The Engineer, by C.S. Poe (Magic and Steam 1)

[Ulysses]

The Engineer (Magic and Steam, Book 1)
By C.S. Poe
Publisher: Emporium Press
Publication date: 2020
Four stars

Again, into the world of aether and magic we go! Gillian Hamilton, Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Magic and Steam, has been dispatched to the West to track down and capture mad engineer Milo Ferguson, known as the Tinkerer. For all the cutesy nickname, he’s just blown up half of Baltimore, using weaponized, artificial (hence illegal) magic.

No sooner is Hamilton on the ground in Shallow Grave, Arizona, than he is attacked, and somehow manages to assist in his own rescue by none other than Gunner the Deadly, a notorious vigilante with a list of crimes as long as your arm.

Gillian soon discovers that Gunner left Tombstone because “there were too many Earps there.” More significantly, Gillian begins to suspect that shares certain affinities with this famous outlaw, not the least of which is a favorite brand of perfume.

Perfume?

One of the consistencies of a steampunk setting is that it’s all pre-LGBTQ-liberation, and thus provides lots of good tension and angst regarding same-gender feelings. C.S. Poe plays this very nicely, teasing us along in this short book as we come to appreciate the dynamic between Gillian Hamilton and Gunner the not-quite-as-deadly-as-he’s-painted-by-the-government. Gillian isn’t drawn to Gunner just because he’s hawt, but because he discovers in him a moral compass far more finely tuned than he would ever have imagined. Lonely and isolated by both his ability to channel aether as a magic caster and his hidden urges, Gillian is simultaneously powerful and innocent. Gunner is a willful lawbreaker, but there is a similar isolation in him that Gillian recognizes.

The action and the emotions (all seen from Hamilton’s perspective) build over the rapid course of events, and there’s rather a lot packed into a little space here. A lot, but not quite enough. Obviously, Gunner remains a tantalizing mystery, but I expected to get to know Gillian Hamilton better than I did. There are hints, but I ended up feeling undernourished—which is nearly (but not quite) as disappointing as a cliffhanger ending. There is a lovely little detail at the end about which I shall not speak, but which did leave my heart beating a little bit faster.

Fortunately, Poe does not leave us hanging, but resolves this episode nicely. Let’s say, however, that she opens a door into the next book, which I would have bought if it was ready.

So, Ms. Poe, let’s get moving. There are people waiting.