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Something Strange and Deadly

(Something Strange and Deadly #1)

Susan Dennard (Goodreads Author)

3.74 · Rating details · 13,393 ratings · 1,700 reviews

There's something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia. . . .

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about.

Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she's just read in the newspaper:

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a fr ...more

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Hardcover, 388 pages

Published July 24th 2012 by Harper Teen

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2012 Debut Authors (Young Adult & Middle Grade)

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Feb 03, 2014 Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies rated it it was ok

Shelves: ya, steampunk, romance, siblings, paranormal, zombies-undead, boring-main-character, tstl

She rubbed the bald half of her head. “In China we say, ‘The girl with the full hair is not as free as the girl with the bare head.’"

“It means that as long as I still shave my hair, I’m free. See, in China, girls keep their heads bald like the boys, yeah? Then when we’re the age to become a woman, we bind our feet and grow out our hair.

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK? THIS. IS. NOT. TRUE!!!!!!

If I had to choose one word to describe this book, it would be unconvincing. If you want terrifying zombie acti ...more

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Dec 13, 2010 Sarah Maas rated it it was amazing

SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY is fabulous, imaginative, and romantic! Eleanor is such a fantastic and strong heroine, and the world-building is top-notch. I absolutely adored it and can't wait for the sequel!! ...more

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Apr 01, 2012 B rated it it was amazing

Recommended to B by: Amanda The Book Slayer

Shelves: netgalley-edelweiss-arc, 2012-reads, i-totally-saw-that-coming, exceeded-my-expectations, didn-t-see-that-coming, judge-a-book-by-the-cover, hand-me-some-tissues, gimme-the-next-book, highly-anticipating-2012, deserves-the-hype

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Holy crap this was awesome. I don’t even want to write a review; I just want to bask in the awesomeness that is Something Strange and Deadly. (But you know, I kind of have to write a review, so here goes it.)

Eleanor Fitt is a sixteen-year-old living with her mother in Philadelphia, in the dawn of attacks from the walking Dead brought upon Philadelphia by a mysterious and unknown necromancer. To make matters worse, Eleanor receives letters from her long-lost brother, Elijah, and ...more

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Nov 09, 2011 Giselle rated it liked it

Shelves: arc, own

EDIT 07/20/12: Did anyone else not notice the gears behind the girl on the cover? Because I hadn't until just now O_O Awesome!

__

When I went into this, I was expecting a zombie book in a steampunk setting with some mystery elements. What I actually got was a paranormal fantasy with a cute romance, a fun mystery, but not nearly enough zombies for my tastes. I still enjoyed it for the most part, it was simply different than what I was expecting.

Zombies are how we get introduced to this world Susan EDIT 07/20/12: Did anyone else not notice the gears behind the girl on the cover? Because I hadn't until just now O_O Awesome!

__

When I went into this, I was expecting a zombie book in a steampunk setting with some mystery elements. What I actually got was a paranormal fantasy with a cute romance, a fun mystery, but not nearly enough zombies for my tastes. I still enjoyed it for the most part, it was simply different than what I was expecting.

Zombies are how we get introduced to this world Susan has created. A memorable start during a zombie attack, to which begins the mysterious plot of the book: what has happened to Eleanor's brother, and who is controlling these undead. These aren't your diseased, all consuming brain eating zombies; in Something Strange and Deadly, the zombies are literally plucked from their graves, and controlled by a necromancer. This was easily my favorite part of the story, but as I stated, these undead are merely on the back burner, making very few appearances, while Eleanor works with the spirit-hunters to find her brother and expel the evil spirit on her trail.

Creativity is definitely at work in this story. The steampunk world, the language, the attire - it all stems from an incredible imagination. I could easily picture everything vividly, and in no way did I feel overwhelmed by the detailing or contraptions that can sometimes happen in a steampunk setting. The plot itself is full of intrigue and even tough it's not necessarily action-packed, I was made to care about the characters to such degree that I constantly wanted to know what was in store for them next. I was also kept engaged by the myriad of mysteries woven into this novel. Some of it is predictable, but for the most part I was in the dark until the very end.

Eleanor is an easy to connect with character. I particularly loved her feistiness throughout, especially when dealing with the stubborn spirit-hunters. The romance, though not a huge part of the story, is played in nice and sweet giving us enough to quench our thirst, but making us positively longing for more. I found this much more refreshing than an instant connection. It's believable and gives us time to get to know them independently before being thrown lustfully together.

A highly creative, well written paranormal fantasy novel, I would recommend Something Strange and Deadly to all fans of the steampunk genre. Don't anticipate a true zombie book like I did, and I'm certain you will be quickly absorbed in this Victorian world full of secrets and lies.

