Sadly, I wanted to like this, as I am trying to be a connoisseur of werewolf stories, but this one just falls like a flat dud to the ground. I'd only gotten a few pages in and I felt that a good editor would have tightened a good chunk of this prose.

I feel like this could be a good concept, both as a steam punk and mythological creature entry. But the execution leaves much to be desired. There's showing, there's details for details sake, then there's extraneous details that really are pointless unless it's unusual. Specifying that a pencil has a graphite point is only important if you establish that no other pencil in the world you're writing has such a thing. And while there is a taste of the olden style detective stories, it just doesn't pan out well.

The story has a good germ beneath, but the layers of extensive wordiness just bury the concept. There are also points where the Point of View (POV) shifts mid-paragraph between Simon and Luthor, which tends to come across as jarring. I gave up at the end of Chapter 9. ( )

This book grabbed my interest from the get go. The steampunk aspects were very subtle and the magic and mystery wove in was delightful. The characters are well built and the story telling is phenomenal. I think I may have been sucked into another delicious series. ( )

Overall, I liked it.
This was my first steam-punk novel, taking place somewhere with zeppelins and lots of machinery. I appreciated the difference from my normal fantasy fare that generally seems to all take place in the same place (medievalish time, but with magic, with inns that could be moved from one novel to another and would fit equally). While there is magic in this world and the time period is previous to now, it felt a world away from what I’ve been reading, very refreshing. I also really liked the novel’s comment on what is a monster and the role magic has in this land.
There was a short part that I was annoyed: the ball. The “day” was far too long, unless this is an alien planet that has really really long days, and Mr Strong was for this night only the less diplomatic and charismatic of the two primary protagonists, stating (uncharacteristically) that he doesn’t understand humans.
The primary lead character is a bit too similar to Sherlock Holmes. I’m glad that his sidekick brings a little more than Watson’s awe and comraderie. While there are strong females in the book, they aren’t apparent in the first half and in general are treated by the protagonists as less than men- should be protected and cared for but are not as brave or intelligent as men. You could attribute this to the time period, but the world of this novel did not have to take that part of our world at any part in our history, it is a choice. There are hints however that this perspective may be explored more in the series. ( )

3.5 stars. A fun and unique setting mixing tech and magic. Light steampunk.
I look forward to seeing more from this author.
( )