Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel

An absolute joy to read

You have read other reviews and the blurb so you know what the book is about. The only thing I have to add is that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and will most definitely be picking up the short stories and the next book in the series when it is released. Funny, smart, and imaginative... these authors know how to engage and deliver.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A Rollicking Success

First, and foremost, I really love the concept behind Phoenix Rising. Part Avengers (the 60's British TV show, not the superhero comics), part X-Files, part Wild Wild West (again, the TV show, not the movie), and gloriously, drippingly, extravagantly steampunk from beginning to end. It's a romp, and a hoot, and a ripping good yarn to boot. It's a shame this didn't come out in a hardback edition (I've grown to dislike the smaller paperbacks, and opted to finish reading this in ebook form), because it's the kind of book that should be enjoyed in front of a fire, sipping a glass of port, while wearing a smoking jacket. (Okay, I confess, I don't smoke and I rarely wear jackets around the house, so make mine a fluffy dressing robe.) Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine have struck steampunk gold with this collaboration, and I eagerly await the next and subsequent installments of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series.

The two main characters are likable and accessible. The reserved archivist, Wellington Books, is just the right blend of British posh and Victorian gear-geek to play foil to the impulsive and -- dare I say it? -- explosive colonial, Eliza Braun. While not an exact copy of Steed and Peale from the Avengers, this duo has all the same sparks flying between them. The interaction of these two is what makes this book (and the hopefully the forthcoming series) a rollicking success.

That said, I got the sense in reading Phoenix Rising that the authors may have been too rushed to complete it on time. At times the writing seems hurried, with shortcuts and liberties taken that left me wanting more detail, and a great deal more dialog between Eliza and "Welly". For example, several times Wellington is described as a sort of amateur inventor, and yet we never see the plethora of little gadgets and failed experiments one might expect from such a character. And far too often one or the other character "thinks" they should say something witty, but then doesn't. With characters this awesome, I want to hear every witty thing they have to say, whether they say it out loud or not!

In the past year or so, I've read some pretty bad steampunk. It's a genre searching for itself, and sometimes it seems like it's searching in the dark. Well, Morris and Ballantine have found the light and this steampunk effort glows with awesome!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great steampunk mystery fun read!

Wellington Thornhill Books meets the lovely Eliza D. Braun as she is saving his arse from being tortured, by booming the place. But Eliza has a secret about saving Wellington. Agents Books and Braun work for the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences in different fields of the company. They each have strong personalities and feelings for the areas they excel in. Street agents and the archivist see each other as two different components. But, for their exceedingly strong believes they are paired up as new partners, in "Books" archives. Yet Agent Braun wants nothing more than anything to be back in the field blowing up something with her favorite weapon, dynamite. Miss Eliza Braun has a hard time at adjusting to being in the Archives trying to file the many magical items and cases away, so Mr. Wellington Books takes her to show her something new deeper in the Archives ~ Cases of the Unknown. After seeing hundreds of cases classified as Cases of the Unknown (Books opinion of words) Agent Braun decides with her abilities in the field and Books intelligence here in the Archives and basic training, to take on these cases. When Eliza comes across a case in filing that she recognizes as one her last partner had worked and ended up in the mental hospital over, she decides to do as he had done and pick up the case on her personal time.

I think I can go on and on about this book. It was so well written and so many different aspects that I enjoyed.

The book starts right in with a bang with action and bullets flying every which direction as the main characters meet. Then we step back a bit to have the world of The Ministry drawn for us to understand what they do and the set up of it. We learn the Archives, in the basement of the Ministry's office building, is a library of sorts and storage area for many peculiar items and past case information, almost magical items. The Archives even reminds me a little of the television show Warehouse 13 on the SyFy channel with the warehousing of magical. While we are learning of the Archives we are also getting to know the characters and the rough blend of personalities, but I have to say I love the give and take in jabs between these two. Once they talk of the Cases of the Unknown we see how Eliza then Books get drawn to one particular case. Before they realize it they are eyeballs deep in the investigation. Then we have another addition to the mix as the House of Usher is after Agent Books for reasons we are not yet aware of.

