The SEA is Ours edited by Jaymee Goh and Joyce Chng

Found this in the library and decided to borrow it for the SEA Reading Challenge! Like the title says, this is an anthology of short stories set in Southeast Asia, largely by Southeast Asian authors (from the back it seems like at least half the authors were born and raised in Southeast Asia while the rest have Southeast Asian roots). There are twelve stories in this anthology and they are:

The collection starts with a short introduction that, to be very honest, left me with a bad impression of the book before I started reading (good thing I borrowed the book without reading the introduction). It felt so angry and I didn’t really understand why - as far as I could tell, they were angry at the tropes in steampunk (Victorian England) because of diversity. Not sure how they connect but the anger was palpable.

There are twelve stories in this anthology and they are:

1. On the Consequence of Sound: This was about flying and flying whales! Very cool and I liked how Tagalog was woven into the stories - I was asking Jo Jie Jie about the sentences. It’s a pretty haunting story about ambition and sacrifice and a strong start to the collection.

2. Chasing Volcanoes: Another story set in the Philippines and another really good one! It’s set on an airship and has two strong female characters - the captain and the rebel princess who’s trying to save a village.

3. Ordained: This seems to be a family drama but to be honest, it was too short and I couldn’t grasp the story.

4. The Last Aswang: My brother and I have been talking about aswang with Jo Jie Jie and so I was really excited for this story. Unfortunately, it was a letdown. Perhaps it was the influence of the introduction (I really don’t like activist fiction, it’s not my thing) but this felt like an “our culture is better than the colonial culture” sort of story. Which could be good if done well (the story Devil Wind from Young Warriors is a good example), but in this case, it felt like the author started with a message in mind, which totally did not appeal to me.

5. Life under Glass: This was a short story about hunting rare creatures. I kind of wish it was longer because I didn’t get a chance to connect with the main character.

6. Between Severed Souls: It took me a little while to get into this story about a Filipino Pygmalion in the midst of a civil war but when I did, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The steampunk elements fit in well and I felt like all the characters had their own motivations and hurts, which made them come to life.

7. The Unmaking of Cuadro Amoroso: This was pretty good - three genius students plan and execute their revenge after the fourth in their group dies. Again, it took me a while to understand what was going on but the ending was very satisfying.

8. Working Woman: A steampunk story set in colonial Singapore, with triad lords and half-machine Samsui women. This was definitely one of the strongest stories in the book and one of my favourites because it had plot, it had strong characters, and it was in a world that was strange yet familiar. Would definitely recommend this to people looking for a Singapore steampunk story.

9. Spider Here: Another Singaporean steampunk story but this one wasn’t as strong was Working Woman. The world was intriguing, with the idea of ‘threads’ in living creatures that can be manipulated and a protagonist in a walking chair, but I wasn’t clear about what was happening even by the end of the story.

10. The Chamber of Souls: This was Vietnamese steampunk and one of the stronger stories in the collection. It deals with a group of refugees who are accepted into what seems like paradise - until they’re under attack. Add in a robot whose main purpose is to serve tea and store souls and you’ve got a story that kept me interested until the end.

11. Petrified: Another story taking place on a steamship, this was a fairly enjoyable (but also sad) tale with automatons that can pass for human. It felt like most of the action took place off the page (told to us in a recap) but I liked the concept, start, and ending.

12. The Insects and Women Sing Together: The last story in the collection was, sadly, a weak ending. Like with Ordained and Life Under Glass, I didn’t understand what was going on, even at the end.

Overall, this was a pretty uneven collection. It’s a pity because I am always for tropes being broken in a smart manner, but some of the stories didn’t connect and/or make sense to me. There were some good stories, but I went into this collection expecting an anthology as strong as Track Faults and Other Glitches and sadly, I didn’t find it.

The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason

I can't remember how I heard of this book but it was on hold and the words "Stoker and Holmes" meant that I was definitely going to give it a shot. Oh, and it's not the Stoker and Holmes that you're thinking about.

The Clockwork Scarab stars Mina Holmes (Sherlock Holmes' niece) and Evaline Stoker (Bram Stoker's sister) who are forced to work together to find out who is behind a series of murders.

