The Steam Magnate: .A Novel of the Broken Glass City (Broken Glass City Mosaic) [Paperback]

The Steam Magnate is published by Aio, a small press specializing in what they call "books that stir your soul". I can't say that The Steam Magnate stirred my soul, but I can definitely say that I found this book to be absolutely amazing.
The story takes place in a unique blend of science fiction, real world, and fantasy, put together into what I can only call obscure steampunk. The elements of steampunk are there, but they are almost intentionally made so they don't devour the story. Copithorne has managed to develop a world that is surreal and real all at the same time. The elements of fantasy are kept to a level just above what would be called magical realism, making this world seem so much like a Victorian age Earth, with some modern attachments.
The summary: Kyra is under orders to search for a man who possesses something of great value to the Heiress--certain documents that hold great sway. But the man she's searching for, Eson, is no ordinary person, and so she too finds herself under his influence. She's strangely attracted to him and as she becomes entwined in Eson's world she finds herself struggling to understand who she is and the the world around her.
Eson, however,
possesses unique abilities that allow him to bind people to him so that he can use them to his advantage. Some love him and others wish to see him imprisoned in the same home left to him by his ancestors. After recovering from a disastrous relationship, he meets Kyra and as his affections for her increase, so too does his realization that the challenges taking over his life are a little too close to home.
To put it simply, this work is stunning. Copithorne's prose is superb. It's fluid, powerful, and gripping. I found myself dragged right into the world and unable to escape. This is prose to look up to, in my opinion. This is also not your typical story. While it flirts with the lines of science fiction and fantasy, it isn't a story of adventure, but a story of characters. The focus is on Kyra, Eson, and Jado (a character I didn't mention in the summary), and how they are affected and influenced by everything that goes on. Taken into account that this is a highly literary work, The Steam Magnate never ceases to be beautiful in its creation.
One criticism I think is that perhaps some of the characters feel a little under developed. Kyra is painted clear, but there could be a little more of Jado to give the reader more cause to care. I personally found Jado to be very interesting, but at the same time I feel as though we didn't get to know him well enough. This may be more personal opinion though. In any case, the book is a must read. It was absolutely enthralled with how Eson seemed to almost be a vampire-like character. He reminded me of Dracula, only charming and less creepy--oh, and no sucking blood. His powers are not grandiose, but so very limited that the character himself has to expend considerable effort to even use them. I think this is a rather brilliant idea that diverges from other fantasy.
The short version of all this is: pick this book up. It's absolutely beautiful and I intend to cherish it. Aio is looking to be a fantastic small press publisher that we should all be looking out for.

Very original story line from a first time writer and it shows a little, and it starts off very slow, some people might not stay with it long enough to get to the meat of the story. Writing style and pacing need to be worked on - but it is worth the wait, for something truly original and interesting.

Dana Copithorne has a great imagination. I loved her ideas here: the Glass City, the northern steam territories, the rich coastal city, the natives from a strange land. And there's a wonderful melding of spiriual power and electrical power. Kind of helps us through this religious vs. scientific conundrum we're in these days. We want to believe in the old powers, but the new ones just keep usurping the world.

The novel feels like it moves too quickly for me. There's a lot of ground to cover, several important relationships to get established, locations constructed, good and bad defined, history unfolded. Because of the picturesque settings and unusual characters, however, I would have liked to move slower through the details of the day. I wanted to live through those relationships, places, and histories. Imagine a glass city. I would like to have seen more of the light filtering through all of the amazing bits and pieces. I would like to not just know who the good and bad guys were but really like or dislike them the way the main character, Kyra, did. I kept wondering who was going to turn on Kyra. Seemed like nobody ever did, but there certainly was potential for it. And people seemed to fall in "like" too fast. I don't want to say "love" because everything seemed only lukewarm. The passion of love was missing for me.

It's not necessarily the author's fault. With so much pressure put on authors to move things along these days, none of them seem allowed to show the important details, the moments, the observations. God forbid you'd ever remark on anything. What we, as readers are left with, is a list of events. Correct from the textbook's standpoint, but too grocery listy for my taste. I want to feel the satin and fur, smell the grime and perfume, hear the grunge and the butterfly. Can you imagine what a Glass City would sound like? I'd love to find out.

A good first effort from the author. A little detail added to her wonderful imagination, and a little slower pace, and we'd have a great new world to experience.

Sue Lange