
nowt=nothing(?)
'n'=and
It is a first person POV and Piccadilly, a narrator, not just speaks(as everyone around him) this slang or dialect or whatever it is. HE THINKS in it too.
I understand that it is all written to make a story very atmospheric. Maybe it is very atmospheric. But for me it is extremely tiresome.
I browsed through some reviews and almost all of them mentioned that unusual way of telling, "YOU HAVE TO GET USED TO IT." Do I? Do I have to struggle through to be rewarded at the end? I can accept it in hiking, but not in reading.
I've never felt English such foreign...:(
Well, I have not given up. Not yet. I put this book on hold for now and hope that someday I'll be in the mood to give it the second chance, and also to understand all its beauty.
For now I'm through.
P.S I'm so happy that Glitterland was written from Ash POV, otherwise it would have been probably in Essex.
March 25, 2022
It’s been more than two years since I read this, and still some scenes and characters are as present in my mind as the first day.
How is it possible that being SO good, this book isn’t one of the most popular ones from AjH's repertoire? I love fantasy books, but I was never the right reader for steampunk. That is, until I tried Prosperity 😃
(The spoiler tags hide some minor things IMO, but just in case)
The story followed Young Dil, the one telling the story, and he was just amazing.
He was a poor, kind man surviving a very harsh world, but somehow he always managed to show his charming smile full of dimples☺️
It’s great how the story pictured him as a relentless fighter for his life in such a hard environment without it being unrealistic. He was just STRONG of will and mind and completely believable, a real hero.
This wasn’t exactly a romance, even if there are lots of romantic pining and relationships. Nonetheless, the book had one of the best romantic stories I've read, and it doesn't even happen to the MC!... I was totally enthralled by it even if I could only see glimpses through the vision of our hero.
The Bad one in love with the Good one... not exactly new, but gods, Hall knows what he’s doing.
Villains in love! Oh, it’s my true weakness.
continues to be one of the most electrifying romantic scenes of any romance book I’ve ever read. That scene, how Milord talked about it all, how he immediately knew what had happened just by seeing Dil and then just trying to get what he could of the person he loved... it’s just a Heathcliff-level of twisted awesomeness.
But even that amazing expression of shameless passion came second in my favorite things about Prosperity. The best thing for me here was the introduction of one of the best characters in Hall's universe, Byron kae❤️.
BK is a non-binary buccaneer with a soul of gold. They were the captain of Shadowless, the ship where most of the adventure took place.
This character is for me the impersonation of all the sweetness and depthness that Hall is able to accomplish in his writing... and that magic is the one thing that made me fall in love with his stories in the first place.
....
BK’s story, told in “Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies”, is also an absolute perfection. Something I love about all Hall’s stories is that I feel he always knows how much to show and tell about each character’s private life. His stories can be completely descriptive and direct about many things, but then the story can be shy and subtle if a characters needs it to be:
....
(Oh, not being an English speaker, I found it a little hard at the beginning to understand Dil’s dialect. But it was very helpful to me to not just “read” the book but hear phonetically in my head how it all sounded... and then it was a lot easer.
I hadn’t tried it yet, but I think this audiobook must be very good. Oh, and my opinion about this peculiar way of writing is that it’s a total WIN. There are some opinions that didn’t particularly like it, but for me, the story felt more real and special thanks to this unique way Dil and everyone else talked.
Don’t let those first pages bring you down, possible-not-English-speaker-reader 🤣.)
AJH was the gem of my 2019 discoveries and I was so happy to finish the year with what I think is maybe his best series yet.
(ohhhhh well, maybe it's head to head with ArdyBaby.... and Luc and Oliver now that I think of it...... and Toby! I can’t forget Toby! And Jasper?...... best not choose and enjoy them all! ❤️)
How is it possible that being SO good, this book isn’t one of the most popular ones from AjH's repertoire? I love fantasy books, but I was never the right reader for steampunk. That is, until I tried Prosperity 😃
(The spoiler tags hide some minor things IMO, but just in case)
The story followed Young Dil, the one telling the story, and he was just amazing.
He was a poor, kind man surviving a very harsh world, but somehow he always managed to show his charming smile full of dimples☺️
It’s great how the story pictured him as a relentless fighter for his life in such a hard environment without it being unrealistic. He was just STRONG of will and mind and completely believable, a real hero.
This wasn’t exactly a romance, even if there are lots of romantic pining and relationships. Nonetheless, the book had one of the best romantic stories I've read, and it doesn't even happen to the MC!... I was totally enthralled by it even if I could only see glimpses through the vision of our hero.
The Bad one in love with the Good one... not exactly new, but gods, Hall knows what he’s doing.
Villains in love! Oh, it’s my true weakness.
continues to be one of the most electrifying romantic scenes of any romance book I’ve ever read. That scene, how Milord talked about it all, how he immediately knew what had happened just by seeing Dil and then just trying to get what he could of the person he loved... it’s just a Heathcliff-level of twisted awesomeness.
But even that amazing expression of shameless passion came second in my favorite things about Prosperity. The best thing for me here was the introduction of one of the best characters in Hall's universe, Byron kae❤️.
BK is a non-binary buccaneer with a soul of gold. They were the captain of Shadowless, the ship where most of the adventure took place.
This character is for me the impersonation of all the sweetness and depthness that Hall is able to accomplish in his writing... and that magic is the one thing that made me fall in love with his stories in the first place.
....
BK’s story, told in “Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies”, is also an absolute perfection. Something I love about all Hall’s stories is that I feel he always knows how much to show and tell about each character’s private life. His stories can be completely descriptive and direct about many things, but then the story can be shy and subtle if a characters needs it to be:
....
(Oh, not being an English speaker, I found it a little hard at the beginning to understand Dil’s dialect. But it was very helpful to me to not just “read” the book but hear phonetically in my head how it all sounded... and then it was a lot easer.
I hadn’t tried it yet, but I think this audiobook must be very good. Oh, and my opinion about this peculiar way of writing is that it’s a total WIN. There are some opinions that didn’t particularly like it, but for me, the story felt more real and special thanks to this unique way Dil and everyone else talked.
Don’t let those first pages bring you down, possible-not-English-speaker-reader 🤣.)
AJH was the gem of my 2019 discoveries and I was so happy to finish the year with what I think is maybe his best series yet.
(ohhhhh well, maybe it's head to head with ArdyBaby.... and Luc and Oliver now that I think of it...... and Toby! I can’t forget Toby! And Jasper?...... best not choose and enjoy them all! ❤️)
October 18, 2014
This was an experience which is difficult to express. Not even aeroplane turbulence could pull me away from the words of this story. But I don't really know how to review this book. I don't really know if I liked it or disliked it. I do know that it is an amazing story and if other mm stories were like this I would never go to work.
I gallop through books at an amazing speed which is why my GR name is 'Ije the Devourer of Books' but sometimes you come across a book which you can't just gobble, you have to slow down and taste each mouthful and chew each mouthful carefully and slowly, slowly, very very slowly.
There are an amazing set of characters in this story set in an amazing world. Each character has their own story too and the book gives us glimpses of this. The main character 'Piccadilly' is the narrator of the story and he has his own way of speaking and I had to slow down to understand and appreciate this. His observations, his quick wit, his courage are all made apparent with each mouthful.
And slowly, slowly I came to see the beauty of the story, the shadows and lights of each character, the thrills and the excitement in their adventures, the pain and challenges of their pasts and that unexplored dimension of their futures.
Some of these characters are just plain weird and defy any kind of definition. None of them are your usual mm fare. These characters are different, unique and unlike anything from any mm story I have come across.
So I needed to slow down and taste this book instead of gulping it down.
And because Ruben from the story is a former man of the cloth I can say this book reminds me of the passage from Revelation where God tells John to eat a scroll 'Eat this book'. And John does and the words are sweet in his mouth but bitter in his stomach.
For me the words were sometimes hard and bitter in my mouth, hard to read and understand, but they were certainly sweet and filling in my stomach.
Amazing but different and definitely an experience.
I gallop through books at an amazing speed which is why my GR name is 'Ije the Devourer of Books' but sometimes you come across a book which you can't just gobble, you have to slow down and taste each mouthful and chew each mouthful carefully and slowly, slowly, very very slowly.
There are an amazing set of characters in this story set in an amazing world. Each character has their own story too and the book gives us glimpses of this. The main character 'Piccadilly' is the narrator of the story and he has his own way of speaking and I had to slow down to understand and appreciate this. His observations, his quick wit, his courage are all made apparent with each mouthful.
