Tee Morris

There are those books that suck you in completely and pull you deep down into their depths. When you stop reading it is almost painful because you were submersed in the world that you were reading about. And the characters....books like this make me feel like I know these characters. That maybe they were once intimate friends of mine. This is one of those books for me! Stepping back into The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences was like visiting old friends but only better because I swear that I show more enjoyed this book even more than the first!

I LOVED The Janus Affair! Loved it! Everything that I enjoyed about Phoenix Rising was back in this second book and there was more! That's right...more! In this book, Eliza and Wellington begin to secretly investigate the very odd and mysterious disappearances of a few leaders of the feminist movement. Secretly investigate because it seems like these disappearances are being ignored by the Ministry. And Eliza and Books are still in hot water for all of the trouble that they managed to cause from their last case. As always trouble is underfoot whenever these two get their hands on a good mystery.

One of my favorite things about this book was the growing and changing relationship between Books and Eliza. I'll try to be as spoiler-free as possible but it really was what MADE this book for me. I loved the fractures and misunderstandings that were abundant and played an important role in this book. I felt like each step of the book was leading up to something, and that something happened at the end of the book just like I had hoped! Did I say that I loved this book already??? I seriously did! I had a hard time putting the book down and found myself wondering how I am going to possibly wait for the next book to come out. Aack! I may end up rereading these two books to help hold me off until book 3 comes out. But back to my thoughts on it. The steampunk aspect was fun to read about it...I loved reading about all of the different gadgets and gizmos. Although there were a few times that the technical parts of explanation went way over my head, I felt like it really added to the story. I've got to add that I really like the mystery that is included in the interludes throughout the book. I feel like these interludes are giving us hints on whats to come in the series. It is very intriguing! Reading this book was such a fun-filled adventure with unexpected twists and turns and so much more! I can't get enough of these books and I'm really eager to see what kinds of trouble Eliza and Books can get into next. Because you just know that somehow they are going to get themselves in more trouble. It is bound to happen. And I'll be there to read all about it!!

All in all, a deliciously good read and a great follow-up to the 1st book! I highly recommend this series if you haven't tried it yet. Especially if you are thinking about dipping your toes in the steampunk genre. You won't be disappointed! As for me, I'm going to be impatiently waiting for the next book to come out. Highly recommended!

Bottom Line: An unputdownable read! Already a favorite series of mine and we are only on book 2!

Disclosure: I was lucky enough to receive an e-galley of this through Edelweiss and the publisher. show less

I wish I could say that I liked this novel better than I do, as the authors really tried to build some interesting protagonists, develop a screw-ball relationship between the two, and give you an interesting set of interlocking conspiracies. Part of the problem is that Steam Punk is rapidly setting into a formula, but the main issue is that the middle of this book kind of dragged for me, and that's the kiss of death for what should be a fast-paced thriller. I'm still interested in the next show more book in the series. show less

It's sometime in the late 1890s--late Victorian London, and Wellington Thornhill Books, Archivist for the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is kidnapped, whisked away to an Antarctic stronghold for, ahem, questioning, and is rescued by Ministry field agent Eliza D. Braun. (Yes, Books and Braun, but really, you have to forgive the authors for it, or at least I do!) Alas, Eliza is a bit free with her use of explosives in the process, and blowing up the headquarters of the House of Usher without show more actually eliminating the organization was not included in her instructions. Upon returning to London, she is assigned to assist Books in the Archives. This is Ministry director Dr. Sound's version of killing two birds with one stone: Eliza Braun is too unpredictable and resistant to orders in the field, and Books is starting to think of the Archives as his.

If the existence of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, combined with the dirigible that carried Books and Braun away from Antarctica, were not enough evidence, we quickly encounter proof that this Victorian England is not our Victorian England. Books has a working Difference Engine that he built himself, and has programmed for all manner of useful tasks. The Archives are filled not just with accounts of solves and unsolved cases, but artifacts--a map to the city of El Dorado, and a Zulu amulet that does truly dangerous things, among others. The agents, including Books, wear rings that can be tracked by the Emergency Tracking System.

Braun is not really cut out to be an archivist, and she's haunted by one of the first cases she worked on after arriving in England from New Zealand. Known as the Rag and Bone Murders, the case revolved around bodies found dead and mutilated in a variety of gruesome ways: one drained of all blood, another with all bones removed, yet another with the skin completely removed. She and her first partner, Harrison Thorne, found no solution and the investigation became increasingly dangerous, until they were ordered to stop, and the unsolved case consigned to the Archives. But Harry didn't drop the case, and eventually disappeared for a week, only to turn up near a factory, completely mad.

Braun can't let the case go, either, and inevitably sucks the very staid, very proper, very not-a-field-agent Books into the case with her. And that's when things really get dangerous, as they clash with a secret society with its own plans for England, agents of the House of Usher still intent upon questioning Books, a deadly female assassin, and the mad genius who's behind everything--maybe! They repeatedly escape by the skin of their teeth, due to Braun's way with weapons and explosives, or Books' way with machinery and codes. And when the final showdown comes, if they want to survive, they have to get over their mutual friction and incomprehension, and start trusting each other.

This is a great romp through a Victorian England that's just off enough to be intriguing, and I found Books and Braun rapidly growing on me. The pace is lively, and the authors keep the reader guessing.

A minor detail that will amuse those who remember a certain tv show: At a very dangerous and shocking house party, Books and Braun meet a couple named Collins. Barnabus and Angelique Collins. This doesn't appear to have any significance beyond the private amusement of the authors, although since this appears to be the start of a series, who knows? Maybe we'll find out the Collinses have relatives in Maine.