--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

...more

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Jul 14, 2012 Kat Kennedy rated it really liked it

Shelves: kat-s-book-reviews, ya-pnr-maddness, steampunk-supreme, to-ya-or-not-to-ya, books-i-want-for-christmas

Something Strange and deadly had a really rough start with me. There is a divide between the writing of the first chapter and the rest of the novel. The first chapter gave me the false impression that this book was flimsy, badly written and suffering from stagnant characters and plot.

However, this quickly faded away as Dennard hit her stride – introducing fresh, interesting characters, and intriguing plotline.

Dennard creates an interesting and fresh mythology in Somethi ...more

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Nov 20, 2011 Maja (The Nocturnal Library) rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, arc-2012, edelweiss, are-you-kidding-me, debut-author, i-see-dead-people, incredibly-stupid-choices, zombies-zombies-everywhere, young-adult, reviewed-in-2012

Ever since her father passed away, Eleanor Fitt’s life hasn’t been the same. Her brother Elijah is away in college, the money is seriously lacking, and her mother is obsessed with regaining their place in society. When her brother fails to arrive home for the second time and a walking corpse brings his vague note instead, Eleanor becomes convinced that Elijah is a victim of some necromancer and starts moving heaven and earth to find him. With no one else to turn to, she goes to the Shadow Hunter Ever since her father passed away, Eleanor Fitt’s life hasn’t been the same. Her brother Elijah is away in college, the money is seriously lacking, and her mother is obsessed with regaining their place in society. When her brother fails to arrive home for the second time and a walking corpse brings his vague note instead, Eleanor becomes convinced that Elijah is a victim of some necromancer and starts moving heaven and earth to find him. With no one else to turn to, she goes to the Shadow Hunters, a pretty odd group of people who travel from town to town, fighting the spirits and the undead.

Something Strange and Deadly is a lovely, well-written and fast-paced adventure, but the worldbuidling leaves a lot to be desired. There is no background, there is no context, you get thrown into a sink-or-swim situation and you must either take it in stride or give up entirely. Two different types of dead are walking: the slow ones and the fast, hungry ones; there are evil and powerful spirits about; the Shadow Hunters, employed by the city, have a way of fighting the undead; Eleanor is in the middle of it all right from the start, and yet, we are given no explanation whatsoever. Why is it normal, almost accepted, for the slow corpses to walk, but not the fast ones? Why are séances the most popular entertainment of high society? Who raises both types of the dead?

The pacing was so fast, it reminded me of a rollercoaster ride at times. I never really got a chance to catch my breath. This worked doubly to Dennard’s advantage: for one, the story was so easy to get into, and besides, even when I knew I should be irritated by one of Miss Fitt’s especially rash conclusions, I just didn’t have time to think about it too hard.
To give credit where credit is due, though, Dennard did surprise me a couple of times and that doesn’t happen often these days. Her story had quite a few unexpected twists and turns and was rather original in some ways.

Oddly enough, romance was my favorite part, and I’m usually not a romance-is-my-favorite-part kind of girl. It was entertaining and subtle, not relevant to the story and certainly not in the spotlight. I liked Daniel a lot, he brought so much humor into every scene and his constant teasing of Eleanor, even in most dire of situations, made me laugh out loud several times. Her bristling and reluctant respect were also quite amusing.
He was grinning wide. The rascal was teasing me! And before I could summon a worthy retort, he whistled brightly and sauntered ahead of me.
Blazes, he was cocky. And entirely too dashing for his own good – or for my own good, rather.
I think the word rascal describes Daniel pretty well.

Do I think this book has something new to offer, despite the faulty worldbuilding? Yes! Will I be reading the sequel? Yes, yes, yes. Susan Dennard knows how to keep her readers interested without resorting to a vicious cliffhanger that would make them feel cheated. I just wish she would write a bit faster.

Also posted at The Nocturnal Library ...more

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Jan 03, 2015 Grace (LovingDemBooks) Z. rated it liked it

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3 of 5 stars (Please read my rating system further below). I began to realize that Something Strange and Deadly was probably the book that made me realize that I really really really REALLY like steam punk. I'd always loved movies and TV that was steam punk, so I guess it makes sense that I would love steam punk novels. I loved Eleanor. She was so funny and stubborn to the point where the way she ...more

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May 14, 2012 Bonnie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, steampunk, arcs, zombies-like-brains, series-graveyard

2.5 stars

I'm a huge fan of world building. To me, it's vital that you set the scene with a proper introduction in order to hook the reader from the very first page. Unfortunately, you don't get a lot of that with 'Something Strange and Deadly' initially so it took me a while to get into it. The opening scene dives right into the action where Eleanor is picking up her brother from the train station not realizing that the walking dead is everywhere. The zombies are explained a bit further later in 2.5 stars

I'm a huge fan of world building. To me, it's vital that you set the scene with a proper introduction in order to hook the reader from the very first page. Unfortunately, you don't get a lot of that with 'Something Strange and Deadly' initially so it took me a while to get into it. The opening scene dives right into the action where Eleanor is picking up her brother from the train station not realizing that the walking dead is everywhere. The zombies are explained a bit further later in the book but using this as the opening scene didn't work in my opinion, especially since it continued to be fast paced and ceased to slow down any time soon.