And slowly, slowly I came to see the beauty of the story, the shadows and lights of each character, the thrills and the excitement in their adventures, the pain and challenges of their pasts and that unexplored dimension of their futures.
Some of these characters are just plain weird and defy any kind of definition. None of them are your usual mm fare. These characters are different, unique and unlike anything from any mm story I have come across.
So I needed to slow down and taste this book instead of gulping it down.
And because Ruben from the story is a former man of the cloth I can say this book reminds me of the passage from Revelation where God tells John to eat a scroll 'Eat this book'. And John does and the words are sweet in his mouth but bitter in his stomach.
For me the words were sometimes hard and bitter in my mouth, hard to read and understand, but they were certainly sweet and filling in my stomach.
Amazing but different and definitely an experience.
November 3, 2014
This is kind of a stream of consciousness quasi-review.
This book isn't a romance. Okay. I don't have a problem with that.
The narrative arc is all over the place. I chose to read it as a series of scenes, like an ensemble cast. Speaking of cast, Milord was my favourite. Even with the Indiana Jones antics towards the end. I also liked Miss Grey. Byron Kae was nice. Ruben was a bit too perfect.
I appreciated that the characters had quite distinct voices, and also how the book approached gender expression.
I didn't always like the guttersnipe-with-a-heart-of-gold narrator. Sometimes he felt inconsistent. He used too many fancy words he wasn't supposed to know. But he was fun and even charming at times.
The cant language issue: I didn't find it hard to follow. I thought it gave the book character, even. I also tend to gravitate toward this author's style of writing, though. It's a matter of preference. Your mileage may vary.
I absolutely loved the first sex scene. I found the second one mildly embarrassing.
The imagery, the aethership, the krakens, Prosperity, the overall world building were very well done.
The ending was satisfactory-ish.
So. I'm giving this 3.5 stars and rounding up because the things I liked outweigh the things I didn't.
________________________________
Past Ramblings
Steampunk, you said? I'm game. Though, I wouldn't mind another contemporary, to be honest.
If that blurb is any indication, this book is on crack. Combined with the cover, it has a certain Terry Gilliam-esque-ness to it. Enticing.
This book isn't a romance. Okay. I don't have a problem with that.
The narrative arc is all over the place. I chose to read it as a series of scenes, like an ensemble cast. Speaking of cast, Milord was my favourite. Even with the Indiana Jones antics towards the end. I also liked Miss Grey. Byron Kae was nice. Ruben was a bit too perfect.
I appreciated that the characters had quite distinct voices, and also how the book approached gender expression.
I didn't always like the guttersnipe-with-a-heart-of-gold narrator. Sometimes he felt inconsistent. He used too many fancy words he wasn't supposed to know. But he was fun and even charming at times.
The cant language issue: I didn't find it hard to follow. I thought it gave the book character, even. I also tend to gravitate toward this author's style of writing, though. It's a matter of preference. Your mileage may vary.
I absolutely loved the first sex scene. I found the second one mildly embarrassing.
The imagery, the aethership, the krakens, Prosperity, the overall world building were very well done.
The ending was satisfactory-ish.
So. I'm giving this 3.5 stars and rounding up because the things I liked outweigh the things I didn't.
________________________________
Past Ramblings
Steampunk, you said? I'm game. Though, I wouldn't mind another contemporary, to be honest.
If that blurb is any indication, this book is on crack. Combined with the cover, it has a certain Terry Gilliam-esque-ness to it. Enticing.
June 13, 2019
Can a book blow you away with each subsequent re-reading? In the case of Alexis Hall's Prosperity, the answer is most certainly YES and no matter how many times I read it, by the last page, I'm always left in awe of a story that is at the same time hyper-creative and very human, full of flawed but sympathetic characters, and where form and substance are equally important.
A picaresque, moving, funny, philosophical adventure set in the wild skies of 1863 - where cities are suspended on skyhooks and aetherships fly and breathe in unison with their astonishing captain - Prosperity follows the ups and downs of a motley crew made up of a small-time crook, a lord of the criminal underworld, a tormented clergyman, a dashing skycaptain and a female navigator addicted to opium and plagued by horrible visions.
Told by the POV of Piccadilly - the guttersnipe born and bred in the mean streets of Gaslight and used to survive by means of dangerous expedients - the novel recounts not only the breathtaking adventures of Shadowless and its crew but follows its main character while he realises that destiny can be changed and that friendship, loyalty and love can be found in the most unexpected places.
Prosperity is also a story that testifies the importance of words and of the ability to leave a testimony of one's life by being able to write it down and pass it on to other readers and generations. One of the most moving moments in the book is for me the chapter where Piccadilly learns to read and write thanks to the help of Byron Kae thus discovering an entirely new world of possibilities.
'Having words' - and using them - translates in the novel into a wild ride of slang, Victorian English and imaginative neologisms that are never a simple display of the writer's amazing talent, but become a reflection of Piccadilly's free spirit and ironic view of the world.
Prosperity is a book to read - and re-read over and over again - with the certainty that each time something new will pop out from the page, some detail of its fabulous worldbuilding, a line of dialogue, an intimately quiet description, a simple moment between the characters.
Really wonderful and very highly recommended!
A picaresque, moving, funny, philosophical adventure set in the wild skies of 1863 - where cities are suspended on skyhooks and aetherships fly and breathe in unison with their astonishing captain - Prosperity follows the ups and downs of a motley crew made up of a small-time crook, a lord of the criminal underworld, a tormented clergyman, a dashing skycaptain and a female navigator addicted to opium and plagued by horrible visions.
Told by the POV of Piccadilly - the guttersnipe born and bred in the mean streets of Gaslight and used to survive by means of dangerous expedients - the novel recounts not only the breathtaking adventures of Shadowless and its crew but follows its main character while he realises that destiny can be changed and that friendship, loyalty and love can be found in the most unexpected places.
Prosperity is also a story that testifies the importance of words and of the ability to leave a testimony of one's life by being able to write it down and pass it on to other readers and generations. One of the most moving moments in the book is for me the chapter where Piccadilly learns to read and write thanks to the help of Byron Kae thus discovering an entirely new world of possibilities.
'Having words' - and using them - translates in the novel into a wild ride of slang, Victorian English and imaginative neologisms that are never a simple display of the writer's amazing talent, but become a reflection of Piccadilly's free spirit and ironic view of the world.
Prosperity is a book to read - and re-read over and over again - with the certainty that each time something new will pop out from the page, some detail of its fabulous worldbuilding, a line of dialogue, an intimately quiet description, a simple moment between the characters.
Really wonderful and very highly recommended!
June 6, 2016
a solid 3.5 stars
How we want to be seen by someone in particular and totally crave that seeing whilst in the meantime we do not see others that are seeing us. Complicated I know, but that is life I'd say. An examination of unrequited need through the telling of a third party story through the eyes of Dil who also sticks his own "oar" into the mix. The longing to be seen resonates in more than one character here. The same need, dealt with differently by Byron Kae, by Milord, by Dil but of course it is the same need just the how is different. All this comes with the high skies adventure complete with a Die Hard ending with a nod to the Humakti salute "Today is a good day to die".
Would I have wanted to have Milord and Rueben's story first hand ?- Oh Yes I would have - that story I wanted direct, first hand. So I'm looking forward to reading Shackles - hope that it fills the craving.
Would I want to travel as one with the Shadowless? - a resounding YES
Would I want to have Jane Grey on my side?- another resounding YES
Would I want to meet a kraken? - I think I will pass on that.
Then why 3.5 stars - a couple of niggles:
Standing on it's own the story leaves holes which need to be filled. So I'll have to consider a rating for the whole lot when I read them all.
Language - I can quite clearly see Alexis Hall writing this, gleefully rubbing his hands at each new word he made me seek the dictionary for. Was it necessary? Did it add to the story? I'd say it did add a little to Dil's persona but not to the story as a whole. As a reader I would have appreciated a little less of the dialect making it not such an obstacle which needed to be overcome to get to the story. The story in itself already had different concepts which needed the readers attention such as Byron Kae's gender and the world building. So a little less would have been more in this case.
Thank you Ingela for suggesting we read this, I had long been shillyshallying about it.
January 19, 2021
Did another re-listening. Still incredible <3
***
The audio is everything to me! L.O.V.E.
***
I guess nowt changes except ourselves, and I didn't feel fit for roguery no more.
