Alexia wasn't the first Tarabotti to travel to Egypt

The growing popularity of the ebook has created a renaissance in the short story market. once relegated to transient magazines and intimidating best-of anthologies, now anyone can create a Kindle Single and release their tale as an inexpensive tidbit for the general population.

Another bonus of the new publishing industry is the freedom it gives authors to revisit past worlds. While an author may consider a series complete, she might still have a few scenes that never made it into a book, or a bit of backstory that could be told, but these bits and bobs aren't enough to warrant a novel. Instead of being lost to a few pages in an anthology, or never seeing the light of day at all, authors now have the ability to put these treats online for their fans to enjoy. 

And such is the case with Gail Carriger's The Curious Case of the Werewolf that Wasn't, the Mummy That Was, and the Cat in the Jar.

Note: The Curious Case... is part of the Parasol Protectorate series. As it's a prequel, it shouldn't have any spoilers for the series itself, but it might not make much sense without the rest of the series. Check out the review for Soulless here. Otherwise, read on!

A sushi-loving werewolf must help two merfolk siblings recovered their embezzled money.

Gail Carriger takes a break from her Steampunk series with a slightly different take on the werewolf curse in 'Marine Biology.'

Alec never really expected to make it to 24. Born into a pack of werewolves, he was always considered a bit too...weak to make the change. In a family that looks like it just walked out of a biker bar, he swam instead of playing a more full-contact sport in high school, and is more likely to be spotted in a lab coat than a leather one. But family is family, and pack is pack, so when there's a get-together he shows up.

Even if he's more likely to bring a salad than a slab of beef.

This time, though, he's actually being given responsibility within the pack. There's been some funny business with the merpeople's finances, and a large chunk of money has gone missing. There's reason to believe that the selkies are in on it, and that's brought a brother-sister pair of mers to town. 

Giselle and Marvin used to be from around here, so they're the ones that were sent from the West Coast to figure out where the money's gone. Since they're not local anymore it's the pack's responsibility to keep them safe while they're investigating, and that's where Alec gets involved.

Nevermind that Marvin used to show up at Alec's swim practices to watch.

'Marine Biology' has an interesting premise and doesn't take itself too seriously. There's a ghost who lives at Butch's house and seems to take great pleasure in teasing the pack when it meets. Alec gets by in the aggressive pack politics by keeping his head down, but still gets made fun of for his sushi platters and job as a researcher. Even the merfolks seen a bit surprised with how badly he fits into this family. Nevertheless, this story has all the humor and clever dialog that readers of Carriger have come to expect, and is a welcome diversion.

Highs: Of course the Irish selkies would be the mafia of the water-weres.

Lows: I kept expecting the werewolf Biff to somehow tie into the character in the Parasol Protectorate with the same name.

Verdict: A quick, easy read that doesn't make itself out to be more than it is.

Further Reading: 'My Sister's Song', Soulless, Attachments

Not every princess gets a Fairy Godmother

It's not the young fairy's fault that she was born with an honor debt. Her mother was rescued by a human prince long before she was born, and when she died before fulfilling the debt, it was passed on to her. And if she ever wants to grow her wings and develop her adult magic, she'll have to make good on what's owed in Gail Carriger's 'Fairy Debt.'

Princess Anastasia Clementina Lanagoob is a rather unfortunate girl, for a princess. Despite her father's best efforts to gain an honor debt for his daughter's christening, not a single Fairy Godmother showed up. With no bonuses in grace, beauty or any other princessly attributes, she's seen by most as a downright ordinary.

Bella Fugglecups (as the princess knows her) is on a mission. Disguised as a jester, it is her mission to fulfill her mother's debt. But with only her Child Wishes at her disposal, it will be a difficult task indeed.

And when an earth dragon crashes High Tea, things get interesting indeed.

Gail Carriger has moved away from short stories in recent years, favoring the more lucrative novel format. She's hardly lost the knack of endearing the reader to a group of characters in a few short pages, though, and 'Fairy Debt' is a confection perfectly prepared for fans of her most humorous writing.

Highs: If a princess can't be beautiful or graceful, at least she can be humble and good to her subjects.

Lows: Household-related magic seems like it ought to be more of a Brownie talent than a Naiad talent to me.

Verdict: 'Fairy Debt' is a short, sweet story reminiscent of some of the goofiest scenes of the Parasol Protectorate books.

Further Reading: 'My Sister's Song', Soulless, 'Judge Sn Goes Golfing' 

Manga Monday: Alexia is hardly one to take disgrace quietly

Alexia is certainly not one to let things go without a fight, and even goes so far as to fight the Templars of Italy in Soulless The Manga Volume 3: Blameless.

