It is the early 1800's, the Napoloenic Wars are over, and two wealthy British gentelmen make a bet based on a series of books in which the author claims to have traveled to some of the most unknown (at the time) places in the world. Most consider the books to be mostly fiction, but some claim they could be real. Two crews set out in separate airships in a race to be first to prove or disprove the books.

The story is told mainly in journal entries and letters from Gregory Conan Watts, a war journalist who is part of one of the crews undertaking the journey. He has been hired on to write the story of the journey as it unfolds. We read his journal entries, as well as letters to both his employer and his fiancee. Occasionally, there is a letter from one of the other members of the crew. The entire collection is being published by Gregory's wife after his death.

It wasn't a bad book. In fact, there were a lot of good elements to it. The characters were varied and made quite the interesting dynamic for the voyage. There were secrets, personal agendas, and both good and bad relationships. The settings were true to the period, including the Year Without a Summer (1815). Customs, standards, and speech were all true to upper British society in the period. The steampunk elements added to the mix were believable. The book starts a bit slow, with the early journal entries and letters a bit tedious in spots, but after the crew is set and the actual voyage begins, things pick up a bit. The ending leaves the way open nicely for the sequels.

The problem I have with this one is the format. I couldn't really get into the epistolary format. It felt distant, as if I was being removed from the action and just a passive observer. That made it difficult for me to truly get invested in any of the characters or the story. It also tended to slow the plot in spots. It's an interesting idea, and seems to be done well here, but it wasn't my favorite form for storytelling.

Still, the idea of the story is good, the details are genuine to the time period, and the additional elements make this a good example of a steampunk novel. If you don't mind the format, this book should not disappoint.

Review to come!

Ugh I'm so upset! You know, sometimes when I don't like a book, it's just because it's really not my preferred genre. It's simply not up my alley. But this book? This is a book ostensibly about fun steam-punk adventures, found family, cool bad-ass ladies and proper British gentlemen, a book about alternate histories and cool weird inventions, and it's epistolary, has multiple burgeoning romance subplots... everything in this book seems like it would be perfect for me. Which is honestly what makes me review it even harsher.

I'm trying not to be mean - obviously this was self-published, and I want to be nice... but the prose are awful! The sentence structure is convoluted and poorly thought out. This is supposed to be a mix of letters and journal entries from one central character, with a few supplementary notes from the other characters, but every single character's voice is the same, and Gregory writes the same way in his journal that he does when writing letters to his boss or to his sweetheart. What a waste of an opportunity to use the medium to your advantage, and mix up the styles! Ugh.

I wanted to like this book so much, and I hate the fact that it didn't work for me. I didn't mind the slow pace, the careful description of all the characters and their relationships, the concept of the trip, the fact that clearly there are hidden secrets brewing that the narrator doesn't know about... all of this stuff would have been so fascinating to read about if this guy was able to write! I found myself editing along in my head. I could have made this book better, and I'm not even a professional editor.

I love this from the start as the narrator has a bold candor about her that I appreciate. Names are *not * changed to protect the innocent in this fun, ‘tell all’! It reads as honest and objective while still being humorous at times.

Gregory is a very well developed character; his devotion to Cordelia is endearing and although it is his POV we are treated to while this is revealed, it feels true that he does not have eyes for any of the other females out for his attention. His way of inserting his personal opinions through relaying observations of the other characters is often humorous. He seems to share more when in stressful situations which works well for me, as I enjoy the drama.

It gets interesting early on when the group finds themselves in an… awkward situation, bumping up the drama and mystery that are going on during this journey. As with any adventure, there are other difficult situations that arise, interesting challenges and the humor manages to continue to show through. All of this makes for a rather fun read.

While I loved the first book in this series as well, I do think this one flowed a bit more smoothly. Overall, the writing is good and many of the characters are very well developed. Those making a repeat appearance are consistent and of course the new ones add to the adventure. I look forward to Book 3 in the series and recommend it to other readers!

Early on I’m exposed to Watts’ intentions to his recipient as well as his intentions on his impending journey and I’m hooked. His quest is exciting and he hasn’t even departed yet. It takes a bit of reading to get into the action but I found a lot of humor in Watts’ observations of the other people surrounding him, which made the read quite fun.

The book is very well spoken and paints a vivid and fun picture for the reader in a style of writing I haven’t before seen which makes it all the more enjoyable for me.
Cook manages to merge futuristic technology with a time behind us – making for a fascinating experience.