As promised, my first review will be of Soulless, the first novel in the Parasol Protectorate Series by Gail Carriger.
An introduction:
I admit it;
as soon as the first Twilight movie
was released, and the ensuing horde of tween fan girls spawned from the bosom
of a sparkly vegetarian ‘glampire’, I have avidly avoided (ehem) ‘vampire’
books and their supernatural counterparts in literary form, unless in the safe
territory of Bram Stoker. It seemed like the mysterious, dangerous and menacing
vampiric creatures I had always imagined vampires to be would cease to exist in
this modernised world of Twilight spin-offs and replicated Edward Cullen’s. So,
why did I pick up a book that professes to be ‘a novel of vampires, werewolves
and parasols’? Well, being a lady whose daily wardrobe includes full
petticoat-enhanced skirts, top hats and parasols, and having a little bit of an
obsession with Victorian England as I do, I’ll admit it was the cover art that
first caught my eye. It depicts Alexia Tarabotti, the heroine of the novel,
wearing a plum coloured Victorian jacket, bespectacled top hat and carrying a
black parasol. A parasol which, little did I know, would become a rather
integral part of this frill-tinged supernatural novel…
We are first
introduced to Miss Alexia Tarabotti at a private ball. Not particularly
enjoying herself or the lack of refreshments at this little party, she retreats
hastily into the library (quite scandalously unescorted!) in the hopes of
happening upon an amply-stocked tea trolley. What she finds however is quite
different. Miss Tarabotti has a run in with a vampire. A rather foolish
vampire, who attempts to feed from our bad-ass heroine, but instead gets quite
a shock as the second he touches her, his fangs retract, his superhuman
abilities mysteriously dissipated. Why? Because Miss Tarabotti has no soul. She
is a preternatural, the touch of which nullifies superhuman abilities, leaving
vampires and werewolves alike with only human strengths and skills. Finishing
him off, Alexia whacks the vamp over the head with her customised buckshot
parasol, delivers a swift blow to his... nether regions and drives her wooden
hair stick into her enemy’s heart. And this is why I love this book…
Being of
Italian heritage, slightly tan, and with a rather predominant nose, Alexia is
certainly not considered beautiful in the era in which she lives, and being of
illegitimate birth is doing little to improve her state of isolated
spinsterhood. Our heroine is also bitingly smart, considered a ‘blue stocking’,
and thus is treated as a hopeless case- by her mother and step sisters
especially. We follow Alexia as she attempts to traverse in life without a
husband or any prospects, although she soon finds herself in hot water for
killing the aforementioned rove vampire. Conflict soon ensues as Alexia joins
forces with the scruffy yet handsome Alpha of the BUR (the organisation that
acts as a sort of government for the supernatural inhabitants of the area); a
werewolf named Lord Maccon. The pair seems to hate each other at first, but
it’s clear from the onset that there’s more than meets the eye to this grumpy
Scottish werewolf.
Hastily transitioning from an intelligent but isolated young
woman to a preternatural vampire-killer, Alexia finds herself being chased down
by a psychotic wax-faced killer, hunted down for information by the Queen of a
vampire hive, and falling prey to the beckoning spell of unexpected love. Scattered
with abductions, missing vampires, and a suspicious organisation with a taste
for octopus logos, Soulless is a book that will keep the reader guessing. Gail
Carriger manages to make the book incredibly entertaining with fast-paced
goings on and classic novel humour that hearkens back to Jane Austen’s pride and
prejudice, and with a devilish twist thrown in; soulless manages to be eerie
and charming simultaneously.
With
Soulless, Carriger has taken a dollop of Victoriana, a dash of danger, and a
hint of steampunk, and mixed it all together with humour and menace in a large
antique teacup. This is one book I certainly approve of, with real vampires, werewolves, and
dreamlike parasols to boot. The book gets a good four tea cups out of five - because there's always room for improvement!
My next review will be: Geisha of Gion by Mineko Iwasaki, coming next week.
