11/20/2023 0 Comments Soulless by gail carriger audible![]() ![]() That's enough to give you the big picture, but there is quite a bit more going on. Without the furries and fang-faces, the government could not maintain power, and so Alexia is charged by Queen Victoria to solve the mystery. The condition appears to be identical to the effect that soulless have on the supernatural, except that it is affecting a large geographical area and no physical contact appears necessary. Now, as Lady Maccon, preternatural problem solver and advisor to Queen Victoria, Alexia is, put simply, the WOMAN.Ī strange plague is loose in London that is causing all of the supernaturals to become, well, natural. This tends to complicate things for her as she married the "alpha" of the most powerful werewolf clan in London at the end of the previous book. Thus, when touched by Alexia, both vampires and werewolves (who both have an excess amount of soul) will become completely human and subject to all the dangers of mortality. Our main character, Alexia Tarabotti, is a preternatural (aka a “soulless”), an extremely rare species of "more than human," whose lack of a soul causes her to negate any supernatural force with which she comes in physical contact. More varieties of kudos for Gail below, but I wanted to bestow credit for this, as it's an area where too many stories like this fall flat. The numerous checks and balances on the power of the much stronger, immortal supernaturals easily passes the smell test and satisfies the prerequisites for allowing the necessary suspension of disbelief. Gail Carriger deserves large chunks of kudos for developing a world that holds together and makes sense in the context of her story. The political and financial power of the fang-bangers and the mutt-faces are held in check largely by: (1) their own deep-seated animosity towards one another and (2) the existence of slick steampunk technology developed by both the government and quasi-secret shadow societies whose raison d'etre is protecting humanity from the immense power of the supernaturals. Set in an alternative London, where Queen Victoria reigns by virtue of the support of vampire hives and werewolf clans, who, collectively, make up the aristocracy of England. Therein lies part of the reason why I enjoy this series so darn much, it allows me to exercise my love of all things Austen in a setting that appeals to the speculative fiction fanboy in me. While tagged as a constituent of the paranormal romance genre (one of the few that holds little interest for me), I think this series (through the first two at least) is more aptly described as an Austenesque comedy of manners.with gentlemen monsters and shadings of steampunk. After suffering a cerebral edema brought on by “big idea” overload from reading Macrolife: A Mobile Utopia (review to come), this breezy, charming comfort read was the perfect curative to alleviate the swelling in my brain pan.
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