This started off promisingly, and I enjoyed the author's style, but it eventually descended into a maze of redundant action sequences in the place where it needed a single climax and some carrying through of the characters' development, which instead remained suspended at the end.

I picked this up purely from the cover which was nicely and intriguingly designed (never judge a book...) and what sounded like a story right up my alley. It took me a whole week to plough my way through and a lot of the time I was having to try. The basic underlying story is interesting with a greatly bizarre and unique premise but the execution is lacking. Problems:

Huge numbers of characters with mostly unnecessarily unpronounceable names made it difficult to keep track of who was who (indeed during the finale I was completely lost as to who one of the major players turned out to be).

The alternating chapter telling the same events from the perspectives of the three main 'heroes' became quickly quite frustrating though when together I enjoyed it more.

The sheer depth of detail and description made reading pretty slow and heavy going with a distinct lack of narrative flow. Yet at other times the smug vagueness of plot points irritated (even down to the ambiguity of where it was set despite the surrounding real European setting).

The sheer number of coincidences and (as mentioned in a cover quote) 'miraculous escapes' just stretches credibility too far. The two male heros particularly could give John McClane a run for his money in being virtually indestructible.

And then the heroes. I quite liked Cardinal Chang, he seemed interesting and well drawn and you could understand his motivations. Doctor Svenson is less well developed and the lazy back story and motivation which randomly appears midway through doesn't make sense. Mostly though Miss Temple annoyed. She spends a good deal of time throughout moaning about how unfair it is that she's a woman and no-one will give her any respect as a result of this, then turns round break into tears and does something so mind-blowing stupid that you can't help but want to slap her. Out of anyone she seems to be doing purely for an adventure and never really seems to appreciate the gravity of the situation. It's all a jolly lark.

I could go on but that's enough. Could have been much better with a strict editor.

The premise of this book is fascinating, and there are glimpses of the possiblities of this story, but I felt as if it muddled its way through the major plot events. It's not always entirely clear what exactly the Cabal is doing that is so evil, or why exactly Miss Celeste Temple truly feel the desperate need to oppose it. It was an enjoyable read, but I think needed some fine tuning and editing, as it is also quite bulky.

This one was simply jam packed with too many characters that had hard- to-pronounce names from chapter one. None of the characters really stood out or appealed to me.

I originally read this when it first came out. I enjoyed it at the time, enough to buy and read the sequel, which I liked slightly less. The sequel ended with a cliffhanger, but I wasn’t able to find a third book until recently, and since it’s been so long I decided to reread this.

When I first read this book it came in two parts, in two different paperbacks, for no apparent reason as other reviewers have noted. This time around I decided to go with an abridged audiobook version, partly because I remembered the story being very long and dense and partly because Alfred Molina was narrating (I like Alfred Molina; he seems nice).

Even abridged, this was something of a slog. There’s so much plot and so many names and I’m honestly not one for much steampunk. Also, there’s a level of casual racism that is fitting for the period until you realize the period isn’t real, this is set in a fantasy steampunk world, and it’s weird that a character is named Chang because he has scars slanting across his eyes that look like a “caricature of a chinaman”, and weird that another main character is positively described as being capable of violent self defense because she grew up watching slaves being whipped on her daddy’s island. I get it’s a kind of pseudo-Victorian setting, but also, it’s a choice, and while it wasn’t a deal breaker it was initially very distracting to keep reading about Cardinal Chang who is actually a scarred white dude and this is some weird fake-old-timey racism.

That said, Cardinal Chang was probably my favorite character both times I read this, at least of the three hero characters. (Contessa Lacquer-Sforza was my favorite character overall, because you can’t beat an unhinged sexy baddie.) Apart from Cardinal Chang, the character names are a highlight of this book. Examples: Doctor Abelard Svenson, Prince Karl-Horst von Maasmärk of Macklenburg, the Comte d’Orkancz, Francis Xonk, Celeste Temple. Imagine, all these names and more read for you by Alfred Molina. It was a lot to keep track of, and I didn’t, because I had Covid and was weaving in and out of brain fog / half sleep for a lot of it. But I got enough of it to mostly understand and enjoy the ending and to be able to understand the sequels if I choose to keep going, and I enjoyed the fight scenes and repeated dramatic showdowns with cabal members, and the cool glass tech. Tbh I think keeping track of all the intrigue and cabal members might be impossible, even healthy, and fight scenes and glass tech are what this book is mostly about. I’ll let it keep the four stars I thought it deserved the first time, but I would say closer to three now. I’m on the fence about continuing to the next book; part of me thinks I better jump in now before I forget details, and part of me needs a break, and part of me sees that the next audiobook isn’t narrated by Alfred Molina and just wants to give up.

Between working at a bookstore and a library I've read a lot of bad books and looking back I still think this was one of the worst that I actually finished. (Possibly through denial that it really could be that bad.)

Trashy, steampunk fun. In the first (and strongest) chapter, bodices are ripped, swashes are buckled, and the game is afoot. The three heroes are all very likable and pleasantly different. The second chapter is a bit bogged down introducing the innumerable and indistinguishable villains--another review warned me about this and I simply ignored them. The rest of the plot and chase scenes are enjoyable without tracking the intricacies of the evil cabal.

I recommend [b:Snow Crash|830|Snow Crash|Neal Stephenson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320544000s/830.jpg|493634] and the Amelia Peabody series by [a:Elizabeth Peters|16549|Elizabeth Peters|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1232144920p2/16549.jpg] if you enjoy this, and vice versa.

I really have to agree with a lot of the other reviewers of this novel - it is terribly long and drawn out in some parts (like the section where Miss Temple drinks tea - way too long), but it is lacking explanation or clarification in other parts.

There are a lot of characters introduced in mobs and some of the adventure parts are hard to understand in terms of sequencing. Dahlquist writes each chapter from the perspective of each of the protagonists, but it is hard to sometimes know if particular incidents are overlapping.

Other than these complaints, this novel is fun to read and a touch melodramatic. At 760 pages, one wonders how Dahlquist is a playwright. It reminds me of the movie "Wild, Wild West," showing a time period with more advanced technology. It needs more character development and the ending really leaves open for a sequel.