Competence (The Custard Protocol, 3)
Competence (The Custard Protocol, 3) book cover

Competence (The Custard Protocol, 3)

Hardcover – July 17, 2018

Price
$24.20
Format
Hardcover
Pages
320
Publisher
Orbit
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0316433884
Dimensions
5.75 x 1 x 8.63 inches
Weight
15.2 ounces

Description

"Carriger excels at wry humor and clever phrasing, and her ensemble cast is thoroughly charming and satisfyingly diverse. There's a genuine sense of whimsy and fun running throughout this story."― Publishers Weekly "Carriger's trademark wit and whimsy are in evidence from the very first sentence, and the result is an inventive madcap adventure."― RT Book Reviews on Imprudence "Blending steampunk and urban fantasy in a colorful alternate Victorian England, Carriger presents a grand cast of characters on a harrowing adventure that stretches from England to India... Filled with lavish fashions, supernatural high society, and witty dialogue, this story is a fine introduction to a fabulous new series."― Booklist on Prudence "Carriger maintains a droll, tongue-in-cheek tone, and her protagonists are as concerned with witty banter and fashionable hats as they are with fighting for their lives. Series fans will enjoy this mischievous romp, which revisits old favorites while raising a new crop of charming characters."― Publishers Weekly on Prudence "Readers who delighted in Carriger's Parasol Protectorate will be entranced by the familiar cast and trademark wit of the new Custard Protocol series...Behind the delightful whimsy and snarky observations, there is a great deal of heart and soul."― RT Book Reviews on Prudence "The author's humor and affection for her outlandish characters is always appealing. A fun launch."― Library Journal on Prudence " Soulless has all the delicate charm of a Victorian parasol, and all the wicked force of a Victorian parasol secretly weighted with brass shot and expertly wielded. Ravishing." ― Lev Grossman "The dialogue is as smart and snappy as ever, full of intelligent humor and artful verbal sparring."― All Things Urban Fantasy on Changeless " Changeless is equal to Soulless : witty, sexy, graceful, and unpredictable. With a few more novels, this delightful, Ms. Carriger will be challenging Laurell K. Hamilton and Charlaine Harris for the top of the New York Times bestseller lists."― Fantasy Magazine on Changeless "Carriger delivers surprises with every book, and this one is no exception. With action, intrigue, and above all, proper manners, this excellent series will have broad appeal to readers of steampunk, urban fantasy, and paranormal and historical romance."― Library Journal on Heartless "The world of Timeless is a unique recipe of steampunk and fantasy spiced with light sprinkling of romance. Its setting is rich for characters to romp about in, but the unbridled playfulness of the language and dialogue shines brightest."― The Miami Herald New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger writes to cope with being raised in obscurity by an expatriate Brit and an incurable curmudgeon. She escaped small town life and inadvertently acquired several degrees in Higher Learning. Ms. Carriger then traveled the historic cities of Europe, subsisting entirely on biscuits secreted in her handbag. She resides in the Colonies, surrounded by fantastic shoes, where she insists on tea imported from London.

Features & Highlights

  • From
  • New York Times
  • bestselling author Gail Carriger comes the delightful sequel to
  • Imprudence
  • .
  • Accidentally abandoned! All alone in Singapore, proper Miss Primrose Tunstell must steal helium to save her airship, the
  • Spotted Custard
  • , in a scheme involving a lovesick werecat and a fake fish tail.When she uncovers rumors of a new kind of vampire, Prim and the
  • Custard
  • crew embark on a mission to Peru. There, they encounter airship pirates and strange atmospheric phenomena, and are mistaken for representatives of the Spanish Inquisition. Forced into extreme subterfuge (and some rather ridiculous outfits) Prim must also answer three of life's most challenging questions: Can the perfect book club give a man back his soul? Will her brother ever stop wearing his idiotic velvet fez? And can the amount of lard in Christmas pudding save an entire species?

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(791)
★★★★
25%
(330)
★★★
15%
(198)
★★
7%
(92)
-7%
(-92)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Absolutely Adorable and Laugh Out Loud

I finished in two sittings, and will probably reread again soon. This book is mostly from Prim's point of view (and then her twin brother's Percy gets some limelight as well), instead of Rue, and I really enjoyed that. This book advances Prim's story, and let's the twins shine. I loved getting into their heads, and I realized they think much more than they speak. Also, they are more alike than they like to think. Really truly, I laughed myself through many pages, felt compelled to read portions out loud to my slightly bewildered husband who also found them funny. This book really gets cat behavior.
6 people found this helpful
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Underwhelmed

I finished this book last night, I wanted to take a moment and really reflect on my feelings before reviewing because I have to admit I was pumped for this book and have been left not quite disappointed but underwhelmed. This underwhelming feeling has been constant throughout The Custard Protocol series.

I want to be clear I am a HUGE Gail Carriger fan, I look forward to everything she does and pre-order all her books. This is because Carriger is just an amazing writer. She is witty, fun, adventurous and wildly imaginative. I love it.

So why am I let down once again by her recent series. It is because I have the wrong expectations of the book. I keep picking this series up and going "OH! A dirigible adventure in a really great universe!" but that's not what these books are and the recent release competence is no different.

This book explores sexuality in an open and frank way, encouraging people to leave behind the embarrassment of not just who we find ourselves attracted to but also the activity itself be it between a man and a woman, two men, two women, or people who may physically be one way but identify another.

