“The Executioner's Heart,” by George Mann

FM's ratings:

1. Premise 7
2. Prose 8
3. Plot 7
4. Characters 8
5. Overall 7

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

Steampunk stories often suffer from the same weaknesses as Space Operas. "Star Wars," for instance, has been accused of being a 17th century opera - or even a western - dressed up in Science Fiction trappings. With Steampunk, it often seems as if the story was taken from some other genre, adorned with mechanical contraptions, dirigibles, Victorian Age clothing, and so on to make - voila! - a Steampunk story. This book does a little better than most, but is essentially a political spy thriller; and not a great one at that, relying too heavily on the quaint imagery to give us Steampunk. Also featured here is a heavy dose of 18th century occultism and opium usage for a "heady" mix of ingredients. Several tense "action" scenes round it out for a novel I can almost recommend. And yet I was left at the end with a "that's all folks, we hope you enjoyed the show" feeling. Part of the problem with the plot, especially near the end, was that it was a little too obvious that the author wanted to leave us with a cliff-hanger set-up for the next installment in the series. Fine, but wrap this one up first. If you crave Steampunk novels, this one has some nice surprises and unique elements to offer. But I'm still looking for the masterpiece of the genre that will help further define it.


Here’s the November line-up!

"Misery Loves Maggody," by Joan Hess [11-4-17]
"Demian," by Hermann Hesse [11-11-17]
"Bell, Book & Candlemas," by Jennifer David Hesse [11-18-17]
"Whisper of Crows," by Jameson Hesse [11-25-17]

(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for next month, please do so. Also, if you have already read a book on our previous lists, you are invited to send your ratings and or comments for that book!)