Reviews and Comments

I probably would have passed this premise up had I not read a favorable review on tvtropes.org of all places. I'm glad I picked this up, it's a good read, well-researched without feeling like I'm being hit over the head with the author showing her work. Novik tells an interesting tale.

Steampunk and Zombies in Civil War era Seattle. What's not to like?

Any capsule description of the plot of this book sounds inadequate. To really describe this book I'd need about 367 pages, and Terry Pratchett to write it. Fortunately, he's already done that. It's published in book form. It's called Nation. Go read it. Now. It's chock full of the best of Pratchett's stealthy ways of making you think, just a little less stealthy this time. The book is by no means preachy, and tells an excellent story, but it is obvious that, in this book, Mr. Pratchett has crammed in as many hooks to get you thinking as he possibly can. The good part is that, at the same time, he's managed to keep you turning the page, created a world that feels real, stocked it with 3-dimensional characters, made you care about them, AND tied everything up with a bow at the end, all in under 400 pages.

I figured I should read this before the movie comes out, since everyone says it's so good.