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| Karen Memery kicks some Old West butt. |
Elizabeth Bear’s newest novel is a steampunk romp through
the fictitious northwest U.S. town of Rapid City.
The obvious star of this novel is the title character, Karen
Memery. Her voice is fresh and immediate, and draws you in from the very first
lines:
You ain’t gonna like what I have to tell you, but I’m gonna tell you anyway. See, my name is Karen Memery… and I’m one of the girls what works in the Hôtel Mon Cherie on Amity street. “Hôtel” has a little hat over that o like that. It’s French, so Beatrice tells me.
Delightful, fresh takes on steampunk tropes include
steam-powered mechas; rootin’-tootin’ ladies of the night
seamstresses-cum-U.S. Marshal deputies; and mind control.
Bear’s skillful narrative style, tight plot and fertile
imagination bring us along effortlessly. Through Karen’s eyes, we see the crazy
jumble caused by Rapid City’s hasty growth, the unregulated west, quite a few
crazy mechanical inventions, and backdoor political maneuverings.
As I would expect from an Elizabeth Bear novel, these Rapid
City women don’t wait for the U.S. Marshals to save their city, although they
happily greet them as allies. Yet this book is not stuffed full of gun-toting
women whose only purpose is to wield a six-shooter and belt back a shot of
rot-gut. Bear’s main characters are fully realized with the ability to surprise
the reader.
Though I truly enjoyed this novel, one thing disappointed
me: the tired plot device known as the prostitute
serial killer. In my opinion, any additional urgency this plot device
engendered, its location in the story arc of the novel, and the satisfaction of
the eventual discovery of the protagonist did not warrant its inclusion into
what was otherwise a truly original tale.
In short, I give this book 4.8 out of 5 stars.
If you are looking for a fast read during your summer
vacation, this book is one to put on your reading list.
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| Elizabeth Bear |
Author: Elizabeth Bear
Publisher: Tor Books (February 3, 2015)
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