Leviathan #2: Behemoth, by Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse, 2010)

Westerfeld’s wildly inventive reworking of the First World War heats up as the Germans and English enter into open hostilities, bio-engineered creatures against mechanical marvels. Aboard the English airship Leviathan, Midshipman Deryn Sharp (secretly a girl) and Alek (Austrian Prince … Continue reading

The Boneshaker, by Kate Milford (Clarion Books, 2010)

It’s 1913, and in the small crossroads town of Arcane, Missouri, anything can happen. When a traveling medicine show stops for repairs, bringing with it all manner of bizarre technological contraptions and dubious cures, Natalie Minks is alternately fascinated and … Continue reading

The Shadow Hunt, by Katherine Langrish (Harper, 2010)

When Wolf runs away from the monastery he’s called home for years in search of a more fulfilling life, he finds more than he bargained for in the forms of a feral elf-child and a local lord driven by heartbreak, … Continue reading

Soulless, by Gail Carriger (Orbit, 2009)

Miss Alexia Tarabotti is not your average young lady. At twenty-six and unmarried, her chances of finding a prospective husband are almost nil. Worse still, she’s half-Italian and her coloring quite definitely takes after that side of the family. Olive … Continue reading

The Turning Tide, by Diana Pharaoh Francis (Roc, 2009)

In Crosspointe, there’s no odder group of friends than the trio of Ryland, Shaye, and Fairlie. Ryland, son of Crosspointe’s king, has spent a lifetime trying to live up to his father’s expectations, and would do anything for king and … Continue reading

The Accidental Sorcerer, by K.E. Mills (Orbit, 2009)

For probationary Compliance Officer Gerald Dunwoody of the Ottosland Department of Thaumaturgy, it was supposed to be a routine safety inspection. You know, nose around a little, find out why the Stuttley’s Superior Staff factory hadn’t been submitting their paperwork … Continue reading

The Cipher, by Diana Pharaoh Francis (Roc, 2007)

Lucy Trenton leads a complicated life. A member of the Rampling family, which rules the powerful harbor city of Crosspointe, she works as a customs inspector, responsible for overseeing so much of the trade which flows through the city. What … Continue reading

Baltimore: or The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire, by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden (Bantam Spectra, 2007)

In the darkest days of World War I, Lord Henry Baltimore, then a Captain in the English Army, watches his men fall in battle. Himself injured, he barely fights off a nocturnal predator, and in doing so, unleashes the unholy … Continue reading

A Brooding of Vampire Books That Aren't Sparkly

Shards, by Bruce Baugh (White Wolf, 2002) Shadows, by Bruce Baugh (White Wolf, 2002) Sacrifices, by Bruce Baugh, (White Wolf, 2002) The Madness of Priests, by Philippe Boulle (White Wolf, 2003) Agyar, by Steven Brust (Tor, 1993) Darkest Heart, by … Continue reading

Paper Mage, by Leah R. Cutter (Roc, 2003)

Once upon a time, long ago and far away, a young woman gave up a chance at immortality to remain with her family. On that day, she vowed that should any of her descendants ever show the right talents, she’d … Continue reading