I didn't know who to blame for it. Ruben probably, who was so convinced that life was good. Or Miss Grey being so fucking fearless though she lived with monsters every day. Mebbe even Milord, psycho though he was, for taking whatever he wanted and never backing down. And Byron Kae. For giving me letters and showing me freedom. For the kiss they hadn't took. For the open skies and the bright stars. For Shadowless, Shadowless the ship of ship that dreams were made of.
There are no words to express how much I adore Prosperity. None. I am speechless, touched. There will be no book ever which can take its place.
***
You know, um... First, I just have to confess that I have atiny little immensely huge crush on Alexis. *sigh* For more of my lovey-dovey ramblings
Welcome to Prosperity !
I found that bits-'n'-pieces town of sky and stars and makeshift dreams damn near close to paradise.
***
Thrill! As our hero, Piccadilly , battles dreadful kraken above Prosperity
And, though he was like one hundred percent correct about the cheating, I'm a cheat with a talent for it, and there was nowt to be found to blow the gaff.
I might've once been nowt but a flicking cove, but Byron Kae had given me the sky before I even had a sense enough to want it.
I keep thinking about how they came back for me. How to them, I'm more than en entire shipful of folk.
I've come to believe that a first person point of view is my favourite in narration. When well done, I can slip into the mind of one Piccadilly and experience the world through his eyes. It's fascinating to get to know one so intimately, but to not know everything else. It makes for a challenge, too, because I get to see his and therefore my limitations.
***
Swoon! At the dashing skycaptain, Byron Kae
I’m an aethermancer, Ruben. I’ve been to the deepest parts of the sky, and I’ve danced in the aurora borealis. I’ve looked over the edge of the world and embraced eternity. I’m not afraid of a broken man who fears his own heart, and I will not leave him to die.
Byron Kae, what gave me lettering and nonkisses and promises mebbe they was going to keep, sovereign of the skies, dethroned by a shaft of wood and a piece of iron.
Cos, truthfully, there ain't no comfort like the comfort of someone else's warmth. 'Tis the friendliest thing I know.
I've never encountered a more fascinating character than Byron Kae. They is such a stunning and lovable person, and I could spend the rest of my life with getting to know them better. I just don't have enough words to explain how amazing they is.
Luckily, I don't have to chose a favourite character, but if I had to, I think it might be them. Although they has to battle for the rank with Milord.
***
Disapprove strongly! Of the utter moral iniquity of the dastardly crime prince, Milord
He was supposed to be an artist with a knife--if you take artist to mean scary fucker.
I don't think I'd ever seen a fella so wrecked, nor so lovely in it. [...] so abandoned to someone else, and so lost in them, so careless of dignity or shame.
Milord is the most stunning evil, lovable villain I've ever met. I can't but see past all his transgressions and love him anyway. I can't but hate him for all the unspeakable things he's done.
All my favourite scenes in Prosperity have him at the centre. He is such a powerful character and his presence lures me in like no other.
***
Swoon again! At the tormented clergyman, Ruben Crowe
Ruben was full of true things. Like he was some ol' knight in some ol' tale; [...] Except there ain't no dragons left for Ruben to fight, leastways not the outside sort.
"But," he went on at last, "if one loves . . . if I love evil . . . and there is not redemption, no salvation . . . then is it love? Or is it simple selfishness?"
Ruben, loved by everyone, yearned for by everyone. He touches your life and makes it better. Ruben, full of hope and love, and self-doubt.
***
Like Ruben and fucking Milord, who spun each other like a pair of compasses, but always ended pointing to each other.
Love mebbe. Not the sort they write about. Not the pretty sort that redeems your wicked ways and let's you live happily ever after. Not the sort that keeps you warm at night. But the burning kind, raw and ugly and true.
And both of them just staring and staring, as though they couldn't stop and mebbe hated each other for it.
You can't help who you fall in love with. If that wasn't true for anyone, it is for Ruben and Milord. Their love is raw and beautiful, wanted and hated, powerful and broken. It is everything. They could write history by becoming my favourite couple, if you can call them that.
***
Beware! The licentious and unchristian example set by the opium-addled navigatress, Miss Grey
"My dear man, I believe you must be a missionary of the angels. Never has cessation of all bodily function seemed to enticing a prospect." "Yeah . . . uh . . . what?" [...] "She's saying no, cockstain,"
A kraken was coming. Miss Grey had invited it to tea and cakes.
Miss Grey being so fucking fearless though she lived with monsters every day.
Shadowless
Shadowless the ship of ships that dreams were made of.
Kraken
I feel them in their dreaming slumbers. There . . . there are voices . . . whispering in alien tongues, calling to them. Amorphous and boundless, I see it now . . . a tenebrous mass of tentacles writhing in blasphemous loathing as it wakes . . . it wakes . . . oh it wakes!
Prosperity was such an entertaining book right from the start. I loved diving into the world created and getting to know all this great people in it. I am so immensely happy that I, of course, can read it again, which I'll do right after I've finished with this review, but I am even happier that there are more stories to come. I want to discover more about the world and the unforgettable characters that I met in Prosperity.
Prosperity is fun, but it's also a story about change, love and yearning, about loss and loneliness.
Prosperity is also so beautifully written. I absolutely love the language! If you've made it so far through my review, you should have noticed the cant slang in all the quotes. Now, I know and heard that 'tis not for everyone, but for me it is so very special. I am no native speaker and yes, it took me a little more effort to get into the story, but I wouldn't miss it for the world. It creates such a subtle authentic vibe.
Wow, people saying shit I didn't understand had never been more likerous.
(New) words and favourite phrases:
likerous -> sexy
to swive, swiving -> archaic or humorous for to have sexual intercourse with
to be confuzzled -> no explanation necessary, the word speaks for itself
sweeting -> endearment
middle of the darkmans -> midnight
to snog, snogging -> British informal, kiss and cuddle amorously, "snogging like two drowning men fighting for air"
"The lack of tea is grotesquely uncivilised."
"I ain't promising no dumb-prick thing like that."
"That what lifts your sugar-stick"? -> Yeah, I won't spell that out for ya ;-)
"Thou art wicked."
(top-quality) clicketing -> um, fucking
carnal glossolalia -> see above ;-)
"I'm sorta nuts on you jus' the way you are."
moonshine -> nonsense, bullshit
"She was like fucking fearless. Or off her tits."
***
The audio is everything to me! L.O.V.E.
***
I guess nowt changes except ourselves, and I didn't feel fit for roguery no more.
I didn't know who to blame for it. Ruben probably, who was so convinced that life was good. Or Miss Grey being so fucking fearless though she lived with monsters every day. Mebbe even Milord, psycho though he was, for taking whatever he wanted and never backing down. And Byron Kae. For giving me letters and showing me freedom. For the kiss they hadn't took. For the open skies and the bright stars. For Shadowless, Shadowless the ship of ship that dreams were made of.
There are no words to express how much I adore Prosperity. None. I am speechless, touched. There will be no book ever which can take its place.
***
You know, um... First, I just have to confess that I have a
Welcome to Prosperity !
I found that bits-'n'-pieces town of sky and stars and makeshift dreams damn near close to paradise.
***
Thrill! As our hero, Piccadilly , battles dreadful kraken above Prosperity
And, though he was like one hundred percent correct about the cheating, I'm a cheat with a talent for it, and there was nowt to be found to blow the gaff.
I might've once been nowt but a flicking cove, but Byron Kae had given me the sky before I even had a sense enough to want it.
I keep thinking about how they came back for me. How to them, I'm more than en entire shipful of folk.
I've come to believe that a first person point of view is my favourite in narration. When well done, I can slip into the mind of one Piccadilly and experience the world through his eyes. It's fascinating to get to know one so intimately, but to not know everything else. It makes for a challenge, too, because I get to see his and therefore my limitations.
***
Swoon! At the dashing skycaptain, Byron Kae
I’m an aethermancer, Ruben. I’ve been to the deepest parts of the sky, and I’ve danced in the aurora borealis. I’ve looked over the edge of the world and embraced eternity. I’m not afraid of a broken man who fears his own heart, and I will not leave him to die.
Byron Kae, what gave me lettering and nonkisses and promises mebbe they was going to keep, sovereign of the skies, dethroned by a shaft of wood and a piece of iron.
Cos, truthfully, there ain't no comfort like the comfort of someone else's warmth. 'Tis the friendliest thing I know.
I've never encountered a more fascinating character than Byron Kae. They is such a stunning and lovable person, and I could spend the rest of my life with getting to know them better. I just don't have enough words to explain how amazing they is.
Luckily, I don't have to chose a favourite character, but if I had to, I think it might be them. Although they has to battle for the rank with Milord.
