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Prosperity #2-4, 6
Liberty and Other Stories
For the delight and edification of discerning readers, we present diverse stories concerning the lives, histories, and adventures of the crew of the aethership Shadowless.
Lament! as an upstanding clergyman falls into the villainous clutches of a notorious criminal mastermind.
Question your sanity! as a dissolute governess confronts blasphemies from beyond creation.
Wonder! at the journey of the dashing skycaptain Byron Kae across sapphire oceans, through smog-choked streets, and to the depths of the sky itself.
Gasp! at an entirely true and accurately rendered tale of pirates, cavalrymen, aethermancers, scientists, and a power to unmake the world.
Plus, hitherto unseen extracts from the meticulous and illuminating journals of Mrs. Miranda Lovelace, rogue scientist and first of the aethermancers.
This collection includes:
- Shackle (A Prosperity Story)
- Squamous with a Chance of Rain
- Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies
- Liberty
Lament! as an upstanding clergyman falls into the villainous clutches of a notorious criminal mastermind.
Question your sanity! as a dissolute governess confronts blasphemies from beyond creation.
Wonder! at the journey of the dashing skycaptain Byron Kae across sapphire oceans, through smog-choked streets, and to the depths of the sky itself.
Gasp! at an entirely true and accurately rendered tale of pirates, cavalrymen, aethermancers, scientists, and a power to unmake the world.
Plus, hitherto unseen extracts from the meticulous and illuminating journals of Mrs. Miranda Lovelace, rogue scientist and first of the aethermancers.
This collection includes:
- Shackle (A Prosperity Story)
- Squamous with a Chance of Rain
- Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies
- Liberty
335 pages, ebook
First published January 4, 2015
About the author
Alexis Hall
52 books13.8k followersOne of those intricate British queers.
Please note: I don’t read / reply to DMs. If you would like to get in touch, the best way is via email which you can find in the contact section on my website <3
Please note: I don’t read / reply to DMs. If you would like to get in touch, the best way is via email which you can find in the contact section on my website <3
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
December 10, 2014
4 LiBeRtY StArS
Anyone for tea...
So we're whisked away again for more tales from that charmer Mr Alexis Hall.
T'waz wonderful so it T'waz.
You know this guy can spin a yarn so beautifully.
T'waz Milord and Ruben's dalliance that had me like this.....
and this....Gasp!!
I LOVED IT....cunning, clever, smoulderingly sinful.
....then we had the dashing skycaptain Byron Kae, the loveable rogue Dil sneaked us a peek at their piece of sky *sigh*
Not forgetting a whole host of other characters....
No doubt if you loved Prosperity you'll love this!! Pour a cup of tea, sit back and enjoy xoxo
ARC kindly provided by Riptide and Netgalley...thank you so much...Liberty and Other Stories is due for release 5th Jan 2015
Anyone for tea...
So we're whisked away again for more tales from that charmer Mr Alexis Hall.
T'waz wonderful so it T'waz.
You know this guy can spin a yarn so beautifully.
....Ruben lay staring up at Milord's piece of sky where the moon floated in a haze of silver upon a sea of stars....
T'waz Milord and Ruben's dalliance that had me like this.....
and this....Gasp!!
I LOVED IT....cunning, clever, smoulderingly sinful.
....then we had the dashing skycaptain Byron Kae, the loveable rogue Dil sneaked us a peek at their piece of sky *sigh*
Not forgetting a whole host of other characters....
No doubt if you loved Prosperity you'll love this!! Pour a cup of tea, sit back and enjoy xoxo
ARC kindly provided by Riptide and Netgalley...thank you so much...Liberty and Other Stories is due for release 5th Jan 2015
June 12, 2016
Liberty & Other Stories is a collection of short stories set in the Prosperity universe. You can meet old friends and learn more about their past and also future. For fans of Prosperity a must read :-)
*** Shackles ***
Lament! as an upstanding clergyman falls into the villainous clutches of a notorious criminal mastermind.
Oh my fucking God. I am so stunned. Stunned by Milord, and Milord and Ruben. Stunned. When I’m reading their story, I am glued to the pages. I feel so close to them. I can feel their want and despair. I can smell the dampness of the cell, the fragrance of the tea. I am lured in and helpless. I have no defenses. I am owned and made a prisoner of emotions.
There has never been a person that engrossed me more than Milord, never been a connection between two people that I adored more, and I can���t imagine there’ll ever be another.
Milord all on his own is so fascinating to me. He’s so cold and broken, yet so overwhelmed with want and emotion. I pity and admire him and he would hate me for it. He’s so proud and ruthless. A lost soul. A survivor.
I can’t but be appalled by his deeds, that he deems necessary, but like Ruben I can’t but love and want him despite everything. I want him to experience something good, something real and powerful for the first time in his life. I want him to live, to find love, and give love in return.
Milord and Ruben together on page are just mind-blowing to me. They are my own personal brand of heroine. Their scenes are so special. Tender and wary, full of desire and mistrust, of hope and betrayal. They are everything to me.
‘Shackles’ is the beginning of their story. It is a powerful start to a powerful future that is continued in Prosperity.
*** Squamous with a Chance of Rain ***
Question your sanity! as a dissolute governess confronts blasphemies from beyond creation.
Squamous is Jane’s story, how she has evolved in her state of seeing horrendous things beyond the aether.
There are universes, cold and vast, caught at the corners of my eyes like unshed tears. Spaces between my thoughts, flecked with the fleeting iridescence of a thousand dying worlds.
We are nothing.
A disregarded dream of long-dead gods.
So, I am somehow unfair, but from all of Prosperity’s protagonists I feel the least connection to Jane. And this is unfair, because all the others are such extraordinary people to me that Jane somehow falls short. But if I’d look at her on her own, she’d still be a great and fascinating woman.
And I want to see her, it is just a bit hard for me to distance myself from all the rest and see past them.
I really like a lot of Jane’s characteristics. She’s enticing and blunt and cares naught for what is expected from her as a woman. We see the beginnings of this in Squamous and can relish it in Prosperity all the more.
In Squamous we read her correspondence with a friend. Parts were gross and terrible, others just lovely and funny, others were a bit slow for me, though. It could as well have been me, because I was a bit preoccupied in my thoughts with other things while reading 'Squamous', but I had some difficulties with concentrating and getting into the story.
As part of the whole Prosperityverse, I still love ‘Squamous’ very much, and I love how I get more pieces of the whole in everything I read.
*** Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies ***
Wonder! at the journey of the dashing skycaptain Byron Kae across sapphire oceans, through smog-choked streets, and to the depths of the sky itself.
Okay first:
I KNEW IT!!! I KNEW IT!!! I KNEW IT!!!
And no! I won’t tell you what :-D :-))))) I so knew it. Also: makes me soooooooo, so happy.
Welcome to Byron Kae’s story, of how they became an aethermancer.
I was too desperate to be embarrassed. And Edward simply gathered me up and carried me aboard. Wrapped me in a blanket, and held me with impossible patience, until I remembered how it felt to be safe, and seen, and known.
Cloudy is in parts a really heartbreaking story, because Byron Kae had not an easy life, before they could escape to the skies and be free. It made me so angry and sad for them. They had been different even before they got changed by the universe and they had a hard time because of that.
Infinity. I beheld infinity.
Nowhere and everywhere, the beginning and the end of all things, boundless and impossible vast.
And beautiful.
It was beautiful.
[...]
And the universe took me and claimed me, and when I came back, I was changed.
Cloudy is a story full of wonder and love and tenderness. Reading about Byron Kae makes me incredibly happy. They is such an intriguing character. When they talk, when they are near, I feel like an amazed child.
Byron Kae is just so fascinating. They is so innocent but so powerful, too.
I want a Byron Kae in my life, because as much as I adore Milord, it’d be too dangerous to have someone like him ;-)
I really loved how 'Cloudy' was told. The framework to Byron Kae telling their story was just lovely. The small banter in between with Dil made me smile so much.
Again I am awed by another piece that I could discover and explore in the Prosperityverse. I could read nothing else for the rest of my life and die happy .
*** Liberty ***
Gasp! at an entirely true and accurately rendered tale of pirates, cavalrymen, aethermancers, scientists, and a power to unmake the world.
For now, it must suffice to say that it is a haven for exiles built around the vast, petrified corpse of a kraken. There is no day or night in Liberty: its skies are an ever-shifting canvas of light, green and purple, limned with silver, as pure as the aurora. Its twisting streets crackle and glitter with strange crystals, but the buildings that line them are ephemeral places, made by placeless people, from wood and canvas and hope.
So… ‘Liberty’ seems somehow difficult to review because I don’t want to give anything away, and mebbe I should just stop with this first quote and make it my review. But… nah! I’ll try :-)
As with ‘Cloudy’, I really like how Alexis chose to tell the story. ‘Liberty’ is a collection of court documents—witness statements, letters and similar.
So from the very beginning I knew that horrible things were gonna happen—to my loved characters—but was left in the dark about the details. Who would have thought that this would make it so suspenseful? I was biting my nails and sitting at the front of my seat for the most time!
”I reckon one town dropping out the sky’s and adventure, but when it happens twice, it’s personal.”
And yes, it’s so personal—not only for Dil!
Brilliant. All of Prosperity and Prosperity’s other stories. Just perfect. I want more. I’ll always want more. And it makes me so very, very sad that this is the end. For now. I hope that Alexis will be able to write more sometime in the future, because a future without more of Prosperity just doesn’t cut it for me.
***
I personally think you should read Prosperity first. While Shackles and Squamous both tell a piece of the story before Prosperity, I still think it's better to read Prosperity first.
***
My other reviews from the Prosperityverse:
see here
see here
December 25, 2014
I loved Prosperity and Liberty and Other Stories gives you a glimpse of the lives of the characters Picadilly met on the Shadowless. You'll find out what made them the people Picadilly got to know and love (mostly).
You'll get:
Shackle, Ruben and Milord's story told by Picadilly, who thinks he 'got the shape of it'. It is as heartbreaking as I expected. And now I am even more worried than before. How can I love a character like Milord?
Squamous with a Chance of Rain, Miss Jane Grey's story. This one is as funny as it is disturbing, if that makes any sense.
Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies is Byron Kae's story.
Liberty is about the fall of a pirate town. Now declassified documents reveal the reasons behind the fall.
*The title provided by NetGalley and Riptide Publishing*
You'll get:
Shackle, Ruben and Milord's story told by Picadilly, who thinks he 'got the shape of it'. It is as heartbreaking as I expected. And now I am even more worried than before. How can I love a character like Milord?
Squamous with a Chance of Rain, Miss Jane Grey's story. This one is as funny as it is disturbing, if that makes any sense.
Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies is Byron Kae's story.
Liberty is about the fall of a pirate town. Now declassified documents reveal the reasons behind the fall.
*The title provided by NetGalley and Riptide Publishing*
January 2, 2015
Loved it!
Will try to review it soem time next week.
If possible, I loved Byron Kae, Dil, Milord and Ruben even more. Lady Jane is still no my favourite though her story was quite wondrous and scary.
Fans of Prosperity will loved these additonal stories. And, as a side note, they are easier to read in terms of language.
Here is my full review, also posted on Ellie Reads Fiction
This a collection of 4 short stories/novellas some of which are prequels, some - sequels to Prosperity but they all add more to the stories of our beloved characters from the first book.
Shackles is about Ruben and Milord. It's told from Ruben's POV but it reveals a lot about both Ruben and Milord. To say that I absolutely enjoyed it would be an understatement. Milord is the unrepentant villain we know from Prosperity and Ruben is the same iirresistibleupstanding man but their meeting and coming together really impacts them both deeply. They have their weaknesses and dark sides but I feel, all the stories in this collection are mostly about acceptance and loving someone (oneself) unconditionally. Ruben's voice is quite different style than Piccadilly's in Prosperity and that makes his tale easier to read in terms of language.
Squamous with a Chance of Rain tells the story of Lady Jane. She is my least favourite character of the lot and I don't mean that I dislike, I just love the rest of them much more. Still, her story was rather intriguing - an epistolary tale with of Gothic horror and somewhat reminiscent of Jane Eyre. This story mixes the mundane and the mythical and has more steampunk elements than the previous one. Lady Jane is a rather unreliable narrator which makes her story all the more mysterious and scary.
Cloudy Climes and Starry Skies is all about Byron Kae and the story I liked the best. Byron Kae was the most unusual character for me in Prosperity. They were an amazing human being, yet I had somewhat difficult time picturing them in my head. Their story here completely won me over. I have no words to properly describe what it made me feel. It's beautiful and painful and full of love and longing and pain and isolation. It presents brilliantly the universal desire of the human being to be accepted, to be valued for who they are. The story is heart-breaking and gut wrenching, yet ultimately full of love and tenderness. It reminded me in a lot of ways of Mr. Hall's short story Sand and Gold and Ruin, another allegorical tale of love and pain.
The final story, Liberty, was not at all what I was expecting and it was amazing still the same. It's full of adventure and action and drama and multiple POVs. It's a sequel to Prosperity where we see Dil and Byron Kae and Lady Jane back together. Told through different documents - personal letters, official documents, some classified government correspondence, etc - it's an action story where the author skilfully plays with historical fact and fiction to create an emotional tale of power and ambition and love and forgiveness. And we meet Captain George England, yet another fantastic character created by Mr. Hall. I hope that we will have the chance to read his story at some point in the future.
These are beautifully written steampunk/fantasy stories exploring the human soul in all its beauty and ugliness. It takes the readers on a magical journey and it leaves them wanting so much more. A highly recommended read!
A side note: It's easier to read in terms of language, but just as beautifully and masterfully written. If you gave up on Prosperity because you found the slang too difficult, I'd suggest that you read these first and then go back to Prosperity. Or you can try There Will be Phlogiston - a free short story (m/m/f) set in the same world where the heroine is half-sister to Byron Kae.
Will try to review it soem time next week.
If possible, I loved Byron Kae, Dil, Milord and Ruben even more. Lady Jane is still no my favourite though her story was quite wondrous and scary.
Fans of Prosperity will loved these additonal stories. And, as a side note, they are easier to read in terms of language.
Here is my full review, also posted on Ellie Reads Fiction
This a collection of 4 short stories/novellas some of which are prequels, some - sequels to Prosperity but they all add more to the stories of our beloved characters from the first book.
Shackles is about Ruben and Milord. It's told from Ruben's POV but it reveals a lot about both Ruben and Milord. To say that I absolutely enjoyed it would be an understatement. Milord is the unrepentant villain we know from Prosperity and Ruben is the same iirresistibleupstanding man but their meeting and coming together really impacts them both deeply. They have their weaknesses and dark sides but I feel, all the stories in this collection are mostly about acceptance and loving someone (oneself) unconditionally. Ruben's voice is quite different style than Piccadilly's in Prosperity and that makes his tale easier to read in terms of language.
Squamous with a Chance of Rain tells the story of Lady Jane. She is my least favourite character of the lot and I don't mean that I dislike, I just love the rest of them much more. Still, her story was rather intriguing - an epistolary tale with of Gothic horror and somewhat reminiscent of Jane Eyre. This story mixes the mundane and the mythical and has more steampunk elements than the previous one. Lady Jane is a rather unreliable narrator which makes her story all the more mysterious and scary.
Cloudy Climes and Starry Skies is all about Byron Kae and the story I liked the best. Byron Kae was the most unusual character for me in Prosperity. They were an amazing human being, yet I had somewhat difficult time picturing them in my head. Their story here completely won me over. I have no words to properly describe what it made me feel. It's beautiful and painful and full of love and longing and pain and isolation. It presents brilliantly the universal desire of the human being to be accepted, to be valued for who they are. The story is heart-breaking and gut wrenching, yet ultimately full of love and tenderness. It reminded me in a lot of ways of Mr. Hall's short story Sand and Gold and Ruin, another allegorical tale of love and pain.
The final story, Liberty, was not at all what I was expecting and it was amazing still the same. It's full of adventure and action and drama and multiple POVs. It's a sequel to Prosperity where we see Dil and Byron Kae and Lady Jane back together. Told through different documents - personal letters, official documents, some classified government correspondence, etc - it's an action story where the author skilfully plays with historical fact and fiction to create an emotional tale of power and ambition and love and forgiveness. And we meet Captain George England, yet another fantastic character created by Mr. Hall. I hope that we will have the chance to read his story at some point in the future.
These are beautifully written steampunk/fantasy stories exploring the human soul in all its beauty and ugliness. It takes the readers on a magical journey and it leaves them wanting so much more. A highly recommended read!
A side note: It's easier to read in terms of language, but just as beautifully and masterfully written. If you gave up on Prosperity because you found the slang too difficult, I'd suggest that you read these first and then go back to Prosperity. Or you can try There Will be Phlogiston - a free short story (m/m/f) set in the same world where the heroine is half-sister to Byron Kae.
October 20, 2022
Well, this took me entirely too long to read…
So, I really liked Shackles, getting to know the origin story of Ruben and Milord. I did not overly love Squamous With a Chance of Rain, which is Jane’s story, and is epistolary, which didn’t really work for me. Liberty was also good, though again, epistolary, so not really my thing. But… BUT… Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies was EVERYTHING. Oh my god, it was SO good. It was Byron Kae’s story, with a prologue and epilogue taking place about a year after Prosperity, and it was so good. I mean, the whole story was so good. It was heart wrenching and beautiful and I ended up crying at the end, even though it wasn’t really sad. In Prosperity I found Dil to be fairly annoying, but he completely won me over in this story. I loved this story so much, I actually reread it as soon as I finished it. It was so beautifully written and the small exchanges with Dil throughout it (as Byron Kae is telling their story), just added so much to it. I feel like I could rant about this short story for way longer than would seem reasonable. I want to go back and reread Prosperity right now, but it will have to wait (plus, I still need to read There Will Be Phlogiston, which is another Prosperity story).
I feel like I may be getting close to incoherent rambling at this point, so I suppose I’ll stop.
I think that when I grow up I’d like to be an aethermancer. Take me up into the mesosphere and let the aurora take me apart and put me back together again.
So, I really liked Shackles, getting to know the origin story of Ruben and Milord. I did not overly love Squamous With a Chance of Rain, which is Jane’s story, and is epistolary, which didn’t really work for me. Liberty was also good, though again, epistolary, so not really my thing. But… BUT… Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies was EVERYTHING. Oh my god, it was SO good. It was Byron Kae’s story, with a prologue and epilogue taking place about a year after Prosperity, and it was so good. I mean, the whole story was so good. It was heart wrenching and beautiful and I ended up crying at the end, even though it wasn’t really sad. In Prosperity I found Dil to be fairly annoying, but he completely won me over in this story. I loved this story so much, I actually reread it as soon as I finished it. It was so beautifully written and the small exchanges with Dil throughout it (as Byron Kae is telling their story), just added so much to it. I feel like I could rant about this short story for way longer than would seem reasonable. I want to go back and reread Prosperity right now, but it will have to wait (plus, I still need to read There Will Be Phlogiston, which is another Prosperity story).
I feel like I may be getting close to incoherent rambling at this point, so I suppose I’ll stop.
I think that when I grow up I’d like to be an aethermancer. Take me up into the mesosphere and let the aurora take me apart and put me back together again.
February 7, 2016
BJ and I did a buddy review on Prism Book Alliance - our reviews are very different but we came to the same conclusion: HELL YEAH
Shackles
This is Ruben and Milord’s origin story. YES. It really is. Can you believe it?! We get this!
Ok, ahem, now then…
Once you’ve read the book that start all of this, Prosperity, the opening pages of Shackles will have your heart beating faster at the possibilities, the anticipation of what you may learn about Ruben and… well, those he knew in the beginning.
New favorite word alert: iniquitous.
I could squee and rave and shout and dance about the major fantasticalness of this story. It would be and is all true.
Here’s the thing, learning what we did about Ruben and Milord at the end of Prosperity lends this story emotional weight it may not have otherwise provided, ne, forced upon me. It’s a gift I treasure. For Ruben and Milord, I was desperate to gloriously suffer through… them.