The 'zombies' really played a small part in the story, much less of a part than I had expected. Plus they weren't truly zombies, they were dead bodies which were being controlled by a necromancer which is completely different. The magic and the steampunk and the explanation was explained fairly well; however, I found it to be too over the top.

This book was chalk full of characters that appeared to be quite shallow and essentially difficult to like. I had difficulty liking Eleanor at first (I kind of came around to liking her by the end though) and I immediately disliked Clarence because, really... Clarence? Besides his name, he was quite pompous and clearly thought he was better than anyone and everyone. Hard type of person to like, even if you want to feel bad for him because his name is Clarence. And then there was the immediate familiarity between Eleanor and Clarence. At the seance that her mother was hosting at the very beginning of the story, Clarence and Eleanor had never met yet after a single conversation not only is Clarence bossing her around but Eleanor is as well, expecting him to explain himself.

"I would greatly appreciate it if you would keep our conversation in the hall to yourself."
"Of course," I said primly. "Thought I want some explanation of your behavior."
"How about a bouquet or roses instead? Or a new hat?"

The book lacked a whole lot in the explanation area too. It did more of the 'simple state' rather than talk about something and show with supporting evidence. Considering this is a steampunk story and explanation can be difficult I'd give it a pass; however, I've read some well written steampunk stories so I do know that it's possible to pull off. Here are just a few circumstances that I had issues with:

"Can you stop a spirit like that?"
"Yes, in the same way I stop the walking Dead. I magnify an electric spark and break apart the soul."
Is that supposed to be a sufficient explanation?

"Your letter was covered in spiritual energy."
How exactly is that possible? It's KIND OF explained later that these particular goggles that can see said spiritual energy operate on magnetic energy, fluid with magnetic powder, and are calibrated with grave dirt... I don't know. You lost me completely. Steampunk and I do not get along.

Bottom line I can see the appeal but I don't think this was the book for me. ...more

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Oct 12, 2018 Lauren Stoolfire rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: zombies, romance, young-adult, steampunk, urban-fantasy, mystery, horror

I had Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard on my tbr for way too long, but I'm glad I decided to finally pick it up for the FraterFest Read-A-Thon. I mean, this steampunk and zombies story is perfect for this time of year. I'm really looking forward to book two, A Darkness Strange and Lovely. I expect you'd enjoy this if you also like The infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare, The Diviners by Libba Bray, and Lady Helen by Alison Goodman. ...more

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Jun 17, 2013 C.G. Drews rated it really liked it

Shelves: steampunk, read-2013, zombies, young-adult

Gosh, how do I even sum up this book?! It’s deceivingly creepy. I mean, it sounds like a freaky book, right? At 26%, I was like, “Pity this isn’t scary…” Then BOOM. I spoke too soon. Don’t be fooled by the apparent light, flippy tone. It’s dark and scary. And it has zombies. Zombies and necromancers and dynamite and googles. Terrific, right? Oh, yes.

The cover made me think “paranormal”, but it’s not. It’s a combination of zombies and steampunk. Set in an alternate universe (early 20th century), Gosh, how do I even sum up this book?! It’s deceivingly creepy. I mean, it sounds like a freaky book, right? At 26%, I was like, “Pity this isn’t scary…” Then BOOM. I spoke too soon. Don’t be fooled by the apparent light, flippy tone. It’s dark and scary. And it has zombies. Zombies and necromancers and dynamite and googles. Terrific, right? Oh, yes.

The cover made me think “paranormal”, but it’s not. It’s a combination of zombies and steampunk. Set in an alternate universe (early 20th century), it has gears and inventions (and googles, loooove the googles). Throw some chomping Dead in there, and you have a seriously cool novel. Who’d have thought? Steampunk zombies?

It’s very well written. The style is prim and proper, befitting, of course, the date. It’s all corsets and parasols, which is marvelous to read. I loved the tone! It did, unfortunately, have a few mistakes – moments where it slipped out of character (I think they used “no way”, which isn’t very 20th century…but I could be remembering incorrectly). But the writing? Top marks. It’s very to-the-point and not wordy.

Characters? Ah. The characters. They were all well written! 16-year-old Eleanor Fitt narrated. Yup, another 16-year-old, but you know what? She wasn’t kick-butt. I mean, she was, but in a different way. You try saving the world from zombies when you’re in a corset. That deserves a whole new level of kick-butt-ness (that’s totally a word). She had spunk and definite voice, which I loved, but it wasn’t until the end that I really liked her. She was stiff and all victim-of-circumstances at the beginning.