Note: Soulless The Manga Volume 3: Blamelessis part of an ongoing series, and follows the story of the third Parasol Protectorate novel, Blameless. The review for Soulless The Manga Volume 1: Soulless is here, and the review of the novel Blameless is here. Otherwise, read on!

A short tale of ancient Greece

It's as if Gail Carriger has studied all her life to write her amazing stories, and in some ways she has. A master's in anthropology certainly helps when writing in historical settings, and her time at Nottingham University must help with her works set in the United Kingdom. But never has her focus in archaeology ben more apparent than in her first professional sale 'My Sister's Song.'

 

Mithra is one of the warrior women of the Melissai. Born to it, she's one of the fastest scouts her army has. This day, however, she's taking advantage of a dry day during a wet Springtime and is out in the forest mushrooming. It's a good thing she is too, since she saed her sister Arite from making a fatal mistake while charming a hive of bees.

Only a few days later, the Romans start marching towards their village. 100 men strong, there's little hope that their fighting force a fourth the size will be able to defend their village from a head-on attack.

Unless mother nature gives them a hand.

Carriger even credits an anthropology article for giving her the idea for this story. Authors find inspiration for their tales in all sorts of places, and Gail Carriger pulls many from the depths of history. 'My Sister's Song' is a wonderful debut story that takes a moment in history and runs with it.

Highs: It's amazing how a tactician's mind can pull from seemingly random experiences to create a wholly new strategy

Lows: As with most of Carriger's work, I wish there was more story to be had

Verdict: A sweet story set in a time not too often mind for fiction

Further Reading: 'Marine Biology', Soulless, 'Clockwork Chickadee

Manga Monday: It makes sense that Alexia would end up hanging off the side of an airship

We meet Lord Maccon's former pack, and they have a most peculiar problem on their hands in Gail Carriger and Yen Press' Soulless The Manga Volume 2: Changeless.

Note: Soulless The Manga Volume 2: Changeless is, of course, the sequel to Soulless The Manga Volume 1,  and follows the story of The Parasol Protectorate Volume 2, Changeless. The review for Soulless The Manga Volume 1 is here, and the review of the novel Changeless is here. Otherwise, read on!

This isn't your grandmother's finishing school

Gail Carriger returns to the Parasol Protectorate universe with a young adult prequel, Finishing School Book the First: Etiquette & Espionage.

Note: This book is a prequel to the Parasol Protectorate series. As such, while there are no direct plot spoilers, there are some allusions to the earlier series. Check out the first Parasol Protectorate book, Soulless, here. Otherwise, read on. 

Manga Monday: Miss Tarabotti has never looked so very...anime

The first book of the Parasol Protectorate has been turned into a manga by the good people at Yen Press, beginning with Soulless Volume 1.

This starts and ends just where the first  book does. We meet Miss Tarabotti after quite the incident at an evening party. She rather inadvertently kills a rogue vampire that tries to make a snack out of her, bringing her once again to the attention of B.U.R. and their chief investigator Sir Conall Maccon, Alpha of the Woolsey pack. As other young rogues are identified, and some of the usuals in town go missing, it's up to Alexia to figure out what's going on before more people find out about her...disability.

Of course the major players are all here. We meet Lord Maccon's Beta Professor Lyall, the ever-flamboyant Lord Akeldama, and even Miss Hisselpenny shows up for a brief scene. Mr. MacDougall and the Hypocras Club factor in prominently, and even Floote and Biffy get a panel or two.

The problem with the adaptation is that it's simply too short to do the original any sort of justice. The novel has the page count for Alexia to be more reticent about Lord Maccon's advances, as befits an assumed old maid of the era. The mystery of the Hypocras Club is cut short here as well; I'm not sure it's mentioned after the first scene at the breakfast table here. And most tragic of all, Miss Hisselpenny is only seen once, during a brief walk with Alexia.

I understand that Yen Press might want to mimic the original books with volumes that contain a complete story. The problem with this is that the charm of The Parasol Protectorate series is in the details. Miss Hisselpenny's penchant for rather distressing hats. Alexia's fondness for a good tea service. Lord Akeldama's outrageousness, yet fondness for the people closest to him. When the story is so pared down, all of this is lost.

Nevertheless, it's wonderful to see the gang together again, and the artwork is beautifully done. While Alexia may not have been showing as much of her assets as this artist tends to draw, the detail on the dress of both the women and the men is top-notch. Kudos to Yen Press for releasing this story to a whole new group of readers who may never have been exposed to it otherwise.

Highs: Seeing Lord Akeldama in all his pretty-boy splendor as a manga character is for me the highlight of the volume.

Lows: While Alexia loosens up quite a bit in later volumes, it's odd to see her be so sexually forward so early on.

Verdict: Perfect for someone who is already a fan of the series, but perhaps not the best introduction.

