Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
17 used & new from £6.04
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Affinity Bridge
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Affinity Bridge (Hardcover)

by George Mann (Author)
3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
RRP: £19.99
Price: £13.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £6.00 (30%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Saturday, July 18? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
13 new from £6.04 2 used from £8.50 2 collectible from £12.50
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback (UK open market ed) £7.99 £5.59 45 used & new from £0.39

Frequently Bought Together

The Affinity Bridge + The Kingdom Beyond the Waves + The Court of the Air
Price For All Three: £24.97

Show availability and shipping details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Kingdom Beyond the Waves

The Kingdom Beyond the Waves

by Stephen Hunt
4.3 out of 5 stars (11)  £5.99
The Court of the Air

The Court of the Air

by Stephen Hunt
3.7 out of 5 stars (29)  £4.99
Space Captain Smith (Chronicles of Isambard Smith 1)

Space Captain Smith (Chronicles of Isambard Smith 1)

by Toby Frost
4.3 out of 5 stars (30)  £5.99
God Emperor of Didcot (Chronicles of Isambard Smith 2)

God Emperor of Didcot (Chronicles of Isambard Smith 2)

by Toby Frost
4.9 out of 5 stars (10)  £5.99
Extraordinary Engines: The Definitive Steampunk Anthology

Extraordinary Engines: The Definitive Steampunk Anthology

by Nick Gevers
3.0 out of 5 stars (2)  £5.99
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Snowbooks; UK open market ed edition (1 Jul 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 190500589X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1905005895
  • Product Dimensions: 20.2 x 12.6 x 3.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 79,576 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Review
"a science fantasy novel that should appeal to lovers of both genres... one of the biggest surprises of the year and I can't recommend the book enough." Fantasy Book Critic "The Affinity Bridge is a carefully plotted and entertaining steampunk mystery, and Sir Maurice Newbury and Veronica Hobbes emerge as engaging characters readers are likely to want to see again--a desire the publisher promises to fulfill with a sequel, The Osiris Ritual, announced for 2009." F. Brett Cox, SciFi.com "Mann's imagination has clearly run wild in this quirky and well realised version of the world, and this is no bad thing!It's fun, it's exciting, and Mann has a very agreeable hand that's easy to appreciate!He has a sharp talent for writing and a surplus of enthusiasm for the genre..." SCIFI Now "The author does a superb job of recreating nineteenth century London...a thoroughly engaging story!Excellent world building; captures the Sherlock Holmes feel; never a boring passage. Bottom line: A hugely entertaining book. 4.5 out of 5." SF Signal. "I absolutely loved it" Lou Anders "Fans of Alan Moore's work will likely enjoy Mann's depiction of Victorian asylums, slums, aristocratic soirees and things that go bump in the night." Strange Horizons "Automata, clattering railway carriages, hansom cabs and 'pea soupers', gas lit streets and the doffing of caps, gruff policemen, mad scientists, arrogant industrialists, seances, pentagrams, addictions to laudanum and a few ravening zombies...Mann is at the forefront of the new generation of UK genre movers and shakers." SFRevu.com

Product Description
Welcome to the bizarre and dangerous world of Victorian London, a city teetering on the edge of revolution. Its people are ushering in a new era of technology, dazzled each day by new inventions. Airships soar in the skies over the city, whilst ground trains rumble through the streets and clockwork automations are programmed to carry out menial tasks in the offices of lawyers, policemen and journalists. But beneath this shiny veneer of progress lurks a sinister side. For this is also a world where lycanthropy is a rampant disease that plagues the dirty whorehouses of Whitechapel, where poltergeist infestations create havoc in old country seats, where cadavers can rise from the dead and where nobody ever goes near the Natural History Museum.

See all Product Description

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Affinity Bridge
58% buy the item featured on this page:
The Affinity Bridge 3.4 out of 5 stars (22)
£13.99
The Court of the Air
16% buy
The Court of the Air 3.7 out of 5 stars (29)
£4.99
The Kingdom Beyond the Waves
10% buy
The Kingdom Beyond the Waves 4.3 out of 5 stars (11)
£5.99
Space Captain Smith (Chronicles of Isambard Smith 1)
10% buy
Space Captain Smith (Chronicles of Isambard Smith 1) 4.3 out of 5 stars (30)
£5.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

22 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:
 (6)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.4 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Badly written, 23 Mar 2009
By R. S. Loch "rsloch" (the wilds of Oxfordshire) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Affinity Bridge (Paperback)
The Affinity Bridge is a curious book, it has all the elements of a great read, interesting characters, and setting, with a story that has a lot going for it, but it is mediocre.

The book has one main problem, the author's writing style, which spoils what could have been an interesting and enjoyable read. Either Mann has to get a good editor, or someone else to flesh out his stories.

In summary, a good story, badly written.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
9 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Sherlock Holmes for the Steampunk Fans, 14 Nov 2008
By M. G. Chisholm "chiefengineer3" (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Affinity Bridge (Paperback)
Thoroughly enjoyable steampunk (alternate Victorian historical setting) thrilller that should appeal to fans of Sherlock Holmes and Sci-fi.