*~* delicately faints onto the chesterfield *~*
I did. And I’m grinning. Oh and here’s a more straight forward example of the things that made me snort with glee:
Ruben had never been introduced to ordnance before. He was not particularly enjoying the experience.
Hee! (yes, I just “hee’d”)
Ruben is one of the big huge giant keys to this Prosperity universe. His passion and seemingly unquenchable thirst to get to the true heart of a person are two of the gears that make this realm turn and grind and fly.
And let us not give short shrift to Milord. Yes, he’s a dastardly bastard, but try as he might, he cannot hide from Ruben. His usual defenses are useless, abandoning him, leaving him open and wanting.
I want to read Prosperity again.
5 *
Squamous With a Chance of Rain
This. Is. FUN. My literary heart was joyfully singing and swinging. The word play in Hall’s writing is superb. Superbly humorous. Superbly direct. Superbly sublime. Smartly swirled within is that earthy reality to which all of us human types fall prey. Our own hang-ups, need for vindication, and the inability to ignore the nonsensical, imperfect path – it’s just too irresistible.
Also? The love for The Sound of Music. I share that bone deep adoration, sir.
My adoration for sarcasm is just as mighty. Jane, my dearest, you sing my song.
If she thought to menace me, she misjudged the matter seriously, as I have always rather appreciated being underestimated. It allows one to relax.
Yes.
The deeper and deeper into this story, the more and more it read like poetry. Wonderful, desperate, mysterious poetry. What in the world is going on at Vanstone Hall? With Jane? And Vanstone? Diane? The children?
This is a fantastically built story, a steady climb further into tentacled horror. I freakin’ loved it. It captivated me from the sarcastic beginning, through the creepy grossness and right on to the perfection that is the ending. Is it really, though? The end? Jane, I know you have too much more up your bustle to abandon us now.
5 *
From the Journal of Mrs. Miranda Lovelace
Alexis Hall has created and can write female characters that represent the hodgepodge of traits we all share at differing levels: aptitude, intelligence, humor, a million interests, strength, vulnerability, the unending variety that is us.
This journal of Miranda’s is so cool. She’s a scientist, curiosity and method swirling around together in chaotic beauty and discovery. Holy crap, this is awesome. That’s as simple as I can make it. And I’m covetous. Of this story, and Miranda, and that’s all there is to it.
I want more. I need more. I’m a’gonna get me more.
5 *
*** a momentary break in the action ***
I just noticed how much “swirling” and “turning” and “flying” I’ve got here. That’s what Hall’s storytelling is, always in motion, even in those incredibly intimate, quiet moments, everything is moving. Such a difficult thing to accomplish, to get across to a reader. This here be success.
*** back to our regularly scheduled jibber jabber ***
Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies
*~* breath hitches *~*
*~* quill point scratches across paper *~*
My Dearest Byron,
My heart cracks and splits and crumbles in learning of your history, but then you heal it all, putting me back together again with your endless kindness, strength and love. I hate for you, my heartbeat increasing and my anger rising against those who failed to see you, who simply failed you, and hurt you. I hate that you hurt.
For all of your strength and knowledge and experience, you still recognize the precious nature of life, of Dil. What he is, he’s the sky you can now see, the life that travels beside you, with you, instead of only glimpsing it over the wall and beyond the railing. He’s everything you don’t yet know.
That makes Ruben the one who helped you see the you that was already there, waiting to start the real ride in that sky.
Oh, and before I forget, thank Dil for me. He makes me giggle, especially when he teases you, for it’s usually based on truth. Which is the other thing, he sees the true you. He sees you and embraces you, knowing what you want and why. Precious.
I wish for you the life you’ve dreamed and more.
Yours in gratitude,
~Andrea
5 *
Liberty
I don’t have a review, per se, of this part of the story. I will tell you that it’s fun as hell. It’s a sort of behind the scenes, backstory roly poly’d in alongside. It’s like the Prosperity case files got cracked open and we’re the lucky ones to have been in the right place at the right time, to leaf through, peruse and soak up at will.
And Dil gets the last word, as it should be. ;)
ETA: Recommended Read on PBA for January 2015
Shackles
This is Ruben and Milord’s origin story. YES. It really is. Can you believe it?! We get this!
Ok, ahem, now then…
Once you’ve read the book that start all of this, Prosperity, the opening pages of Shackles will have your heart beating faster at the possibilities, the anticipation of what you may learn about Ruben and… well, those he knew in the beginning.
New favorite word alert: iniquitous.
I could squee and rave and shout and dance about the major fantasticalness of this story. It would be and is all true.
Here’s the thing, learning what we did about Ruben and Milord at the end of Prosperity lends this story emotional weight it may not have otherwise provided, ne, forced upon me. It’s a gift I treasure. For Ruben and Milord, I was desperate to gloriously suffer through… them.
*~* delicately faints onto the chesterfield *~*
I did. And I’m grinning. Oh and here’s a more straight forward example of the things that made me snort with glee:
Ruben had never been introduced to ordnance before. He was not particularly enjoying the experience.
Hee! (yes, I just “hee’d”)
Ruben is one of the big huge giant keys to this Prosperity universe. His passion and seemingly unquenchable thirst to get to the true heart of a person are two of the gears that make this realm turn and grind and fly.
And let us not give short shrift to Milord. Yes, he’s a dastardly bastard, but try as he might, he cannot hide from Ruben. His usual defenses are useless, abandoning him, leaving him open and wanting.
I want to read Prosperity again.
5 *
Squamous With a Chance of Rain
This. Is. FUN. My literary heart was joyfully singing and swinging. The word play in Hall’s writing is superb. Superbly humorous. Superbly direct. Superbly sublime. Smartly swirled within is that earthy reality to which all of us human types fall prey. Our own hang-ups, need for vindication, and the inability to ignore the nonsensical, imperfect path – it’s just too irresistible.
Also? The love for The Sound of Music. I share that bone deep adoration, sir.
My adoration for sarcasm is just as mighty. Jane, my dearest, you sing my song.
If she thought to menace me, she misjudged the matter seriously, as I have always rather appreciated being underestimated. It allows one to relax.
Yes.
The deeper and deeper into this story, the more and more it read like poetry. Wonderful, desperate, mysterious poetry. What in the world is going on at Vanstone Hall? With Jane? And Vanstone? Diane? The children?
This is a fantastically built story, a steady climb further into tentacled horror. I freakin’ loved it. It captivated me from the sarcastic beginning, through the creepy grossness and right on to the perfection that is the ending. Is it really, though? The end? Jane, I know you have too much more up your bustle to abandon us now.
5 *
From the Journal of Mrs. Miranda Lovelace
Alexis Hall has created and can write female characters that represent the hodgepodge of traits we all share at differing levels: aptitude, intelligence, humor, a million interests, strength, vulnerability, the unending variety that is us.
This journal of Miranda’s is so cool. She’s a scientist, curiosity and method swirling around together in chaotic beauty and discovery. Holy crap, this is awesome. That’s as simple as I can make it. And I’m covetous. Of this story, and Miranda, and that’s all there is to it.
I want more. I need more. I’m a’gonna get me more.
5 *
*** a momentary break in the action ***
I just noticed how much “swirling” and “turning” and “flying” I’ve got here. That’s what Hall’s storytelling is, always in motion, even in those incredibly intimate, quiet moments, everything is moving. Such a difficult thing to accomplish, to get across to a reader. This here be success.
*** back to our regularly scheduled jibber jabber ***
Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies
*~* breath hitches *~*
*~* quill point scratches across paper *~*
My Dearest Byron,
My heart cracks and splits and crumbles in learning of your history, but then you heal it all, putting me back together again with your endless kindness, strength and love. I hate for you, my heartbeat increasing and my anger rising against those who failed to see you, who simply failed you, and hurt you. I hate that you hurt.
For all of your strength and knowledge and experience, you still recognize the precious nature of life, of Dil. What he is, he’s the sky you can now see, the life that travels beside you, with you, instead of only glimpsing it over the wall and beyond the railing. He’s everything you don’t yet know.
That makes Ruben the one who helped you see the you that was already there, waiting to start the real ride in that sky.
Oh, and before I forget, thank Dil for me. He makes me giggle, especially when he teases you, for it’s usually based on truth. Which is the other thing, he sees the true you. He sees you and embraces you, knowing what you want and why. Precious.
I wish for you the life you’ve dreamed and more.
Yours in gratitude,
~Andrea
5 *
Liberty
I don’t have a review, per se, of this part of the story. I will tell you that it’s fun as hell. It’s a sort of behind the scenes, backstory roly poly’d in alongside. It’s like the Prosperity case files got cracked open and we’re the lucky ones to have been in the right place at the right time, to leaf through, peruse and soak up at will.
And Dil gets the last word, as it should be. ;)
ETA: Recommended Read on PBA for January 2015
January 12, 2015
Truth is, I reckon we all know less about living than what we pretend we do. But one lesson I have been able to make stick through my slender, though adventuresome, years is that you have to go out and lay paws most handily and most determinedly on whatever stuff it is makes your life worth having.
Liberty and Other stories is a collection of three prequels and a sequel to Prosperity plus a bonus story.
To say I was happy to meet my favourite characters from Prosperity again would be an understatement. In this collection, Alexis Hall gives us not only past time stories and new adventures of the ”merry band of misfits” but a deeper look inside their hearts, he reveals their strengths and vulnerabilities in a way that made me grew fonder of them all. We meet them in prison cells, in dark woods and dead houses, with their backs against the wall, and in the endless skies where the shackles of the past have no hold.
Shackles is the story of Ruben and Milord.
“There is more to a person than what they do.”
This is the story that made me want to re-read Prosperity the most because I have underestimated Ruben greatly. In Prosperity I saw him as this white knight trying to save everyone. But there’s so much more to Ruben.
In Shackles he is not the one physically chained, yet I felt he is trapped and his encounters with Milord set him free when he least expected.
He wanted to make him laugh. Subdue him with ecstasy. Cover him with good things until his own goodness—or lack of it—didn’t matter. Of course, it wasn’t biblical.
Milord is, well, Milord and nothing can put him off balance like Ruben. His refusal to give in to emotions of any kind is put through the test here and the end of the story is both surprising and typical Milord.
Also, Nell was brilliant.