And I do mean forced. The two girls have completely different personalities and they clearly don't like each other. Most of the investigation also proceeded independently, though I do like how there was a slight thawing of their frosty relationship at the end (not quite a friendship because that would be unbelievable).

So about these murders: someone is murdering well-bred young ladies and leaving a strange Egyptian scarab near their bodies. Irene Adler (yes, the Woman) is tasked by the Crown to solve the case and she, in turn, recruits the two protagonists.

The story is told through both Mina and Evaline's point of view, which I quite enjoyed. Both their voices are very distinct and being able to get into both their heads meant that I liked both of them. I probably prefer Evaline a little bit more, as Mina has a much clearer superiority complex, but I liked both girls and I look forward to seeing how they, and their friendship, develop.

The only character I didn't quite get and basically thought was useless was Dylan. He was so obviously from the future (guess it the minute I saw him) and didn't really have a presence in the story. He did provide a key piece of information but I thought the other two male characters were more entertaining.

Since I mentioned 'the future' and that the girls are related to Holmes and Stoker, I guess it's pretty obvious this book is set in Victorian England. This society runs on steam, not electricity, and I really enjoyed the little details about how it worked. There isn't any info-dumping, but I had a pretty good sense of what it was like by the end of the book.

All in all, I enjoyed this. It's the first book in a series and I would definitely pick up the second (when I remember), because I'm curious to know how these two girls will change over time. If you like mystery, steampunk and you're a fan of Holmes and/or Stoker, you'll probably enjoy this book.

The Wall of Storms by Ken Liu

Even though it was extremely addictive (super hard to put down when reading), I'm in two minds as to whether I want to continue the series or not.

The Wall of Storms is the sequel to The Grace of Kings, which I absolutely loved when I read it. But, I also read a volume of Romance of the Three Kingdoms between the two so when I first started this, I was very confused as to what happened in The Grace of Kings because it drew pretty heavily on Chinese history.

But luckily most of the main characters here are new, so I got used to it after a few chapters. The "main characters" from The Grace of Kings are: Kuni Garu and his wives (Jia and Risana), Gin, and Luan. The new characters are: Kuni's kids (Thera, Phyro, Timu and Fara) and Zomi.

To be honest, out of the four kids, only Thera made a strong and positive impression. Fara seemed to be more of a prop, Phyro was unmemorable and I wanted to punch Timu at the end of the book.

But it's a large cast of characters and I suppose I can't expect to love and remember all of them. Oh, and even though I didn't mention their names, plenty of characters from the previous book do appear, they just don't play as big a role.

The Wall of Storms can roughly be divided into two halves: How an Empire keeps its peace and The Foreigners Invade. I liked the first half better, but that's because despite having their history, I couldn't stand the invaders (Lyucu people).

And while I liked how the plot moved for most of the book, there was a series of chapters (that was essentially all flashbacks) during the invasion that I skimmed. I suppose important information might have been there and I might have missed some (hence my inability to sympathise with the invaders), but I wanted to read about how the fighting would turn out, not about the past. I wish those chapters could have been moved somewhere else.

Oh yes, the 'Greek chorus' using the Gods of Dara felt about the same as before. I liked it, especially when they meddled, and I thought their changes based on how the invading people thought about them pretty interesting.

And now for why I'm in two minds about continuing the series. While the writing was gripping, Jia is making me seriously reconsider reading on. I much preferred her to Risana, Kuni's other wife (although I don't think I mentioned it in my first review - just that I liked her) and the path that she is taking is just breaking my heart. I'm quite afraid that her end will not be what I hope for her, which is why I'm considering stopping here.

In a way, I guess I should have listened to myself in my first review (that I checked to refresh my memory about the book) and not have read on, because the ending of the first book was much more hopeful than this one. Plus, even though this isn't really a cliffhanger ending, it's so obviously leading to a third book so it doesn't feel as 'complete' as the first was.

The Gauge War by S.C. Green

Where should I start with this book? It took me some time to get back into the groove, but once I was back in the world of the Engine Ward, I couldn't put the book down at all.

The Gauge War is the second book in the Engine Ward series, the first being The Sunken (read my review here). In fact, this book picks up where The Sunken left off, so it's probably a good thing to re-read the first book before moving on to this one. I managed to eventually remember enough of the story, but it meant that the first few pages were somewhat confusing to me.

