Kindle Spotlight -- Gears of Wonderland

Ever wondered what would it would be like if someone wrote a steampunk version of Alice in Wonderland? Well, wonder no more, for Jason G. Anderson's Gears of Wonderland (steampunk fantasy) is here to show you.

James Riggs has a lousy girlfriend and a lousy job. But, as he soon discovers, things can get so much worse. He witnesses his oldest friend murdered at the hands of a hulking assailant, and narrowly avoids becoming the next victim when a mysterious man in white pushes him down a hole. He ends up in a strange Victorian city, and is informed by a gun-toting woman named Kara that it's actually Wonderland. He thought it was just a book, but it's all too real. Unfortunately, the place has kinda gone to hell since Alice visited. The queen has been assassinated, and her evil son Lahire has seen fit to become king and enforce his own vision of a perfect Wonderland by any means necessary. James must join up with the resistance in order to depose Lahire, get the girl and fulfill his destiny.

I really liked Gears of Wonderland. It has a gripping plot and compelling characters. Steampunk and Wonderland might seem like an unlikely pairing, but Anderson pulls it off and makes it look easy. While there are typos here and there, Anderson makes up for it by building upon Wonderland lore and literally humanizing the characters (Caterpillar and White Rabbit are now people). He presents a fleshed-out world you'd actually want to visit (after Lahire is gone, natch).

Go pick up Gears of Wonderland from the Kindle store. For $2.99, it's a good value.

Kindle Spotlight -- Peacemaker

Here we are: Peacemaker, the third novella in Lindsay Buroker's Flash Gold steampunk series. I previously reviewed the first two books in the series, so you may want to read those before diving into this.

The story picks up some time after Hunted. 18-year-old Kali McAlister has begun building the airship which she very much hopes will get her and her bounty-hunting partner Cedar out of the Yukon. Cedar has been making himself scarce as of late, so Kali is having to build the thing by herself in a cave, so as you can imagine it's not going as fast as she would like. Complicating matters is a Pinkerton agent looking to bust Cedar for a murder that happened in his past, as well as a series of seemingly supernatural murders. Once again, Kali and Cedar must work together to defeat the bad guys and solve a mystery. Oh, and the dastardly Cudgel Conrad finally makes his appearance, seeking to gain the mysterious substance Flash Gold for his own undoubtedly evil ends.

Peacemaker serves to reveal the respective pasts of Kali and Cedar. We learn about Kali's upbringing in her mother's native tribe, and Cedar's time before he met her. The story gives us more insight into what motivates these two, and that's very important in fiction.

But, of course, that's not all Peacemaker offers. Buroker has ratcheted up the action to an explosive new level, as evident by the story's fiery climax. In addition, the plight of female murder victims in the story gives the narrative emotional weight.

I'll wrap this up by saying the same thing I said in the review of Hunted: Lindsay Buroker is a talented writer who continues to deliver a solid read.

Secrets of the New World is now available on Kindle

The sequel to The Game Called Revolution has finally arrived! Join Farahilde and company as they journey to America, battle foes, and (of course) uncover secrets.

Buy here