Serpent Queen
Author: J.A. Campbell
Publisher: InkWolf Press
Genre: Fantasy, Steampunk
Release Date: December 4, 2012
Format Read & Source: Kindle. I own it.
ASIN/ISBN: B00ALCSV8K/9781481097444
Why I Read It: I’m a fan of the author and the blurb was intriguing.
Book Blurb (from goodreads):
Aether gas: lighter than air, and more valuable than gold. It gives the mighty airships the ability to fly. Without it, the delicate balance between magic, technology, and nations would crumble.
The pirate ship Serpent Queen doesn’t much care for the balance of nations, except when it affects her profit. So when Captain Adair is hired to smuggle a load of aether gas into Tribunal lands for a rebel group, the crew is happy to do it-as long as they get paid.
It’s a bonus that most of them have been wronged by the Tribunal in the past and this may be a way to unbalance the tyrants.
Review:
This was a fast paced, action packed, emotion filled story that didn’t stint on character development or story line. It’s short but Campbell packs a lot in. A paranormal pirate story in a universe similar to our own. It’s not quite steampunk as it doesn’t appear to be set on Earth or even in our galaxy. Yet it has dirigibles and other devices that might be found in steampunk or even alternative history. It has species found in urban fantasy – vampires and weres while it also has dragons from fantasy and human folk, the Rom, who are obviously based on Gypsies. I’m not sure exactly how categorize this but Campbell makes all the parts work. It’s fun, fast, engaging and I want more.
It’s hard to discuss it without giving away spoilers but there’s betrayal, friendship, politics, a hint of romance, tragedy and action. There are twists and turns that Campbell hints at but when they happen, you’re still surprised in a , “Oh, that’s what that meant!” way. The ending is not quite a cliff-hanger but it’s a little ambivalent. She’s got two more stories planned and who knows, possibly more if all goes well. There are some copy editing and proofreading errors, more than I like in a book of this length, but not so many as to distract from the story.
Give this a read, you won’t regret it.