Daniel? The loooove interest? Okay, well, I doubt you can call him a love interest. He’s a lot older then Eleanor, and has a dirty history (awesome, right?). I loved his voice. Cockney accent? CHECK. Attitude? CHECK. Inventor? CHECK. What is not to love? What I particularly approved of, was how he didn’t take Eleanor (or his feelings) for granted. He wasn’t macho, but he wasn’t sensitive. He was real. And had a cockney accent (did I mention that?).

I admit, I saw the plot twist coming. It wasn’t the most obvious direction, but I still figured it out (aw, someone give me a sticker). I loved what the author did with the plot though. Twists came thick and fast at the end. Nicely mixed though. I didn’t end up breathless with intense need-to-finish-ASAP. It took me a while to get around to finishing, but I still liked it.

I honestly have no negativity for this book. Why the 4-star, then? I’m not even sure! I think it’s purely because I didn’t connect with the book like I’ve connected with some of my all-time-favourites. Otherwise, this is an awesome book. Also, I love the cover. GAAAH, gosh, the cover. Love.

Be careful while you read SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY. You’ll get all cozy and relax into the rich setting…and then BOOM. Zombies will eat you. And whatever’s left? The necromancer will get.

BE SCARED.
...more

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Nov 20, 2011 ♥Rachel♥ rated it really liked it

3.5 Stars

Sixteen year-old Eleanor Fitt lives in a time of corsets and petticoats. A time where a lady's behavior is governed by strict rules of decorum. A time when Eleanor's mother is dead set on her finding and marrying a rich man to rescue their family from impeding financial ruin. But this is also a time of the Dead. The Dead are reanimated corpses plaguing the city, and Eleanor is afraid her brother, Elijah, has been captured by the one commanding them, the necromancer. The day Elijah is su 3.5 Stars

Sixteen year-old Eleanor Fitt lives in a time of corsets and petticoats. A time where a lady's behavior is governed by strict rules of decorum. A time when Eleanor's mother is dead set on her finding and marrying a rich man to rescue their family from impeding financial ruin. But this is also a time of the Dead. The Dead are reanimated corpses plaguing the city, and Eleanor is afraid her brother, Elijah, has been captured by the one commanding them, the necromancer. The day Elijah is supposed to return home to Eleanor and her mother, a letter is delivered to her by one the Dead. Elijah explains that as long as he helps a mysterious "him," he should be able to come home. This is very little to go on so Eleanor seeks the help of the Spirit-Hunters. They're group hired by the city to control and get rid of the corpses that walk and terrorize the living. Soon Eleanor is tied up with this small band, looking for and stopping the necromancer, the one she fears is holding her brother. Instead of putting all her efforts into securing the most eligible bachelor, Clarence Wilcox, she's running all over the city uncovering clues and helping devise plots to destroy the necromancer. Whether she's interested or not, however, Clarence seems to be connected to recent murders, and Eleanor has no choice but to get close to him, to find out what secrets he hides.

This story was full of sass, action and gore. Sass on the part of spunky heroine Eleanor and Daniel, one of the brilliant but flippant Spirit-Hunters. Their interactions reminded me of Han Solo and Princess Leia, especially when Daniel would call Eleanor "Empress." I cracked up at this:

*He wagged a warning finger. "Don't think I'll look after you, though--the world would be better off with one less princess." "I'm not a princess," I huffed, beating my brain for some worthy retort.
"A queen then?"
"No! That's not what I meant--"
"Oh, an empress. I see. Pardon me, Your Majesty." He swooped into a crouched bow, and when his torso sprang back up, a smile floated at the edge of his lips.

I liked Eleanor's pluck and courage, and connected with her character right away. However, I had a hard time feeling Eleanor's distress at her missing brother, Elijah. Their relationship is touched on so briefly and superficially that I had a hard time caring that he was missing or in danger. While I had fun overall reading this, I must say that this story sort of dragged for me until I reached the half-way point. It wasn't until then, that the story exploded into non-stop action, and my heart was pounding as I read the pages. Also, at this point the romance finally started to come together, and turned out to be very sweet. However, the ending sort of made my mouth drop, and I hope we have some further development in this area in the next book. So while it took a bit to really get going, I thought it was very promising start to this series. I'll definitely pick up the sequel.

*Quote taken from uncorrected proof and may differ from the final copy.

Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Teen for allowing me to read this.

You can find this review and more at The Readers Den.
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Aug 14, 2012 Wendy Higgins added it

Historical fiction + Zombies = WIN

I love when an author has done their historical research and captures all the nuances of a gone era. I also love when a storyline completely takes me by surprise with a cool twist.

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Feb 22, 2012 Jenelle rated it did not like it

Shelves: ya, possibly-gaggy, embarrassed-to-admit-i-ve-read, wont-finish-series, zombies, in-the-past, ghosts-and-spirits, laughably-bad, read-in-2012, some-swearing

I'm completely undone: my nerves are twitching, my pulse is racing, and my fingers are trembling as I type....