The characters are fun! Books is the gentlemanly kind of man, not one who thinks of loads of weapons, but one to get lost in the design of things and the puzzle in figuring them out. Books is one that loves the steam machinery and pully machinery, which is ever present in this book. Eliza is a kick arse ask questions later kind of woman. Eliza is the one who loves weapons and to make things go boom. Books even references her once, to himself as he is so gentlemanly, as the Angel of Destruction.

Some might say the book has a slow start or moves slow after the bang of a beginning in the first chapter. However, I have to say it's a perfect balance of action, fun and case building/solving for me. And the dialect and writing styles is a pleasure to read. This is a book to sit down with and enjoy from all angles; world building, characters, case solving ~ all for the style, fun, and mystery of it.

Until next book I have the podcasts of different cases

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Loved it

Phoenix Rising was my first foray into the steampunk genre, so I have no idea how it stacks up with steampunk other books. I'm not quite sure how to sum it up except to say that I enjoyed it and really, really liked it. On top of having never read a steampunk book before, I've never read either author, nor have I read a lot of historical-ish books, so I had absolutely no idea what to expect when I started reading. I was a little apprehensive, and I did feel a tiny bit out of my depth with some of the language (the phrasing and vocabulary in particular tripped me up from time to time). There were also more descriptions than I'm used to, and more depth to the story than I anticipated, so there were times when, despite all of the action going on (and there really was a lot going on), the story felt slow and a little dense. But the main characters drew me in and kept me hooked. Honestly, how can you not like that the gun-toting, explosive-loving lady is named Braun? And that the nerdy, detail-loving, rules-abiding gent is named Books? Thrown together as partners, they both begrudgingly start opening up over the course of the book, and their dynamic worked for me. I kept laughing at the things they'd say to each other. I love both of them enormously, both separately and together, and I honestly can't wait for the next book to see how their relationship/partnership develops. And I'm not going to lie - I'm pulling for them to end up together, maybe not right away, but eventually. As a general thing for me, I'm not ever super excited to have tidbits/subplots brought up and not resolved by the end, but the ones in Phoenix Rising made me excited to pick up the next book versus being just irritated. I want to know what happens next! Which is a good sign of a first book of a series, and I wish more first series books were as solid as this one. At the end of the day, I really enjoyed Phoenix Rising. It's probably not for everyone, but if you can keep an open mind and enjoy some good bantering, I'd suggest giving it a try. Favorite excerpt: She groaned as her face turned to press against the rosewood floor. "Welly, remind me to order a better mattress for my bed. This one is far too firm." "Oh, Eliza," Wellington gasped, now remembering why he was in these lush surroundings. "No broken nose, I hope." "S'all right," Braun slurred. Her voiced dropped to a whisper. "My ample bosom broke my fall."

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Loved it

This book was a breath of fresh air for me. I can't wait for the next one!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excelent

X-files steampunk style

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Med den

A cool cave with a small pool of water at a corner with a teny tiny waterfall coming out of a crak in the wall keeping it full. Three dens are in the back. One on the right is covered with lichen at the emtrance and is the med cats den. The middle one has shelves to store herbs. Moss sits in a corner. The den on the left is covered with a lichen of weeping willow leaves and is the med cat apprentice den.

Carriage chases, clockwork, and capers.

This is a fantastic tale woven by two talented storytellers. It has gadgets, intrigue and twists and turns to keep things from getting ordinary. Enjoy!

Highly Recommended

This was the first Steam Punk book I have read, it had plenty of steam could hove used a little more punk perhaps.

Solid Steampunk

Decent plot and likeable characters.

Great Read

This story remindes me of the Warehouse 13 tv show with a steampunk twist, similar to the shows tie to H.G. Wells. The steampunk part of the story is in the background and the characters carry the story through to a conclusion that sets up the follow up novels quite well.

