3.5 out of 5 worms
SOULESS has a lot of secondary titles; An Alexia Tarabotti Novel, Book the First of the Parasol Protectorate. Ms. Carriger is a little too cute for her own good - pick a title!
But I digress. I read this piece a few months ago, but I'm revisiting it since it still falls on the recently read list.
I really didn't know what to expect when I picked up this one, described as "A novel of vampires, werewolves and parasols." It seemed it could go for the better or worse with a tag-line like that. I started out skeptical but was drawn in and throughly enjoyed the read. It is light, supernatural and Victorian. I also apprectiate Ms. Carriger for creating an alternate Victorian era, where werewolves and vampires are a known part of society. She creates her own, strong mythology - not an easy feat - and coins a few of her own terms.
Our heroine is Alexia Tarabotti who is a preternatural. As far as I know, this idea is an original, so listen up. Preternaturals have no soul, however, they have morals and emotions. The main difference between preternaturals and the rest of us is that when they touch a supernatural creature, that being becomes essentially mortal for the duration of the contact.
Since we were in an alternate era, I really wanted to put a soundtrack to the book. This is something that I do for fun, literally choosing songs that I think fit and then envisioning a scene with my soundtrack. It's fun, try it! Anyways, I picked La Roux's album, specifically Tigerlily and Cover My Eyes.
I don't want to give away the plot of this one, since I recommend it. Lord Maccoon, the alpha werewolf, is a fantastic character in addition to Miss Tarabotti. Miss Tarabotti is half Italian and half English, a "spinster" in her twenties because of her olive complexion and Roman nose. My biggest disappointment was that the cover artwork did NOT match this description at all! We see a stylized, pale twig that I had mistaken for a vampire. If the author takes such pains to create such an interesting character physically, why sell out on the cover? Answers please!
I just purchased the 2nd Book, Changeless and am looking forward to it.
Bottom line: Light, supernatural, great characters
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