It was last fall, 2009, and I was skipping class with a good friend of mine. Unlike some college kids who skip class to indulge in acts of a somewhat illegal nature, we skipped for the purpose of going to a bookstore and treasure-hunting for something good while we were there. My friend was perusing the New Releases section of Borders while I wandered into the SciFi/Fantasy section to scan titles. I think now that maybe I was looking for Neil Gaiman stuff; I'm trying to complete my collection of his work, but I can't be sure, since I didn't even look at the G section of the shelves. All I remember is coming around the corner to start alphabetically, and as I leaned over to get a better look at some titles, a book fell off the shelf and landed at my feet.
The book was called "Soulless" and the cover featured a very saucy looking Victorian woman whose parasol was decorated with cogs and coils and odd looking accents in brass.
Of course it was fate. Of course I bought it. And of course I made some of my friends buy it too.
The second book of Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series, "Changeless," was released this spring, and my good friend Alexis (@NerdGirl28 via twitter) and I were hungry to read it by then, hoping it wouldn't disappoint after the clever, exhilirating wit and mystery of "Soulless."
It certainly did not disappoint either of us.
The mysterious goings-on of "Soulless" are magnified and intensified in "Changeless." The plot moves more quickly and with sharper twists and turns, and the characters from the first book have blossomed into more intriguing figures in the second. Alexia dons her role as Lady Maccon and Muhjah with great dignity and grace, and likewise the brooding Lord Maccon continues to be a little bit more mysterious than we expect him to be. The exploration of his past with the Scottish pack is both fascinating and tragic, and the continued comedic relief from Ivy Hisselpenny (whose hats continue to get worse) and the claviger Tunstall (whose amorous intents are as endearingly embarrassing as Ivy's melodramatic moanings are endearingly idiotic) is hilarious and a welcome subplot to the increasingly unfunny paranormal mystery growing all around them.
The new characters are fully intriguing and fit right in with the old gang, including the she-wolf who now leads Lord Maccon's old pack and the totally mysterious, totally attractive (oops, Alexia, are you getting tummy-butterflies when she looks at you? and aren't you married to a dude? ...I LOVE their interactions), totally delightful cross-dressing inventor Madame Lefoux. Angelique, ex-maid to the vampires, from the first book, returns as a supporting character, and so does beloved Professor Lyall. The only cast member really missing is Lord Akeldama, whose involvement is significantly lessened by the journey to Scotland. Alas. He still manages to have a say in what goes on though, and we would expect no less of him.
The mystery at hand keeps you guessing fully till the very end of the book, when the clues start to come together a little quicker and more significantly; I was stunned by the reveal, and even MORE stunned by the twist ending the lovely Ms. Carriger gives us. My jaw still hasn't been picked up off the floor.
I would say "I can't wait for Blameless" but the words seem flat and stale by comparison to the agony I am currently floundering in until I can read the next installment.
I am just glad that fate decided to slap "Soulless" off the shelf at me that day in Borders... I don't know where I would be without Gail Carriger's books right now.
Right. Now off I go to work on my steampunk outfit plans and have some more tea.
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