The Red Plague Affair (Bannon & Clare, 2)

What I liked:
Unique Plot--Victorian Era WMDs and Bio-terrorism
Emma growing as a character, learning more about her back ground
More hints about Mikal and who/what he is.

What I didn't like
Slow plot pacing. Very very slow.
None of the fire between Emma and Mikal of the previous book--very little advancement of their relationship. Romance factor almost non existent.
The ending is saved by a Deus ex Machina--an act of "God". I sorta hate when that happens.
Little time spent with some of the best secondary characters from the first book like Ludovico.

I will probably read the next book in the series, but I'm not very anxious to get to it. Not like I was after reading the first book.

Despite numerous attempts to settle into this book, I had a difficult time appreciating what appeared to be an interesting story due to fundamental problems with flow, continuity and structure. The writing was actually quite fluent and beautiful, however there were issues, mainly with the pacing, that I simply could not overlook. From the opening scene, we are quite literally thrown into a choppy, confusing action sequence that should have started things on a high point, but instead, due to the utter lack of explanation as to precisely what was going on, I found the story difficult to follow. There were a few bits mentioning who Clare was fighting off, but only crumbs were dropped for the reader so that there was a perpetual question as to what was occurring in many of the fast moving scenes.

This became a trend. Half the time I had trouble picturing what was going on when things picked up, and the other half was spent on entirely too much inward exposition - so that the general pace of `The Red Plague Affair' swung back and forth between choppy action scene to chapters of introspection. There was also a distinct lack of dialogue throughout, which made for tedious reading after a time.

Unlike some other serialized novels, there was practically no real introduction here to this world, so if reading this without being familiar with the first book, you might find yourself out at sea in regards to back story. Unfortunate, because the bare bones of the premise intrigued me greatly, though I felt the main issue here was the execution of that idea was sorely lacking, and made this a largely dull novel that took a painfully long time to complete. In fact, back in June, I received this as an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, and am only just completing it now.

I love Lilith Saintcrow. Let's get that out of the way first, so this is not a bash on her at all. I've enjoyed the gritty feel and dark texture of her books for a long time, having gone so far as to reread most of them several times.

That being said, I find a couple problems with this book... While the world creation is awesome, and the character development is great, is it possible to get a book that answers some questions that the author herself opens up? There are hints galore in both the first book and the second book about the nature of Emma's relationship with her Shields and exactly what her Shield truly is, but come on! Please pick one of the hints that you've left open throughout the story and answer it! Doesn't even have to be in the same book, so long as the stories aren't filled with cryptic comments about "what is he, I think I know...but I'm not going to shed any light on it." Truly, it's tantalizing... I get it... you want to draw the reader in. Problem is, you've drawn the reader in to the point of wanting to know, but if you never answer it, the reader (i.e. me) get's discouraged.

The only other problem I had was the pace of the story itself. It builds nicely until the last 6 chapters or so... then it's like a runaway train speeding to the end. That would be cool, provided that it didn't feel as if it was slapped together to wrap things up, but lost details in the haste to get to the end. For instance, Emma's suddenly sour relationship with Victrix. What happened there? It was cordial, if a little cold due to the interaction between a dark Prime and a mega-conciousness, but it turned on a dime and now it feels like there's a huge animosity between them. Was it solely due to the fear and grief of the consort getting sick? Or, did one of the threads get lost in the rush to finish? That's what I mean by the details getting lost in the rush. I didn't miss something... I know, because I've read it twice already to make sure that I wasn't overly eager for it and in my excitement, glossed over the finer points.

All in all, it was entertaining, but it left me unsatisfied. Hopefully, the author will choose to answer some questions that she has been so enigmatic about so that we don't lose interest because we think she'll never give us the big picture.

While it's not Lilith Saintcrow's best, the Red Plague Affair is plenty of fun to read (as witnessed by my finishing it in 2.5 hours when I should have been working). This episode starts several years after the first book, opening up some interesting future dilemmas for all involved. Where Red Plage Affair suffers is in giving the impression that it prioritizes setting up the next book over the story at hand, rather like The Empire Strikes Back. However, since many have been calling that the strongest movie of the original Star Wars trilogy, perhaps there is little harm. In any event, grab an iced tea and a hammock, and enjoy this as a summer afternoon read.

Enjoyed it

Excellent book! The characters develop over the course of the book. Shows how different personalities work well together.

The characters, major and minor, are obsessive and often dangerous. The red plague is horrifying, especially since scientific medicine has never been truly developed in a world of magic. Bannon and Clare are probably in love, but neither could admit it, or maybe even recognize it. This adventure moves at a breakneck pace. The final resolution leaves many mysteries unresolved -- which is a good thing for an ongoing series.

In some ways this is a better book than the first in the series. While Steampunk, its kind of a Sherlock Homes meets the Good Dark Witch. set in an alternative London during the young Victoria's reign It manages to be a mystery meets adventure story and sets up more books in the series.I'd advise reading the series in order.

Even better than the first, more drama, more story, more character. It's certainly a ride to take.

Another great Bannon and Clare adventure. Steampunk meets Sorcery.