***
Disapprove strongly! Of the utter moral iniquity of the dastardly crime prince, Milord
He was supposed to be an artist with a knife--if you take artist to mean scary fucker.
I don't think I'd ever seen a fella so wrecked, nor so lovely in it. [...] so abandoned to someone else, and so lost in them, so careless of dignity or shame.
Milord is the most stunning evil, lovable villain I've ever met. I can't but see past all his transgressions and love him anyway. I can't but hate him for all the unspeakable things he's done.
All my favourite scenes in Prosperity have him at the centre. He is such a powerful character and his presence lures me in like no other.
***
Swoon again! At the tormented clergyman, Ruben Crowe
Ruben was full of true things. Like he was some ol' knight in some ol' tale; [...] Except there ain't no dragons left for Ruben to fight, leastways not the outside sort.
"But," he went on at last, "if one loves . . . if I love evil . . . and there is not redemption, no salvation . . . then is it love? Or is it simple selfishness?"
Ruben, loved by everyone, yearned for by everyone. He touches your life and makes it better. Ruben, full of hope and love, and self-doubt.
***
Like Ruben and fucking Milord, who spun each other like a pair of compasses, but always ended pointing to each other.
Love mebbe. Not the sort they write about. Not the pretty sort that redeems your wicked ways and let's you live happily ever after. Not the sort that keeps you warm at night. But the burning kind, raw and ugly and true.
And both of them just staring and staring, as though they couldn't stop and mebbe hated each other for it.
You can't help who you fall in love with. If that wasn't true for anyone, it is for Ruben and Milord. Their love is raw and beautiful, wanted and hated, powerful and broken. It is everything. They could write history by becoming my favourite couple, if you can call them that.
***
Beware! The licentious and unchristian example set by the opium-addled navigatress, Miss Grey
"My dear man, I believe you must be a missionary of the angels. Never has cessation of all bodily function seemed to enticing a prospect." "Yeah . . . uh . . . what?" [...] "She's saying no, cockstain,"
A kraken was coming. Miss Grey had invited it to tea and cakes.
Miss Grey being so fucking fearless though she lived with monsters every day.
Shadowless
Shadowless the ship of ships that dreams were made of.
Kraken
I feel them in their dreaming slumbers. There . . . there are voices . . . whispering in alien tongues, calling to them. Amorphous and boundless, I see it now . . . a tenebrous mass of tentacles writhing in blasphemous loathing as it wakes . . . it wakes . . . oh it wakes!
Prosperity was such an entertaining book right from the start. I loved diving into the world created and getting to know all this great people in it. I am so immensely happy that I, of course, can read it again, which I'll do right after I've finished with this review, but I am even happier that there are more stories to come. I want to discover more about the world and the unforgettable characters that I met in Prosperity.
Prosperity is fun, but it's also a story about change, love and yearning, about loss and loneliness.
Prosperity is also so beautifully written. I absolutely love the language! If you've made it so far through my review, you should have noticed the cant slang in all the quotes. Now, I know and heard that 'tis not for everyone, but for me it is so very special. I am no native speaker and yes, it took me a little more effort to get into the story, but I wouldn't miss it for the world. It creates such a subtle authentic vibe.
Wow, people saying shit I didn't understand had never been more likerous.
(New) words and favourite phrases:
likerous -> sexy
to swive, swiving -> archaic or humorous for to have sexual intercourse with
to be confuzzled -> no explanation necessary, the word speaks for itself
sweeting -> endearment
middle of the darkmans -> midnight
to snog, snogging -> British informal, kiss and cuddle amorously, "snogging like two drowning men fighting for air"
"The lack of tea is grotesquely uncivilised."
"I ain't promising no dumb-prick thing like that."
"That what lifts your sugar-stick"? -> Yeah, I won't spell that out for ya ;-)
"Thou art wicked."
(top-quality) clicketing -> um, fucking
carnal glossolalia -> see above ;-)
"I'm sorta nuts on you jus' the way you are."
moonshine -> nonsense, bullshit
"She was like fucking fearless. Or off her tits."
July 12, 2015
Where BJ and I wrote tomes reviews on Prism Book Alliance
The first thing I realized not long after I started reading this: it has all of the cool aspects I experience while reading Shakespeare. Not in a haughty, stuffy, let’s drily examine the text kind of way, but rather the language is unmistakable in its humor within an imperfect world. I found myself delighting in the rhythm of the prose, letting the words sink in and wash over in whatever ways they pleased. By page four, this book felt like it had been written for me. I love when that happens.
When I first rolled into town, there weren’t much in the ol’ brain box except turning the usual tricks and running the usual rigs. – Dilly
There’s a film of merriment that attempts to cover the undercurrent of darkness as we’re introduced to all of the characters and their personalities, and how they inhabit Dil’s world and said brain. Before the words appeared, I could feel it, that darkness, or at least my anticipation of it.
And the things you filch ain’t even the things you want, and I reckon living itself is a filched business.
Being up on your Brit-speak isn’t a requirement but it will probably aid in the speed with which you acclimate to this language Hall has staking claim in this world. Although, it also has nooks and crannies filled with words that would feel most comfortable in the American Old West. It also has language that would be most comfortable in dens of iniquity, a party filled with people in their teens and twenties, and right here in my own sarcastic corner of the world. Context counts for a lot and I was smiling in the darkness.
Milord, Ruben Crowe and Byron Kae. They’re all introduced in deliciously deceptive ways, causing immediate assumptions that were roundly destroyed. For me, they each represent different parts of Dilly, whether he knows those parts are alive and waiting for him to recognize them within or not. They’re there. In front, behind and all around him. Brilliant.
To that end, it brings me to that idea that, sometimes you meet a person and all at once they’re a surprise and yet fated to be in your life, for however long. They help break down walls and feed your ability to share, and to see the world in even broader and brighter terms. Kindness. It’s such a simple thing but sometimes terribly difficult to give and more so to accept. This concept is wound all throughout this story.
Language. A subject that, by its very nature, encourages and demands discussion, dissection and appreciation. Hall is having a blast with language in this book. The coolest thing? It reads smoothly, making the realization that is came to be through a barn load of blood, sweat and tears even more awe inspiring. If you get even a little giddy at the idea of diving into “new” languages, this is a book for you.
In all manner of ways, this is a diverse group of beings attempting to make their way in this world of Prosperity and beyond. Identity is fluid, as are personalities and their quirks. Milord is quiet complicated, inside and out. Yet his motivations couldn’t be any simpler than if they were embodied within an amoeba. Ruben is intuitive, so aware of others and their feelings, and he accepts them as they are. Byron Kae is sweet, bashful even with his quick to blush self, while showing incredible strength, both physical and in morality, his morality. And Dilly. I don’t want to give anything away. Just know that you can trust him as the voice through which we learn everyone’s stories. Oh, but I can and will tell you that he made me snort. With regularity.
What a ride. Emotional: everyone struggles with reaching for and accepting the love we need, the love that could be right there in front of us. Silly: the self-deprecating humor, the teasing and blushing, the ability to speak the start truth in trying to cut through the fear while danger surrounds. Honesty: see “Emotional”. The encompassing warmth, bittersweet realizations, intense passion and heat, and the adrenaline, they all got my heart racing. The discovery that your desire for life as the living, and not just the surviving, can be, well, earth shattering, even without ground beneath your feet.
Dil, Milord, Ruben and Byron Kae, I leave you (for now) having been utterly satisfied yet filled with many a question. Mind Miss Grey and Miss Alis or they’ll kick your ass, and you know it.
Creativity. It’s addictive. Engaging and demanding. I love every pixel of it, of this.
If I had to choose one word: Inspirational.
Two words? Fuck yeah!
Three words?? I want more!!!
A fine piece of fiction, this is. Take a ride on the Shadowless and find out for yourself. ;)
The first thing I realized not long after I started reading this: it has all of the cool aspects I experience while reading Shakespeare. Not in a haughty, stuffy, let’s drily examine the text kind of way, but rather the language is unmistakable in its humor within an imperfect world. I found myself delighting in the rhythm of the prose, letting the words sink in and wash over in whatever ways they pleased. By page four, this book felt like it had been written for me. I love when that happens.
When I first rolled into town, there weren’t much in the ol’ brain box except turning the usual tricks and running the usual rigs. – Dilly
There’s a film of merriment that attempts to cover the undercurrent of darkness as we’re introduced to all of the characters and their personalities, and how they inhabit Dil’s world and said brain. Before the words appeared, I could feel it, that darkness, or at least my anticipation of it.
