The Affinity Bridge

Couldn't make it to the end though I truly tried. Too distracted by the excess of "whilst" throughout. Give it a rest. Please.

"The Affinity Bridge" combines three of my favorite genres: Victorian fiction, mysteries, and steampunk. So I was thrilled to get my hands on this book. The setting is Victorian England. Queen Victoria actually makes some appearances in the novel, but this is the Queen as you've never seen her before! Sir Maurice Newberry, an agent of the Crown, is investigating a series of murders: people are being strangled in the night by a "glowing policeman". Suddenly, he's called away on another case. An airship has crashed in Finsbury Park, with the loss of all aboard. Newberry, accompanied by his new assisant, Miss Veronica Hobbes, follows the leads as they wind through the foggy streets of London. Along the way they must deal with automatons, clockwork men programmed to do menial tasks; and a plague of "revenants"... men infected with a disease that rots their minds and turns them into violent killers. The plot, as with any good mystery, is full of twists and turns, dead ends and surprises. While dealing with the case, Newberry must also deal with his personal demons, addictions, and fascination with the occult. Miss Hobbes has her own personal issues to work with as well. The characters are well drawn, the atmosphere is suitably murky, and the story moves along at a brisk pace (steam powered, no doubt). I particularly liked the character of Veronica Hobbes. She's a "liberated woman", holding her own in the male-dominated Victorian society, but clever enough not to push the establishment too hard. I enjoyed this book a lot. I was hopeful when I first picked up the book because the cover says "A Newberry and Hobbes Investigation", implying that it's the first in a series. And sure enough, the book ends with a promise of more adventures to come.

This is one of the most delightfully charming books I have read in a long while. It reminds me of Sherlock Holmes, but a Sherlock Holmes who is also a bit of James Bond, with a lot of Steampunk science and gadgetry thrown in. The dialogue is excellent. You are immediately reminded of a good, robust Sherlock Holmes story and you're never allowed to forget that the setting is Victorian London. But instead of Dr. Watson, Sir Maurice Newbury has Miss Veronica Hobbes, an admirable (and oft-times superior) replacement. Sir Maurice is an agent of the Queen, Victoria, who is kept alive with a Steampunk version of an iron lung. This is also a London populated not only by the rich and the poor, the law-abiding and the criminal, but plague-infected zombies who feast on human flesh. George Mann has done an admirable job of putting all these ingredients together and brewing a most entertaining yarn. The characters seem real - they show growth and development - and foibles and secrets - and they engage one another in a realistic fashion. There are no long and laborious info-dumps here but Mann nevertheless manages to make you feel as though his Victorian London is real. It is internally consistent and coherent and it leaves you wanting to know more about the world in which it exists. Very little is said about the rest of the world and the reader is left to wonder what exactly is the territorial composition of the Empire. That bit of fog aside, I cannot think of a single criticism of The Affinity Bridge. If you like suspense, mystery, action, and a little horror thrown in, then this book is for you. Try to pace yourself though - at just over 300 pages it will end all too soon.

I believe I read somewhere on the cover this novel is in the genre of Steam Punk? Or something to that effect. I wasn't really familliar with that type of story so this was new and very enjoyable for me. The Story takes place in turn of the century London, but not our turn of the century London. This is an alternate london with amazing airships and mechanical miracles and all sorts of interesting things that never were, but could have been if only our reality had been pushed a little. This story follows our hero and his lovely assistant, agents of the Crown on various investigation of robots and zombies and the occult around London. It had a very Sherlock Holmes vibe too it, with a little Return to Oz dark fantasy thrown in. I'm not sure if there are other books in the series as I found myself curious as to when and how our two realities diverged. I loved this book. Maybe because I have little to judge it against in this type of genre but it worked well for me. My only complaint, and maybe this is an American bias, the hero should have a gun. All the time. I cant stand it when people are constantly attacked and DONT have a gun. It just doesn't make sense no matter how they manage to get out of stuff. Unless youre a Timelord with a Sonic (or Laser) Screwdriver...

Review of George Mann's " The Affinity Bridge." The Affinity Bridge describes an imaginary landscape set in Victorian England where werewolves, zombies, and other creatures roam London and interact with the technology that H.G. Wells envisioned. The two protagonists are Maurice Newberry and his assistant Miss Hobbes. They are government agents who sometimes take orders directly from Queen Victoria herself. Here they are trying to discover the nature of an airship crash and its missing automaton pilot while working on solving a string of strangulations attributed to a glowing policeman while dodging a plague of zombies. "The Affinity Bridge" as spoken of is actually technology that allows the human brain to interact with an artificial body thus creating automatons. The book concludes very open ended and should produce many sequels. If you enjoy anglophilic sci-fi by gaslight you will enjoy this book and this genre. Well done! Five stars.

Imagine a Victorian London in which airships are a common mode of transportation, and menial tasks are done by robots made of brass. This is the London in which Sir Maurice Newbury and his assistant, Miss Veronica Hobbes, are asked by the Queen herself to investigate the crash of an airship. Among the dead passengers was found the body of a relative of hers, and the question is, why would a member of royalty be riding in a common passenger berth? Oh, and there are also the zombies. Whitechapel is experiencing an epidemic of viral infections which create what are called 'revenants', essentially dead bodies whose only desire is to kill others. Whitechapel is also experiencing a rash of murders committed by what is described as the ghost of a murdered policeman. All of these things are tied together in a fascinating mystery story with characters I want to read more about. There were hints of other adventures they'd had together but I haven't been able to find any books, so I can only hope that Mr Mann will write them soon. I loved this book! What a fascinating alternate universe this is! Please, sir, can I have some more???