And like I speculated in the first book, the true protagonist of this series appears to be Isambard Brunel, now the Metal Messiah, the only character without a point of view. I mentioned that the book ended with the different view points holding contradictory views, but in this book, they gradually start to converge again.

Why? Because absolute power corrupts absolutely. That's all I'm going to say. But to elaborate just a little bit more on the plot; basically, the Boilers built by Brunel are now everywhere. But the threat to England isn't over yet, and it's not just coming from the outside (France).

Can I just say that Brunel scares me to death? He's really cool and all, but I suspect that he has no heart, judging by the way that he treats his friends. Either that or the things he went in his childhood have really traumatised him. As always, Nicholas and Aaron are two awesome and likeable dudes, while James, the blind physician, was interesting until he fell.

My biggest surprise, though, was Stephenson. He's an antagonist for most of the book, but the more I see of him, the more I realise my first impression of him was wrong. Not gonna say anymore, because that would probably veer into spoiler territory.

A word of warning though - the ending is incredibly dark. But, I just re-read it, and I think S.C. Green is setting it up for a book three in a very clever way. I hope I'm right!

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a free and honest review.

A Curse of Ash and Iron by Christine Norris

I think everyone knows how much I like fairytale retellings. However, I haven't really read Steampunk retellings - I think there were some in the Once Upon a Time retelling (I hope I remembered the series name right!), but not much other than that. So when I saw A Curse of Ash and Iron, I jumped at the chance to read it.

A Curse of Ash and Iron follows Ellie, who has been under a curse for the past few years. Though she's still living in the same house she's always been in, no one recognises her. Her stepmother has the whole world convinced that she's a poor relative. That is, until one day, she bumps into her childhood friend Ben, who sees her. Really sees her. And with that, Ellie gets the hope that the curse can be broken, and she and her father saved.

For the most part, I liked this story. Ellie is plucky (though I actually prefer her stepsister), and I liked her friendship with Ben. They were childhood friends, and I liked how close they were. [MILD SPOILERS AHEAD] But, he's not a prince charming. I thought that was a pity - he was very much princely in my eyes. Instead, there's Mr. Scott, who's you know, rich and handsome. I'm not going to say more, because spoilers and what not, but yeah, this was the aspect of the book that disappointed me. I was all ready to root for a romance too.

I mentioned just now that my favouriate character wasn't Ellie, but her stepsister Rebecca. I don't know why, but I found Rebecca a lot more mysterious and interesting than Ellie. Plus, Ellie's love life annoyed me, which led to me being mildly annoyed with her. I would love it if the next book featured Rebecca.

Overall, this was an interesting book. There's a whole cast of interesting characters, and although I was mildly dissatisfied with how the romance progressed, it wasn't like the book was ruined for me. If there was a sequel, I would totally read it. Especially if Rebecca turned out to be the protagonist.

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

The Sunken by S.C. Green

I'm finally back in Japan and back to reviewing books. I've missed a lot (a few NetGalley items I was approved of has been archived -cries-), but well, there's not time to spare! Today, I'm here to review The Sunken by S C Green as part of Enchanted Books Blog Tour.

The Sunken is a fascinating read set in an Alternate Universe during the time of King George III. There are a few main characters - Nicholas Rose/Nicholas Thorne, a brilliant architect that's also running from something. Aaron, a Stoker and friend of Isambard Brunel. Isambard Brunel is a talented and ambitious engineer. And lastly, there's James Holman, a blind man who wishes to explore the world. There's also Brigitte, but her role is more of "love interest", and she only provides some information in the early parts of the book.

Now that I've introduced the characters in one sentence summaries that do no justice to their complexity (not to mention how their relationships develop), let me introduce the setting and plot. King George is a vampire, English people worship a pantheon of "Industrial Gods". As a result of the "Industrial Gods", England is cut off from the rest of Europe, which is supposed to be Christian. The book starts off with Nicholas, Isambard and James as boys, when a horrible accident happens and someone dies. Nicholas and James feel horror and guilt, while Isambard just marvels at the beauty of the machines. Fast forward a few years, and Nicholas smuggles himself back to England, where he becomes Isambard's architect. However, as Isambard wins royal favour, it's clear that something sinister is happening, and all the main characters react differently.

