Steampunk Reads discussion

Any fans of ?
Soulless
Changeless
Blameless
Heartless
Timeless
This is the place to talk about it.

I've read Soulless. Changeless just came to the top of my reading stack, so that is next.

Doc

I have read Soulless, Changeless and Blameless and I absolutely adored them all. They were amazing! I cannot wait to read the rest of the series.

I just read Souless a few weeks ago! I will soon read the others.

I have quite enjoyed Soulless, Changeless and Blameless. I have placed an order with our library to bring in Heartless, and am anxiously awaiting it.

I rather enjoy Gail Carriger's humour but for me the clincher is keeping manners in the forefront, even when the action is fierce. Well done.

I'm looking forward to reading this based on the comments above. Should have something more to say next week:)

I read and really enjoyed the first three. I am going to read Heartless as soon as I can get my hands on it. Such fun guilty pleasure books.

I have read the first three and I'm reading Heartless at the moment. I love the whimsical atmosphere in the books and also the words and descriptions of people.

(This were the books that brought me into the SP genre, I'm a bit ashamed to say, but I have grown to like the more "scientific" books out there.)

Evelyn wrote: "Any fans of ?
Soulless
Changeless
Blameless
Heartless
Timeless
This is the place to talk about it."

Yes, I just finished the 1st and I really enjoyed it.

Who is your favourite character?

I love all those books! I just wish the cover art reflected the curvy lead. So hard to pick a fav character, I enjoy them all.

I find it a bit annoying that the model seems to have changed her face for every dover. The two first were similar but the third and fourth look strange. Too much photoshop.

Me, I absolutely adore Lord Akeldama and his flowery language. He is what I guess Perez Hilton would have been like had he lived in Victorian England.

Love, love, love these books. Too witty! Like a cross between The Importance Of Being Earnest, Sherlock Holmes, and Emma, with a steam punk twist

Loved the first book, the second one dragged a bit, and the third book made up for it. Just finished Heartless and thought it was quite good so I'm now looking forward to Timeless.

@Courtney, I definitely got the Sherlock Holmes vibe as well! Gail is an amazing writer!

Just finished Changeless and am on to Blameless!

Just trying to finish up Blameless on audio. Already have the next one downloaded, and since no one else has mentioned it, Emily Grey does a truly EXCELLENT job as narrator for this series.

Tegan Mae wrote: "Just finished Changeless and am on to Blameless!"

Yes, it's incredibly hard to stop after the end of Changeless!

Minna wrote: "I find it a bit annoying that the model seems to have changed her face for every cover."

Ditto, that was bothering me too.

I am really enjoying this series. I just read soulless, changeless and blameless. You can buy the first 3 in a kindle bundle for $9.99.

This is my intro to steam punk. The way they Carriger imagines all of the different inventions is fun, but my favorite aspect of the book is definitely the characters.

Alexia and Lord Akeldama are my favorites. I love that Alexia is not being tamed. Regardless of her love interest, she is still smart, super independent and witty.

Akeldama is hilarious and amazingly loyal. I want him to be my best friend.

So far, I like most of the characters. My least favorite, however, is Lord Maccon. He just seems less developed than the others.



Robin wrote: "Evelyn wrote: "Any fans of ?
Soulless
Changeless
Blameless
Heartless
Timeless
This is the place to talk about it."

Yes, ..."

Elle N. wrote: "So far, I like most of the characters. My least favorite, however, is Lord Maccon. He just seems less developed than the others."

He really is a big boring brute, isn't he? He reminds me of Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, albeit less scheming.

Minna wrote: "He really is a big boring brute, isn't he? He remi..."

A brute? In what way? Lord Maccon does have to do with many physical things in his roles as the head of BUR and as a werewolf Alpha, but he is in no way brutish or boring. While not the intellectual that Professor Lyle is, he is clearly a thinking man. He thinks ahead and makes contingency plans. And he never reveals his hand all at once.

What Maccon lacks is the ability to adapt to a rapidly changing worldview. He's not stuck in a rut, but he is a traditionalist and slow to move when dealing with changes imposed by others. This is a big part of why he blows up in Changeless. He has certain ideas set firmly in his head and he cannot adapt fast enough to deal with the possibility that some of those long-held beliefs might be wrong. Or incomplete.

