Esprit de Corpse - Outside of a Dog

English language

Published May 2, 2023 by eSpec Books.

ISBN:: 9781949691832

No rating (1 review)

What secrets lay beneath Parisian Streets? And who will kill to keep them?

When a malfunctioning automaton runs full force into their locomotive on the new Paris-Orléans railway, Jacqueline Duval and her bohemian twin sister Angélique Laforge become embroiled in a mystery deeply rooted in their tragic past.

A polytech and famed engineering prodigy, Jacqueline is fascinated by the metal man, even more so when she discovers that it is powered not by steam, but by the supernatural. Her investigation puts the sisters on a path both dangerous and mysterious as they must foil a plot to employ the dead to power a mechanical army aimed at international conquest.

Aid comes from unexpected sources as the twins rush to avert this engineered war, but will they be in time?

1 edition

MH Thaung reviewed Esprit de Corpse by Ef Deal

Fun steampunk mystery/romance with a good dollop of the mystical

No rating

I thank the publisher for a free copy of this book, which I received through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers programme. This is my honest review.

The story is told in third person, past tense, from the points of view of twin sisters Jacqueline/engineer and Angélique/artist/werewolf. The prose was generally tidy, with only a few typos catching my eye. Unfortunately, I tripped up on the first page when Jacqueline (the non-artist twin) seemed to learn the name of a strange artist without an introduction: making me think the twins were telepathic. That first impression took me a while to shake off.

What particularly drew me towards this book was the steampunk setting and hints of a mysterious international plot. I enjoyed the uncertainty over the (non-point of view) characters’ motivations and just whose side they were really on. The technical/logistical stuff was handwavy and convenient, but I was happy not to …

I thank the publisher for a free copy of this book, which I received through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers programme. This is my honest review.

The story is told in third person, past tense, from the points of view of twin sisters Jacqueline/engineer and Angélique/artist/werewolf. The prose was generally tidy, with only a few typos catching my eye. Unfortunately, I tripped up on the first page when Jacqueline (the non-artist twin) seemed to learn the name of a strange artist without an introduction: making me think the twins were telepathic. That first impression took me a while to shake off.

What particularly drew me towards this book was the steampunk setting and hints of a mysterious international plot. I enjoyed the uncertainty over the (non-point of view) characters’ motivations and just whose side they were really on. The technical/logistical stuff was handwavy and convenient, but I was happy not to think hard about plausibility.

The characters didn’t make me feel especially invested in them. Both sisters felt “young” in their behaviour and decision-making. The amount of internal emotional processing was of a level I tend to associate with writing aimed at a Young Adult readership, especially with (tiny spoiler) the absent parent who shows up at the end. Those of you who’ve read my other reviews know I’m not interested in romance. So it won’t be a surprise that I found the (metaphorical, sometimes!) drooling over their love interests a distraction from everything else.

Overall, a fun steampunk mystery/romance with a good dollop of the mystical.