Gail Carriger
Author of Soulless
About the Author
Gail Carriger is a New York Times Bestselling author. Her books are urbane fantasies mixed with steampunk. Her debut novel, Soulless, won the ALA's Alex Award and was nominated for the Compton Crook, Campbell, and Locus Awards. Changeless, Blameless, Heartless, Timeless, Soulless Vol. 1 (the show more manga), Soulless Vol. 2 (the manga of Changeless) were all New York Times Bestsellers. The first in her steampunk Finishing School series for young adults, Etiquette & Espionage, released Feb. 5 2013, was an instant NYT Bestseller. The second book in the Finishing School series, Curtsies & Conspiracies, released Nov. 5, 2013, and debuted at #5 on the NYT YA Bestseller list. In 2015 her title, Prudence, also made The New York Times High Profile Titles List. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Gail Carriger
The Curious Case of the Werewolf That Wasn't, the Mummy That Was, and the Cat in the Jar (2014) 305 copies, 21 reviews
[Title missing] 10 copies
Curtsies and Conspiracies {excerpt} 5 copies
Etiquette and Espionage {excerpt} 2 copies
The heroin journey 1 copy
Associated Works
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (1974) — Preface, some editions; Preface, some editions — 3,159 copies, 74 reviews
FenCon VIII — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Borregaard, Tofa
- Other names
- Borregaard, T.
Carriger, G.L. - Birthdate
- 1976-05-04
- Gender
- female
- Education
- University of California, Santa Cruz (M.A.) (Anthropology) (2008)
University of Nottingham (M.Sc.) (Archaeological Materials) (2000)
Oberlin College
Marin Academy - Occupations
- novelist
short story writer
archaeologist - Organizations
- Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
- Short biography
- Ms. Carriger began writing in order to cope with being raised in obscurity by an expatriate Brit and an incurable curmudgeon. She escaped small town life and inadvertently acquired several degrees in Higher Learning. Ms. Carriger then traveled the historic cities of Europe, subsisting entirely on biscuits secreted in her handbag. She now resides in the Colonies, surrounded by a harem of Armenian lovers, where she insists on tea imported directly from London and cats that pee into toilets. She is fond of teeny tiny hats and tropical fruit. Soulless is her first book.
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Bolinas, Marin County, California, USA
- Places of residence
- California, USA
England, UK - Associated Place (for map)
- California, USA
Members
Discussions
How to Correct Series Order in Librarything Series (March 2022)
Reviews
In the final book of the Custard Protocol series, The Spotted Custard adds a physician to their crew who completely discombobulates Percy. After Prue's wedding the crew heads off on a visit to her parents and then are sent to Japan to investigate the rumours of yet another type of supernatural shifter.
This book does a lot of things all at once and manages to be pretty successful at all of it. First and foremost is the romance between Percy and Arsenic, which manages to be both funny and show more charming. It ties up the relationship bows for all of the other major characters aboard the dirigible, while also providing resolution for character arcs from across the three series within the universe Carriger has set up. Plus it has some great things to say about relationships across the spectrum and colonialism. Highly rewarding for readers of both this series and the entirety of Carriger's works. I can't wait to see what she does next. show less
This book does a lot of things all at once and manages to be pretty successful at all of it. First and foremost is the romance between Percy and Arsenic, which manages to be both funny and show more charming. It ties up the relationship bows for all of the other major characters aboard the dirigible, while also providing resolution for character arcs from across the three series within the universe Carriger has set up. Plus it has some great things to say about relationships across the spectrum and colonialism. Highly rewarding for readers of both this series and the entirety of Carriger's works. I can't wait to see what she does next. show less
What, didn't I review this the first time around? but it's one of the best books! Between Alexia's horrifying family, Biffy's dreadful misadventures, a stubborn insistence on referring to Templars as dressed in nightgowns, and murderous ladybugs, this installment has so much to offer. Also, excellent haranguing, and some insight into the ancient culture of preternaturals. Delightful. Excellent audiobook as well.
More fantasy than sci-fi, but airships exist. Anyway, Prudence Akeldama is pro-British Empire so I don't have a ton of nice words to say about her as a protagonist, but will trudge through the rest of the series because I have a hard time DNFing anything.
The Parasol Protectorate had its silliness, but Alexia was usually at least aware of fantasy geopolitics and its implications. Rue and the gang go off on what they think is a clandestine tea mission (capitalism~) only to stumble into show more fantasy geopolitics stemming from the British empire not fully understanding the supernatural lay of the land in India. Awful lot of, "Just sign the treaty; the Queen will understand" as if... there isn't... a history of the British and colonization... granted, as an aristocrat, Rue's not going to understand that but blegh. All the fancy gown descriptions aren't enough sugar to coat the unpleasant framework the plot relies on (EMPIRE).