I call this story Alexis Hall’s magic because when he writes about the desires of the heart, I find myself hoping that even the villain will find love.
Squamous With a Chance of Rain is Ms. Grey’s story.
There are universes, cold and vast, caught at the corners of my eyes like unshed tears. Spaces between my thoughts, flecked with the fleeting iridescence of a thousand dying worlds.
It’s scary. Also, fun. Lots of fun because Jane is so colourful and wonderfully indelicate.
It’s told as a collection of letters from Jane to a friend and, I admit, the letters revealed a softer side of Jane which I did not see in Prosperity – between the krakens' voices in her head, the derringer hidden beneath her skirts and the opium running through her veins, Jane’s heart is no stranger to the need of love and affection.
Loved it.
The bonus story - From the Journal of Mrs. Miranda Lovelace - gives an insight to the creation of the pirate skytown Liberty and some back story to one not-so-nice character who plays an important role in the final story - Liberty.
Mrs. Lovelace is a devoted and fearless scientist, she’s not a woman of many words and yet I learned so much.
Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies is my favourite story in the collection.
Because Byron Kae. I’ll steal Andrea’s words because I can’t say this better - If anyone deserves to be able to fly, it's Byron.
“There’s little value in an unread book.”
“Before you, there was only ever unread books.”
It is possible that I’m being biased here because I adore Byron Kae since I met them in Prosperity. Here, they finally tell their story while Dil teases them lovingly and I just fell in love even more.
Forced to endure their father’s resentment, claim of ownership and attempts to change them, Byron Kae not only refuses to put their head down but becomes a person who can find beauty in a world full of ugly, they are affectionate and fair and brave.
And just because I loved what they say about Dil, I’ll quote it here:
The truth is, Dil is full of hungers. Greedy for words and skin and the open sky.
Also, Ros and Ruben make memorable appearances in Cloudy.
Ros is the first light Byron Kae sees in months and despite all the horrible things she says to them, I could not see her as a negative character only. I’m so glad she got her love story in There Will Be Phlogiston.
I’d say Byron Kae’s encounter with Ruben is the event that strengthened their resolve to chase their dreams. Ruben’s words not only moved Byron Kae but made me appreciate their friendship much more.
“I don’t know what I am,” I finished, breathless and half-sick on confession, like the burn of a freshly lanced wound.
“You’re you.” He made it sound so very simple.
Beautiful and touching story that I’ll definitely be reading again.
Liberty is the final story in the anthology and it mostly takes place in 1866 – three years after Prosperity. Mostly, because it includes a back story that explains what led to the events in 1866.
Furthermore, I have long since known that the human heart is full of tricksome turns and twisty passages, and ’tis rare to find one what is all good or all bad.
It’s a tale of spies and aetherweapons where one very proper Captain George England finds himself (willingly at first) involved in the plans of a crazy aethermancer in the chase for more power.
Liberty is told as collection of letters from Captain England, declassified documents and a number of court statements and it’s a wild adventure full of suspense.
But most importantly, what shone throughout the story, was Dil’s smile. I saw it in Jane’s words, in Byron Kae’s words, even in George’s words. And it made my heart melt because this time it is not Dil using his dimples and charms to get things his way, it’s him being genuinely happy.
Truly fantastic story!
March 20, 2024
Some of these I loved and some were just okay for me, but I liked the overall experimental feel of it. Here are my descriptions of the stories in a nutshell:
#2 Shackles - Crime lord and priest with some angst and lite bdsm vibes - Single 3rd person POV - probably my favorite of the collection 3.5/5 spice
#3 Squamous - A governess gets caught up in a gothic murder mystery, and gets involved with the boss' dangerous sister, with lots of references to the Sound of Music - told via letters- no spice - also very good
#4 Cloudy Climes - A genderfluid noble persecuted by their family finds their freedom and HEA - told via monologue - no spice - okay
#6 Liberty - Loyal soldier becomes spy and then starts questioning how far he should go in the name of "duty" - told via post event court proceedings - no romance or spice - okay
#2 Shackles - Crime lord and priest with some angst and lite bdsm vibes - Single 3rd person POV - probably my favorite of the collection 3.5/5 spice
#3 Squamous - A governess gets caught up in a gothic murder mystery, and gets involved with the boss' dangerous sister, with lots of references to the Sound of Music - told via letters- no spice - also very good
#4 Cloudy Climes - A genderfluid noble persecuted by their family finds their freedom and HEA - told via monologue - no spice - okay
#6 Liberty - Loyal soldier becomes spy and then starts questioning how far he should go in the name of "duty" - told via post event court proceedings - no romance or spice - okay
December 14, 2022
"Before you, there was only ever unread books"
"Ain't a proper story without no sexy times"
How many stars? - I don't know anymore because I have no rational thoughts about this series. I waited entirely too long to read the other stories in the Prosperityverse but I will be returning because these 4 short stories provided delicious (DELICIOUS I TELL YOU) insight into the characters from Prosperity:
Shackles - Ruben and Milord origin story MILORD MILORD 🔥
Squamous with a Chance of Rain - Lady Jane’s story pre-Shadowless and her experience as a governess in a Gothic/Sound of Music/laudanum what is happening(!) story
Cloudy Climes and Starry Skies - Byron Kae tells their story to Dil and it is heart-breaking, tender, and triumphant
Liberty - Takes place after the events in Prosperity and is told in a series of declassified archival documents (hello catnip for me)
"Ain't a proper story without no sexy times"
How many stars? - I don't know anymore because I have no rational thoughts about this series. I waited entirely too long to read the other stories in the Prosperityverse but I will be returning because these 4 short stories provided delicious (DELICIOUS I TELL YOU) insight into the characters from Prosperity:
Shackles - Ruben and Milord origin story MILORD MILORD 🔥
Squamous with a Chance of Rain - Lady Jane’s story pre-Shadowless and her experience as a governess in a Gothic/Sound of Music/laudanum what is happening(!) story
Cloudy Climes and Starry Skies - Byron Kae tells their story to Dil and it is heart-breaking, tender, and triumphant
Liberty - Takes place after the events in Prosperity and is told in a series of declassified archival documents (hello catnip for me)
June 4, 2022
All of the Ruben + Milord and Dil + Byron Kae stories please. 😍
April 3, 2016
Shackles
This was great! As usual, I loved the writing and the word choices, but my favorite part of this will always be these characters. I will never not want more of them.
Squamous with a Chance of Rain
Wow, on one hand I found this completely hilarious with it's references to oh, just everything. On the other hand, let's not lie, some of it was a bit over the top for me. I think I prefer things to be a bit more subtle, although I'm quite sure a few things went over my head or were missed entirely. I do love Jane's personality and her bluntness though, and the writing was fun to read, as always.
Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies
This was really good! Of all the characters in Prosperity Byron Kae is the most mysterious and enigmatic, so it was great to learn more about them. Their story was fascinating and so engrossing I didn't even realize until the end that I read it all at once.
Liberty
This was fun because of the wide variety of viewpoints it contained. Each of the characters has a very specific voice and I love all of them. I'm really sad I don't have any more of this left to read.
This was great! As usual, I loved the writing and the word choices, but my favorite part of this will always be these characters. I will never not want more of them.
Squamous with a Chance of Rain
Wow, on one hand I found this completely hilarious with it's references to oh, just everything. On the other hand, let's not lie, some of it was a bit over the top for me. I think I prefer things to be a bit more subtle, although I'm quite sure a few things went over my head or were missed entirely. I do love Jane's personality and her bluntness though, and the writing was fun to read, as always.
Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies
This was really good! Of all the characters in Prosperity Byron Kae is the most mysterious and enigmatic, so it was great to learn more about them. Their story was fascinating and so engrossing I didn't even realize until the end that I read it all at once.
Liberty
This was fun because of the wide variety of viewpoints it contained. Each of the characters has a very specific voice and I love all of them. I'm really sad I don't have any more of this left to read.
January 8, 2015
I didn't want this to end.
I don't want this to be the end.
Milord and Ruben, there is so much more I need to know! Their relationship is so intense and agonizing and...hot! Milord is a difficult character, really quite the scoundrel but I so root for him anyway and its not entirely for Ruben's benefit.
Jane's story was cleverly done as far as the letters and the little hints and slow unraveling.
But Byron Kae is really where its at. One of my all time favorite characters ever written. Their story is sad and lonely and pissed me off, but I loved it.
The last story was different for me. Not for the first time, my thoughts aligned perfectly with Dil's.
I hope there will be more. I haven't gotten enough.
I don't want this to be the end.
Milord and Ruben, there is so much more I need to know! Their relationship is so intense and agonizing and...hot! Milord is a difficult character, really quite the scoundrel but I so root for him anyway and its not entirely for Ruben's benefit.
Jane's story was cleverly done as far as the letters and the little hints and slow unraveling.
But Byron Kae is really where its at. One of my all time favorite characters ever written. Their story is sad and lonely and pissed me off, but I loved it.
The last story was different for me. Not for the first time, my thoughts aligned perfectly with Dil's.
I hope there will be more. I haven't gotten enough.
January 9, 2015
Every so often a style of writing will appeal to you so much that you will read everything you can by the author. Sometimes a fantasy world, or a particular group of characters draw you to a series or group of novels. In Alexis Hall and his work I have found all these things. He is an author who can write many styles from contemporary romance to female vampire detectives, pure fantasy to steampunk and he does it all with panache and enviable literary skill.
In Liberty and Other Stories he revisits the steampunk universe we met first in the novel ‘Prosperity’. Prosperity was a challenge for some as it was written in the cant spoken by the narrator one ‘Piccadilly of Gaslight’, or Dil. The stories which form this collection are written in the language required of the narrator, but the author has changed Dil’s spoken language slightly to reflect the character’s growing education and close associations. This is just one of the myriad details that I admire about this author and these stories.
To coin the author’s vernacular the stories can be covered in order by the words, Swoon – Gasp – Sigh and Cheer.
Shackles
I found this story so romantic, which considering the protagonists and the settings seems unlikely, but I did. From the first chapter I began highlighting phrases I felt were so evocative and often very beautiful’
Ruben received the bishop in the Citrine Drawing Room and served him Darjeeling first flush tea in translucent bone china.
This is an intense short story about lust/obsession maybe love, but definitely desire involving a ‘good man’ looking for redemptive qualities in a very bad one, and tea. The setting is the condemned cell of Milord the criminal overlord of ‘Prosperity’. Ruben is the unorthodox priest visiting him to hear his confession, remorse and contrition for his sins. However, Ruben becomes desperate to find good in Milord for additional reasons, as his feelings for him grow. Milord’s reactions to Ruben are complex and beautifully written, this passage reveals the ‘Shackles’ of the title.
‘Wanting is weakness, Ruben.’… ‘The greatest weakness of the human heart. It shackles you far more surely than these chains of mine.’ An odd, almost dreamy softness crept into his voice, brought light into his eyes. ‘I have built my life on the wantings of others. It has given me such power.’
A very absorbing read I loved it and the ending was perfect.
Squamous with a Chance of Rain
I thought the first story would be my favourite and then I began this one with so much laughter I couldn’t keep reading at one point. I would love to include so many hilarious passages with this review but it simply would be too long. Here we meet Jane and like the previous story it is set before the adventures in ‘Prosperity’. However, the links that start to form through this story to Prosperity, and the other stories, are so involved I wonder how the author could keep track, but it is written in such a way that the reader does. I would keep poking my other half saying ‘Oh that’s why… and that’s so and so…’ to which he would usually reply ‘..very nice dear, but I have no idea what you are talking about.’
Jane is an impoverished gentlewoman with a lusty lesbian libido and I adored her. This is a story written in an epistolary form, initially sent from Jane residing at ‘Mrs Miggle’s Boarding House for the Genteelly Impoverished’ to a friend, Miriam, from her boarding school days. Jane’s letters are full of such sarcasm and wit that I would have read them without the story they contain! Jane is given a job as governess at Vanstone Hall in Cornwall. Oh god I want to include quotes….not knowing whether to pack a glamorous organdie gown for the wilds of Cornwall she writes,
I suppose I must take care lest I am set upon and brutally ravished by a wild-eyed, wild-haired skypirate in tall boots and scarlet petticoats. That would be simply dreadful. I had best take the organdie. Just in case.
At Vanstone Hall she encounters mystery upon mystery and a sky Captain we hear more about in the next stories. Into her life comes almost the dashing skypirate of her dreams in the form of Diana, well named as she hunts things paranormal. This is a wonderful romp of a story with dreadfully serious uses of tentacles. Jane is a wonder and as far as you could get from traditional heroine of Victorian romances. Oh and I was singing ‘I am sixteen going on seventeen’ for a part of this story ;)
Cloudy Climes and Starry Skies
Oh beautiful Byron Kae and adorable Dil…as a way of marking their precious time together Byron Kae, Aethermancer and Captain of Shadowless reminds Dil of the night Byron related their life story to him. The story is sad and gently adventurous, describes their birth origins and the origins of Shadowless, told by Byron Kae without bitterness and with such incite. I particularly loved how they describe their love of tall ships,
The thing about airships is that we build them to lift weights and carry cargo, but tall ships we build to chase our dreams. To put the winds at our backs and make the stars our companions and the whole world our tomorrow…
Every so often Dil interrupts and slips in words and humour, the softness of the tone he uses with Byron reveals his feelings for the beautiful, exotic skycaptain,
Why am I getting the sense you have a low opinion of my capacity for felonious behaviour?
‘Cos you ain’t got no capacity. ‘Tis one of the reasons I l-like you so much.
Byron’s story could only have been called ‘Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies’ a deliberate misquote of Lord Byron at his most romantic and a description of the world they inhabit with Dil. I’ll never be a teenager again but I sighed like one when I read this story. Is it too odd to say I think I’ve fallen a little in love with Byron Kae?
Before Byron’s story we are introduced to Dr Miranda Lovelace another extraordinary character creation of Alexis Hall. Her brevity of speech and focussed scientific brain when mixed with being aether touched gives us a character of such depth and interest. We meet her again in ‘Liberty’ but she deserves her own story.
Liberty
Set initially in the 1950’s, the story of Liberty is told in epistolary form of sorts, through the medium of wax cylinders and an Edison type phonograph, it relates the transcripts of a trial held in 1866. The trial is of Captain George England and is a story of spies…aethermancers…explosions…skytowns built on petrified krakens and the madness of power and empires. This is where I snorted my coffee’
The previous transcriber also insisted that when he played this section of the cylinder backwards it instructed him to build a mighty tower of stone and to stand atop it calling out to the blind God-King who dwells in a seething furnace at the heart of the universe…
We meet all the characters from Prosperity again as we hear their testimonies in their voices, concerning the destruction of the skyships around the skytown of ‘Liberty’. I’d say this was a character driven story, but the plot is intriguing as well, and the action absorbing. Alexis Hall writes such wonderful characters each with a unique voice and personality. Dil provides examples of comic timing in written form,
I got some experience with climbing walls from my legitimate exploits as [here the witness paused for some time] an itinerant roofing inspector.
Jane keeps up good English stereotypes,
His accent was French and his belligerence of manner likewise.
I considered simply shooting him.
But the last laugh must go to the husband of Mrs Doolittle…
Sorry, he says it’s just I sometimes feel that when you was granted access to limitless power beyond the lot of mortal man, you changed.
I once told Alexis Hall that I could always recognise his work by his authorial voice. I was wrong it is his style, narrative confidence and panache I recognise. His characters are all unique and their voices all sound very different in my head; male, female, educated, uneducated, gentle or cruel they all have such reality. I will miss them.
In Liberty and Other Stories he revisits the steampunk universe we met first in the novel ‘Prosperity’. Prosperity was a challenge for some as it was written in the cant spoken by the narrator one ‘Piccadilly of Gaslight’, or Dil. The stories which form this collection are written in the language required of the narrator, but the author has changed Dil’s spoken language slightly to reflect the character’s growing education and close associations. This is just one of the myriad details that I admire about this author and these stories.
To coin the author’s vernacular the stories can be covered in order by the words, Swoon – Gasp – Sigh and Cheer.
Shackles
I found this story so romantic, which considering the protagonists and the settings seems unlikely, but I did. From the first chapter I began highlighting phrases I felt were so evocative and often very beautiful’
Ruben received the bishop in the Citrine Drawing Room and served him Darjeeling first flush tea in translucent bone china.
This is an intense short story about lust/obsession maybe love, but definitely desire involving a ‘good man’ looking for redemptive qualities in a very bad one, and tea. The setting is the condemned cell of Milord the criminal overlord of ‘Prosperity’. Ruben is the unorthodox priest visiting him to hear his confession, remorse and contrition for his sins. However, Ruben becomes desperate to find good in Milord for additional reasons, as his feelings for him grow. Milord’s reactions to Ruben are complex and beautifully written, this passage reveals the ‘Shackles’ of the title.
‘Wanting is weakness, Ruben.’… ‘The greatest weakness of the human heart. It shackles you far more surely than these chains of mine.’ An odd, almost dreamy softness crept into his voice, brought light into his eyes. ‘I have built my life on the wantings of others. It has given me such power.’
A very absorbing read I loved it and the ending was perfect.
Squamous with a Chance of Rain
I thought the first story would be my favourite and then I began this one with so much laughter I couldn’t keep reading at one point. I would love to include so many hilarious passages with this review but it simply would be too long. Here we meet Jane and like the previous story it is set before the adventures in ‘Prosperity’. However, the links that start to form through this story to Prosperity, and the other stories, are so involved I wonder how the author could keep track, but it is written in such a way that the reader does. I would keep poking my other half saying ‘Oh that’s why… and that’s so and so…’ to which he would usually reply ‘..very nice dear, but I have no idea what you are talking about.’
Jane is an impoverished gentlewoman with a lusty lesbian libido and I adored her. This is a story written in an epistolary form, initially sent from Jane residing at ‘Mrs Miggle’s Boarding House for the Genteelly Impoverished’ to a friend, Miriam, from her boarding school days. Jane’s letters are full of such sarcasm and wit that I would have read them without the story they contain! Jane is given a job as governess at Vanstone Hall in Cornwall. Oh god I want to include quotes….not knowing whether to pack a glamorous organdie gown for the wilds of Cornwall she writes,
I suppose I must take care lest I am set upon and brutally ravished by a wild-eyed, wild-haired skypirate in tall boots and scarlet petticoats. That would be simply dreadful. I had best take the organdie. Just in case.
At Vanstone Hall she encounters mystery upon mystery and a sky Captain we hear more about in the next stories. Into her life comes almost the dashing skypirate of her dreams in the form of Diana, well named as she hunts things paranormal. This is a wonderful romp of a story with dreadfully serious uses of tentacles. Jane is a wonder and as far as you could get from traditional heroine of Victorian romances. Oh and I was singing ‘I am sixteen going on seventeen’ for a part of this story ;)
Cloudy Climes and Starry Skies
Oh beautiful Byron Kae and adorable Dil…as a way of marking their precious time together Byron Kae, Aethermancer and Captain of Shadowless reminds Dil of the night Byron related their life story to him. The story is sad and gently adventurous, describes their birth origins and the origins of Shadowless, told by Byron Kae without bitterness and with such incite. I particularly loved how they describe their love of tall ships,
The thing about airships is that we build them to lift weights and carry cargo, but tall ships we build to chase our dreams. To put the winds at our backs and make the stars our companions and the whole world our tomorrow…
Every so often Dil interrupts and slips in words and humour, the softness of the tone he uses with Byron reveals his feelings for the beautiful, exotic skycaptain,
Why am I getting the sense you have a low opinion of my capacity for felonious behaviour?
‘Cos you ain’t got no capacity. ‘Tis one of the reasons I l-like you so much.
Byron’s story could only have been called ‘Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies’ a deliberate misquote of Lord Byron at his most romantic and a description of the world they inhabit with Dil. I’ll never be a teenager again but I sighed like one when I read this story. Is it too odd to say I think I’ve fallen a little in love with Byron Kae?
Before Byron’s story we are introduced to Dr Miranda Lovelace another extraordinary character creation of Alexis Hall. Her brevity of speech and focussed scientific brain when mixed with being aether touched gives us a character of such depth and interest. We meet her again in ‘Liberty’ but she deserves her own story.
