Soulless

There's a very blurred line between Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance and Gail Carriger's Soulless pretty much lives in that blurred line. There's certainly a very pronounced romance plot going on there and some not quite explicit yet pretty graphic scenes between the paramours. But there's plenty of action and certainly no shortage of werewolves and vampires either.

Yes, it's werewolves and vampires again. They're heavily overused in urban fantasy I agree. And in truth there are very few original elements to this book. It's really all about the execution here. Because while we have the strong willed heroine, the brooding male and assorted paranormals, we also have a pastiche of Victorian England.

Miss Alexia Tarabotti is a spinster with a tongue as pointed as her nose and a brain as eager for knowledge as her stomach is for food. She is in all, a thoroughly rounded character (and I mean this in more ways than one, the cover illustration is somewhat misleading). Which is just as well because she is our primary viewpoint onto this world where Vampires and Werewolves are an established part of the London social circuit and where Victorian norms have adjusted to accommodate them.

A large portion of the book is devoted to witty exchanges in various drawing rooms and naturally all characters are greatly concerned with behaving appropriately. It's not a laugh out loud funny sort of book, more something that draws a wry smile from the reader.

And if the plot of the book is not particularly deep that fact is effectively covered by the frothy prose. And I don't mean that as a put down. There's a lot to be said for a book that is light and entertaining rather than grim and gritty.

The plot does have a few problems though. I can't help but feel that the attacks ramp up too quickly and would be bound to attract attention much sooner than they do. Also the villains of the piece get extremely careless towards the end which makes it a bit too easy for our hero and heroine to triumph.

You could also argue that a little too much time is spent after the story's real conclusion in setting things up for future books. But on the other hand since I'm quite looking forward to reading those books, it's not exactly a major criticism.

So who might like this. Well basically you need to be able to enjoy the lighter and less serious and more whimsical side of urban fantasy and you need to be able to at least tolerate major romance elements. And an appreciation of Victorian stylings certainly doesn't hurt.

Gail Carriger's Soulless starts with some great action. You can't help but be attracted to Alexia Tarabotti right from the start. To be in her twenties and already written off as a spinster is amusing to modern readers, but so very Victorian. Why she's still a spinster is where things get interesting. Alexia is a “soulless” – literally, she has no soul. In a Victorian England occupied by werewolves and vampires, as well as ordinary humans, this makes her quite the unique young (old) lady.

Gail Carriger carries off Steampunk with the best of the genre. Her interpretation of supernatural beings (vampires and werewolves) is well thought-out. There's serious backstory to her universe, not just men changing into animals or pale-skinned women biting necks. The notion of a “preter-natural” being, the soulless Alexia, complicates things for Lord Connall Maccon, head of the Bureau of Unnatural Registery (hey, this is England, there must be bureaucracy!), as she inserts herself into supernatural affairs. Lord Maccon's investigation of missing vampires gets an assist from Alexia, exposing Carriger's world while giving the reader an enjoyable adventure.

I came to Carriger's novels via an interesting route—The Steampunk Tarot. The deck caught my eye, and upon perusing the Major Arcana cards, I was struck by The Chariot. In a Steampunk universe, the chariot is artificially powered, and driven by a strong young woman. The companion book for the deck (well-written, by the way, for any deck) describes the woman, and essentially says she's a shout-out to Alexia. Mentioning Carriger by name as well, I figured this was a solid recommendation. I was right.

Alexia and her associates (some friends, social/political connections, some frenemies) become an informal group of “irregulars” known as the “Parasol Protectorate,” who continue their romp through London (and other cities in Europe) for four more novels. Entertaining plots with a well-developed backstory—my kind of fantasy story!