Doc

He has his moments, especially in the third and fourth books. We get to see a bit more depth in him. Just as Heathcliff he is not stupid, but he is set in his own ways. Sometimes he just feels like a bodyguard side kick.

I think Alexia herself has to be my favourite character. She's funny, spirited and has the type of flaws which I think a lot of people can relate to. She's also obsessed with tea, which can only be a positive character trait in my mind!

Madame Lefoux, with her awesome clothing, hat shop and technological genius also is fairly high up there on the list.

I adore the way Gail Carriger keeps her obsessed with etiquette and the rules of society, giving her a guiding rules which she wouldn't normal have - being soulless. It provides a really enjoyable thread of humour running through all of the books.

I have only read Soulless but I loved it cant wait to read the next ones

I absolutely adore this series; every novel is a delight to read! Might just be my current favorite.

I've written rather cursory reviews on these (just indicating that I liked the novels), but wrote a bit more on "Heartless" which I just got through. This one seems to involve quite a lot of complexity, but does take a few departures from the novel that preceded it. I wish a few items had been developed a bit more; that is, I wish the novel were about 50 pages longer with a little expansion in a few places. However, it leaves me anxious for the next one. I can hardly wait for "Timeless".

My favorite character varies by mood. At the moment, I'm particularly enamored of Lord Maccon, but I might just be enamored with his Scottishness or his lycanthropy. I also really like Madame Lefoux and wish we could have a bit more of her. The OBO intrigues me, as well. And, I do wish we knew more about the creatures at the end of "Blameless" (don't want to give anything away) and also Mr Tarabotti.

In general, these novels are a riot of fun! :)

I like the fact that each book gives away more and more information about the near and historic past in the super- and preternatural world. Just finished Heartless two days ago. Loved the end.

I had been edging around the steampunk genre for quite awhile, but the 'Less books got me fully committed. However, I have to say that Heartless was a bit of a disappointment for me. The pregnancy bit could have been played up so well in a Victorian gasp-she's-seen-in-public kind of way, but really wasn't done to any great extent. Also, the red herring storyline didn't do it for me either. Still I loved the others and have already read them twice and I'm looking forward to the next book.

Jane -- In retrospect, I have to agree with you that the red herring aspect of "Heartless" was probably one of the weaker elements in the novel and overall, in the series. So much more could have been done with the incident at the OBO and what was discovered there and I'm disappointed that it wasn't, but, hopeful that it will be picked up in "Timeless".

Loved the books. Saving Heartless for as long as I can!

Anyone gotten through "Timeless"? I liked it quite a bit; though it started off a bit too silly, even for this series, it picked up some complexity of plot and character. I loved the balloon nomads and could have spent an entire novel with them! Is this Carriger's own concoction, entirely, steampunking the Bedouin, or something encountered as a feature like the dirigibles in other genre pieces? As a series end, it worked for me. I would have liked a bit more on OBO, Lefoux, Floote, and Tarabotti, maybe a word or two on society and Ivy's return, and a bit more development about what was found in Egypt, but felt mostly satisfied. The characters seemed to play out all that they needed to play out. And, the minimal, but, enticing mechanical creatures worked here. Any thoughts from others of you?

Reading actually Soulles - seems real nice

I just read the Kindle preview for Souless, it looks really good.

I've got the first 4 books in this series waiting for me on hold at the library...I haven't started a new book today because I was going to move these to the top of the pile...only I need a ride to the darn library! Lol. I can't wait, and reading this thread has me even more jazzed about them!

I have finished Soulless, Changeless, and Blameless. I have put Heartleass & Timeless on hold for now as I am reading some classics this summer.

I'm reading Timeless now. It's a little sad that it's the final one, though I look forward to the next series.

As a side note, I met Miss Carriger a couple weeks ago at the World Steam Expo in Dearborn, MI. She is so very sweet. Also attended a talk she gave about humor in steampunk; quite a delightful speaker.