Recommended for a good, light-hearted, adventurous romp.

I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. show less

I loved this. Absolutely. Frikkin. Loved it. I tried to draw out the experience and couldn't make myself stop reading the second day. Without a doubt, this impressive second novel in the newer Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series is going into my "best of 2012" shelf as well as my much less used "all-time favorites." I think I may even have loved this book like I love my hallmark series of steampunk, Gail Carriger's formidably funny and inventive Parasol Protectorate series. I literally show more have nothing to complain about here, and that is rare. That's a lot of praise for a book to live up to, but The Janus Affair is that rare novel, the one that manages to be delightful, zany, action-packed and original from inception to execution. Please excuse and recognize my blatant and epic fangirling for what it is -- that classic kneejerk reaction of happiness that happens right after finishing an unexpected treat - not everyone in the world will be wowed with this foray into Edwardian steampunkery but boy I was. Though the first novel Phoenix Rising wasn't quiiiite as perfect, this is the steampunk series everyone should be reading now that Alexia has wrapped up her five novel arc hung up her written parasol duties. While the main events of book two of the MoPO were neatly and explosively wrapped up without my predicting the outcome (once again, thanks to the amazing Eliza Braun), I will count the minutes wait patiently until I can get my grabby little hands on whatever else next springs from the fertile minds of Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris.

By far and away, a third of my love for this book is due entirely to the two main characters at the heart of everything, Eliza Braun and Wellington Books. (The other 2/3rds are reserved for steampunkery, excellent/unpredictable and intelligent antagonists and sheer madcap adventure.) Their banter and genuine camaraderie are prone to bustups and petty fights, but it's the underlying respect and genuine feeling of friendship between that makes reading these two feel less like characters and more like real people. It helps that Eliza is a heoine to shame most other heroines - she's brash and coarse and willful and exactly whatever she wants to be. I love Eliza - I always liked her, from the first chapter of book one, but midway through this, I knew I loved her. (This was the exact moment: "In New Zealand, there had been such sweetness to their courtship, but back then she had been quite a different person. Still a little reckless, but in the way of a young woman not yet as familiar with black powder and explosions.") Her characterization is seemingly blunt and obvious (EXPLODE ALL THE THINGS!), but through interactions and over time and pages, with her Ministry Seven, Welly, and the women she relentlessly helps, Eliza is revealed to be much more than just a mere colonial or pistol-loving walking armoury. Wellington Books has been my absolute favorite character from the start and that is only reinforced through his evolution during the last two novels, but The Janus Affair particularly illustrated him as a man of many facets. His dry humour is still very much in tact ("Once more into the breach.." "Sorry, Welly, what was that?" "Shakespeare. I always recite it just before placing my career in harm's way.") These are definitely not stagnant characters - they grow and change, make mistakes and adapt, and most importantly, they help one another. The working relationship between the two has evolved to be effective and natural - Books can more than count on Eliza to save him from danger as many times as he saves her.

Steampunk itself seems to be evolving to blend quite naturally with two other, less fantastical genres - mystery and romance. The Janus Affair does have more than a bit of both and handles each element quite admirably - as Books would say, with aplomb. I never felt that one was cheated at the expense of the other - never does any romantic entanglement supersede the plot, nor does the mystery overwhelm the sense of compatibility and chemistry between the Sherlockian main characters. I have to think that these two authors work together more cohesively than any other pairing I've yet come across - Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine complement each other naturally and Though a lot of steampunk novels have the secret organization paired with "agents" used to protect Old Blighty from the supernatural (Parasol Protectorate, Newbury & Hobbes Investigations) and solve paranormal crimes, co-authors Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris go to extremely awesome lengths to create a wholly enveloped and imagined alternate universe for their characters to play within. (They even have a ton of novellas - often by other authors - in the same universe with different characters! There are editions you can purchase, or as free podcasts.) Much like their imagined version of 1800's Britain, the steampunk machines and gadgets used by the cast are wholly original, fun and useful without becoming deux-ex-machinas. I especially liked that something from the first book was referenced and used as a slight part of the plot for the second (the "aethergates" anyone?) - it reinforces the feel that this version of England is an ongoing world, not just unconnected vignettes into random episodes.

The Janus Affair, simply put, is a book that has a lot to offer across a wide variety of areas. Original plotting, genuinely twisty and murky mysteries with a high body count, several strong female characters, amusing banter, original and highly creative use of steampunk and gadgets, veeery smart and fully capable antagonists, the slight but oh-so effective romance, double agents, explosions and more. As I said, the main events and plot of this book have been neatly and effectively wrapped up, but there are some few exceptions to the rule. I don't want to spoil anything from the novel because this really is a fun mystery to try and solve independently, but there are juicy, unresolved plot tendrils enough to ensure that readers from books one and two will want to read the planned third to figure out the Maestro's plans.

I bought the first book, Phoenix Rising, on sale for Nook for a $1.99 late last year and waited several months to dig in. (I guess I like to wait on my books before I read them? Sit on them like a dragon with its hoard, jealously guarding any potential enjoyment I might have when/if I start...? I have 100+ bought and waiting to be read...I'm crazy.) The publishers were generous enough to send me an ARC copy of The Janus Affair just in time for me to realize how much I was going to love this book, series, characters and how much I needed the sequel the second I finished book one. After the last 800 pages with Wellington Books (whom I always call "Boots" in my head before I realize) and Eliza, I can say that I will be buying my own physical copies of both these books because I love them that much. Hey now that I've finished book two, any chances of a draft of book three? Philippa? Tee? Anyone? Please? In the meantime, I'll have to go read the short stories and wait patiently for whatever these creative authors are cooking up for round number three. show less