Book Review: The Ripper Affair

The Ripper Affair

Pages: 320

Published: Aug 19, 2014

Read: Sep 6-Sep 9

Sorcery. Treason. Madness. And, of course, murder most foul…

Archibald Clare, mentath in the service of Britannia, is about his usual business–solving crimes and restoring public order until a shattering accident places him in the care of Emma Bannon, sorceress Prime, who once served…and now simply remains at home, tending her solarium in reasonably quiet contentment. What Clare needs now is time to recover, and not so incidentally, a measure of calm to repair his faculties of Logic and Reason. Without them, he is not his best. One could even say that without them, he is not even properly a mentath at all.

Unfortunately, calm and rest will not be found. There is a killer hiding in the sorcerous steam-hells of Londinium, stalking the Eastron End and unseaming poor women of a certain reputation. A handful of drabs murdered on cold autumn nights would make no difference…but the killings echo in the highest circles possible, and threaten to bring the entire edifice of Empire down in smoking ruins.

Now Emma Bannon, once more, is pressed into service and Archibald Clare, once more, is determined to aid her. The secrets between these two old friends may give an ambitious sorcerer the means to bring down the Crown. And there is still no way to reliably find a hansom when one needs it most.

Britannia is threatened. Londinium quakes. Sorcery births an unholy monster.

The game is afoot…

The reason I love this series (this is the third novel), is the same reason so may people dislike this series: you have to invest yourself in the books and figure out what the author is hinting at. Lilith Saintcrow never obviously states what the characters are truly feeling or what is exactly going on; instead, she drops hints and leaves it up to the reader to decide. I find this extremely fitting for the Victorian setting and it keeps me, as a reader, much more invested in the story. I cannot wait for the next chapter–or book–to see if my assumptions were correct. Usually they are, but I can still be slightly off.

The other reason I adore this series is the lead female character: Emma Bannon. Often, authors try to write strong female characters, and accidentally turn them into idiots. This is not the case, however, with Miss Emma Bannon. She is smart, resourceful, and completely her own character. She doesn’t need a man to prop her up and make her character “complete.” There is romance but Emma’s happiness is not based upon the love her her lover; he isn’t necessary to complete her happiness.

The two problems I do have with this book are: one) the book is slow in some parts. The plot meanders along in some parts, and sometimes you just wish Lilith Saintcrow would pick up the pace a bit. The second problem I have, as much as I praised it earlier, it would be nice, just once and a while, to be told what the characters are feeling and what is happening. I found the third novel does tell you straight what is going on but the first two are a bit more meandering.

Overall, I adored this book, and recommend it to fans of Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate Series.

4.5 out of 5