And the things you filch ain’t even the things you want, and I reckon living itself is a filched business.
Being up on your Brit-speak isn’t a requirement but it will probably aid in the speed with which you acclimate to this language Hall has staking claim in this world. Although, it also has nooks and crannies filled with words that would feel most comfortable in the American Old West. It also has language that would be most comfortable in dens of iniquity, a party filled with people in their teens and twenties, and right here in my own sarcastic corner of the world. Context counts for a lot and I was smiling in the darkness.
Milord, Ruben Crowe and Byron Kae. They’re all introduced in deliciously deceptive ways, causing immediate assumptions that were roundly destroyed. For me, they each represent different parts of Dilly, whether he knows those parts are alive and waiting for him to recognize them within or not. They’re there. In front, behind and all around him. Brilliant.
To that end, it brings me to that idea that, sometimes you meet a person and all at once they’re a surprise and yet fated to be in your life, for however long. They help break down walls and feed your ability to share, and to see the world in even broader and brighter terms. Kindness. It’s such a simple thing but sometimes terribly difficult to give and more so to accept. This concept is wound all throughout this story.
Language. A subject that, by its very nature, encourages and demands discussion, dissection and appreciation. Hall is having a blast with language in this book. The coolest thing? It reads smoothly, making the realization that is came to be through a barn load of blood, sweat and tears even more awe inspiring. If you get even a little giddy at the idea of diving into “new” languages, this is a book for you.
In all manner of ways, this is a diverse group of beings attempting to make their way in this world of Prosperity and beyond. Identity is fluid, as are personalities and their quirks. Milord is quiet complicated, inside and out. Yet his motivations couldn’t be any simpler than if they were embodied within an amoeba. Ruben is intuitive, so aware of others and their feelings, and he accepts them as they are. Byron Kae is sweet, bashful even with his quick to blush self, while showing incredible strength, both physical and in morality, his morality. And Dilly. I don’t want to give anything away. Just know that you can trust him as the voice through which we learn everyone’s stories. Oh, but I can and will tell you that he made me snort. With regularity.
What a ride. Emotional: everyone struggles with reaching for and accepting the love we need, the love that could be right there in front of us. Silly: the self-deprecating humor, the teasing and blushing, the ability to speak the start truth in trying to cut through the fear while danger surrounds. Honesty: see “Emotional”. The encompassing warmth, bittersweet realizations, intense passion and heat, and the adrenaline, they all got my heart racing. The discovery that your desire for life as the living, and not just the surviving, can be, well, earth shattering, even without ground beneath your feet.
Dil, Milord, Ruben and Byron Kae, I leave you (for now) having been utterly satisfied yet filled with many a question. Mind Miss Grey and Miss Alis or they’ll kick your ass, and you know it.
Creativity. It’s addictive. Engaging and demanding. I love every pixel of it, of this.
If I had to choose one word: Inspirational.
Two words? Fuck yeah!
Three words?? I want more!!!
A fine piece of fiction, this is. Take a ride on the Shadowless and find out for yourself. ;)
May 11, 2015
4.95 stars. It should be said up front, this is not a romance. It is an imaginative steampunk AU fantasy with a gay main character, and an array of LGBTQ secondary characters. There is romance, but not in a happy-ending for the MC way. Love may come as the series progresses, but don't expect even a HFN yet.
This is a wonderful, unique story with a narrator who is appealing, fun, bright but uneducated, and whose backstory makes you ache for him even as you have to admire his spirit. Picadilly is a young gay guttersnipe with a flair for cards, an exploited past, and a willingness to court trouble. When he encounters Milord, a dangerous figure from the stews of the city below, the smart thing would have been to keep his distance. Instead, Picadilly cheats him at cards, setting in motion a chain of events that will lead him to a sexy tormented ex-clergyman with a heart of gold (and the body of a college boxer), a skyship captain of brilliant and shy ambiguity, and a lesbian navigator who sees visions of Kraken.
Some people have had problems with the dialect of the narrator - if you read Regency romances, you should have little trouble with it, related as it is to the slang and thieves' cant that peppers many of those books. (I thank Georgette Heyer for my familiarity with many of the phrases.) If that's not familiar, check a sample. The beginning is a thick as it ever gets. I personally found it smooth and easy reading.
The story has a fast-moving plot and the people in it have relationships of many kinds, equally presented without judgment. The characters are all flawed, and all fascinating. The world-building is satisfying, but not intrusive.
The only reason that I take off 0,05 stars is that I really, really hate narrators who tell you stuff in advance, of the "I would later find out X but right now I was not aware of it..." or "Little did I know then that X..." kind. Well, I really want to NOT be told X either, right then. Several fascinating events were lightly spoilered by this narrative style. If I hadn't loved the book so much, I'd have dinged it more heavily for that, but as it was I just gritted my teeth a few times and sailed on along this starlit journey through unfamiliar lands. Looking forward to the next book as soon as I can buy it.
This is a wonderful, unique story with a narrator who is appealing, fun, bright but uneducated, and whose backstory makes you ache for him even as you have to admire his spirit. Picadilly is a young gay guttersnipe with a flair for cards, an exploited past, and a willingness to court trouble. When he encounters Milord, a dangerous figure from the stews of the city below, the smart thing would have been to keep his distance. Instead, Picadilly cheats him at cards, setting in motion a chain of events that will lead him to a sexy tormented ex-clergyman with a heart of gold (and the body of a college boxer), a skyship captain of brilliant and shy ambiguity, and a lesbian navigator who sees visions of Kraken.
Some people have had problems with the dialect of the narrator - if you read Regency romances, you should have little trouble with it, related as it is to the slang and thieves' cant that peppers many of those books. (I thank Georgette Heyer for my familiarity with many of the phrases.) If that's not familiar, check a sample. The beginning is a thick as it ever gets. I personally found it smooth and easy reading.
The story has a fast-moving plot and the people in it have relationships of many kinds, equally presented without judgment. The characters are all flawed, and all fascinating. The world-building is satisfying, but not intrusive.
The only reason that I take off 0,05 stars is that I really, really hate narrators who tell you stuff in advance, of the "I would later find out X but right now I was not aware of it..." or "Little did I know then that X..." kind. Well, I really want to NOT be told X either, right then. Several fascinating events were lightly spoilered by this narrative style. If I hadn't loved the book so much, I'd have dinged it more heavily for that, but as it was I just gritted my teeth a few times and sailed on along this starlit journey through unfamiliar lands. Looking forward to the next book as soon as I can buy it.
January 22, 2025
Reread October 2023
This book will always get all the stars…
_____
Reread October 2022
I love this book SO freaking much.
_____
Reread April 2022 via audio, Byron Kae gets all the stars and is all the stars and is of all the stars. ✨
Wow, doing this book as audio definitely gave it a different feel. Nicholas Boulton, is there anything you can’t narrate??? He really got the thieves cant down, it was so well done!
My feelings on our dear narrator, one Piccadilly, lately of the sky town Prosperity, are sommat changed. In my initial reading of this I found him rather annoying, but he’s definitely grown on me. Maybe that’s from having read Liberty, maybe it’s from listening to the audiobook, I don’t really know. Though Byron Kae is still my favourite, with Milord not far behind.
This book is an absolute delight and I look forward to many more rereads.
_____
Oh, I so enjoyed this book! I may have been slightly pressured into purchasing/reading it, but I’m glad I was.
I haven’t read a lot of steampunk (in fact, I think I’ve read 3 steampunk novels prior to this), but this was great. I really loved all the main characters, especially Byron Kae, and also Milord, which I feel a bit weird about because he���s obviously supposed to be the grey-area character, and he’s pretty awful for most of the book, but I really liked him anyway? I honestly found Dil to be a bit obnoxious… I mean, I still liked him and all, he was just a bit obnoxious.
I’m not sure what this book is categorized as, but as AJH’s books are usually romance, maybe that? Though I would say it’s much more adventure with a splash of romance. Maybe not even romance, but adventure with several fairly detailed sex scenes? Whatever it is, it worked, I loved it. I’m looking forward to reading more Prosperity stories!
This book will always get all the stars…
_____
Reread October 2022
I love this book SO freaking much.
_____
Reread April 2022 via audio, Byron Kae gets all the stars and is all the stars and is of all the stars. ✨
Wow, doing this book as audio definitely gave it a different feel. Nicholas Boulton, is there anything you can’t narrate??? He really got the thieves cant down, it was so well done!
