Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Book Review: City of the Saints by D.J. Butler

Title: City of the Saints
Author: D.J. Butler
Enjoyment Rating: **
Whitney Finalist
This book would be rated: PG

Once again, I'm rounding out my reading (and reviewing) of the Whitney finalists with the adult speculative novels.  Of the eight categories, this is the one that is always the most challenging for me, both in terms of the genre and the length of the novels, but I just can't get smart and read these books first, and save something I want to read for the end. Oh well, maybe next year.

That said, City of the Saints has an interesting premise-- Mormon Steampunk set in the 1850s, with Orson Pratt, Edgar Allan Poe, and Porter Rockwell figuring prominently, but not in any form you might recognize them. The book reminded me a bit of last year's A Night of Blacker Darkness, but it was less zany and ultimately less successful for me. But I may have been prejudiced from the first line-- a book that begins "'This is insubordination, Dick!' the man in the tall top hat and cravat hissed" is just not going to be my kind of book. But it may be yours?

1 comment:

ellen said...

I got this from the library but haven't had time to read it so it's going back.