Have I entered the Twilight Zone? Am I on Candid Camera? Maybe the Earth's polarity has been reversed? Because right now I cannot even fathom how this book has gotten such good ratings so far, when in fact it is

AWFUL.

I wish I could make that word ten times bigger just to emphasize how utterly craptacular this book is. So, so, so, soooooooo laughably ridiculous and cringe-inducing and pos ...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Anne rated it liked it

Shelves: steampunk, young-adult, read-in-2012, braaaaaains-zombies

Hmmm. From the tile and cover, I thought this was going to be a much darker story. I also thought the zombies would be a little scarier. See, in this story, the zombies are controlled by a necromancer, and you don't get infected or anything when they bite you. You just lose a hunk of skin, which admittedly, does not sound appealing, but...
(view spoiler) ...more

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Jan 05, 2012 Soumi rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc-e-galley, books-i-reviewed, young-adult, steampunk, zombies

“Even the greatest feats of man lose their luster when one's head is filled with storm clouds.”

I was always in love with steampunk novel, the corsets, the parasols, the automations; everything is so luxurious and mysterious in equal measure. And undead corpses in steampunk novel earned extra credits. The story begins at 1876 Philadelphia, where a necromancer is raising the deads from grave and killing members of the most respectful families. Elenor Fitt has plenty to worry about her brother, who “Even the greatest feats of man lose their luster when one's head is filled with storm clouds.”

I was always in love with steampunk novel, the corsets, the parasols, the automations; everything is so luxurious and mysterious in equal measure. And undead corpses in steampunk novel earned extra credits. The story begins at 1876 Philadelphia, where a necromancer is raising the deads from grave and killing members of the most respectful families. Elenor Fitt has plenty to worry about her brother, who has been held captive by the same necromancer, and her family is going through economical crisis. He mother wants to marry her off to any rich gentleman and all she wants to find out the truth of her missing brother. As the spirit hunters came to protect the town from the undead problems and Elenor has no choice but including their help.

description

The story was unique and amazing, gripping right from the start. The book was very creative work of author Susan Dennard. She didn’t go for details describing the whole 1876’s steampunk Philadelphia, she mainly inclined to the storyline which made the book fast paced and much more exciting. I also adore her writing style which doesn’t contain tough vocabularies as other steampunk novels yet very sophisticated writing, making the book easy and stylish read for anyone.

The heroine Elenor is just sixteen years old teenage girl struggling with problems of her own. She is mature than her age, naïve yet very deterministic girl. Her curiosities in order to find her brother lead her to make choices and overstep the social boundaries but she never gave up, even when she was aware of the consequences coming with it. She is the one who actually cares for her family’s welfare unlike her mother who is completely sallow and snob Victorian women knew nothing but how to maintain reputation.

There is Daniel, absolutely arrogant and alluring, I love every particular moment he appeared into the story. His presence is dark with his own secrets of past and light with his cocky attitude. Not only has an excellent fighter, Daniel invented scientific gadgets that help them fighting the undeads. He feels for Elenor, often calls her Empress, he is not afraid to fight with zombie, he is afraid of showing his feelings for Elenor. They conflict and pain in love touched me very deeply and the ending literally broke my heart.
The book has many fascinating character, like Jei, the Chinese spirit hunter girl in disguise of a boy, and later proven to be very loyal friend of Elenor, Clarence, a mysterious and charming guilt ridden young gentleman, who like Elenor and cares for her.

The book is not actually some gruesome zombie novel like we have seen in recent years, full of violence and blood. It’s rather different one where the story circled around undead but not entirely focusing on them. It has black magic, and necromancy, romance with lot of emotions and actions. Something Strange and Deadly is a fine and elegant debut of author Susan Dennard, and successful of capturing many reader’s
interest.

The beautiful fan art of Something Strange and Deadly is done by lovely Nati at deviantart.com. Visit her more awesome work http://nati.deviantart.com/ ...more

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Dec 13, 2011 Melissa rated it it was amazing

Oh. My. God. IN LOVE! This book takes the walking dead to a whole new level! This whole book keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what Eleanor is going to do next!

Eleanor is so amazing. I kind of feel bad because her mother is horrible, she doesn't know where her brother but knows somehow is with the dead. Throughout this book Eleanor takes risks she doesn't even know she is taking and she is brave, stubborn and doesn't really care what people think about her. She is scared she is ...more

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Sep 25, 2011 shady boots rated it it was amazing

Shelves: heroes-i-adore, fluffy, oh-my-god-marry-me, 2012-faves, heroines-i-adore, covergasm, all-time-faves, read-more-than-once

I read an ARC of this two years ago and fell madly in love. This second time around, the same thing happened. This book is an absolute joy, and I can't wait to further indulge myself in this series! ...more

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Dec 29, 2019 Mary ♥ rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fantasy

4/5 stars

Miss Fitt, you know curiosity gets men killed."
I grinned. "Then I daresay it's good I'm a woman.