My feelings on our dear narrator, one Piccadilly, lately of the sky town Prosperity, are sommat changed. In my initial reading of this I found him rather annoying, but he’s definitely grown on me. Maybe that’s from having read Liberty, maybe it’s from listening to the audiobook, I don’t really know. Though Byron Kae is still my favourite, with Milord not far behind.
This book is an absolute delight and I look forward to many more rereads.
_____
Oh, I so enjoyed this book! I may have been slightly pressured into purchasing/reading it, but I’m glad I was.
I haven’t read a lot of steampunk (in fact, I think I’ve read 3 steampunk novels prior to this), but this was great. I really loved all the main characters, especially Byron Kae, and also Milord, which I feel a bit weird about because he���s obviously supposed to be the grey-area character, and he’s pretty awful for most of the book, but I really liked him anyway? I honestly found Dil to be a bit obnoxious… I mean, I still liked him and all, he was just a bit obnoxious.
I’m not sure what this book is categorized as, but as AJH’s books are usually romance, maybe that? Though I would say it’s much more adventure with a splash of romance. Maybe not even romance, but adventure with several fairly detailed sex scenes? Whatever it is, it worked, I loved it. I’m looking forward to reading more Prosperity stories!
June 2, 2015
Oh. My. God. What a read!! Alexis Hall, I salute you (yet again), you are such a Wordsmith, you make me swoon...honest!! 5 paltry stars for a story of this magnitude is wholly inadequate, but all I can offer I'm afraid.
The skymining town of Prosperity in 1863. A rip-roaring, rollicking, and completely magical steampunk tale. There be lust and passion a plenty, drug addled kickass heroines with clairvoyant tendencies, extremely confused defrocked clergymen (Ruben, I ♥ you), Krakens, Sky Pirates, filthy villains (boo!! hiss!! Milord), a young guttersnipe called Piccadilly (think Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist) who is another of our story's heroes - ♥ you Dil, and an ethereal creature named Byron Kae, skycaptain of the aethership Shadowless. Just glorious, in fact I ♥♥ it so much, I've already pre-ordered the sequels from Riptide.
ARC kindly provided by Riptide via Netgalley.
The skymining town of Prosperity in 1863. A rip-roaring, rollicking, and completely magical steampunk tale. There be lust and passion a plenty, drug addled kickass heroines with clairvoyant tendencies, extremely confused defrocked clergymen (Ruben, I ♥ you), Krakens, Sky Pirates, filthy villains (boo!! hiss!! Milord), a young guttersnipe called Piccadilly (think Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist) who is another of our story's heroes - ♥ you Dil, and an ethereal creature named Byron Kae, skycaptain of the aethership Shadowless. Just glorious, in fact I ♥♥ it so much, I've already pre-ordered the sequels from Riptide.
ARC kindly provided by Riptide via Netgalley.
October 26, 2014
In which this reader gushes shamelessly about Prosperity - On impossible, awe-worthy talent of Hall, the wordsmith - Introduction to Piccadilly who bobbed my heart in suspicious game of cards - Fun and adventure ensue - The validity of moral compass is questioned due to swooning over scary fucker Milord - On different view of almighty and faith by very fine Ruben - All the doxy in the world for stoned Ms. Grey - Several acts of laughing out loud - Aetherotouched by captain - Additional note on everybody should fucking read this.
book-boner
June 21, 2014Considering how inexcusably whitewashed the M/M genre is (sadly erasure is alive and well even in fiction), I'm always looking out for books with lead PoC. On the other hand, there's always a bit of trepidation wondering if there's going to be some sort of exoticification/racefail happening. For the most part, I've been spared having to throw my Kindle against the wall. Besides, this is also Steampunk with a PoC hero. How often does THAT happen?
June 6, 2016
I’m going to gush here for a moment about this book because I just loved everything about it.
The adventure is breathtaking, the setting is amazing and the characters – Piccadilly (Dil), Ruben and Milord, described by Dil as “A fine bunch of dickheads we made, all wanting, and not getting, and not knowing how to get.”, the unstoppable Miss Grey and the most wonderful, kind and generous Byron Kae - they all stole pieces of my heart.
Ok, now the review:
The year is 1863 and everyone is headed for the lawless skytown Prosperity in search of fortune.
“Life up here was a slip-sliding business, never the same betwixt one day and the next, and nobody counting what was lost.”
So is our hero and narrator Dil – an 18 years old Gaslight guttersnipe. Once in Prosperity, Dil cheats a very dangerous man in a game of cards and this sets the beginning of a journey that changes Dil’s life.
“The best part of my whole fucking life sprung from the worst …”
Dil is very easy to love, he knows how to use his charms but it was his golden heart that won me. We learn from the start that he steals and cheats to survive, and yet he is this honest, giving, unselfish and ready to sacrifice himself person, someone who can find it in himself to understand even the man who tried to kill him. So I couldn’t be happier that the adventure on the aetherhip Shadowless not only didn’t bring Dil’s spirit down, but made him believe and hope that he can, one day, have what he wants.
“But I was starting to see you don’t always have to settle for pieces. That you can want the whole of the sky.”
I don’t want to give away what happens in the book but I’ll say I was holding my breath during most of it. And it was not only because of the dangers the characters were fighting but also because of the moments of vulnerability they experience through the story. Since they are all strong characters, each in their own way, these poignant moments were the most amazing parts of the book for me. It didn’t matter that Milord was a ruthless crime lord, that Miss Grey was an opium addict, I forgave Ruben that he couldn’t give Dil what Dil wanted – these moments made me care for all of them.
If I have to pick a favourite character, that would be Byron Kae - the genderqueer captain of Shadowless. Not a lot of page time is given to Byron Kae, but what they do for Dil, the priceless gift they give him that opens Dil’s heart for dreams of a better life was beyond special.
“I might’ve once been nowt but a filching cove, but Byron Kae had given me the sky before I even had sense enough to want it. ’Twas the most precious fucking gift any guttersnipe could wish for.”
Here is perhaps the best time to say that between the dangers (did I mention there are kraken attacks?) and the passions, the laughter and the tears, I thought Prosperity is in a way a book about the love of books and words. Not only because it’s written in a language that creates unique atmosphere, but because I felt that learning to read was one of the main things that changed how Dil saw his future.
I know that there’s a lot more to learn about all the characters and this will happen in the forthcoming collection of short stories in a couple of months, and Prosperity is really the beginning of the story but I loved the ending of the book. It gave me a feeling that what lies ahead for Dil, Bayron Kae, Ruben, Milord and Miss Grey will be good.
May 1, 2018
"Sometimes beauty is the hardest thing to bear."
well, i don't have anything to say except: "Christ. Jesus Christ. Jesus FUCKING Christ. CHRIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
and that's all the review you're going to be able to get out of me, i'm afraid.
but i'd also just like to say that i am FUCKING DYING RIGHT NOW because the sequel is currently unavailable because alexis hall has withdrawn all his titles from riptide and is in the process of republishing them all and i have no idea when it's going to be available and it's about ruben and milord and basically what i'm saying is MURDER ME
UPDATE i found it, turns out i was being a twat as usual and searching the wrong thing on amazon and alexis has all his titles back up (i think) so basically what i'm STILL saying is MURDER ME because i know the next book will MURDER ME but it's like, a good sort of murder.
can you tell i ramble a lot when i'm in emotional upheaval?
well, i don't have anything to say except: "Christ. Jesus Christ. Jesus FUCKING Christ. CHRIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
and that's all the review you're going to be able to get out of me, i'm afraid.
but i'd also just like to say that i am FUCKING DYING RIGHT NOW because the sequel is currently unavailable because alexis hall has withdrawn all his titles from riptide and is in the process of republishing them all and i have no idea when it's going to be available and it's about ruben and milord and basically what i'm saying is MURDER ME
UPDATE i found it, turns out i was being a twat as usual and searching the wrong thing on amazon and alexis has all his titles back up (i think) so basically what i'm STILL saying is MURDER ME because i know the next book will MURDER ME but it's like, a good sort of murder.
can you tell i ramble a lot when i'm in emotional upheaval?
October 27, 2014
I've composed four drafts of this review and three were all over 2,000 words. Since that's insane, I deleted them. That's a terrible lede, but stay with me. Let's just say that my adoration for Prosperity knows no bounds, but the difficulty I had with reviewing it wasn't a result of fangirl squees (though which would be totally appropriate here as I loved it that much). If you're looking for an unqualified recommendation though, this is it: the world-building is spectacular, the characters vividly drawn, the romantic arc singular and the emotional impact staggering. You should buy and read it immediately.