Liberty
Set initially in the 1950’s, the story of Liberty is told in epistolary form of sorts, through the medium of wax cylinders and an Edison type phonograph, it relates the transcripts of a trial held in 1866. The trial is of Captain George England and is a story of spies…aethermancers…explosions…skytowns built on petrified krakens and the madness of power and empires. This is where I snorted my coffee’
The previous transcriber also insisted that when he played this section of the cylinder backwards it instructed him to build a mighty tower of stone and to stand atop it calling out to the blind God-King who dwells in a seething furnace at the heart of the universe…
We meet all the characters from Prosperity again as we hear their testimonies in their voices, concerning the destruction of the skyships around the skytown of ‘Liberty’. I’d say this was a character driven story, but the plot is intriguing as well, and the action absorbing. Alexis Hall writes such wonderful characters each with a unique voice and personality. Dil provides examples of comic timing in written form,
I got some experience with climbing walls from my legitimate exploits as [here the witness paused for some time] an itinerant roofing inspector.
Jane keeps up good English stereotypes,
His accent was French and his belligerence of manner likewise.
I considered simply shooting him.
But the last laugh must go to the husband of Mrs Doolittle…
Sorry, he says it’s just I sometimes feel that when you was granted access to limitless power beyond the lot of mortal man, you changed.
I once told Alexis Hall that I could always recognise his work by his authorial voice. I was wrong it is his style, narrative confidence and panache I recognise. His characters are all unique and their voices all sound very different in my head; male, female, educated, uneducated, gentle or cruel they all have such reality. I will miss them.
September 12, 2021
I am fast becoming OBSESSED with these books. I love this world and these characters so much. At times, the style of this particular book reminded me a bit of The Affair of the Mysterious Letter, but in a way that is both magnified and concentrated: just more - more heart, more character, more queer, more plot, more adventure, more outrageous fun. (I say that as someone who really liked Affair and recognises that it's probably the more technically accomplished work, but it did not just magically CLICK with me in the same way everything in Prosperityverse seems to do.)
These stories were a sheer delight. They gave me everything I'd wanted in terms of backstory after finishing the first book, from Jane Grey's sapphic/Gothic horror adventures in Cornwall (aka "if Rebecca had been written by Lovecraft"), to Ruben and Milord's first meeting and embarkation upon their gloriously fucked-up, enemies-to-still-enemies-but-with-more-blowjobs relationship, to (most wonderfully of all) an epic and detailed history of Byron Kae, the most precious socially awkward non-binary pacifist superhero to ever captain a skyship. (I LOVE THEM A LOT.)
Even better, on top of excellent character backgrounds, the stories also connected in a lovely overarcing plot and every single section had me glued to the page. Looking at them, you'd think they're kinda short, but they expanded in mysterious ways that made each feel almost like a novel of its own. And they were all full of stuff I absolutely adore, like found families and friends found in unusual places, embracing who you are, shitty parents getting their come-uppance, humour and loyalty among underdogs, doomed causes and epic battles and I believe I mentioned the sky-krakens? I don't even know. I thought these books were going to be cracky fun and then they just hit me right in the feels and kept doing it. I want more.
.
Also, these covers are fucking gorgeous and I need them on my wall, unf.
NEXT PLEASE.
These stories were a sheer delight. They gave me everything I'd wanted in terms of backstory after finishing the first book, from Jane Grey's sapphic/Gothic horror adventures in Cornwall (aka "if Rebecca had been written by Lovecraft"), to Ruben and Milord's first meeting and embarkation upon their gloriously fucked-up, enemies-to-still-enemies-but-with-more-blowjobs relationship, to (most wonderfully of all) an epic and detailed history of Byron Kae, the most precious socially awkward non-binary pacifist superhero to ever captain a skyship. (I LOVE THEM A LOT.)
Even better, on top of excellent character backgrounds, the stories also connected in a lovely overarcing plot and every single section had me glued to the page. Looking at them, you'd think they're kinda short, but they expanded in mysterious ways that made each feel almost like a novel of its own. And they were all full of stuff I absolutely adore, like found families and friends found in unusual places, embracing who you are, shitty parents getting their come-uppance, humour and loyalty among underdogs, doomed causes and epic battles and I believe I mentioned the sky-krakens? I don't even know. I thought these books were going to be cracky fun and then they just hit me right in the feels and kept doing it. I want more.
.
Also, these covers are fucking gorgeous and I need them on my wall, unf.
NEXT PLEASE.
December 31, 2015
I find myself in a quandary. I love the Prosperity universe. I love the characters of this series. I greatly enjoyed learning a bit of their history. I found myself surprisingly aghast ant the subtle perversions of The Sound of Music, something I quite liked.
But I'm not a huge fan of short stories as a medium and I'm even less fond of such stories told in a series of correspondences and/or interviews/depositions/testimonies/etc. Which is how most of the stories in this book are told.
So, here I am, completely thrilled to have spent a little more time (not enough, mind you) with Milord and Rueben, Miss Grey, Dil and Byron. I even liked the new character, George. I still love the narrative style and voices. I still love the writing. I'm still enamoured with the amazingly effective use of pauses. I still think there's an enviable intelligence to the story, as a whole. I still think the covers are to die for. I still think the editing is superb and this is a stellar example of a book. But the fact that I don't particularly care for the type of book it happens to be kept me from being completely blown away. That I liked it as much as I did, despite not liking shorts says a lot though.
So, I'm not sure where that leaves me...'torn' I guess, between fangirl squeeing and lacklustre praise of the work as a whole. I'd still read anything Alexis Hall writes, so it can't be too off-putting.
But I'm not a huge fan of short stories as a medium and I'm even less fond of such stories told in a series of correspondences and/or interviews/depositions/testimonies/etc. Which is how most of the stories in this book are told.
So, here I am, completely thrilled to have spent a little more time (not enough, mind you) with Milord and Rueben, Miss Grey, Dil and Byron. I even liked the new character, George. I still love the narrative style and voices. I still love the writing. I'm still enamoured with the amazingly effective use of pauses. I still think there's an enviable intelligence to the story, as a whole. I still think the covers are to die for. I still think the editing is superb and this is a stellar example of a book. But the fact that I don't particularly care for the type of book it happens to be kept me from being completely blown away. That I liked it as much as I did, despite not liking shorts says a lot though.
So, I'm not sure where that leaves me...'torn' I guess, between fangirl squeeing and lacklustre praise of the work as a whole. I'd still read anything Alexis Hall writes, so it can't be too off-putting.
September 5, 2017
★★★★★ ~ 5 Stars
Prosperity tickles your interest and you must continue with our fearless characters.
- Shackle
How does an ex-preacher hookup with former crime lord who's sentenced to death in a week? Very carefully. I would have liked to know how Ruben and Milord reconnected.
- Squamous with a Chance of Rain
This was actually my least favorite tale. This details how Jane slowly unravels (but does she, really?) through letters to her friend Miranda. But she's quite a character.
- Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies
Byron shares his story with Dil and in doing so, gets so much more than they both thought. This was the coup de grace story.
- Liberty
How do our fearless hero/ines manage to be part of another skytown's destruction? The details are revealed creatively through court documents, letters, and other documents.
I was entertained, intrigued and even more interested in this author as Glitterland is about as different as could be from this series. Such a creative imagination.
Prosperity tickles your interest and you must continue with our fearless characters.
- Shackle
How does an ex-preacher hookup with former crime lord who's sentenced to death in a week? Very carefully. I would have liked to know how Ruben and Milord reconnected.
- Squamous with a Chance of Rain
This was actually my least favorite tale. This details how Jane slowly unravels (but does she, really?) through letters to her friend Miranda. But she's quite a character.
- Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies
Byron shares his story with Dil and in doing so, gets so much more than they both thought. This was the coup de grace story.
- Liberty
How do our fearless hero/ines manage to be part of another skytown's destruction? The details are revealed creatively through court documents, letters, and other documents.
I was entertained, intrigued and even more interested in this author as Glitterland is about as different as could be from this series. Such a creative imagination.
November 5, 2023
Все ще обожнюю цей світ, лавкрафтіансько- стімпанк- вестерн - квірний, з морально шейді персонаж_ками, промисловим видобутком флогістону і невимовними багатоокими жахіттями, які просочуютьс у відкрите небо (як відкрите море) з інших вимірів під померлими зорями і руїнами гігантських древніх міст і моторошно і огидно ворушать тентаклями, полюючи на летючі кораблі.
Тут ми маємо збірку оповідань із приквелами, з яких дізнаємося передісторії героїв першої книги і можемо зануритися у їхні характери, і читаємо про руйнвання зе одного небесного міста і жахи колоніалізму.
Тут ми маємо збірку оповідань із приквелами, з яких дізнаємося передісторії героїв першої книги і можемо зануритися у їхні характери, і читаємо про руйнвання зе одного небесного міста і жахи колоніалізму.
January 2, 2015
I absolutely adored this collection of five novellas from this incredible world, where airships float through the skies and monstrous krakens rampage through the aether. There are also the mysterious aethermancers who rule the powers of the upper air. The setting is effortlessly done, mixing action with a bit of horror, a smattering of real history with a touch of romance and loads of humour. I was sucked in from the first page and thoroughly enjoyed the ride to the end.
Each of the stories basically fills in the background of the characters in Prosperity, the first book in this series, but I haven’t read that and I still fell in love with this world, so don’t let that hold you back.
Shackles is the first story, about a defrocked priest Ruben Crowe and his attempt to save the soul of an unrepentant criminal known only as Milord. Ruben is a good man who wants to see the best in everyone, but Milord is a real test for him – and not just because he finds him so attractive. I loved getting to know Ruben as he struggled with both his feelings and for understanding of the strange Milord. What a character, he feels nothing, recognises no beauty, and yet… Well. Let’s just say he has clear sociopathic leanings, but I doubt that’s the end of the story.
This tale was the one that most made me want to read Prosperity and find out what happened next. It’s almost a romance, and yet isn’t quite. I loved it.