Something to listen to while reading this ♥

I read Something Strange and Deadly for a buddy read with a book club, and it was my pick for the month, which is why I was very happy to see it included. You all know by now how much I enjoy a good steampunk or historical fantasy read with a strong main character and a diverse cast. To be fair, this wasn't as steampunk as I expected, as there wasn 4/5 stars

Miss Fitt, you know curiosity gets men killed."
I grinned. "Then I daresay it's good I'm a woman.

Something to listen to while reading this ♥

I read Something Strange and Deadly for a buddy read with a book club, and it was my pick for the month, which is why I was very happy to see it included. You all know by now how much I enjoy a good steampunk or historical fantasy read with a strong main character and a diverse cast. To be fair, this wasn't as steampunk as I expected, as there wasn't much explanation for the machines and techniques that were used. It was also not that historical, because in terms of etiquette, many things were not possible in that era. These things though do not mean I did not enjoy this book.

I found the romance, and specifically the "love triangle" (which it actually wasn't) dragged the story a little, which is why it lost some of its potential in my mind, but it still a book I find myself thinking about very much. There was a twist I wasn't a big fan of, for personal reasons, but I will not go into detail due to spoilers. I will only say that I had seen it coming. Still, this was such an enjoyable story and I found myself smiling, clapping, crying and being excited many times throughout its course.

The writing was a lot like how I imagine it would be, and I loved the bits of sarcasm and wacky humor this had, as well as the more solemn, serious expressions of pain, love, grief and worry. This book handled the concept of grief and trauma in such a good way, and it actually surprised me how deeply the author took it. The plot had lots of twists and turns, some of them expectant and some others utterly surprising, and I loved the way everything built up from the start to the end.

My favourite characters were of course the Spirit Hunters (is anyone surprised?) as they were such an incredibly formed team, and they all had their own personal reasons to help the world get rid of the Dead. Joseph and Jie were the greatest, but Daniel's snark had me laughing a lot too. Eleanor herself was a very wonderful protagonist in my opinion, and I really liked the play with her name.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I recommend it for fans of YA paranormal romances and mysteries, as well as people who are starting to get into the historical fantasy and steampunk genres ♥ It will not confuse you and you will enjoy it to the fullest ♥

Until the next review, keep reading ♥
~Mary ...more

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Jul 09, 2012 Nanna rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, one-time-read, series-is-over, beautiful-cover, series, nothing-new, paranormal, fantasy

3.5 stars!

I enjoyed it but I wasn't surprised by it. I thought it was okay. I found up because I can definitely see this being a really good series!

I did enjoy the characters—especially Eleanor, but that's pretty much it. So I hope we get to see more of them in the future.

But I probably won't run out soon & buy the second book. Whoops.

...more

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Jul 27, 2012 Ferdy rated it it was ok

Sixteen-year-old Eleanor Fitt lives with her mother in Philadelphia, she's very much aware that the Dead have been rising and causing havoc all over Philadelphia. However since Eleanor has never seen the Dead she's more concerned about her beloved brother, Elijah, returning home from his studies. Eleanor thinks her brother will be able to solve the family's money problems and stop her mother obsessing over her prospects of finding a rich man to marry. Eleanor's hopes are dashed though when a ren Sixteen-year-old Eleanor Fitt lives with her mother in Philadelphia, she's very much aware that the Dead have been rising and causing havoc all over Philadelphia. However since Eleanor has never seen the Dead she's more concerned about her beloved brother, Elijah, returning home from his studies. Eleanor thinks her brother will be able to solve the family's money problems and stop her mother obsessing over her prospects of finding a rich man to marry. Eleanor's hopes are dashed though when a renanimated corpse seeks her out to deliver a note from Elijah, informing her that he's unable to return home as planned. Eleanor is convinced that her brother is in some kind of trouble involving the walking Dead so she decides to investigate. She seeks out the Spirit Hunters who have been sent to Philadelphia to deal with the Dead to help her save Elijah.

-The plot was predictable and mostly boring. I knew what was going to happen within the first few chapters - there was zero mystery because everything was executed so heavy handedly. I thought this would be a steampunk zombie novel, but since the 'zombies' only attacked people and didn't infect anyone there was no sense of real doom or danger and so it felt more like a magic/necromancer/voodoo type of novel.

-The world building was pretty poor. There was mentions of petticoats, carriages and parasols but it wasn't enough to make me feel like I was reading about 1870's Philadelphia. It didn't really have any strong elements of steampunk - there were a few mechanical gadgets thrown in but they didn't really seem to fit in with what was going on.

- I found Eleanor mostly annoying with her not so witty and not so clever remarks. She was too nosy and went around demanding answers in things she had no business with. She also stuttered, murmered and mumbled way too much. I'm getting tired of heroines wetting or licking their lips whenever their unsure or nervous and heroines who lift their chin high when their being stubborn or 'bwave' - its not endearing, its irritating.

