Review by Booklist Review
Readers familiar with Carriger's best-selling Parasol Protectorate series will be delighted with the introduction of Lady Prudence Allessandra Maccon Akeldama Rue to her friends in this first offering in a new series, the Custard Protocol. Rue is the daughter of a werewolf and the soulless Alexia Maccon, and she is feared and loved by the supernatural community due to her unique metanatural powers. Blending steampunk and urban fantasy in a colorful alternate Victorian England, Carriger presents a grand cast of characters on a harrowing adventure that stretches from England to India. Her adoptive father, the vampire Dama, enlists Rue to research a lucrative tea business in India, and he presents Rue with an outlandish dirigible called the Spotted Custard. Along with her best friend, Prim; rakish chief engineer Quesnel; and sundry others, including a pack of Scottish werewolves, Rue finds herself in the middle of a plot that has little to do with tea. Filled with lavish fashions, supernatural high society, and witty dialogue, this story is a fine introduction to a fabulous new series. Sure to delight gaslight fantasy fans as well as the hard-core steampunk crowd.--Clark, Craig Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A spinoff of Carriger's popular Parasol Protectorate series, this new steampunk fantasy series centers on 20-year-old Prudence "Rue" Akeldama, a feisty young aristocrat who is also a "meta-natural," able to temporarily drain and use the otherworldly powers of any supernatural being she touches. In a Victorian England, where high society is full of vampires and werewolves, this is a distinct advantage. Always in search of fun and adventure, Rue is delighted when her vampire uncle gives her a dirigible and sends her on a mission to India to obtain a highly desirable secret new brand of tea. Narrator Quirk combines a "veddy proper" posh British accent with Rue's spunkiness and fun, bringing the flavor of the novel to life. She delightfully voices a variety of characters-upper-crust English aristocrats, a sexy Frenchman, Scottish werewolves, Cockney servants, secretive Indians-with perfect timing and a witty sense of humor. Her entertaining reading is a perfect match for Rue and her colorful adventures. An Orbit hardcover. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
This title launches a new spin-off series from Carriger's "The Parasol Protectorate," but it is not so dependent on the earlier volumes that listeners can't start fresh here. Carriger blends steampunk and a traditional novel of manners with a witty, adventuresome flair. If only Jane Austen had gotten out of the house more often-and met a Scottish werewolf. The eponymous heroine is the daughter of Carriger's Alexia Maccon, but Pru has a spunky mind of her own and a wolfish side that comes in handy, despite her embarrassing lack of extra bloomers. When Pru's bequeathed a dirigible, off she flies to India, where dastardly plots, kidnappings, and other diversions complicate her stay. This droll story is blessed by Moira Quirk's polished and charming narration. Verdict Do come in and leave your calling card on the table. This is high-spirited fun for all. ["The deliberately purple prose and exuberant excess take some getting used to for new readers, but the author's humor and affection for her outlandish characters are always appealing": LJ 2/15/15 review of the Orbit: Hachette hc.]-Kelly Sinclair, Temple P.L., TX © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
