If you’ve been following us on Twitter lately, you ‘may’ have heard mention of ‘Phoenix Rising’, perhaps overheard delighted conversations discussing the wonderful Wellington, or maybe gasping at the antics of an Eliza Braun? America may have got the leap on us with this one (despite one of the authors being Kiwi… possibly soon to be stolen by the Australians), but 1st June sees the official Australia/New Zealand release of:
PHOENIX RISING by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris
(Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, Book One)
If you’re local store hasn’t smuggled this in for you, race down tomorrow and pre-order it, this book is sensational.
Evil is most assuredly afoot—and Britain’s fate rests in the hands of an alluring renegade . . . and a librarian.
These are dark days indeed in Victoria’s England. Londoners are vanishing, then reappearing, washing up as corpses on the banks of the Thames, drained of blood and bone. Yet the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences—the Crown’s clandestine organization whose bailiwick is the strange and unsettling—will not allow its agents to investigate. Fearless and exceedingly lovely Eliza D. Braun, however, with her bulletproof corset and a disturbing fondness for dynamite, refuses to let the matter rest . . . and she’s prepared to drag her timorous new partner, Wellington Books, along with her into the perilous fray.
For a malevolent brotherhood is operating in the deepening London shadows, intent upon the enslavement of all Britons. And Books and Braun—he with his encyclopedic brain and she with her remarkable devices—must get to the twisted roots of a most nefarious plot . . . or see England fall to the Phoenix!
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ALI’S REVIEW
Phoenix Rising is the type of book I could happily spend an entire book review quoting from, it’s just full of punchy one liners and witty dialogue. If you really want to work out what the story is all about, just look at the cover, it really does manage to sum up the story nicely.
Our heroine, secret agent Eliza D Braun, with her obsession with dynamite and her New Zealand ‘can-do’ attitude, combines with stiff-upper-lip British Archivist Wellington Books (yes, Books and Brawn), to create mayhem and chaos for Queen and country while working for the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.
“The Ministry remains rather underfunded by the Crown, Books, and I was given the choice of either backup or more dynamite.” She held up the stick. “I went with what I could trust.”
Phoenix Rising is a delightful read with characters I really enjoyed. It is a little predictable and perhaps a touch clichéd in places, but that adds to the enjoyment. There’s a touch of mystery and although there are some very interesting twists, it’s not a ‘crime’ story.
“I always think better when I am being shot at.”
There is a surprising amount of blood, gore and sex flying under the radar. Jokes about exploding heads fit right into the storyline, but do require a double take as the brain catches up to just what it is you’ve read. There’s some very erotic scenes that drop the jaw as you turn the pages, but they also fit in to the storyline perfectly (all be it, in a somewhat disturbing manner).
My only issue with the story is the timeline gets a little confusing. We seem to leap days in mid paragraph and the days seem to blend together without a nice chapter break to signify time changes.
Otherwise the story itself just flows from beginning to end as one constant page-turning read and he characters are great fun. The whole book is also a wonderful set up for an ongoing series, which promises to have several books that are all just as enjoyable. I can’t wait.
“You know what would be just ducky right now?” she replied, snapping the reins and pulling ahead of the Concord. “A crack shot. You know, someone who would shoot while I drove the bloody hansom? That would just be lovely! I know you expect me to do everything, being a woman and all…”
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Tags: Books, Braun, Eliza D Braun, Phillipa Ballantine, Phoenix Rising, Pip Ballantine, Steampunk, Tee Morris, Wellington