The Parasol Protectorate: Book 1
by Gail Carriger
Orbit, 2009. 384 pgs.
Science Fiction / Young Adult Fiction
Paperback: $7.99
Annotation: Not having a soul can be a disadvantage in Victorian London society, except when you're confronting vampires and werewolves, that is.
Summary: Alexia Tarabotti is enough to make any marriage-hungry mama despair. She's dark (thanks to her Italian father), has a large nose, tends to be a bit of a bluestocking and is missing quite an important appendage--her soul. Although the last is a matter her family is quite in the dark about. However, all things combined have left her in a state of spinsterhood, which is just fine as far as she's concerned--as long as she gets enough to eat. However, late one night at a society ball Alexia accidentally impales a vampire with her silver-tipped parasol and who should appear to mop up the mess but Lord Maccon, the alpha werewolf of the most respectable pack in London. The two are simply too stubborn and too much alike to get along, but as they (along with Lord Maccon's beta, Professor Lyall) attempt to discern just why a hungry vampire would attack a soulless creature, there begins an adventure that brings them together in highly romantic, highly inappropriate ways. As they soon find out, werewolves and vampires have been disappearing all over the city and so Alexia seeks Lord Akeldama's help, the oldest and most fashionably foppish vampire in London. But the two are unfortunately choloroformed and kidnapped one night and taken to the Hypocras Club, where dastardly experiments are taking place by scientists opposed to the rather civilzed vampires and werewolves who've integrated into society's highest echelons. It is there they meet up with Mr. MacDougall, (the American scientist who was really quite fond of Alexia) and the man-made automaton. In spite of ensnaring Lord Akeldama, the scientists are perhaps even more pleased they have a truly soulless human upon which to experiment. But when Alexia is thrust into the chambers of Lord Maccon--in his most ferocious full-moon state of werewolfdom--so that they can measure the effects of her soullessness, life becomes wildly unpredictable and it turns out to be a decidely unfortunate move on the part of the scientists. All ends happily though, at least for Alexia and Lord Maccon, and there is even an appearance by Queen Victoria herself, with a blessing (or command) for the two to marry. Do they comply, you ask? You'll have to read it to find out.
Evaluation: I completely understand why the Alex committee proposed this title as vampires, werewolves and the like are quite the thing at the moment. However, I wasn't overly impressed and I'd honestly never recommend it to a teen. The plot is fun, has high energy and a nice regency romance feel to it. However, the novel is far too lascivious for my tastes, let alone appropriate for teen consumption as far as I'm concerned. But, the incorporation of steampunk elements: steam-powered torture chambers, electricity experiments, Dr. Lyall's glassicals and flying dirigibles, make the novel ripe for the current fashion. I suppose Alexia is a likeable character (of course one does have to root for her and Lord Maccon to acknowledge their mutual attraction) and there are the occasional moments of humor which make the novel fun to read, if not deserving of a place on my bookshelf.
Significance: Vampires, werewolves and ghosts, oh my! Yes, the combination of popular monsters, welded together with the steampunk genre, is all the rage at the moment and the reason this book found itself on the Alex committee's radar.
Personal Choice: You should never judge a book by it's cover, but I did. I loved the victorian dress on the cover model and her adorable steampunk top hat with goggles. Plus, she had a parasol and what girl doesn't love a good parasol (with accompanying gears and whatnots). The steampunk genre holds a bit of fascination for me after reading Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan and I was excited to tackle another book in the genre. It's just too bad this wasn't quite the one for me.
Awards: Alex Award Winner, 2010
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