Steampunk NAC Challenge -- The Affinity Bridge by George Mann

Ooh, I love it. Jackie's latest NAC mini-challenge over at Literary Escapism is giving me the perfect excuse to dive into my stack of steampunk I've been hoarding!

If you're curious, wikipedia defines steampunk as: "... a subgenre of science fiction, alternate history, and speculative fiction... steampunk involves an are or world where steam power is still widely used -- usually the 19th century and often Victorian era Britain -- that incorporates prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy."

It's super fun stuff. An amalgamation of genres and elements that mixes well with horror and mystery, I might add, as many of the titles I'm drawn to do contain bits of both. George Mann's The Affinity Bridge is a perfect example: a traditional mystery with zombies and dirigibles. Awesome!

Maurice Newbury and his assistant, Veronica Hobbes, would appear at first glance to be hard-working museum employees. And that they are. But Newbury and Hobbes are also responsible for investigating certain cases on behalf of the Queen herself. Newbury has been assisting his friend Sir Charles Bainbridge of Scotland Yard with a series of Whitechapel murders when Queen Victoria requests his assistance in a recent dirigible crash. Why the Crown has such an interest in an airship accident is not quite clear as of yet, but Newbury and Hobbes jump in without question. Their investigation soon leads to a shocking discovery and a surprising connection to Bainbridge's own case.

This is just the first in the series. The Osiris Ritual is out now and book three, Immortality Engine, is already available in the UK.

I thought Newbury and Hobbes were great characters. Definitely folks I want to see more of and obviously Affinity Bridge was meant to be an intro to more books on the two as Mann only begins to scratch the surface of their stories. And what's up with Victoria's sister? I'm going to have to tackle book two shortly. I'm really dying to know more! The zombie plague is still going strong, and there's the whole thing at the end that I certainly won't reveal. Fun, fun! Definitely recommended!