I was first attracted to this book by it's evocative cover - shallow I know but it counts and who isn't affected by a picture? It's typically alternate Victorian in design and I love that look. Reminds me of Jules Verne and HG Wells.

When reading this it's very clear that the author George Mann has set out deliberately to use many of the steampunk devices and settings that are familiar to the general public. Some may find this derivative but if you like the offbeat Vitorian settings used in films such as 20 000 Leagues and the League of Gentlemen then as background setting it can't be faulted.

The writing style is simple and straightforward but descriptive enough to create the scene in the minds eye very well. It may not win the Booker but it's well done.

As for the characters, well clearly the Sherlock Holmes stories have been heavily utilized for at least one of the main figures, Newbury, who is obviously based upon the great fictional detective himself. As for Hobbs, she is not fully developed yet and much less used within the book, but by the end it's clear we will see much more depth added in future stories.

Essentially this is a crime novel based in a slightly offset 19th century London where the Victorians have taken a slightly different technical tack. We have airships, metal men, odd doctors and a zombie plague set against a fog laden London. You get the picture - lots of brass, wood and steam. It's a "buddy", type book with two main characters - Newbury, the Sherlockian dabbler in the occult and his junior work partner (and potential love interest) Hobbs, who has secrets herself that should help pad out the character later and add a few more plot devices.

As for the story - fairly straight forward multiple murder mystery with a fair bit of action thrown in when required. There are some interesting sub plots and a couple of nice twists to keep interest.

Overall if you love the steampunk type setting then I'd say this is a superb book to read and enjoy. I'm really looking forward to the next instalment.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
15 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Nice ideas, shame about the writing, 15 Sep 2008
This review is from: The Affinity Bridge (Paperback)
Although the elements of the story sound interesting, they never really come together in the novel to create any suspense or even excitement. George Mann's woeful writing is largely to blame. His attempts at characterisation are riddled with cliches and stereotypes, whilst his habit of stopping the action to insert a 'descriptive passage' results in a clumsy and amateurish text that fails to evoke the steam-punk Daktari world that Mann clearly yearns to depict. In this day and age there is no excuse for poor writing in science-fiction novels, and unfortunately Mann's shortcomings include incongruous descriptions (e.g. "a waterfall of sparks"), a tendency to overwrite (nobody cares what the protaganists had for breakfast, just get on with it), a dearth of any interesting interior monologues, or even witty dialogue, that might have rounded out his characters, and of course telling rather than showing: there is nothing so dull as being told that Sir Newbury is an expert on the occult. A pity, because Mann's ideas, if handled by a more gifted writer, could be turned into entertaining yarns.
Comment Comments (3) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Clockwork and steam

It's a pretty brilliant idea for a novel -- an special agent of Queen Victoria, sent out to deal with weird and supernatural threats. Read more
Published 1 month ago by E. A Solinas

3.0 out of 5 stars A pedestrian pastiche of a steampunk mystery
Fog-enshrouded Victorian London is hardly a safe city in this steampunk thriller. A 'revenant plague' runs rampant through the East End, turning the infected into decaying... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mark Klobas

2.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable
Like others I bought this on the strength of the excellent cover, having no knowledge of the author - and overall I enjoyed it. Read more
Published 2 months ago by zac

2.0 out of 5 stars Fundamental flaws
As with other reviewers, I bought it because i am a steampunk enthusiast from way back and wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt but I didnt really have particularly high... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Dr. N. C. Baker

4.0 out of 5 stars a promising start, lets see you go with it....
Picked this up as a random treat for myself whilst buying a load of books for presents at christmas. Read more
Published 3 months ago by G. Crosby

3.0 out of 5 stars Steampunk as done by the BBC
As some other reviewers said, I was initially attracted to this by the cover. The book started off promising but sort of lost its lustre pretty soon in. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Miles

2.0 out of 5 stars I try hard to get me into
First, I must confess that the book cover gets me. It's like some vacuum cleaner, I get stick it to it. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Samuel Garcia Cazorla

5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining detective story and a thought provokis Steam Punk novel rolled into one!
This book seems to have got very mixed reviews which I personally find curious because I thought it a cracking novel. Read more
Published 8 months ago by N. Berry

4.0 out of 5 stars The Jackie Collins of Steampunk
This is a difficult book to review. Stylistically, it's not that well written. It almost drowns in familiarity of treading the same ground as many other novels. Read more
Published 8 months ago by C. Broughton

3.0 out of 5 stars Jolly Good Fun - bit derivative
The idea of the book is great - brass automatons running riot, sinister zombie killers, airships and fog - along with steam trains on the roads. Read more
Published 8 months ago by M. R. N. Shackelford

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

›Shop the Powerball store

  

Make A Wish

Get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List.

›More info on Wish Lists

  

Up to 50% off Dental Care

Braun Oral-B Professional Care 6000 Rechargeable Toothbrush - Pack of 2
Put a sparkle in your smile with up to 50% off selected Oral-B and Philips rechargeable toothbrushes.

›Up to 50% off power toothbrushes

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates