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Product Description
About the Author
George Mann is the Consultant Editor of Solaris Books, the major SF/Fantasy imprint of BL Publishing/Games Workshop. He is the editor of The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction and The Solaris Book of New Fantasy and the author of The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (Constable Robinson), The Human Abstract (Telos), The Severed Man (Telos) and The Child of Time (Telos, with David J. Howe). His short stories have appeared or are due to appear in venues such as Black Sails, Apex Digest, Triquorum and an anthology of Doctor Who stories. He regularly attends the major science fiction and fantasy conventions in both the UK and the US. He lives near Grantham with his wife and son.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Following on from his first two hugely enjoyable Newbury & Hobbes Investigations (The Affinity Bridge and The Osiris Ritual), George Man bring us his latest offering in his steampunk-flavoured series; The Immorality Engine.
Once again focusing on the exploits of occult expert, and agent to the crown, Maurice Newbury alongside his assistant, Miss Veronica Hobbes, we find Sir Maurice at a new low. He is despondent and introverted, hiding away in a seedy opium den, slave to his desire for the drug. He has been consumed by addiction, his duties as Her Majesty's agent as much neglected as his own welfare. However, all is not lost: enter Miss Hobbes and Sir Charles Bainbridge, Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard and best friend to Newbury. The pair have come to rescue Newbury from his self-destructive anaesthesia and give him purpose once more. Thus, they bait him with the prospect of a tantalising new case: a series of robberies are being committed. Ordinary in of itself, were it not the fact that the perpetrator continues to ply his trade after his own death, his corpse residing in the police mortuary.
With this intriguing basis for a story in place, Mann goes on to lead us through a tale of mad doctors, crazed cults, sickly prophets and clandestine societies, all of which is injected with his usual, boundless energy. Action sequences crackle with electricity, visceral scenes burn with bloody horror, characters radiate with a sense of truth and the pace steams through every chapter with a focused vision of what shape the story will eventually take.
The cast are also granted more room for development than in previous instalments, much to their credit, and the relationship between Newbury and Miss Hobbes is afforded some much deserved exploration, which helps to shed more light and their thoughts and feelings, and on the kind people they truly are.
The villains are also tremendously enjoyable and it feels as though Mann had as much fun writing them as he did from writing his heroes and heroines. Their motivations add depth and colour to the world in which they exist, broadening the story's scope. It also aids in revealing the true nature and motives of one of the key players in Mann's universe.
I really can't recommend this book enough. I enjoyed every page as it whisked me through the story at break-neck speed as I found myself hungry for the next revelation the story would bring. There is an all-encompassing sense of advancement, of progress, that pushes the characters further and enriches them with new-found depth. You find yourself constantly fascinated and wishing for more.
George Mann has managed to create a work that he should be immensely proud of. It bursts with an enthusiasm that can not fail to pull you in and hold you in its thrall. He is unquestionably one of the most prominent and talented writers in the steampunk genre and I greatly anticipate more from this extraordinarily talented writer.
Once again focusing on the exploits of occult expert, and agent to the crown, Maurice Newbury alongside his assistant, Miss Veronica Hobbes, we find Sir Maurice at a new low. He is despondent and introverted, hiding away in a seedy opium den, slave to his desire for the drug. He has been consumed by addiction, his duties as Her Majesty's agent as much neglected as his own welfare. However, all is not lost: enter Miss Hobbes and Sir Charles Bainbridge, Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard and best friend to Newbury. The pair have come to rescue Newbury from his self-destructive anaesthesia and give him purpose once more. Thus, they bait him with the prospect of a tantalising new case: a series of robberies are being committed. Ordinary in of itself, were it not the fact that the perpetrator continues to ply his trade after his own death, his corpse residing in the police mortuary.
With this intriguing basis for a story in place, Mann goes on to lead us through a tale of mad doctors, crazed cults, sickly prophets and clandestine societies, all of which is injected with his usual, boundless energy. Action sequences crackle with electricity, visceral scenes burn with bloody horror, characters radiate with a sense of truth and the pace steams through every chapter with a focused vision of what shape the story will eventually take.
The cast are also granted more room for development than in previous instalments, much to their credit, and the relationship between Newbury and Miss Hobbes is afforded some much deserved exploration, which helps to shed more light and their thoughts and feelings, and on the kind people they truly are.
The villains are also tremendously enjoyable and it feels as though Mann had as much fun writing them as he did from writing his heroes and heroines. Their motivations add depth and colour to the world in which they exist, broadening the story's scope. It also aids in revealing the true nature and motives of one of the key players in Mann's universe.
I really can't recommend this book enough. I enjoyed every page as it whisked me through the story at break-neck speed as I found myself hungry for the next revelation the story would bring. There is an all-encompassing sense of advancement, of progress, that pushes the characters further and enriches them with new-found depth. You find yourself constantly fascinated and wishing for more.
George Mann has managed to create a work that he should be immensely proud of. It bursts with an enthusiasm that can not fail to pull you in and hold you in its thrall. He is unquestionably one of the most prominent and talented writers in the steampunk genre and I greatly anticipate more from this extraordinarily talented writer.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having read the first two books in the series and being a big steampunk fan I thought that i would give this one a try.
Overall i felt that the book was a bit of a disappointment. perhaps its because i've been pretty l;ucky with some of my recent new finds (Stephen Hunt, Mark Hodder, etc) but this story just never really seemed to catch me and increasingly I'm struggling to care about the two lead characters as the series progresses. It sort of feels a bit like steampunk by numbers but lacking the imagination that really makes the genre so enjoyable.
I'll probably try the next in the series but for other prospective readers i would recomend that they try Mark Hodder's "The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack" or the even better sequel "The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man" in preference to this. For some real rip roaring character driven Victorian steampunk my recomendation woudl be to go for the Glass Books of the dream easters - which really puts this to shame.
That said, it's worth noting that whilst I didn't particularly enjoy this book, the first two in the series are ok - particularly for thoise new to the genre. Also the author's "Ghosts of Manhatten" is worth a go.
Overall i felt that the book was a bit of a disappointment. perhaps its because i've been pretty l;ucky with some of my recent new finds (Stephen Hunt, Mark Hodder, etc) but this story just never really seemed to catch me and increasingly I'm struggling to care about the two lead characters as the series progresses. It sort of feels a bit like steampunk by numbers but lacking the imagination that really makes the genre so enjoyable.
I'll probably try the next in the series but for other prospective readers i would recomend that they try Mark Hodder's "The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack" or the even better sequel "The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man" in preference to this. For some real rip roaring character driven Victorian steampunk my recomendation woudl be to go for the Glass Books of the dream easters - which really puts this to shame.
That said, it's worth noting that whilst I didn't particularly enjoy this book, the first two in the series are ok - particularly for thoise new to the genre. Also the author's "Ghosts of Manhatten" is worth a go.
Format:Paperback
Another blinder from George Mann. Steam punk meets bys own in this the third and possibly final story in his Newberry and Hobbes stories (though I hope not!) has the al but Terminator-esq Queen Victoria scheming to create a successor and Hobbes sister in peril as her visions come to the attention of people in high places. A great read, well written and a worthy continuation to the trilogy. Recommended. More please!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fantastic third book in the series!
I really enjoyed this third book in the "Newbury & Hobbes" investigations series by George Mann. This adventure reunites Agent to Queen Victoria, Sir Maurice Newbury and his very... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Martin Belcher
The Best So Far
This is the third Newbury and Hobbes investigation, and it's good to have them back. After the slightly disappointing Ghosts of Manhattan, it's also great to see that Mann has his... Read more
Published 9 months ago by David Ford
Mann is capable of much better than this.
Sadly this book just didn't live up to the promise of the previous two, lacking the evocative descriptions of 19th century London and concentrating on all-out action. Read more
Published 9 months ago by S. Hartwell
The best Newbury and Hobbes novel yet
The third in the series of Newbury and Hobbes investigations, The Immorality Engine, is the perfect summer read. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Gordon Fletcher
More and more this series is coming into its own
Steampunk has been know - and celebrated - for it's fun-oriented nature. I've often seen it as nothing other than an excuse to tinker further with Jules Verne's and H.G. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Louis "LEC Book Reviews"
Vile Victoria
After a wobbly opener, followed by a stronger sequel, how would the third 'Newbury and Hobbes' novel turn out? Read more
Published 10 months ago by Quicksilver
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