Shadows of Asphodel Paperback – October 3, 2013

I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.My Initial Reaction...I really loved the characters in Shadows of Asphodel and the story was unique. Some elements dragged a bit for me, but overall I really enjoyed it.The Narration...The narration for Shadows of Asphodel was strong, in my opinion. Jodie Bentley had unique voices and most her male voices came off satisfactorily masculine. I'd definitely listen to another book with her narrating. I hope Jodie Bentley will narrate the next book in the series, so I can continue listening to it!The Characters...Ardis was great! She's a mercenary, but she works for the ArchMages, which makes her work acceptable (to some) and a bit more than an assassin. But that doesn't make her non-controversial, which I totally loved. For one, Ardis is running from a difficult past - her mother was a single, Chinese courtesan. Her father is a giant question mark - all she has of his is her sword, Chung Yi (No idea if I'm spelling it right, #audiobookproblems) and a memory of a man with an eagle tattoo. Ardis really reminded me a lot of my favorite UF heroines - fierce and independent - so it's no surprise that I took to her immediately.I had mixed feelings about Wendel from start to finish, though. I mean, he's a necromancer! How cool is that? Why don't more books have necromancers?!? His powers are hard-core awesome and he says some of the sweetest and most poetic things. But he's incredibly flawed (which makes me like the book more, even if I'm not in love with him). Some of that is his past - being a necromancer is not a good thing (I know, I would have thought it was cool too!) so he's had a bit of a difficult history. And some of it is just that he's annoyingly secretive and selfish. Yeah, sure he's mostly good to Ardis. But you never lose that sense that he's looking out for himself above all else and at all costs.Another character we see a decent amount of was Constantine. Like Wendel, I'm really back and forth with him. At first, I did not like him at all. But as his character developed, I found him to be very much the nerdy, professor sort. He's a technomancer (again, totally cool!) and that means he's really into his gadgets. Sometimes I think he let his science take priority over people, but I think his heart is in the right place. One development made me feel particularly sorry for him, and softie that I am, I left the book liking him. But we'll see how his character develops.The Story...I really liked the story for Shadows of Asphodel. The world was really too cool - it combined familiar elements from 1913 with an alternate past where magic is a very real thing. I'm excited to see how the events that led to WWI in real life will develop over the course of this series. We've already seen some familiar historical events and tensions between the nations develop in Shadows of Asphodel along a slightly alternate, yet very familiar, path.Shadows of Asphodel is my first ever Dieselpunk read and I'm not even sure that's an official genre, but what the hey, it works for me! Basically I think it's steam punk, except that the gadgets are fueled by diesel and not steam. And those gadgets were too cool! You've got everything from airships to automatons! I loved the way technology and magic worked together throughout Shadows of Asphodel, too. Things we sort of recognize took on a whole new life with the added element of magic.I loved the little details too. We get constant (but not overbearing) reminders that everyone is not speaking English - because we're in Europe. Mostly it's German, which in itself adds an exciting element to the potential arch of the series. The view of Americans (like Ardis) is appropriate to the time. Heck, when things get steamy between Ardis and Wendel there's even mention of "preventatives" rather than condoms. Great attention to detail!The romance between Ardis & Wendel was a bit off for me. It was basically insta-love, something I'm rarely a fan of. What bothered me was that they're throwing the L word around but not even acting like they're really in love. So why not call it what it is? Lust with strong friendly feelings? Lust is definitely the right L-word to use because these two are rabbits! I'd almost call this a PNR - at least that's how I'd rate the amount of & graphicness of the sexual interaction ;)The only other thing I'd say is that I definitely drifted at points. The story has a lot of elements and some of them took me too far away from the main story line and I got a bit distracted. I can't put my finger on anything specific, but I know my mind wandered a bit. And when that happens and I don't feel like I missed anything, it probably wasn't necessary.Concluding Sentiments...I'm really glad Tiffany @ A Tiffyfit's Reading Corner connected me with this series. I love the world and the characters and can't wait for the next book to come to audio!