I personally do not identify as homosexual, bisexual or transsexual so I'm not sure if these representations are accurate to how someone who does feels or thinks so I will not attempt to speak on that level.

As an adventure this book has a lot of what I'd call dead air. There are long stretches where the task at hand isn't really relevant.

However! If you change your perspective and look at this book as not being about an adventure but about interpersonal relationships this book is great. You see some really amazing moments between crew members and get some character development in all that I would have said was dead air.

The actual adventure portion of the book was extremely well done, it just doesn't take precedence over the plot of human interactions. If you want something that is a little less strictly about people and how they interact I'd recommend checking out Carriger's other series over this one.
5 people found this helpful
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An excellent addition to the series

I adore the Custard Protocol series! Competence exceeded all of my very high expectations. This third volume focused on Primrose Tunstell, and she was an admirable heroine. From the first page to last, Prim had to step out of her comfort zone. From being left on the Singapore way station with only Miss Sekmet for protection, to spearheading a parasol protectorate mission to Peru, Prim is tested and discovers who she is and what she wants.
Of course, she does this in the company of the Spotted Custard crew. So, there are wild adventures and plenty of being shot at as would be expected.
I loved the character development in Competence. The relationships amongst the Spotted Custard officers grew and deepened in very satisfying ways.
I finished the book wishing book four was available. Competence is a must read for Gail Carriger fans.
2 people found this helpful
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I loved seeing familiar characters from new perspectives as it makes ...

Positively delightful! The Crew of the Spotted Custard are up to new antics and... personal growth? I loved seeing familiar characters from new perspectives as it makes them even more "real". The end, in my opinion, is simply perfect. It left me with questions, but on such a note as I am happy to wait for the answers.
2 people found this helpful
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More character-driven

I love these books. This one is a little more character-heavy than the rest of the series has been, which is a fun change of pace. Steampunk tends to be so atmospheric, and Gail’s books are very plot-intense, so it was fun to relax slightly and settle into a character’s head for a while.
1 people found this helpful
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Not Gail Carriger's best

In general I thought the book was interesting. The travels of Prudence and company and their adventures are always fun, but the weak area of the book is with the romance between Primrose and Tasherit. Prim is a young lady who has not admitted to herself that she is a lesbian. Tasherit is an ancient werelion who is pursuing Prim. So far, so good. The difficulty is that I never knew quite why these two characters were falling in love. Prim thinks a lot about Tasherit's "long brown limbs" quite a bit, so there is an attraction there; and Tasherit seems to have no doubt that she wants to be with Primrose.. That is really all we know. The POV is never from Tasherit's perspective so, of course, we don't get to see inside her mind to find out what are those qualities Primrose has that has made her love her. From Primrose's perspective you see that Tasherit makes her both curious and uncomfortable. Like I said, Primrose has not come to terms with where her sexual attractions lie. But you don't understand what about Tasherit appeals to Primrose either, although you do see Primrose's thoughts. And Primrose spends a lot of her time trying to keep Tasherit at arms length, so you miss those conversations where you find out all they have in common (if there is anything). For two of the three main characters of the novel they are not very well developed. Tasherit, even though she has been a character in previous novels, is not a 3-dimensional person. All in all, I have to say that this is not GC's best work. I thought Romancing the Inventor, which dealt with a similar theme did a better job.
1 people found this helpful
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Love

Loved it!!!
1 people found this helpful
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Carriger writes some fun stuff!

I like her characters. I like her steam-punk ambience. I love the muddles and problems her characters get themselves into. I love the interaction among the supernaturals, and between them and the fully human people. Sex is made reference to, not on the regular; I'd happily let my tween/teen children read these.
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Good series

Good writing, mystery, humorous.
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Hazards of Steam and Airship Travel

This review was first published on Kurt's Frontier.

Synopsis:

The crew of the Spotted Custard is at it again. Miss Primrose Tunstell begins her adventures in Competence by stealing helium to save her airship. Her scheme involves a lovesick werelioness and a fish tail. Once the crew fixes the leak, fills the helium bladders, and tops off the coal stocks, Prim receives a message about a novel kind of vampire in Peru. The journey that follows involves navigation errors and pirates. During the journey, she ponders some of the more serious questions in this alternative Victorian world. Can a perfect book club return a person’s soul? Can she get her brother, Percy, to stop wearing that ridiculous fez? Can the right amount of lard in a Christmas pudding save an entire race of vampires? The crew does a stint impersonating Spanish inquisitors, complete with idiotic outfits.

Review:

The third book of The Custard Protocol shifts attention from Captain Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama (Rue to her friends) to her best friend, one Miss Primrose Tunstell, called Prim. As with the previous two books, Gail Carriger has written Competence in the same tongue-in-cheek manner. The stereotypical Victorian mannerisms are still amusing and will keep the reader entertained as the plot builds up steam. (Sorry about the pun.) Prim finds her love life stuck in a quandary: her latest engagement has been called off. She is sure that the one person she is attracted to is not acceptable to her mother’s Victorian sensibilities. Through it all, they must get from Singapore to Peru to save a rare species of Andean vampire.

The witty character development continues. The hazards of steam and airship travel are exciting. Navigational and atmospheric anonymities make this more than a simple mode of travel. Changing the point-of-view from Rue to Prim adds dimension to the overall story arch. I’m looking forward to the fourth book: Reticence