Soulless by Gail CarrigerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Forget everything you thought you knew about vampires and werewolves in the 19th century. Throw it right out the window, because this is the good stuff.
Appropriate societal behavior in the 19th century was very serious business. Manners were paramount in order to avoid offending a lady's "delicate sensabilities." Set it as the backdrop for a comedic romp with paranormal creatures and you get the magic that is Soulless.
Gail Carriger has taken the romantic trope of "I hate you but wait, I love you" and created characters to adore. They are what makes this book really shine. Alexia Tarabotti is a spinster - 26 years old and unmarried - and has olive skin and generous curves. She likes to eat. She is a person who is very self-assured, confident, and unwilling to accept that she has no value in society. That said, she has fallen victim to her family's perception of her as old, fat and ugly and has learned to compensate with aplomb. She is instantly relatable as a "real" person. We meet her as she is attacked by a rogue vampire and kills him by mistake.
Which then introduces us to her love interest, Lord Maccon, head of the police agency that handles the affairs of the paranormal folk. Carriger immediately reins us in by making the situation far more about the social impropriety of the situation rather than the details of the murder. Who cares about a murder victim when the alleged murderer was a woman alone in a library having tea? During a party? Unchaperoned? It is simply not done!
Lord Maccon is a Scottish werewolf, the combination of two "barbaric" qualities. The fun starts with the banter between he and Alexia when he comes to investigate the murder, setting the stage for the mystery and romance. Along with Maccon is his assistant Profession Lyall, who is sort of the Dr. Watson to Maccon's Sherlock. Lyall and Foote, the butler, are the "straight men" and provide part of the reason the two main characters are so funny. Ivy Hisselpenny is Alexia's honest and loyal but clueless friend. The villains are sufficiently evil and devious, there's a steampunk automaton and an American scientist. And the vampire Lord Akeldama completely steals the show with his flamboyance.
The plot isn't overly intricate here, just interesting enough to keep us reading. There were parts that slowed down but were necessary information for us. There was more romance in the story than I was expecting - and adult romance at that. While things don't get overly explicit, it is clear that these are adults behaving as such. The innuendo makes it both palatable and engaging. There is kidnapping and torture and a sort of mafia mentality with the groups of vampires and werewolves and their heads. Even the Queen Victoria makes an appearance.
On audio, the book is narrated by Emily Gray. Her voices for the characters were excellent, but the phrasing was slow. Because the language is such that you really have to pay attention to get the full effect, this made things boring at the start. Speeding up the narration to 1.5 or 2 times normal is advised to get the full ambience of the story.
This was just delightful. I cannot wait to get into the rest of the series and see just what mischief Ms. Tarrabotti gets herself into next.
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