-I wasn't impressed that Eleanor was pretty much the only girl that even had a bit of substance - the rest are potrayed as shallow, silly and brainless. Jie was a decent female character but the fact that she dressed and acted like a man to blend in made me think of her as one of the boys.

-The explanations of how to fight ghosts and the Dead and how to raise them just seemed like nonesense. If science is going to be used to explain paranormal going on's then it has to at least seem a little plausible - it was like no research or effort was put in to make the how's and why's believable.

-The expression shut pan instead of shut up was used throughout the book. Everytime a character said shut pan it would just jolt me out of the book because it just didn't flow with the rest of the dialogue.
I hate when words and phrases are constantly repeated in a book - I suppose it wouldn't be so bad if it took me a few weeks to finish a book but since I usually read a book in 2 sittings the recurrent terminology gets extremely grating.

-The romance was fairly dull. The love interest Daniel was actually an ok character - I liked that he wasn't rich or overly arrogant or the best looking guy ever. But for most of the book I didn't think that Daniel even liked Eleanor all that much, since he looked down at her and also checked out other girls. I suspect that he'll probably show more interest in Eleanor in the next book (if he's in it).

Overall I didn't find this entertaining, the ending was a tad more exciting but by then I didn't really care about any of the characters so I didn't really enjoy it as much as I should. I probably won't read the rest of the series unless it either gets good reviews or of I have absolutely nothing else to read. ...more

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Apr 16, 2011 Regan Leigh rated it it was amazing

I guess I should clarify first that I read a draft of the book being published. ;)

It's not out yet -- I'm lucky enough to have Susan for a friend -- but this book is already a big hit to me. I can't wait to read her other books! SSD is full of plot twists that you won't suspect and characters that are just plain badass cool. There's a sense of humor even in the dark scenes and lingering emotions that will have you all jittery to read the next book.

I'm not joking when I say Susan will be a huge ...more

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Nov 26, 2011 Amanda The Book Slayer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: must-read, 1st-books-in-must-read-series, ya, favorites, zombies, steampunk

Originally posted at Sisters Unedited

Recommend : This book rated right up there with Divergent and Angefall. It was quite original. Susan Dennard spins a tale about magic, hunters, and zombies. All you Steampunk fans will love this and those who have never read anything from that genre, well this is a good one to start with.

description

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"A breath later, somber bells rang out, and I knew it was all very, very real. That was the Dead alarm.

I'd heard of corpses awakening-hungry and dangerous though still q ...more

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Mar 18, 2012 Keertana rated it it was amazing

Shelves: debut-author-2012, kick-ass-heroines, rainy-day-re-reads, swoooon

Rating: 4.5 Stars

You know how they say that some things that come into your life are exactly what you need and they always arrive at the exact time you need them? Well, my experience with Something Strange and Deadly was similar. I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump the past few days, reading books that I haven’t clicked with and writing steadily more and more snarky reviews for them, so when Something Strange and Deadly arrived on my doorstep, I was both overjoyed, excited, and just a tad ...more

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May 08, 2012 Jenny rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, series-to-read

Wow, I loved this book! I do love both Zombies and Steampunk, and this had both! I'm still trying to process this book....the author really sucked me into Eleanor's world!

First of all, the whole thing felt like a Victorian novel. I don't know how she managed this, with all the sci-fi zombies and inventions, but it felt really authentic, like I was reading an old classic that I loved! The plot and the central mystery was so well done...it took awhile to figure out what was really going on and to ...more

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Jul 17, 2017 Colleen Houck added it

Shelves: aristocracy, cemetary, death, ghosts, sickness-disease, survival, secrets, historical, secret-organizations, paranormal

I really enjoyed this historical zombie tale. The heroine is plucky and gets into all sorts of trouble. The gadgets are interesting as are the tie-ins to voodoo. The dead were as disgusting as you could wish for. =) Zombie fans, check this one out.

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Jul 06, 2017 Lona rated it it was ok

Shelves: historical-fiction, ya, mystery, steampunk

2.5/5 stars

Something Strange and Deadly was super action-packed! The book immediately throws you into the story with an attack from the rising dead happening on page one. The book was so fast-paced that it was an easy one to fly through. I also really loved seeing Eleanor fight the dead, especially when she used her parasol. It was both comical and admirable! The steampunk elements that were incorporated into fighting the dead were also interesting and not confusing at all. Dennard did a good jo 2.5/5 stars

Something Strange and Deadly was super action-packed! The book immediately throws you into the story with an attack from the rising dead happening on page one. The book was so fast-paced that it was an easy one to fly through. I also really loved seeing Eleanor fight the dead, especially when she used her parasol. It was both comical and admirable! The steampunk elements that were incorporated into fighting the dead were also interesting and not confusing at all. Dennard did a good job explaining the inventions and how they were used by the spirit-hunters in their fights against the dead.