While the book is supposed to be about the approaching menace of The Sunken (it's in the title, it's not a spoiler, right?), I can't help but think that the real main character of the story is Isambard. While the story is told from multiple POVs (including a few from those of Joseph Banks, the physician to King George), Isambard's POV is noticeably absent. Why? I think it's because he's complex, and most people view him in a different light. There are many differing accounts about the type of person he is, and the contractions aren't resolved at the end of the book - in fact, they become even more divergent. Trying to make up my mind about him was almost more interesting than the plot (which was pretty interesting on its own).

All in all, this is a fascinating steampunk/alternate history/AU book. The plot is interesting, and the multiple voices are distinctive and help the reader to piece the bigger picture together. I see it's the first of a series, and I definitely look forward to seeing what the author does in the next book.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book to review as part of the Enchanted Books Blog Tour. The opinions in my review are my honest opinions.

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

I first learnt about this book from the Cuddlebuggery Book Blog, and while it sounded really really interesting (seriously, read their review if you're not sure) I couldn't find it here in Japan. So when I got back to Singapore (and crammed about two library trips into three weeks), this was one of the books I made sure I borrowed.

Stormdancer is a Japan-inspired steampunk novel and it's excellent! It follows Yukiko, a girl from the Kitsune (fox) clan - her father has been tasked to find a griffin by the shogun. But she's the one that ended up bonding with Buuru (the griffin) and that starts her on a whole new task. Along the way, she meets a green-eyed samurai, a guildsman called Kin and a whole host of characters.

Yukiko was an awesome character! She's really brave and her growing bond with Buruu was so adorable to read. I love the great pair she and Buruu made, and as they relationship grew closer, their personalities become to show more.

And surprisingly, I actually picked a side when it came to the love triangle between Yukiko, the green-eyed samurai guy and Kin. I'm team Kin all the way! (Although that's because samurai boy is a really shallow character.)

The only annoying thing in this book is the repetition of some words. If you know Japanese, then the repetition of words written in romaji and then English a little annoying. But if you know absolutely no Japanese, you'll probably think of this as adding flavour. And anyway, to me, this book isn't based on Japan, just inspired by it, so I was more relaxed about how "authentic" or "accurate" it is (for example, it's as 'authentic' as Ink by Amanda Sun, but just less rage inducing because it's a fantasy world.)

But all in all, this is a really excellent book deserving of the hype it got! I can't wait for the next book in the series!

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross

Despite reading about the genre, I've never actually read a steampunk novel. Until now that is. I picked up The Girl in the Clockwork Collar not knowing that it was the second in a series, but after reading it, I must admit that this is a genre I should try to read more often.

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar follows Finley and her friends as they travel from England to America to help their friend - Jasper. Jasper, on the other hand, is being forced into helping the villian Dalton as his love Mei Xing has a clockwork collar on her neck that threatens her life.

Despite not knowing the characters or their history, I found the story a really good clean read. From the book, I knew enough about most of the characters that I could read the story without being confused. The characters were well-written, and I enjoyed the fact that the author had the characters come from a different countries and social classes, which resulted in different characters and speaking styles.

Although there is some violence in the story, e.g. Finley is repeatedly described as very strong and she does snap a man's wrist at one point, it is not graphic. Likewise is the romance angle. The romance between the different pairs were very sweet and there was nothing explicit at all.
However, the aether does give me some course for concern. Even though it's described as a form of energy, it's also mentioned that the energy ghosts have is the same type. In addition, it's mentioned that only organic matter (i.e. humans) can manipulate large amounts of it. But on the whole, it's treated simply as another invention or tool to be used.

The only thing that annoys me was how people pronounced Mei Xing's name. She's Chinese, but it's mentioned several times that it's sounds like a-MAZING. Of all the possible ways to pronounce her name, I would not have likened it to that sound, particularly the "Zing" part. But that is just me being nitpicky.

In conclusion, this is a really enjoyable read. I'd like to read the first book and more of the steampunk genre.

Disclaimer: I got this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review