The main character and narrator, Picadilly (Dil for short) is a Dickensian sort of pseudohero, an imperfect, undereducated, brilliant, overconfident grifter of a fellow. Other characters include a handsome, talented, oblivious former man of the cloth named Ruben, an elegant professional thug referred to as Milord, a genderqueer skyship captain named Byron Kae, and an aethereal navigatrix named Miss Grey. The setting is pure "London Above"* steampunk Victoriana, filled with floating cities, skyships and krakens. This cast of characters interacts in various ways throughout their adventures to collect phlogiston (a process I imagined as similar to the lightning-gathering scenes in Neil Gaiman's Stardust), avoid fearsome krakens and sky pirates, and eventually attempt to save Prosperity itself.
Of course, that doesn't begin to till the emotional or thematic ground the novel covers. Generally speaking, the novel explores the problem of what happens when people whose values don't align fall in love. The crises in the book precipitate shifts in those values, but it doesn't explicitly reward the shifts in the way of traditional romance novel didacticism. There's a measure of redemption for all the characters who needed it, but for the two I liked best, it's like they were both given new shoes that are a few sizes too big still. There is more growth yet to come, I think.
Some day I may find voice and space to talk more about all of that, maybe at the end of the series. But for now, I'll just say that for romance readers, I'd call this ending an HFN and I'd expect some people to disagree with me. At the very least, those who insist on one happy ending per couple per book may be frustrated by Prosperity. But if you can look past that or you're willing to wait for the entire series first, I suspect all will be well.
It's not an easy book, but it's one of the best I've ever read, in or out of the romance genre. I'm very much looking forward to the rest of the series.
*A reference to Neil Gaiman's "London Below" in the novel/miniseries/radio play Neverwhere.
EDITED TO ADD: I received a copy of Prosperity from the publisher for review purposes.
The main character and narrator, Picadilly (Dil for short) is a Dickensian sort of pseudohero, an imperfect, undereducated, brilliant, overconfident grifter of a fellow. Other characters include a handsome, talented, oblivious former man of the cloth named Ruben, an elegant professional thug referred to as Milord, a genderqueer skyship captain named Byron Kae, and an aethereal navigatrix named Miss Grey. The setting is pure "London Above"* steampunk Victoriana, filled with floating cities, skyships and krakens. This cast of characters interacts in various ways throughout their adventures to collect phlogiston (a process I imagined as similar to the lightning-gathering scenes in Neil Gaiman's Stardust), avoid fearsome krakens and sky pirates, and eventually attempt to save Prosperity itself.
Of course, that doesn't begin to till the emotional or thematic ground the novel covers. Generally speaking, the novel explores the problem of what happens when people whose values don't align fall in love. The crises in the book precipitate shifts in those values, but it doesn't explicitly reward the shifts in the way of traditional romance novel didacticism. There's a measure of redemption for all the characters who needed it, but for the two I liked best, it's like they were both given new shoes that are a few sizes too big still. There is more growth yet to come, I think.
Some day I may find voice and space to talk more about all of that, maybe at the end of the series. But for now, I'll just say that for romance readers, I'd call this ending an HFN and I'd expect some people to disagree with me. At the very least, those who insist on one happy ending per couple per book may be frustrated by Prosperity. But if you can look past that or you're willing to wait for the entire series first, I suspect all will be well.
It's not an easy book, but it's one of the best I've ever read, in or out of the romance genre. I'm very much looking forward to the rest of the series.
*A reference to Neil Gaiman's "London Below" in the novel/miniseries/radio play Neverwhere.
EDITED TO ADD: I received a copy of Prosperity from the publisher for review purposes.
Read
January 31, 2015Having just written an incredibly sappy fangirling email to Alexis Hall (which may have included the sentence "You make me want to be a better writer", just to send all of the diabetics into a sugar coma), I'm stopping in here at GR just to say: HOLY CRAP, THIS BOOK IS BRILLIANT.
I know there are people who are put off by, or have hesitated to start this book, because it's written in cant. No one book will work for everyone & that's okay! But if you have been hesitating despite generally desiring to read books by Alexis, I highly encourage you to give it a go. My delight in the wordplay in Prosperity knows no bounds, but it is the characters who will stay with me forever. It's the moral complexity and the heartbreak and the beauty that will bring me back to this universe again and again.
Also, I found my own adoration of Wilkie Collins matched in Picadilly's, so now I love him extra hard. :)
"When we was done with Oliver Twist--which I thought started pretty promising but ended with a real disappointment--they found me sommat by this cove Wilkie Collins who should give Mr. Dickens some lessons in writing a good story, cos we're reading a serialized thing called The Woman in White, and it's fucking awesome. For serious."
I love how this books ends. It makes me happy. (I don't know if this quote is really a spoiler, but better safe than sorry.)
Indeed, it is enough.
I know there are people who are put off by, or have hesitated to start this book, because it's written in cant. No one book will work for everyone & that's okay! But if you have been hesitating despite generally desiring to read books by Alexis, I highly encourage you to give it a go. My delight in the wordplay in Prosperity knows no bounds, but it is the characters who will stay with me forever. It's the moral complexity and the heartbreak and the beauty that will bring me back to this universe again and again.
Also, I found my own adoration of Wilkie Collins matched in Picadilly's, so now I love him extra hard. :)
"When we was done with Oliver Twist--which I thought started pretty promising but ended with a real disappointment--they found me sommat by this cove Wilkie Collins who should give Mr. Dickens some lessons in writing a good story, cos we're reading a serialized thing called The Woman in White, and it's fucking awesome. For serious."
I love how this books ends. It makes me happy. (I don't know if this quote is really a spoiler, but better safe than sorry.)
Indeed, it is enough.
November 12, 2014
4.5 love-is-the-air stars!
What a unique read this was!
Review to come soon
It is a unique book, like nothing I have read before and I loved so much that it's really difficult for me to write a proper review. I'll start by trying to define its genre/style - for me it's a steampunk, adventure, m/m romance, coming of age, fantasy love story. Mr Hall spins a complex, whimsical, profound and most of all beautiful tale of the life and sorrows and loves of one Piccadilly.
This is my first book by this author and I was drawn to it by the steampunk in the blurb and the krakens (I recently read Meljean Brooks’ The Kraken King and I absolutely loved it). The stories don't have much in common, though. Even the krakens are different, yet in the end I loved Prosperity very much as well.
I wasn’t sure what to expect initially and at the beginning it took me some time to get used to the writing style and language used. I was drawn into the story right from the start, a sort of memoirs of the hero, told by him in a curious mixture of street slang, made-up words and high-brow literary style.
The message of the strength of love coming in all shapes and forms was a strong one throughout all the misfortunes and the rare happy times for Piccadilly. There is a lot of humour along with the philosophical messages. The characters are all unique and you get invested in them despite or rather, because of their flaws and failings. They all seem the have hidden inside them hearts of gold, even the ruthless Milord.
It was fantastical, beautifully written journey that I couldn't put down till the very end. I'm more than happy that there will be more stories about this characters in a series of novellas set in this semi-mythical, semi-realistic universe of rainbows, aethermancy and sky cities.
It's a recommended read for anyone who is looking for something different than traditional romance. Now, I'm going back to read Mr. Hall contemporary M/M romance, Glitterland, which my GR friends have rated very highly.
There a campaign going on this October - QueerRomanceMonth - where authors and fans share their thoughts on the queer romance. I strongly recommend checking it out if you are a fan or just curious about this topic.
What a unique read this was!
Review to come soon
It is a unique book, like nothing I have read before and I loved so much that it's really difficult for me to write a proper review. I'll start by trying to define its genre/style - for me it's a steampunk, adventure, m/m romance, coming of age, fantasy love story. Mr Hall spins a complex, whimsical, profound and most of all beautiful tale of the life and sorrows and loves of one Piccadilly.
This is my first book by this author and I was drawn to it by the steampunk in the blurb and the krakens (I recently read Meljean Brooks’ The Kraken King and I absolutely loved it). The stories don't have much in common, though. Even the krakens are different, yet in the end I loved Prosperity very much as well.
I wasn’t sure what to expect initially and at the beginning it took me some time to get used to the writing style and language used. I was drawn into the story right from the start, a sort of memoirs of the hero, told by him in a curious mixture of street slang, made-up words and high-brow literary style.
The message of the strength of love coming in all shapes and forms was a strong one throughout all the misfortunes and the rare happy times for Piccadilly. There is a lot of humour along with the philosophical messages. The characters are all unique and you get invested in them despite or rather, because of their flaws and failings. They all seem the have hidden inside them hearts of gold, even the ruthless Milord.
It was fantastical, beautifully written journey that I couldn't put down till the very end. I'm more than happy that there will be more stories about this characters in a series of novellas set in this semi-mythical, semi-realistic universe of rainbows, aethermancy and sky cities.
It's a recommended read for anyone who is looking for something different than traditional romance. Now, I'm going back to read Mr. Hall contemporary M/M romance, Glitterland, which my GR friends have rated very highly.
There a campaign going on this October - QueerRomanceMonth - where authors and fans share their thoughts on the queer romance. I strongly recommend checking it out if you are a fan or just curious about this topic.
November 16, 2014
This book! I am not capable of writing something that will do it justice. If someone had told me what happens, I would have tried to skip it. There is a trope I hate, but the author manages to make even that great. That would have been my loss. I am so glad nobody did.
There is no actual central story in the sense 'you start at A and move through obstacles to B', but after you finish reading you get this sense of fullness as if someone told you the most beautiful adventure you'll ever hear.
The whole point of Prosperity seems to be the introduction of one of the most interesting and colourful casts I've ever read. Favourite character, you say? ANY that is in the scene you are reading at that moment. It is that kind of story. There are no boring moments! There are no slow moments! And there are krakens! What more do you need?
Picadilly's voice is funny, beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. Not once does he sound pathetic. He is one of the best narrators I've come across. He manages to tell a story where he is also involved and he does it without making us feel horrible. He makes you laugh, he makes you cry, sometimes even both.
Imagine a story told in the first person where a loveable narrator hates a character and you end up loving that same character (maybe there is something wrong with me when, if pressed, I would choose the worst of them all). I can't even begin to explain just how much I loved this book.
As for the language used, I loved it. Yes, it takes a couple of pages (no more) to get used to Picadilly's language, but it is so worth it. It is not the case 'read it and you will be rewarded in the end'. It is just a couple of pages. Most of the words readers have trouble with are there, so please treat yourself and read on.
All I can say, I loved the way it is written and no, I don't think Picadilly would be Picadilly if he didn't talk like this. The author should have done exactly what he did. I am grateful he didn't pamper us.
Well, enough with my rambling. Read this romantic, humorous, at times lovecraftian, steampunk story.
There is no actual central story in the sense 'you start at A and move through obstacles to B', but after you finish reading you get this sense of fullness as if someone told you the most beautiful adventure you'll ever hear.
The whole point of Prosperity seems to be the introduction of one of the most interesting and colourful casts I've ever read. Favourite character, you say? ANY that is in the scene you are reading at that moment. It is that kind of story. There are no boring moments! There are no slow moments! And there are krakens! What more do you need?
Picadilly's voice is funny, beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. Not once does he sound pathetic. He is one of the best narrators I've come across. He manages to tell a story where he is also involved and he does it without making us feel horrible. He makes you laugh, he makes you cry, sometimes even both.
Imagine a story told in the first person where a loveable narrator hates a character and you end up loving that same character (maybe there is something wrong with me when, if pressed, I would choose the worst of them all). I can't even begin to explain just how much I loved this book.
As for the language used, I loved it. Yes, it takes a couple of pages (no more) to get used to Picadilly's language, but it is so worth it. It is not the case 'read it and you will be rewarded in the end'. It is just a couple of pages. Most of the words readers have trouble with are there, so please treat yourself and read on.
All I can say, I loved the way it is written and no, I don't think Picadilly would be Picadilly if he didn't talk like this. The author should have done exactly what he did. I am grateful he didn't pamper us.
Well, enough with my rambling. Read this romantic, humorous, at times lovecraftian, steampunk story.
May 20, 2015
It's only taken seven months for me to finally accept that NO, I just can't continue...
There has been endless commentary on AH's choice of style and narration, which has prompted rather extreme responses from the majority of our dear GR folk, either proclaiming their adoration and love for his brave and clever prose, or backing out of this incomprehensible read.
I'd love to limit myself to focusing on the content, as opposed to any linguistic frills but if the style is so integral to 'Prosperity' it's impossible to keep separate. Plus, it is so entirely self indulgent it has me screaming blue murder every other page - I need a fucking outlet. Ja feel?
Firstly, and I admit it's rather tongue in cheek.. this entire narration was, for me, presented in the voice of our dear Dick Van Dyke, or more precisely Bert from Mary Poppins. I'm well aware of how ridiculous this sounds but my brain was clearly making not-so-subconscious links. Bless our Bert's soul as he tries his absolute hardest to pull off something that he also fails, rather miserably, to do. This, I have to admit, sits rather aptly in the sphere of Prosperity, where AH attempts to impress those pseudo intellectuals with his hybrid, overstated dialect. It's not just the fact that the mix of new, olde and nonsensical words sound farcical, it's the fact that that they detract from the plot.... Hmmm. Maybe that's the point.
So, once I'd accepted that the style was unrealistic and most annoying, even for a steam punk novel, I decided to strip it of all the irritating shite and concentrate on what the story was about.
I failed.
I winced through, God, I even understood it all but it just tried so FUCKING hard that I DNF'd not even a quarter of the way through.
I LOVED Glitterland. I did not love this silly thing.
There has been endless commentary on AH's choice of style and narration, which has prompted rather extreme responses from the majority of our dear GR folk, either proclaiming their adoration and love for his brave and clever prose, or backing out of this incomprehensible read.
I'd love to limit myself to focusing on the content, as opposed to any linguistic frills but if the style is so integral to 'Prosperity' it's impossible to keep separate. Plus, it is so entirely self indulgent it has me screaming blue murder every other page - I need a fucking outlet. Ja feel?
Firstly, and I admit it's rather tongue in cheek.. this entire narration was, for me, presented in the voice of our dear Dick Van Dyke, or more precisely Bert from Mary Poppins. I'm well aware of how ridiculous this sounds but my brain was clearly making not-so-subconscious links. Bless our Bert's soul as he tries his absolute hardest to pull off something that he also fails, rather miserably, to do. This, I have to admit, sits rather aptly in the sphere of Prosperity, where AH attempts to impress those pseudo intellectuals with his hybrid, overstated dialect. It's not just the fact that the mix of new, olde and nonsensical words sound farcical, it's the fact that that they detract from the plot.... Hmmm. Maybe that's the point.
So, once I'd accepted that the style was unrealistic and most annoying, even for a steam punk novel, I decided to strip it of all the irritating shite and concentrate on what the story was about.
I failed.
I winced through, God, I even understood it all but it just tried so FUCKING hard that I DNF'd not even a quarter of the way through.
I LOVED Glitterland. I did not love this silly thing.
December 7, 2014
One of the best books of the year
A kind of a review, with a nice song here https://averybritishbookblog.wordpres...
A kind of a review, with a nice song here https://averybritishbookblog.wordpres...
Want to read
August 23, 2014Is it October yet?
October 24, 2022
Sometimes you have to wait until the time is right to read a book, even if you're pretty sure you're going to enjoy it. That's what I did here, and despite being a little bemused, now, as to *why* I waited so long to read this book, I did indeed come to it at just the right time -- and I did indeed enjoy it an awful lot.
Prosperity recounts the adventures of Piccadilly, a guttersnipe doing his best to live his best life, and what happens after he cheats the wrong person at cards. Since it's Piccadilly telling us his story, it's written in his thieves' cant, which like any dialect is consistent and easy to follow if you pay attention. Piccadilly is easy to root for, as are nearly all of the characters he encounters through the book, and the situations he finds himself in range from comic to poignant to downright horrifying. There are scenes in this book that I already know I'll remember for a very long time.
As I said, I found this book highly enjoyable, and I look forward to reading its companion stories.
Prosperity recounts the adventures of Piccadilly, a guttersnipe doing his best to live his best life, and what happens after he cheats the wrong person at cards. Since it's Piccadilly telling us his story, it's written in his thieves' cant, which like any dialect is consistent and easy to follow if you pay attention. Piccadilly is easy to root for, as are nearly all of the characters he encounters through the book, and the situations he finds himself in range from comic to poignant to downright horrifying. There are scenes in this book that I already know I'll remember for a very long time.
As I said, I found this book highly enjoyable, and I look forward to reading its companion stories.
October 31, 2014
Absolutely loved it. I can't say anything else but that I loved it. Loved the characters. The poetic way it's written. Words that in some places I felt them as a song lyric, rolling around in my mind, giving me the groove by which to read by. Loved pretty much everything.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 236 reviews