Mad Steam: Book Review… Clockworks & Corsets by Regina Riley

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Clockworks & Corsets

By: Regina Riley
Publisher: Lyrical Press, March 2010
Pages: 85 Google Reader
Tags: Steampunkery, Adult, Romance, Erotica

First Lines:

The rules change when you put the woman in charge.

Why the Mad Scientist Read this Book:

This novella was bound to have plenty of steampunkery delight! & for the Morbid Romantica Challenge: Steampunkery Romantica Theme.

*Thanks to the author I was gifted this novella for an honestly insane review.*

Concoction of a Review:
   If you skipped straight to the review, this novella had to be full of steampunkery wonders. How could the Mad Scientist pass this one up?

   Clockworks & Corsets was very fun romp through the Steampunkery genre. Right from the start she tosses you into a unique world where an airship is crewed by the damned... Wait, *shakes out all images of Depp out of her head.* The airship is manned by women. Regina Riley tosses out the set images of an androcentric world.

Rose Madigan is the captain of an steampowered airship, The Merry Widow, which is used for a small parcel pick up and drop off service around the world. However, she has been looking for a job for quiet sometimes. When she is hired by Madame Ruby of the Red House Bordello the crew is tisking over working for a whore or what problems will arise if they do not get a paid job soon. They obvious wins. The crew is off to a mysterious island in the South Pacific to find a unknown object located in a missing Mad Scientist's, Doctor Laquacious, laboratory. The crew finds themselves the island entering into the long lost laboratory, meeting the son of the crazy Doctor Atom Laquacious, and caged up by the hands of the indigenous population.

The captain and some of the other crew members also find themselves in the arms of Click the cabin boy, the only male aboard the ship. The love making was steamy and sexy. Many of the scenes were explicit. BDSM and Masturbation can be found in Clockworks & Corsets.

Meanwhile, the sex continues we find out that Madame Ruby has an intent of taking over the world with this secret weapon that Rose's crew is to be bringing back to her. She is willing to use all of her charm to get what she needs to acquire it. One wealthy man at a time. The Mad Scientist is not a person who really enjoys a read with some sort of political agenda. Frankly it makes me search around looking for some gunpowder so I can blow something up. Nonetheless... I can hardly wait to see what our dear Madame Ruby has up her power hungry sleeve.

However, I must say that even though I greatly enjoyed Clockworks & Corsets it could of used more detail. Yes, I understand the purpose of novella is to have a short read. But if there was anything that could make this novella a bit better it would be details. So, simple. More details. I wanted to know more about the fashion, moreover more about corsets. It was in the title after all. Also, more details about the ship. I was happy to think of the Black Pearl the whole time but I think a bit more would help others see a airship more clearly.

Overall, I really enjoyed all of the Steampunkery elements that were to be had in such a short amount of pages including Jayne and her infinity for creating devices and scientist brain. There were plenty of fantastic characters. All of which, I will be waiting to read more of.

Don't believe me... here is and excerpt located at Lyrical Press.