Good time

Enjoyed the story though the names of the characters bugged me as it was always jarring. She's brawny and he's bookish. Get it? Aside from that it's well worth the read

Loved!

Adore the character's relationship. Well paced without any dry or dull spots.

Wonderfully imaginative

Slow at firsy but utterly fantastic

Truly enjoyable

A fantastic yarn. Well worth a read.

Quite the tickler!

Fantastic writings of Pip and Tee, this book puts you into a fascinating world caught between the past and the future with the Victorian inspired Steampunk. The characters have great personality, especially that of "Welly" Wellington Books, Esquire. He is a man of mystery, and devilishly handsome in my imagination. Even if you are not familiar with Steampunk (there are not nearly enough good Steampunk inspired novels!) it is fun to wrap your head around the style and experience the mystery/fantasy combo with this story. I cannot wait for the others to come out. Bravo!

Awesome Read

For those of us who used to watch the Avengers with Mrs. Peel, you will love this steampunk version.

Brooks and Braun on the Case!

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is a secret agency that works for the Crown and solves cases involving, well, peculiar occurrences. When bodies are being found without blood and bones, slightly disgraced field agent Eliza Braun decides to solve a case she is not assigned to. Dragging along her partner/unwilling victim archivist Wellington Books, the two get themselves into trouble involving hansom chases, opera fiascos and explosions, lots of explosions. Can the two solve the case without getting killed or worse... fired?

I really, really enjoyed this book. I am a big fan of steampunk and this book really hit the spot. The story was smooth and extremely humorous, which is always gets points in my book. Personally, I feel the best part of this book is the characters. The rapport between Books and Braun (Books and Braun, how clever) is amazing and I wish I knew them. (I secretly believe that their personalities reflect the authors themselves, but perhaps that's just being hopeful.) They made me laugh so much, I was starting to get strange looks.

I was slightly annoyed that there were a few story lines that didn't get addressed, but I can see that they will come up in the sequels. I can now say that I can absolutely cannot wait until the next Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences book!

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences steampunk fantasy is a fun tale

In London, someone abducts the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences archivist Wellington Thornhill Books. Field Agent Eliza Braun rescues him from his Antarctic prison.

However, though she gets the job done, the MPO leadership decides Braun uses too much brawn with her excessive collateral damage and Books thinks the archives is his personal library. Ministry Director Dr. Sound finds a subtle solution to his two problem children. He assigns Braun to work for Books. However, her work there leads her back to her first cold case Rag and Bone Murders that left her partner insane. This quickly takes the operative and the archivist into uncovering a nefarious plot by the House of Usher. Filled with sound and fury, the Director will learn sometimes you get what you wish for.

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences steampunk fantasy is a fun tale starring a gender bending couple with apt surnames of Book and Braun. The story line starts with a big bang at their first encounter and remains loaded with action; but some scenes seem more like cul de sac additions. As the lead pair struggle to survive one escapade after another with the help of cute Oliver Twist kids, fans will enjoy their dysfunctional exploits.

Harriet Klausner

Wished I loved it, but it needed more bomb than pomp

The Ministry Of Peculiar Occurrences is not happy with field agent Eliza Braun, especially after getting a little too dynamite-happy in Antarctica while rescuing archivist Wellington Books. As a proper British organization, they prefer a little more discreteness and lot less kaboom. Hence, they re-assign Agent Braun to the Archives with Agent Books to learn how to stay out of trouble. Will Books be successful in keeping a tight leash on Agent Braun - or will he find himself getting dragged along with Braun whom trouble seems unable to resist?

Phoenix Rising starts off quite delightfully with a most improper rescue-and-explosion, but the aftermath did not quite catch my fancy. I can see how Agents Braun and Books may charm readers with their unlikely pairing - Eliza as impulsive and headstrong, Wellington as by-the-book and action-impaired. However, I wasn't quite sold on the peculiar occurrences that they investigated - and I don't think all the sinister and mysterious sideplots were fully addressed. I wished that I had enjoyed Phoenix Rising a little bit more (I love its cover!), but we just didn't click quite right.