The Shadow Revolution by Clay Griffith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I picked up a copy of THE SHADOW REVOLUTION from C2E2 just after I’d been approved for the title from Netgalley, so it was a bit of a thrill to hold a physical book in my hands again. TSR is a fast read, lots of action, alchemy, a good bit of steam-powered carriage chase scene, werewolves, and a not-yet-fully-fleshed-out magic system that holds promise for the next books in the series.
Most people have an idea what Victorian London was like, which is good, because there’s a minimum of description in favor of action in this book. When you want a nice speedy fantasy, this is okay, but I feel like there is plenty more we can discover about this world. This is kind of like a summer popcorn movie–it’s entertaining but doesn’t delve into philosophy. However, there are several times when this story will make you squirm as you think about the intersection between technology (or magic) and people–or at least I squirmed.
The ratio of kick-ass women to men isn’t quite equal in this book, but it’s closer than most with three guys and two women (I’ll count Penny and her nifty-but-loud inventions). Each character has a unique role, and there’s a fun banter dynamic as enemies become friends. Hopefully the “scribe” magic system will be examined in future books, and we’ll see some more history of the characters. I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series.
Received as a free physical copy at C2E2 and a digital ARC via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.