Heart of Brass (Kate Cross) Chapters 1-6

Kate Cross is a pseudonym used by the author who also goes by Kate Locke and Kady Cross.  All three authors write Steampunk novels.  “Victorian Futurism” is a more descriptive term for Steampunk (as “Speculative Fiction” is for Science Fiction) being an Alternative History genre in which the Victorian Age never ended and electricity never replaced steam as mankind’s main source of energy.  In the Kate Locke book “God Save the Queen,” the reason that the Victorian Age never ended is that the ruling aristocracy of the Steam Age, including Queen Victoria herself, all became vampires and still rules today.  If this sounds too far-fetched or corny, it isn’t – it’s extremely well presented in the book and I highly recommend it!  The other pseudonym, Kady Cross, writes Steampunk for the teenage crowd, and while it doesn’t really compare with the other great teen hits of today (“The Hunger Games,” The “Twilight” Series), it definitely has an appeal of its own, combining elements of “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” with those of “The X-men.”

“Heart of Brass” is Steampunk Romance.  That’s right, it’s a Romance novel.  And while I normally don’t find romance novels particularly appealing, I picked this one up on the strength of the author’s other books and, so far, I am definitely not disappointed.  Is it written for women?  Well, yes, but for intelligent women.  And the author’s heroines all seem to have some special strengths or abilities that make them at least equal to the men, physically.  In this book, our heroine, Arden, is a highly trained and experienced agent for the W.O.R., the Wardens of the Realm.  Think Double-O-Seven in corset and Victorian skirts.

The author develops Arden’s personality with skill and subtlety as the action progresses with hints like, “She gave him what she hoped was a grateful smile and not a grim twisting of her lips.  She’d often been told her smile could sometimes look a little … demented.”  Later it is revealed that her mother is in a sanitorium, apparently getting loonier by the day.  And she berates herself because “She worked for the government because her husband and father had, not because she particularly enjoyed the work.”

The Steampunk aspect of the story is more deftly fleshed out here than any other such work I’ve read.  Aside from a few novels and a couple of short story collections, I haven’t really read that much, but it’s a concept that’s easy to grasp, especially if you have a strong science fiction background.  The genre is largely visual, so movies tend to communicate the concepts better.  Even so, some nice imagery is contained here:  “Moisture hung in the air, the by-product of so many steam engines – as though London wasn’t damp enough.  It permeated his skin and clothes, causing the long leather coat to cling to him uncomfortably.”

The Spy vs. Spy aspect of the story is given equal weight, with colorful secondary characters and the “sinister doctor” character that uses designer drugs to condition Luke’s mind to forget his past and assassinate, among others, his wife, Arden.  Lest we forget this is a romance, the Power of Love prevails over this conditioning due to the fact that he keeps getting flashbacks of his life with her.  The cognitive dissonance between these two urges is tearing him apart and his handlers are very unhappy indeed with his lack of results.  Nicely plotted conflict on so many levels keeps this story moving forward briskly and keeps the suspense fresh throughout.  Bravo!

Next Week:  Chapters 7-11

Week 3:  Chapters 12-16
Week 4:  Chapters 17-End