Oh. Belatedly realized I forgot to mention that I really don't think the author did enough homework to fairly characterize Indian (and possibly Egyptian?) supernaturals... I'm not as familiar with rakshasas or vanaras but it feels simplistic to apply the vampire/werewolf framework to them (and perhaps that is indeed the lesson Rue learns: international supernaturals are not the same as the ones at home and one should never assume such... even if you can steal their powers anyway). Based on the cover of the next one, heading back to Egypt? ~fingers crossed it doesn't get too into orientalism~ show less
The Parasol Protectorate had its silliness, but Alexia was usually at least aware of fantasy geopolitics and its implications. Rue and the gang go off on what they think is a clandestine tea mission (capitalism~) only to stumble into show more fantasy geopolitics stemming from the British empire not fully understanding the supernatural lay of the land in India. Awful lot of, "Just sign the treaty; the Queen will understand" as if... there isn't... a history of the British and colonization... granted, as an aristocrat, Rue's not going to understand that but blegh. All the fancy gown descriptions aren't enough sugar to coat the unpleasant framework the plot relies on (EMPIRE).
Oh. Belatedly realized I forgot to mention that I really don't think the author did enough homework to fairly characterize Indian (and possibly Egyptian?) supernaturals... I'm not as familiar with rakshasas or vanaras but it feels simplistic to apply the vampire/werewolf framework to them (and perhaps that is indeed the lesson Rue learns: international supernaturals are not the same as the ones at home and one should never assume such... even if you can steal their powers anyway). Based on the cover of the next one, heading back to Egypt? ~fingers crossed it doesn't get too into orientalism~ show less
Alexia Tarabotti is a young lady living in Victorian London – but it’s a Victorian London where supernatural creatures are publicly recognized and integrated into society. Vampires and werewolves are the most common types of supernaturals, and their special powers arise from an excessive amount of soul. Alexia herself is rather unique; she has no soul at all and is therefore a preternatural, capable of neutralizing a supernatural’s powers through touch. In addition to this social show more handicap, Alexia also has an unfashionably dark complexion and is considered, at 25 years old, to be a spinster. As if these hardships weren’t enough, a vampire rudely attacks her in the middle of a ball, an unknown creature keeps trying to kidnap her, and the handsome werewolf Lord Maccon is constantly picking fights with her. What’s a soulless girl to do?
This book is just tons of fun. It’s a mixture of historical fiction, urban fantasy, romance, and steampunk, with some rollicking humor thrown in. One thing I really appreciated was the manageability of the plot: it was complex enough to hold my attention, but I managed to remember all of the key threads so that I wasn’t hopelessly confused at the end. Alexia is a great, fun character, and her interactions with Lord Maccon are especially entertaining. My favorite aspect, though, was the world-building; I think it’s a unique and creative universe with lots of potential, and I especially liked the treatment of vampires and werewolves. Aside from a little head-hopping and a few completely unnecessary references to the Templars, I have no complaints about this book. I’m very pleased that a sequel is coming out next year, and I definitely plan to continue with the series! show less
This book is just tons of fun. It’s a mixture of historical fiction, urban fantasy, romance, and steampunk, with some rollicking humor thrown in. One thing I really appreciated was the manageability of the plot: it was complex enough to hold my attention, but I managed to remember all of the key threads so that I wasn’t hopelessly confused at the end. Alexia is a great, fun character, and her interactions with Lord Maccon are especially entertaining. My favorite aspect, though, was the world-building; I think it’s a unique and creative universe with lots of potential, and I especially liked the treatment of vampires and werewolves. Aside from a little head-hopping and a few completely unnecessary references to the Templars, I have no complaints about this book. I’m very pleased that a sequel is coming out next year, and I definitely plan to continue with the series! show less
Lists
Fantasy of manners (10)
Comfort Reads (1)
Favorite Series (1)
Read These Too (1)
Great Audiobooks (1)
Gaslamp Fantasy (1)
Ghosts (1)
al.vick-series (1)
Swashbucklers (1)
Best Audiobooks (1)
Found Family (3)
United Kingdom (3)
Female Author (3)
io9 Book Club (1)
Guilty Pleasures (1)
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 53
- Also by
- 8
- Members
- 31,895
- Popularity
- #620
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 2,143
- ISBNs
- 347
- Languages
- 11
- Favorited
- 96
