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A review by dark_reader
The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder
5.0
I love this rollicking British steampunk alt-history period action/mystery/spec fic series so much. This was my second time reading this book and I am pleased to report that it was just as thrilling as I remembered from the less-dicerning me of ten years ago. [a:Mark Hodder|3222611|Mark Hodder|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1387553739p2/3222611.jpg] has created (or repurposed) an intriguing pulp hero worthy of his literary ancestors, the swarthy, scarred, well-travelled, fierce-faced, mesmeric, king's agent Richard Burton. The book is very British, very modern (despite it's 1860's setting), very fuckbonkers with its mad mix of aberrant technology, genetically altered animals, historical figures and legends, and other elements masterfully pieced together.
The cast is heavy on males; the few female characters are fierce but restrained to varying degrees by the social systems of 19th-century England, one historical factor that was not altered for this book. This could be a downside for some readers. If you are an impatient reader, the early portions of the book might come across as dry. There is some info-dumping, but skillfully done within the book's context and necessary; there is a lot of background information needed to get on with the main plot. At two fifths of the way in, though, there is plenty of explosive action and furthering of core mysteries to make it worth sticking around for.
I love the book design (the Pyr paperback edition) with its dynamic cover art, extended title ("Mark Hodder presents Burton & Swinburne in The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack"), interior graphics, and the in-world period-inspired advertisements, poetry, and quotes from the book's characters.
I first encountered this series in 2010 when my thoughtful wife picked out 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 me from the public library based on the cover, which does not immediately reveal that it is part two in a series. I read that one, then came back to the first book, then the third, and was very surprised in a later year to see that there were further books because the story was fully encapsulated in the first three books. I only ever made it to book four before deciding that I wanted to start over at the beginning, and over time acquired copies of the whole series. This book sat for many months in my bedside to-read stack, continually cycling down to make time for library loans. Now, in the time of cholera, I am glad that I finally moved it back to the top of the pile. I am confident that I will enjoy the rest of the series and can't wait to see what the final volumes will bring.
The cast is heavy on males; the few female characters are fierce but restrained to varying degrees by the social systems of 19th-century England, one historical factor that was not altered for this book. This could be a downside for some readers. If you are an impatient reader, the early portions of the book might come across as dry. There is some info-dumping, but skillfully done within the book's context and necessary; there is a lot of background information needed to get on with the main plot. At two fifths of the way in, though, there is plenty of explosive action and furthering of core mysteries to make it worth sticking around for.
I love the book design (the Pyr paperback edition) with its dynamic cover art, extended title ("Mark Hodder presents Burton & Swinburne in The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack"), interior graphics, and the in-world period-inspired advertisements, poetry, and quotes from the book's characters.
I first encountered this series in 2010 when my thoughtful wife picked out 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 me from the public library based on the cover, which does not immediately reveal that it is part two in a series. I read that one, then came back to the first book, then the third, and was very surprised in a later year to see that there were further books because the story was fully encapsulated in the first three books. I only ever made it to book four before deciding that I wanted to start over at the beginning, and over time acquired copies of the whole series. This book sat for many months in my bedside to-read stack, continually cycling down to make time for library loans. Now, in the time of cholera, I am glad that I finally moved it back to the top of the pile. I am confident that I will enjoy the rest of the series and can't wait to see what the final volumes will bring.