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Evildoers beware! Retribution is at hand, thanks to Britain's best-kept secret agents!!
Certainly no strangers to peculiar occurrences, agents Wellington Books and Eliza Braun are nonetheless stunned to observe a fellow passenger aboard Britain's latest hypersteam train suddenly vanish in a dazzling bolt of lightning. They soon discover this is not the only such disappearance . . . with each case going inexplicably unexamined by the Crown.
The fate of England is once again in the hands of an ingenious archivist paired with a beautiful, fearless lady of adventure. And though their foe be fiendishly clever, so then is Mr. Books . . . and Miss Braun still has a number of useful and unusual devices hidden beneath her petticoats.
Lena disappears before Eliza on the train in a flash of lightning, but just before doing so asks Eliza for help. Eliza wants and requests the case, but being a Junior Archivist (not on field work) and compromised with knowing the victim, is not given the case. Agent Bruce Campbell is given the case. While at a suffragist meeting another lady, one well known to Eliza, is attacked. Eliza now starts to investigate the case with Wellington's help, and finds it leads to the suffragist women going missing and protecting the one woman who could lead the England Suffragists into a new time. This particular incident seems to go back several years in the archives when investigated into it, all unsolved and referencing the burnt metal smell and flash of light. As far away from the past as both our partnered agents might think, it will creep up to them fast here.
Both of our courageous characters are haunted by their history. One that wants it back and the other who can't forget it. Eliza's past keeps showing up in London...a suffragist from New Zealand, an old love...all the things that bring Eliza's exiled home fresh to the front of her mind. We see Eliza with a touch of vulnerability with her yearning for her home land, and missing her family and friends. Wellington's mind is daunting by his memories of his commanding father.
Boy do I love Wellington and the secrets he has. We get a small taste of what he has up his sleeves, yet still so mysterious! I want to tell Eliza, Wellington is much more than she knows...stronger and deadlier than she thinks, yet such a gentleman. I just love seeing Wellington's spunk. The secrets he's hiding are starting to seep through the longer he is with the adventurous Eliza, and becoming visible to those around them.
We are sucked into the mystery in the prelude wondering what Lena is running from and why. Then what the heck happened to her on the train in front of Eliza!? Shocking! And the electrifying mystery will have you guessing and looking for clues with our duo.
I have to mention the chapter headings, titles as per say. Ha ha! Love these. They make me smile and give a little of whats to come in the chapter. And they call Eliza a Pepperpot!
The Ministry Seven is back! These kids add a lovely touch to the story with Eliza and Wellington. Almost a family feeling. There is a young Verity mentioned. I love Verity! and so excited to see here status here. Between listening to the Tales from the Archives and reading the books I know Verity is in the Tales from the Archives, but not 100% sure of Phoenix Rising. I do enjoy hearing of her again though. Brilliant young lady.
Speaking of the Tales from the Archives! It is NOT necessary to listen or read them to enjoy any of these books. But, yes always a but... But they do give a few back stories you could very well enjoy, especially after reading this book. If you are curious about Eliza and the happenings related to Kate, you can read or listen to the podcast that highlights this story. But do take a listen to The Evil that Befell Sampson.
Now to go with learning about Eliza's past, if you are more curious about Wellington and his father you can learn a touch on that as well with the Tales from the Archives. We have Sins of the Father, in podcast form.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.iambubby
Posted September 14, 2012
A can"t miss series, if you love steampunk!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted July 29, 2012
I am SO taken with Welly and Eliza, I can't even take you, and my love affair with them has only grown since Book 1.
In The Janus Affair, we see Welly and Eliza a year after we met them in Book 1. They've grown comfortable with each other, and closer as partners and friends. Eliza's still up to her old tricks, and involves herself in unsolved cases that fellow agent Bruce Campbell refuses to investigate, much to Welly's chagrin. But Eliza is a hard woman to say no to, and the two are off and running trying to protect key members of London's suffragist movement, which just so happens to include Kate Campbell, Eliza's old mentor from New Zealand.
There is plenty of interesting tension going on here between Welly and Eliza, which worked for me because this was exactly what I wanted to see more of after Book 1 ended. A lot of the tension comes from the arrival of Kate's son, Douglas, who just so happened to be Eliza's former fiancee. Seeing Welly's reactions to Douglas was extremely entertaining, touching, and insightful, and seeing a different, softer side to Eliza was nice, too. They work so well together, and it's kind of adorable to see the different ways they have both rubbed off on each other.
I thought the central plot was good and moved well, and there were a lot of little pieces to the story. Douglas was annoying, Bruce was irritating, the Ministry Seven were adorable, and the resolution had plenty of action to it. And like Book 1, the few loose ends that were left dangling only served to keep me interested and wishing Book 3 was coming out soon, versus annoyed.