The setting of this book was also really fun! I loved how Dennard combined the historical setting of Philadelphia in the 19th century with the rising dead and steampunk inventions. It all flowed very seamlessly. Also, incorporating the Centennial Exposition of 1876, the first official World’s Fair in the United States, was a very original idea and added to the steampunk-iness of the novel. Overall, Dennard did a great job maintaining historical accuracy through wonderful descriptions of clothing, setting, and character dialogue, but still added a modernity and freshness to the story with the mechanical inventions and Eleanor’s progressive, woman-power personality!

Since I mentioned Eleanor, I do want to say that I enjoyed her character. She felt very well-rounded and real. There were times where she was tough and could fight, but she also had weaknesses, and at times, cried. Her brother was missing, her mother was kind of crazy, and her life was basically falling apart so I appreciated that she didn’t always act like she was okay or had it all together all the time. Eleanor was also intelligent and knew what she needed to do. When necessary, she was able to set aside her motions and do what was right. However, I do wish that there had been a little more spunk to her. It came out at times but not enough in my opinion!

I also liked the set-up of a lot of the other characters in this novel, but I feel like I never really got to know them. And of course, the three characters I was really intrigued by never got the redemption I think they needed or deserved. I am a truly disappointed by that. The entire cast of characters in this novel were cool and unique, but they didn’t stand out in my opinion. I didn’t gain a new favorite, join a new ship, or anything like that.

My feelings about this book are kind of mixed. It was fun and really easy to fly through. I never wanted to DNF it or set it down. I was enchanted by the world (I’m a sucker for any historical fiction set in the 19th century). However, the characters were good but nothing amazing. Also, I was able to guess the villain so there wasn’t really a surprise twist ending for me (I’m sure most other people guessed it too as it was pretty obvious). And most of all, I am just disappointed by the lack of redemption for certain characters. I actually spoiled the rest of the series for myself (I know! I’m crazy!!) and found that the characters didn’t get the redemption that I think they deserved. All three of them got the same cop-out, overdone redemption arch that I hate (like really, really hate!!) So, I will not be continuing on with the series. But, don’t let that discourage you! It is still a good read and I would recommend it to someone who likes steampunk and historical settings! It’s just, for me personally, considering the amount of other amazing books that I’ve read, this one wasn’t anything super special for me.

Something Strange and Deadly was a good and enjoyable read, but nothing about it really set it a part for me. ...more

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Mar 13, 2012 Katharine rated it it was amazing

The book not only met but SURPASSED my expectations. I thought it was well-written, clever, creative and the pacing was extraordinary--

But the things I REALLY adored were the sheer imagination the author poured into this book, Eleanor herself and her personal growth, Daniel-- please God, Daniel-- and that the author did NOT hold back, in any way. She did not coddle these characters, and you can tell. It made for an extraordinary read. There were not easy answers. There were not storybook endings ...more

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Nov 13, 2011 Zoey Talbon rated it really liked it

Something Strange and Deadly can be a little scary. It can be funny. It can even be sexy.

While I was expecting more zombies, Something Strange and Deadly definitely didn't disappoint me. It's a book that you can easily immerse yourself in. I don't usually tend to read books set in the 1800s because they feel too formal and stiff to me. But SS&D isn't. At all. The setting is perfect the way Dennard portrays it. There's gossip, there's handsome men vying for women's hands, but behind it all, someo ...more

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Oct 06, 2012 Liviania rated it really liked it

The reviews I've read of SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY have been mixed, but I absolutely loved it. It's the Centennial in Philadelphia and the Dead are walking the streets. Eleanor Fitt paid the newspaper stories little mind until one of the Dead gives her a letter from her brother. Determined to help Elijah, she goes to the Spirit-Hunters. Turns out Eleanor has a talent for kneecapping the Dead with her ever-present parasol. (She is, after all, a Victorian lady.)

For all that SOMETHING STRANGE AN ...more

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Jan 29, 2012 Stephen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: zombies, alternate-history-or-timelines, steampunk, fantasy

I had decided to take a break from YA of any genre. Then, I happened to win book 3 of this trilogy from a giveaway. So, obviously, I had to pick up book 1 first. I was also skeptical because it was marketed as steampunk. I had previously been un-impressed with the genre.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised with this one. What did I like?

1. The main character, Eleanor, had an advanced sensibility about her that placed her well ahead of the other, more shallow, members of her peer group. In the face o ...more

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About Susan Dennard

Susan Dennard

7,846 followers

Susan Dennard has come a long way from small-town Georgia. With a masters degree in marine biology, she got to travel the world—six out of seven continents, to be exact (she’ll get to Asia one of these days!)—before she settled down as a full-time novelist and writing instructor.

She is the author of the New York Times bestselling Witchlands series as well as the Something Strange & Deadly series. ...more