The Falling Machine by Andrew Mayer

[Barbara ★]

Title/Author: The Falling Machine - Andrew Mayer
Read: January 23, 2012
Series: Society of Steam #1
Rating: ★★★✩✩
First time author? yes
To-Be-Continued? yes

Review:

A steampunk novel featuring superheroes - The Paragons (the good guys) and The Children of Eschaton (the bad guys) and the new invention of steam power. What started out as an interesting concept quickly fizzles when the leader of the Paragons was killed and the infighting and back-stabbing began as they chose a new leader. It rapidly descended into boring territory and became a rather tedious read. Until slightly more than half way through, then the action started and I couldn't put it down. With everyone wearing masks it was impossible to tell who was the traitor. It will be interesting to see where the story goes now. I must say that the idea of grown men running around in silly costumes with masks was slightly ridiculous.

I liked Sarah Stanton but disliked her father and step-brother. They had that "women belong in the kitchen" attitude which was condescending and irritating. Sarah may not have been a Paragon but she lived with them since she was a little girl and knew almost as much as they did. Alexander Stanton's attitude really annoyed me and I was glad when Sarah ignored his edicts.