I still tripped over vocabulary and Victorian customs and descriptions (since this I don't usually read historical or steampunk), and spent a lot of the book wondering exactly what some of the objects looked like (this is when I wish there were pictures in books); but there was enough of a description to help me along, and whenever I stumbled, I just imagined something that seemed to fit and kept on going. And it was kind of fun to see a steampunk equivalent to some modern inventions, like a motorcycle, a computer, a laptop, and a movie projector.
There was a lot packed into this novel, so it still felt dense (like Book 1), but I don't see that as a bad thing, just a writing style. However, there were a lot of typos in this book that were a little annoying. I'm not talking about English spelling versus American, but things like random commas appearing for no reason; a little more proofreading would have been good.
All told, I'm loving this series so far. I love the quirks, the sense of humor, the world, and the main protagonists. If you want a good, solid read, and are willing to try something new, I would highly recommend The Janus Affair.
Anonymous
Posted July 28, 2012
I really enjoy this series. Great characters, gadgets, plot, and action. My only complaint is this--I prefer the mystery of the plot to remain a mystery. I don't like knowing who the bad guys are let alone knowing what they are doing before the end of the story. Knowing ahead of the end takes away the suspense, the excitement and the challenge of reading the book. I have to skip those chapters to continue enjoying the book. I have this opinion no matter what genre of book I read. It is one of my pet peeves and I am sure I am not the only reader who feels this way. I hope I do not have to continue skipping chapters in future books of this series or I may end up skipping the future books completely. I certainly hope not as I really do thoroughly enjoy everything else about this series. Thank you for the opportunity to voice my opinion and I do hope that the fine authors consider it.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.ElizabethT
Posted July 2, 2012
Really can't wait for the next one. These authors never disappoint. I highly recommend reading this series.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Dreamstobecome
Posted June 24, 2012
The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is a top-notch, top-secret agency within Her Majesty Queen Victoria's government in London. A sort of steampunk X-Files if you will. Archivist Wellington Thornhill Books, Esq. and rowdy colonial field agent (now Junior Archivist) Eliza D. Braun are a match made in odd couple heaven. He prefers the quiet of the Ministry's Archives, she prefers exotic blends of dynamite. You get the picture. Currently restricted to the Archives, these two find themselves unwittingly in the midst of a Peculiar Occurrence when Eliza's suffragist friends start disappearing in a startlingly bizarre manner. Someone has a device which essentially teleports the victim out of the spot they are standing in to an unknown location, and these women are never heard from again. Despite the Ministry's strict orders to leave the case alone, Books and Braun plunge headfirst into a private investigation for various reasons of their own, one of which being that the agent assigned to the actual task is deemed incompetent by Eliza. Mischief and mayhem are indeed afoot as they enlist the help of Eliza's part-clockwork maid Alice, a ragtag group of street urchins known as the Ministry Seven, and a former lover of Miss Braun's, one Douglas Sheppard. Tensions are high and intrigue is heavy as things start to unravel for them... but this is a no-spoiler zone, and let me just tell you that the reveals are absolutely worth it when you get to them in the book.
Authors Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris are absolutely hands down two of the cleverest authors I know. Phoenix Rising was a fantastic jaunt into a steampunk world with wit and intrigue. The Janus Affair not only meets that standard but triples it. I felt my jaw drop open so hard several times that it popped audibly. I was white-knuckled gripping the pages. I was up till three in the morning to finish because I needed to know what HAPPENED. And the authors do not disappoint. I am positively drunk with excitement for the third installment. Tee and Pip are heartily my heroes, and I recommend this book to everyone all the time. It has everything. EVERYTHING. And it gets better and better with each page turn.
Wetlander87
Posted June 22, 2012
I've been following Morris and Ballantine for going on 5 years since listening to their podcasted fiction and really have come to enjoy their respective styles. I was excited when I heard a preview of their fist steampunk MOPO novel Phoniex Rising in 2009 and greatly enjoyed it when I finally got to read it last year. I've been looking forward to the sequel ever since and am happy to say Tee and Pip deliver again with the Janus Affair. This is steampunk done right. It's not just about cool goggles and retro gadgets but also about character and Victorian themes. If anyone asks you what is steampunk I would recommend this book and it's predecessor. While i enjoyed the book over all I feel like the authors rushed certain aspects of the character development and character romances. I don't feel they jumped the shark( this is steam punk afterall) and I have enough in the authors that I will continue to anticipate future novels.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 31, 2012
Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris never fail to entertain! The Janus Affair is a great follow up to Pheonix Rising!
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Posted September 8, 2012
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Overview
Evildoers beware! Retribution is at hand, thanks to Britain's best-kept secret agents!!
Certainly no strangers to peculiar occurrences, agents Wellington Books and Eliza Braun are nonetheless stunned to observe a fellow passenger aboard Britain's latest hypersteam train suddenly vanish in a dazzling bolt of lightning. They soon discover this is not the only such disappearance . . . with each case going inexplicably unexamined by the Crown.
The ...