Squamous with a Chance of Rain was the tale of governess Jane Grey and her ill-fated posting to a Cornish family. This story was hilarious – I love Jane. It’s written entirely through a series of letters she’s sending to an old friend, and her voice is so sharp, yet so funny. The Jane Eyre allusions were so snide, the way the father kept angling for a dalliance of which she was having nothing of (since she prefers women), the Sound of Music put downs, oh and the beasts from another world threatening to kill everyone.
Yeah, it’s not your usual run-of-the-mill governess tale, but it’s all the better for it. Probably my favourite story of the whole book.
From the Journal of Mrs Miranda Lovelace was the only one I didn’t enjoy that much. I think this story really does need some background to it (or foreground, I guess), since it’s told in short, pithy extracts from Miranda’s diary, making it hard to understand at first what’s going on. However, if it had been placed after the next story it would have made so much more sense, because she’s a very singular lady with a most interesting way of both thinking and talking. Then again, the ending of this short story definitely helped me understand the next one better. An important piece of the puzzle of this world, but not quite as fun as the rest.
Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies was the story of the wonderful Byron Kae as told to their lover, Piccadilly. This story was the most heartfelt of the collection, describing as it did Byron Kae’s life from an unwanted illegitimate child, through their father’s attempts to impose an identity upon them, to their quest for freedom and their eventual adventures to reach their current place. Byron Kae tells it in a mostly unemotional style, but I loved the inputs from Piccadilly, revealing flashes of emotion and empathy and humour. (The flirting conversation was adorable; it said so much without saying anything.) It was also a fascinating blend of history and steampunk, moving seamlessly from reality to fantasy. Beautiful.
Liberty is told entirely through court documents and statements, piecing together the tale of George England and how he went from one of the brave survivors of the legendary Charge of the Light Brigade to something quite, quite different. Again, I loved the mix of history and fantasy as George writes letters to his mother of his experiences, first in the Crimea, then in India, then as everything changes. There are also recorded conversations and statements from the crew of Byron Kae’s aethership, Shadowless.
Each character has such a distinctive voice, Piccadilly is so funny, Jane so dry, Bryon Kae straight forward, there’s also further proof of Miranda Lovelace’s strange, yet somehow fascinating personality, and a glimpse at what other aethermancers can do. Because of what the whole court proceeding is about, it was obvious where things were going, but I was still thoroughly swept up in the tale, and was left wondering just what happened to certain individuals in the aftermath. This is probably the most complete tale of the lot, and it just left me wanting so much more.
Taken individually these stories are great, full of adventure, wit, romance, questions of morality and mortality. Putting them together in one volume is a huge treat. If you like diversity in your characters, then this is definitely worth a look. If you like steampunk, historical fiction, fantasy or any combination of the three, then read this. If you like beautifully detailed worlds, characters with strong voices, and tales that can still surprise even when they tell you what’s going to happen, then give this a try. I very much doubt you will be disappointed. I cannot wait to see what Alexis Hall comes up with next. In the meantime, it looks like I have a couple of books to catch up on.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)
Each of the stories basically fills in the background of the characters in Prosperity, the first book in this series, but I haven’t read that and I still fell in love with this world, so don’t let that hold you back.
Shackles is the first story, about a defrocked priest Ruben Crowe and his attempt to save the soul of an unrepentant criminal known only as Milord. Ruben is a good man who wants to see the best in everyone, but Milord is a real test for him – and not just because he finds him so attractive. I loved getting to know Ruben as he struggled with both his feelings and for understanding of the strange Milord. What a character, he feels nothing, recognises no beauty, and yet… Well. Let’s just say he has clear sociopathic leanings, but I doubt that’s the end of the story.
This tale was the one that most made me want to read Prosperity and find out what happened next. It’s almost a romance, and yet isn’t quite. I loved it.
Squamous with a Chance of Rain was the tale of governess Jane Grey and her ill-fated posting to a Cornish family. This story was hilarious – I love Jane. It’s written entirely through a series of letters she’s sending to an old friend, and her voice is so sharp, yet so funny. The Jane Eyre allusions were so snide, the way the father kept angling for a dalliance of which she was having nothing of (since she prefers women), the Sound of Music put downs, oh and the beasts from another world threatening to kill everyone.
Yeah, it’s not your usual run-of-the-mill governess tale, but it’s all the better for it. Probably my favourite story of the whole book.
From the Journal of Mrs Miranda Lovelace was the only one I didn’t enjoy that much. I think this story really does need some background to it (or foreground, I guess), since it’s told in short, pithy extracts from Miranda’s diary, making it hard to understand at first what’s going on. However, if it had been placed after the next story it would have made so much more sense, because she’s a very singular lady with a most interesting way of both thinking and talking. Then again, the ending of this short story definitely helped me understand the next one better. An important piece of the puzzle of this world, but not quite as fun as the rest.
Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies was the story of the wonderful Byron Kae as told to their lover, Piccadilly. This story was the most heartfelt of the collection, describing as it did Byron Kae’s life from an unwanted illegitimate child, through their father’s attempts to impose an identity upon them, to their quest for freedom and their eventual adventures to reach their current place. Byron Kae tells it in a mostly unemotional style, but I loved the inputs from Piccadilly, revealing flashes of emotion and empathy and humour. (The flirting conversation was adorable; it said so much without saying anything.) It was also a fascinating blend of history and steampunk, moving seamlessly from reality to fantasy. Beautiful.
Liberty is told entirely through court documents and statements, piecing together the tale of George England and how he went from one of the brave survivors of the legendary Charge of the Light Brigade to something quite, quite different. Again, I loved the mix of history and fantasy as George writes letters to his mother of his experiences, first in the Crimea, then in India, then as everything changes. There are also recorded conversations and statements from the crew of Byron Kae’s aethership, Shadowless.
Each character has such a distinctive voice, Piccadilly is so funny, Jane so dry, Bryon Kae straight forward, there’s also further proof of Miranda Lovelace’s strange, yet somehow fascinating personality, and a glimpse at what other aethermancers can do. Because of what the whole court proceeding is about, it was obvious where things were going, but I was still thoroughly swept up in the tale, and was left wondering just what happened to certain individuals in the aftermath. This is probably the most complete tale of the lot, and it just left me wanting so much more.
Taken individually these stories are great, full of adventure, wit, romance, questions of morality and mortality. Putting them together in one volume is a huge treat. If you like diversity in your characters, then this is definitely worth a look. If you like steampunk, historical fiction, fantasy or any combination of the three, then read this. If you like beautifully detailed worlds, characters with strong voices, and tales that can still surprise even when they tell you what’s going to happen, then give this a try. I very much doubt you will be disappointed. I cannot wait to see what Alexis Hall comes up with next. In the meantime, it looks like I have a couple of books to catch up on.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)
November 28, 2021
a collection of stories taking place before and after Prosperity.
I really liked seeing Dil and Byron Kae together. I want more! And the origin story of Jane Grey was a send off of Sound of Music and Rebecca and it was terrific.
I really liked seeing Dil and Byron Kae together. I want more! And the origin story of Jane Grey was a send off of Sound of Music and Rebecca and it was terrific.
January 2, 2021
OK, it took me a while to get through these stories, & I know no one else I know will probably ever read this, but I have to get my thoughts out anyway:
Shackles was fuckin’ rough for me to read, man. Unsurprisingly. The fact that I knew these two men would one day be on the Italian coast living as close to happy as they could both muster was the only thing that got me through.
I actually really enjoyed getting to know more about Jane’s story in Squamous, since she was such a freak-o mystery in Prosperity. Which I say in a loving way.
But when I saw Byron Kae introduced again in Cloudy Climes & Starless Skies, I gasped, I was so happy? Any time Dil would break into the tale I was so freaking happy. And the ending, obviously. SO FREAKING HAPPY.
And then Liberty. Mannnnnnn like this was terrifying, obvs, & ends kind of terrifying, too, BUT I was dying during Picadilly’s testimony to the court lollllll so fucking funny. And then I laughed even harder during Nancy Doolittle’s testimony lol THE WHOLE THING WAS JUST BRILLIANT. Obsessed.
Overall this was simply one of the most interesting reading experiences I’ve ever had: all these little pieces of the puzzle of this universe, both filling in the story of Prosperity, and expanding it. Phew.
Shackles was fuckin’ rough for me to read, man. Unsurprisingly. The fact that I knew these two men would one day be on the Italian coast living as close to happy as they could both muster was the only thing that got me through.
I actually really enjoyed getting to know more about Jane’s story in Squamous, since she was such a freak-o mystery in Prosperity. Which I say in a loving way.
But when I saw Byron Kae introduced again in Cloudy Climes & Starless Skies, I gasped, I was so happy? Any time Dil would break into the tale I was so freaking happy. And the ending, obviously. SO FREAKING HAPPY.
And then Liberty. Mannnnnnn like this was terrifying, obvs, & ends kind of terrifying, too, BUT I was dying during Picadilly’s testimony to the court lollllll so fucking funny. And then I laughed even harder during Nancy Doolittle’s testimony lol THE WHOLE THING WAS JUST BRILLIANT. Obsessed.
Overall this was simply one of the most interesting reading experiences I’ve ever had: all these little pieces of the puzzle of this universe, both filling in the story of Prosperity, and expanding it. Phew.
December 16, 2014
I loved these stories that took place in the world of Prosperity, especially the first two stories.
The first story, which told of the first meetings of Ruben and Milord, was by far the best. It was short, so I don't want to give anything away, but WOW what an ending!
The second story told of a particularly disturbing governess job of one Miss Jane Grey. No idea if this contributed to the loss of some of her wits in the future, but I would't blame her if it did.
And I was fascinated by the third story, which basically was Byron Kae telling of his past and what led him into being a skycaptain.
The fourth story was interesting enough, but I did skim some. It's strong point was the introduction of a few new eccentric characters.
I loved the character of Miranda Lovelace and I'm holding out hope to hear more about her. What a character. And I really hope this is not the last time we hear from any of these characters.
The first story, which told of the first meetings of Ruben and Milord, was by far the best. It was short, so I don't want to give anything away, but WOW what an ending!
The second story told of a particularly disturbing governess job of one Miss Jane Grey. No idea if this contributed to the loss of some of her wits in the future, but I would't blame her if it did.
