Rod Duncan

Feeling that she's been left without options, Elizabeth Barnabus takes matters into her own hands, first by confronting the Duke of Northampton and second by agreeing to assist her friend Fabulo in a heist on the International Patent Court in London. But of course things don't go to plan, and soon Elizabeth and her friends are running for their lives ...

While the previous two volumes in the Fall of the Gas-lit Empire sequence were pacey and original, this third volume certainly ups the ante. show more There are several moments in the book where the tension and suspense are downright nail-biting. The set-up of the heist is incredibly clever and can compete with any heist thriller seen at the cinema. A worthy conclusion of the trilogy, and I can look forward to seeing more of Elizabeth Barnabus in the Map of Unknown Things sequence. show less

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: In the divided land of England, Elizabeth Barnabus has been living a double life - as both herself and as her brother, the private detective. Witnessing the hanging of Alice Carter, the false duchess, Elizabeth resolves to throw the Bullet Catcher’s Handbook into the fire, and forget her past. If only it were that easy!

There is a new charitable organisation in town, run by some highly respectable women. But something doesn’t feel right to show more Elizabeth. Perhaps it is time for her fictional brother to come out of retirement for one last case…? Her unstoppable curiosity leads her to a dark world of body-snatching, unseemly experimentation, politics and scandal. Never was it harder for a woman in a man’s world…

My Review: I really liked the first book in this series, THE BULLET-CATCHER'S DAUGHTER. But you knew that already, right? Since you read my reviews regularly, right?

We're going up a half-star on this second entry in the series because I really, REALLY liked it. There are some odd pleasures to be had in watching Virtue and Propriety subverted from within and with the collusion of the seemingly virtuous. Schadenfreude, anyone? This story takes Schadenfreude to new heights as Elizabeth must, reluctantly, solve a mystery for her bosom friend Julia; protect her nearest and dearest from several groups of malefactors that she doesn't know, as well as elude the vile Duke of Northampton's hired thugs trying to return her to his...service, to euphemize, for the vast sum of 400 guineas. So you know that we're on a rollercoaster as men, women, children of all ages and stations try to get their hooks into Elizabeth, driving her into reckless (though never careless) action.

As soon as Elizabeth believes she has a moment's breathing space, her coterie of enemies and friends set her spinning in yet another direction. One serious enemy, the International Patent Office, plays a smaller role in this book than the first entry; John Farthing the Patent Officer plays a surprising role, considering how they met.

As the story rockets along, shedding layers of illusion and bringing Elizabeth closer and closer to horrible and unpunishable crimes commited in the name of Seemly Science, the urge to sleep was banished and my meals became snack foods until the horrible, chilling denoument. It is Duncan's gift to take this unlikely point of departure and people it with characters whose existence comes to matter a lot to the reader. The world he has created is such an exuberant, lively, richly detailed place, and peopled with such wonderful people, and so much darned fun to enter, how can you resist running directly to the bookery of your choice and buying all three (yes, three!) volumes? Take my word for it, this is an excellent investment in satisfying your story-hunger. show less

The continuation of The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter might not be as flashy as some other steampunk novels, but it's solid as a rock.

They say the devil is in the details, and the sinister feel of Unseemly Science is perfectly shown with minute details. It's very visual, with an underlying sense of urgency and terror driving the plot. I would even call it a Gothic novel akin to Ripper series by Amy Carol Reeves.



Elizabeth is on the run again. The Republic and The Kingdom are on the brink of show more signing an extradition treaty, and the refugees from The Kingdom are being rounded up into the camps. At the same time, Miss Barnabus's protege, Julia, is embarking on her first investigation. The ice disappears from the ice factory, and she needs to find the perpetrators of the crime. She asks Elizabeth to join her, and our heroine is forced by the circumstances to do just that.


The crime is not simple, and the more the girls dig, the more they understand just how much danger they are in. At the meantime, not content to wait for the Treaty Duke of Northampton puts a bounty on Elizabeth's head, and she has a lot of people searching for her. After a horrifying threat, Julia is sent home and only a promise of freedom sends Elizabeth into the depths of ice factory to discover the chilling truth.


I really enjoyed Elizabeth's character. She is a vulnerable young woman, but she is tenacious and she uses her wits to get what she wants. There are no dramatic, all-out fights, but she is not equipped for those. Still she refuses to run away and leave her friends in trouble so she tries her best to outsmart the villains.


John Farthing is an interesting guy as well. Any sort of relationship between him and the heroine is impossible, and yet, there are hints of their building feelings even if they don't know about them themselves.


The plot is complex and very well-made. Unseemly Science might not be a book you'll read in one seating, but it's a book you'll be driven to finish. It's understated and devilishly clever. Recommended. show less

Elizabeth Barnabus grew up in a travelling circus and now leads a double life: by day she is herself, living on a canal boat in the divided city of Leicester, by night she earns her living as a private intelligence gatherer while impersonating her fictitious twin brother, since women aren't allowed to run a business in the Anglo-Scottish Republic. Because money is scarce, she accepts the Duchess of Bletchley's request to search for her brother, who has joined the troupe of the famous show more impresario Harry Timpson. Little does she know that the investigation will not only bring her into conflict with an agent of the International Patent Office, but that she will also need to run for her life and fight to preserve her freedom.

I loved the highly original premise of an alternate Britain divided after a second civil war in the eighteenth century, with the International Patent Office acting as a supranational organisation that has limited invention and innovation. Though the story is set in the modern day, this limitation has resulted in a society more akin to the Victorian age – with women's emancipation and suffrage at a similar level.

There is much to admire in the novel's central character Elizabeth Barnabus, who acts as the story's narrator: a strong female character, she's independent, intelligent and resourceful. Contrary to one reviewer's opinion, I thought her voice with the (to our ears) dated expressions worked very well, and helped to set the tone.

The plot is relatively fast-paced and unpredictable for the most part, with unique and interesting characters. I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel, Unseemly Science, which is luckily already on my shelf. show less