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A review by dark_reader
The Rise of the Automated Aristocrats by Mark Hodder
5.0
This final volume of Burton & Swinburne's rollicking and philosophical steampunk, time travel, alt-history, lizard people, genetic engineering, technology gone mad, psychic diamond, and poetry saga brings it all to a satisfying conclusion. This is one of my all-time favorite series, although it will not be everyone's cup of tea. (Because it's British. See what I did there?) If you're looking for something unique, full of adventure, surprises, 19th century homage, and historical characters, I highly recommend it. I don't know how to summarize the plot in any way that would not spoil events.
I was worried about starting this book, even a little scared, because the end of book five saw a major character changed in a way that I didn't know how the story could come back from. I was quickly relieved by the change in tack, which was internally consistent and drove the story in a wonderful new direction. I am astounded, looking back over the series, at how well themes such as the natures of time, history, humanity, identity, and fate, are explored in an action adventure series with pulp foundations.
The end of chapter three . . . I had chills. It's on par with the end of chapter eleven from the second book, [b:The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man|9740847|The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man (Burton & Swinburne, #2)|Mark Hodder|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327938936l/9740847._SX50_.jpg|14629956] for moments that had me wanting to jump and shout, "Yeah!"
The only drawback is a lack of ethnic and gender diversity in the cast of characters, if that is important to you. There is one British Indian woman who is a solid player throughout, but she is usually relegated to the background. The storyline quickly disposes of the one other recurring female character of note, more than once in the series. The impacts of British colonialism and racism on the world are not ignored, and the main character specifically supports the value of other cultures, Arabic in particular, but on the whole it's a story of white British aristocrats.
Final word (perhaps): I am not a poetry fan, but this series' incorporation of real-world Algernon Swinburne's work has moved that needle.
I was worried about starting this book, even a little scared, because the end of book five saw a major character changed in a way that I didn't know how the story could come back from. I was quickly relieved by the change in tack, which was internally consistent and drove the story in a wonderful new direction. I am astounded, looking back over the series, at how well themes such as the natures of time, history, humanity, identity, and fate, are explored in an action adventure series with pulp foundations.
The end of chapter three . . . I had chills. It's on par with the end of chapter eleven from the second book, [b:The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man|9740847|The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man (Burton & Swinburne, #2)|Mark Hodder|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327938936l/9740847._SX50_.jpg|14629956] for moments that had me wanting to jump and shout, "Yeah!"
The only drawback is a lack of ethnic and gender diversity in the cast of characters, if that is important to you. There is one British Indian woman who is a solid player throughout, but she is usually relegated to the background. The storyline quickly disposes of the one other recurring female character of note, more than once in the series. The impacts of British colonialism and racism on the world are not ignored, and the main character specifically supports the value of other cultures, Arabic in particular, but on the whole it's a story of white British aristocrats.
Final word (perhaps): I am not a poetry fan, but this series' incorporation of real-world Algernon Swinburne's work has moved that needle.