Prudence

January 12, 2015
Carriger (Waistcoats and Weaponry) introduces fans of her Parasol Protectorate world to the next generation of madcap supernatural entities with the fluffy first Custard Protocol novel. Twenty-year-old Prudence “Rue” Akeldama and her best friend, Primrose Tunstell, have grown up in a version of Victorian England filled with vampires and werewolves. Rue, who can borrow the traits of any supernatural creature she touches, yearns for excitement and leaps at the chance to journey to India in search of a superior type of tea for her adoptive father, a wealthy vampire. She and her friends set off on a gaudy dirigible, only to run headfirst into danger, intrigue, and local politics. In a madcap adventure of manners, Rue veers from one threat to the next, always trying to maintain her dignity and composure. Fortunately for her, there’s never any sense of real danger. Carriger maintains a droll, tongue-in-cheek tone, and her protagonists are as concerned with witty banter and fashionable hats as they are with fighting for their lives. Series fans will enjoy this mischievous romp, which revisits old favorites while raising a new crop of charming characters. Agent: Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary Agency.

May 25, 2015
A spinoff of Carriger’s popular Parasol Protectorate series, this new steampunk fantasy series centers on 20-year-old Prudence “Rue” Akeldama, a feisty young aristocrat who is also a “meta-natural,” able to temporarily drain and use the otherworldly powers of any supernatural being she touches. In a Victorian England, where high society is full of vampires and werewolves, this is a distinct advantage. Always in search of fun and adventure, Rue is delighted when her vampire uncle gives her a dirigible and sends her on a mission to India to obtain a highly desirable secret new brand of tea. Narrator Quirk combines a “veddy proper” posh British accent with Rue’s spunkiness and fun, bringing the flavor of the novel to life. She delightfully voices a variety of characters—upper-crust English aristocrats, a sexy Frenchman, Scottish werewolves, Cockney servants, secretive Indians—with perfect timing and a witty sense of humor. Her entertaining reading is a perfect match for Rue and her colorful adventures. An Orbit hardcover.

February 15, 2015

Raised in London as the adopted daughter of the vampire Lord Akeldama, Prudence has inherited a variation of her mother Alexia's preternatural abilities: she can borrow the powers of any werewolf or vampire that she touches. Her father sends her on a mission to India to investigate a possible new source for tea, and Prudence (along with her best friend, Primrose) sails by airship to Bombay where she becomes embroiled in a conflict between the local vampires and shapeshifters. VERDICT This opener, a spin-off of the recently completed steampunk "Parasol Protectorate" series that began with Soulless, has a younger heroine but a similar narrative voice. The deliberately purple prose and exuberant excess take some getting used to for new readers, but the author's humor and affection for her outlandish characters is always appealing. A fun launch for a new line of steampunk adventures from the popular Carriger.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2015
Readers familiar with Carriger's best-selling Parasol Protectorate series will be delighted with the introduction of Lady Prudence Allessandra Maccon AkeldamaRue to her friendsin this first offering in a new series, the Custard Protocol. Rue is the daughter of a werewolf and the soulless Alexia Maccon, and she is feared and loved by the supernatural community due to her unique metanatural powers. Blending steampunk and urban fantasy in a colorful alternate Victorian England, Carriger presents a grand cast of characters on a harrowing adventure that stretches from England to India. Her adoptive father, the vampire Dama, enlists Rue to research a lucrative tea business in India, and he presents Rue with an outlandish dirigible called the Spotted Custard. Along with her best friend, Prim; rakish chief engineer Quesnel; and sundry others, including a pack of Scottish werewolves, Rue finds herself in the middle of a plot that has little to do with tea. Filled with lavish fashions, supernatural high society, and witty dialogue, this story is a fine introduction to a fabulous new series. Sure to delight gaslight fantasy fans as well as the hard-core steampunk crowd.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)