Further Reading: The Earl and the Fairy, Boneshaker

In an society such as Egypt, it would follow that the vampires would be a new kind of 'ancient'

Two years have passed, and our "infant inconvenience" has started to toddle in the fifth and final 'Parasol Protectorate' book, Timeless.

Note:  Timeless, is the fifth book in the 'Parasol Protectorate' series.  The review of the first book, Soulless, is here; and the review for the fourth book, Heartless, is here.  Otherwise, read on! 

Why would Lady Maccon let an impending infant slow her down?

Alexia is back in full force, with her retinue of vampires, werewolves and treacle tarts in Parasol Protectorate 4, Heartless.

Note:  Heartless, is the fourth book in the Parasol Protectorate series.  The review of the first book, Soulless, is here; and the review for the third book, Blameless, is here.  Otherwise, read on!

It's really not a good idea to make a werewolf nobleman mad...

Note:  Blameless is the third book in the Parasol Protectorate series.  If you haven’t read it already, check out my review of Soulless here and Changeless here. Otherwise, read on!

Where the supernatural get a bit less super...

Note:  Changeless is the sequel to Soulless.  If you haven’t read it already, check out my review of Soulless here. Otherwise, read on!

Ever wonder why Victorian England was pale and wore high collars?

Steampunk has gotten popular.  Very popular.  You can’t throw a rock at a genre convention without hitting someone with goggles on.  But the best authors add in a bit of steampunk as background, without drawing too much attention to it.  Same goes for vampires, werewolves...there’s a lot of fiction shticks that get old fast.  But some authors manage.  Gail Carriger seems to have that down pat with her debut novel Soulless.

Main character Alexia Tarabotti just doesn’t seem to fit in with her family.  First off, she’s the offspring of her mother’s first marriage, to an Italian.  So she’s just a little too dark, a little too curvy, and a little to well-endowed in the nasal area to fit in to Victorian norms.  Because of this, her mother decided not to bother throwing her a coming-out and a season in London, and she’s been declared a spinster since the ripe old age of 13.  

Oh, and she doesn’t have a soul.

In this universe, vampires, werewolves and ghosts are successfully made because they have an abundance of soul.  For this reason, they tend to be artists, and poets, and (gasp!) actors.  To balance this out, of course, there must be some unfortunates who are born without any soul at all.  Miss Tarabotti would be one of these people.  In less enlightened times (also referred to as the Dark Ages), these soulless people, usually men, were used as vampire and werewolf hunters.  Their soulless state negates vampirism or lycanthropy.  In vampires, this takes away their supernatural strength, fangs, and sensitivity to sunlight.  In werewolves, this negates their strength and their change to wolf form at the full moon.  But then the Renaissance happened, supernaturals were given citizenship and rights, and people are no longer able to just kill them on sight.  

(As an interesting aside, which I wish would be followed up on, the people who left England for America left because they believed that vampires and werewolves should still be hunted down and killed.)

The Victorian setting is explored very nicely, but in passing, as it should.  Generally, a character that belongs in a setting would not be expounding on details that would be strange to the reader, but normal to her.  We do get bits of it, though, as she complains about society’s obsession with vampire-pale skin, Roman purge buckets (because, of course, vampires don’t need to eat, but can for the flavor), and the two houses of Parliament (Day Court and Night Court, of course.)

There are also little bits to please the Steampunk audience.  Lord Maccon’s assistant, well, Beta, since he’s a werewolf, has a pair of magnifying ‘glassicals’ that beg to be cosplayed.  There’s also an abundance of dirigibles to be seen.  It’s not dwelled on, though, which is how it should be.

And, like any vampire novel, there’s an aspect of romance in it.  But, being Victorian, it’s completely without smut.  Amazing!  And quite fun.  Not every book needs pages and pages of bedroom scenes.

Admittedly, the book doesn’t start out too great.  When being attacked by a vampire, Alexia seems to be more concerned with the treacle tart that she doesn’t get to eat and her crumpled skirts than her near brush with death.  Also, Miss Hisselpenny, Alexia’s best friend, drives both Alexia and the reader mad obsessing about her hats and pretending to faint.  As the story progresses, though, the reader starts to see the humor in it, though, and it really does begin to be charming.  I suppose that Victorian spinsters probably don’t have terribly much else to concern themselves with than fashion and parties.  Lord Akeldama, though, is amusing from the start.

So it’s vampires without smut, steampunk without being distracting, and funny without being ludicrous.  And that’s a great combination.

Highs;  Appropriate mixture of period items and technology, quirky side-characters

Lows:  Author takes a while to find her voice

Verdict:  A fun fluff piece that has a lot of promise for the rest of the series

Further Reading:  Changeless, Boneshaker