And I was fascinated by the third story, which basically was Byron Kae telling of his past and what led him into being a skycaptain.
The fourth story was interesting enough, but I did skim some. It's strong point was the introduction of a few new eccentric characters.
I loved the character of Miranda Lovelace and I'm holding out hope to hear more about her. What a character. And I really hope this is not the last time we hear from any of these characters.
July 22, 2020
Review the second: I forgot so many of the details here, so it was lovely to revisit.
Review the first: I really hope this is not the last we get to read of the Prosperity universe and its characters. I started with Byron Kae's story, then went on to read more about Jane, Ruben and Milord came after that, and finally Liberty. I liked them all very much! I think I have reviewed some of them separately, but never mind! The writing is lovely, the emotions and characters are real. Wonderful stuff! So glad I found this.
Review the first: I really hope this is not the last we get to read of the Prosperity universe and its characters. I started with Byron Kae's story, then went on to read more about Jane, Ruben and Milord came after that, and finally Liberty. I liked them all very much! I think I have reviewed some of them separately, but never mind! The writing is lovely, the emotions and characters are real. Wonderful stuff! So glad I found this.
April 4, 2016
Stellar. I wasn't an enormous fan of the first story - torture is not something I enjoy reading about, especially as I didn't feel it necessary to establish the violence of Milord - but the rest are wonderful, and Byron Kae's narrative voice in particular is among the more effortlessly poetic I've come across in a while. Gorgeous.
November 3, 2015
Beautifully written, fantastical world and all these wonderful characters with unique voices.
June 1, 2015
This man is seriously talented. At this point I would gladly read Mr. Hall's grocery list.
May 16, 2015
Awesome collestion with some rare if not unique ways of telling the stories :) Even if unusual, I was still completelly spellbound!
August 24, 2017
A diverse series of stories expanding on the Prosperity universe, both before and after the events of Prosperity.
Shackles: This is the Milord/Ruben Crowe backstory I craved and it does not disappoint. Make no mistakes, Milord is not a good, or necessarily sane, man. There is frank description in her of murder and torture at his hands. And yet, like Ruben, I can't bring myself to despise him. Maybe he doesn't deserve Ruben, maybe he doesn't deserve a happy ending, but he doesn't not deserve them either. Everything he did, he did because he thought it was necessary to his continued survival, and the vulnerability implied by that draws me to him as a character much as Ruben Crowe is drawn to him as a lover.
Squamous With A Chance of Rain: Epistolary Lovecraftian Horror. Lesbian governess becomes a gateway for eldritch horrors, uses them to fight other eldritch horrors. Miss Grey was the character it took me longest to warm up to in Prosperity, so I found her backstory really illuminating. Also, I adore epistolary stories, and the format here of Miss Grey's story told through increasingly unhinged letters to an old friend works quite well.
Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies: BYRON KAE. Words can not express the depths of my adoration for Byron Kae. They are such a wonderfully nuanced character, and I love that even after acquiring unimaginable power, they don't use it for violence against those who've harmed them, but for freedom for themselves and for others in harm's way. This is also the Byron Kae/Piccadilly resolution I had very much hoped for. I love them together so much. They're very different characters, but both just so hopeful and full of joy that I want the universe for them.
Liberty: Another epistolary story. This one told through a series of documents, letters and interview transcripts piecing together a narrative several years post-Prosperity. I didn't like this story as much, mostly because it's more about the universe than about the characters, and as always I'm mostly interested in the universe as it informs the experiences and motivations of the characters. Also, Captain England is the kind of morally upstanding yet entirely wrongheaded character I have trouble having much sympathy for.
Shackles: This is the Milord/Ruben Crowe backstory I craved and it does not disappoint. Make no mistakes, Milord is not a good, or necessarily sane, man. There is frank description in her of murder and torture at his hands. And yet, like Ruben, I can't bring myself to despise him. Maybe he doesn't deserve Ruben, maybe he doesn't deserve a happy ending, but he doesn't not deserve them either. Everything he did, he did because he thought it was necessary to his continued survival, and the vulnerability implied by that draws me to him as a character much as Ruben Crowe is drawn to him as a lover.
Squamous With A Chance of Rain: Epistolary Lovecraftian Horror. Lesbian governess becomes a gateway for eldritch horrors, uses them to fight other eldritch horrors. Miss Grey was the character it took me longest to warm up to in Prosperity, so I found her backstory really illuminating. Also, I adore epistolary stories, and the format here of Miss Grey's story told through increasingly unhinged letters to an old friend works quite well.
Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies: BYRON KAE. Words can not express the depths of my adoration for Byron Kae. They are such a wonderfully nuanced character, and I love that even after acquiring unimaginable power, they don't use it for violence against those who've harmed them, but for freedom for themselves and for others in harm's way. This is also the Byron Kae/Piccadilly resolution I had very much hoped for. I love them together so much. They're very different characters, but both just so hopeful and full of joy that I want the universe for them.
Liberty: Another epistolary story. This one told through a series of documents, letters and interview transcripts piecing together a narrative several years post-Prosperity. I didn't like this story as much, mostly because it's more about the universe than about the characters, and as always I'm mostly interested in the universe as it informs the experiences and motivations of the characters. Also, Captain England is the kind of morally upstanding yet entirely wrongheaded character I have trouble having much sympathy for.
September 10, 2019
Four stories, three different ratings, reviewed individually. In summary:
Shackles ****
Reviewed here. Need to read again now that I know what happened between the end of Shackles and the beginning of Prosperity. Rating may go up.
Squamous with a Chance of Rain ***
Reviewed here. Need to read this one again too as I was a little lost the first time around. My rating will likely go up as well.
Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies *****
Reviewed here. What's not to love? The history of how Byron Kae became Byron Kae. Plus flying. Plus flying sex!
Liberty ***
Reviewed here. Rather disappointed for several reasons. Probably won't reread and therefore rating will remain at 3 stars (Meh).
Shackles ****
Reviewed here. Need to read again now that I know what happened between the end of Shackles and the beginning of Prosperity. Rating may go up.
Squamous with a Chance of Rain ***
Reviewed here. Need to read this one again too as I was a little lost the first time around. My rating will likely go up as well.
Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies *****
Reviewed here. What's not to love? The history of how Byron Kae became Byron Kae. Plus flying. Plus flying sex!
Liberty ***
Reviewed here. Rather disappointed for several reasons. Probably won't reread and therefore rating will remain at 3 stars (Meh).
January 25, 2020
Shackles - 2 stars. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I'd known this was Dil writing fanfic. Would I have preferred reading about the processes by which Dil did the research for this? Yes, absolutely.
Squamous with a Chance of Rain - 5 stars. I love Jane. I love epistolary stories in general and this was great. It was sad though to watch the slow slide into Jane's eventual dependence on laudanum to combat her visions of eldritch tentacled monsters from other dimensions. I don't think Jane is still writing to Miriam, but I kind wanna think that maybe she is?
Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies - 5 stars. Byron Kae is, obviously, my fave, and I loved that this was them telling Dil their backstory, and I liked getting Dil's commentary. I'm so glad they're free of their horrible family (I will grudgingly admit Rosamond did grow on me in There Will Be Phlogiston) and sailing the skies in Shadowless with Dil and Jane. I love this strange found family. so much.
Liberty - 4 stars. I loved getting more Piccadilly, Jane, and Byron Kae, and seeing what they're up to 3 years later. And Miranda Lovelace and Nancy Doolittle. Also it just made me want more.
P.S. Where is the story about how Byron Kae and Jane met??? Please. I need.
Squamous with a Chance of Rain - 5 stars. I love Jane. I love epistolary stories in general and this was great. It was sad though to watch the slow slide into Jane's eventual dependence on laudanum to combat her visions of eldritch tentacled monsters from other dimensions. I don't think Jane is still writing to Miriam, but I kind wanna think that maybe she is?
Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies - 5 stars. Byron Kae is, obviously, my fave, and I loved that this was them telling Dil their backstory, and I liked getting Dil's commentary. I'm so glad they're free of their horrible family (I will grudgingly admit Rosamond did grow on me in There Will Be Phlogiston) and sailing the skies in Shadowless with Dil and Jane. I love this strange found family. so much.
Liberty - 4 stars. I loved getting more Piccadilly, Jane, and Byron Kae, and seeing what they're up to 3 years later. And Miranda Lovelace and Nancy Doolittle. Also it just made me want more.
P.S. Where is the story about how Byron Kae and Jane met??? Please. I need.
Read
January 1, 2023I didn’t think I wanted to read a creepy, trippy, Gothic take on The Sound of Music…but I guess I did? That story and Byron Kae’s were my favorites in this collection, but it’s AJH, so it’s all good.
Some quotes I highlighted from across the stories:
”I cry for other reasons as well. Over art, or because the world is beautiful, or occasionally even in pleasure.”
Why are we still treating tears with scorn, especially for men? I read somewhere that suggesting one should never cry is like suggesting one should never sweat. Anyway, more crying for all the reasons.
”A god who exists to condemn and control, who debases love, rather than exalts it?” His smile was back, and the crinkles, and the deep brackets around his mouth. “Why would I worship him?” Indeed.
“Truth is, I reckon we all know less about living than what we pretend we do.” Amen.
”…you have to go out and lay paws most handily and most determinedly on whatever it is makes your life worth having. For one Piccadilly, formerly of Gaslight, ’tis a tall ship, a bright star, and a person what I love.” 💙
Some quotes I highlighted from across the stories:
”I cry for other reasons as well. Over art, or because the world is beautiful, or occasionally even in pleasure.”
Why are we still treating tears with scorn, especially for men? I read somewhere that suggesting one should never cry is like suggesting one should never sweat. Anyway, more crying for all the reasons.
”A god who exists to condemn and control, who debases love, rather than exalts it?” His smile was back, and the crinkles, and the deep brackets around his mouth. “Why would I worship him?” Indeed.
“Truth is, I reckon we all know less about living than what we pretend we do.” Amen.
”…you have to go out and lay paws most handily and most determinedly on whatever it is makes your life worth having. For one Piccadilly, formerly of Gaslight, ’tis a tall ship, a bright star, and a person what I love.” 💙
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