This week’s review is Shadows of Asphodel by author Karen Kincy. I met Karen at Norwescon this year, and before I went to her reading, I really had no concept of what the term “Deiselpunk” meant, other than a vague relation to Steampunk. By the time I left her reading, I knew I would have to pick up and review this book.The story is dieselpunk; it has airships, electricity, occasional firearms and fossil-fuel powered vehicles. But honestly, what drew me into this book so whole-heartedly was the author’s alternate-history retelling of the early 1900′s historical conflicts in Europe. She spins the historical setting not only with her magical fantasy elements, but by telling it from the viewpoint of an American mercenary who has no clear allegiance to any of the factions. She twists that historical paradigm even further by making this mercenary (Ardis), obviously half-Caucasian/half-Chinese and female.What impressed me about this book is the author makes all of that absolutely believable the whole way through.The world and the characters truly felt dynamic and drew me into the story on page one, and I stayed right there in the world with the characters until the last page. This is one of the few books I’ve picked up this year which I can honestly say I’ll probably reread at some point, just for its sheer entertainment value.Anyway, onto the premise of the book:Ardis has traveled to Europe and hired herself out as a mercenary to Austria-Hungary, while she follows her own personal mission to find a man she believes to be her father. She doesn’t have much to go on: instructions from her mother to look in Europe, a fake name and a brass locket with a picture of her mother and her presumed father inside.She’s found work as a bodyguard and contract-killer for the mages who have used a combination of magic and technology to create a “hex” over Austria-Hungary. If you’re inside the hex, firearms don’t work. That suits her just fine; she prefers her sword Chun Yi. Or, at least she does until she finds herself standing on the battlefield next to a dying necromancer.According to legend, you never want to be the one to kill a necromancer, since their spirit will haunt yours forever. She can’t trust that his spirit won’t mistake her for his killer, so she really has no choice but to take him prisoner and try to get him healed. On the upside, maybe she can could turn him back over to the order of necromancers or his family for a ransom. Of course, it turns out that Wendel, (the-no-longer-dying necromancer) is not worth money, and a there are several really good arguments for him being a liability. Ardis is stuck with him anyway.This story does fall in the outer boundary of the romance genre, since the resolution of one of the major plot points relies on Ardis being in a particular relationship, but it does not contain by any stretch of the imagination a “standard romance plot” or fall into the traps that cause many people to avoid the genre as “bodice rippers”. If anyone’s going to be doing any ripping in this book, it’s usually Ardis herself, and in any given scene, she’s more likely to have her sword, Chun Yi, sticking out someone’s back.While the romance is there, it was very tastefully done. It didn’t get in the way of the plot or the world the author had created, but instead seamlessly blended in to the general milieu of airships, hexes, automatons, and necromancy. I believe even those who usually shy away from anything labelled “romance” would still find this story an enjoyable read. There are several sex scenes, but they don’t overwelm or take up the majority of the story. In fact, if sex makes you squeam-ey, you can totally skip over those scenes and still be ok.Not to mention that Ardis’ romantic interest (and general partner in crime) is a snarky, fly-by-the -seat-of-his-pants necromancer with an Absinthe habit. Wendel, the wise-cracking-corpse-raiser, is not exactly who you usually expect when someone says “romantic lead.”Still, whether you’re a reader of romance or not, feel no fear and go pick this book up. It’s just a darn good read that should satisfy both audiences.All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and hope that the author lets me go back to the world again soon. You can bet I’ll be picking up book two when it comes out.

Brilliant book well written and a great cast of characters and story line absolutely loved it I couldn't put it down

A chance encounter between a mercenary and a reprimanded prompts an unlikely partnership which develops into a deeper relationship as they try to fight their individual battles. Well written with humour, sarcasm and wit. Great characters and plot.

I purchased Shadows Of Asphodel during the Indie Steampunk Book Extravaganza 2 event on Facebook back in November. I have been rationing my steampunk reads so have only just got to Karen Kincy's novel now. Firstly, apparently, it isn't truly steampunk, but dieselpunk, as the setting is just ahead of The Great War when diesel engines existed in the real world. However, the novel contains the same blend of strong characters, especially female characters, that I have come to expect, interwoven with magical elements, incredible inventions and dastardly deeds!I loved the characters in Shadows Of Asphodel. Our heroine, Ardis, is strong and independent, making her own decisions and dealing with their aftermath. Along the way, she picks up an emotionally damaged necromancer, Wendel, who is a great creation. I admit to being just a little in lust with Wendel! Despite and because of each other, Ardis and Wendel find their paths link together and their witty sparring dialogue is fun to read. I presume the people on the book's cover are meant to be Ardis and Wendel though. If so, I'm not sure that Ardis does look half-Chinese?Kincy has cleverly woven her tale around the real momentous events of 1913 and I appreciated how magical fictions, such as the Hex, seemed to easily slot in alongside the truth. Making it feel so natural to the reader must take a lot of rewrites and research! Most settings are atmospherically described and I am now particularly drawn to visiting Vienna. The descriptive passages rarely slow the pace of the novel and I liked the inclusion of little details such as all the books in the way on Konstantin's bed.Briefly chatting to Kincy on Twitter (@karenkincy), I learned of a second novel, Storms of Lazarus , which follows on from Shadows Of Asphodel. More Wendel!