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Affinity Bridge (2008)

by George Mann(Favorite Author)

3.55 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

3492702384 (ISBN13: 9783492702386)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Piper

series

Newbury and Hobbes

review 1: Rollicking good steampunk rubbish, but lacks the cultural relevance to be really absorbing. I think the biggest fault I find with steampunk as a genre is its failure to use the most powerful tool sci-fi and fantasy have at their disposal - the ability to hold a mirror up to the modern world and offer us some new perspective on which to reflect. Steampunk is, regrettably, often close to self-parody in this respect, since the physical and social trappings of Victoriana ooze a datedness which is hard to take seriously. I note that one of the most successful inclusions of steampunk style elements in modern speculative fiction is by China Mieville - who is not of course described as a steampunk author. I think perhaps steampunk as a genre is doomed to be a rather idealised ad e... morescapist form of fantasy, whereas more flexible and culturally conversant fiction risks becoming by definition "not steampunk".That said, this is a rattling good yarn and one of the best executed steampunk novels I've read. The dashing hero just gets on with being dashing rather than stopping to internally monologue about his own dashingness every three lines - and we are never told anything about his charming good looks, either - and the badass heroine is equally self-effacing while simulaneously being an extremly well-rounded and at times complex character. Plus, for extra comedy points, she ticks off the dashing hero for taking unwise risks. Without wanting to spoil the book for those who haven't read it, it's a gleefully Victorian-gothic tale - plague-ridden slums, pickled-anatomy science, clockwork men and the obligatory airship disaster, all varnished over with a deliciously fragile facade of propriety in the form of the British Museum. The plot twist isn't a shock, the moments of peril never leave one seriously doubting the characters' survival, and yet this is still the first book I've devoured in a single evening in a very long time.
review 2: Part good, part ok, part needless. I like steampunk, I know it's a ridiculous setting for those who don't enjoy it, but I love the idea of fantastical science and pseudo science at the turn of the century...for me it's just visually and aesthetically pleasing. Well here with Affinity Bridge we have a prototypical steampunk novel, automatons, supernatural forces, airships and crazy machines but everything else...is the problem with the novel:1) The World is the best part of the book, Mann paints a clear picture of his world and it's inhabitants. It dirty, greasy, grimey and full of awesomeness. A lot of time is spent describing the world and it's told in a way that you don't feel like it's an info dump. The world is great.2) The characters...that's the biggest problem with the book, paper thin, inconsistent, and illogical pulls you out of the tale completely. The main problem are the two title characters Newbury and Hobbes. They in themselves are not thought out clear and consistent enough, and then to compound it their relationship is also all over the place (one paragraph they are formal, one paragraph they are somewhat close) and add to it the odd jarring writing in where POVs change within a paragraph consistently to make you think "who's thinking this now???" messy.3) The story is fine, it's an interesting tale and moves at a very brisk pace. For the most part I liked it very much, however the middle part of the book with the zombies (I know they are part of the plot)...I was bored. Fight after fight after fight...just got boring. It felt like Mann had so many ideas and he wanted to use them ALL for this book and it feels like it was too crammed with stuff that I'd rather some time in the middle for some breathing between the action chapters.Overall, good not great, flaws aside I do like the characters (as inconsistent as they are) and I really enjoy this setting. I shall continue with the rest of the series cause frankly, there is not a lot of good quality steampunk that does not just rely cliches of the genre. Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate is still the best use of the genre but I will also enjoy George Mann's Newbury and Hobbes.Onward to the next book! less

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