The Nightshade Cabal

January 20, 2020
The clever ways in which biology, technology, and the occult interface in Carolan’s steampunk mystery debut hint at a promising new universe, but the actual story leaves too much potential unfulfilled. In 1881 Nova Scotia, researcher and technomancer Isaac Barrow searches for the source of strange autotype cartridges, parts of an arcane but very intelligent machine used to make copies, that appear to have been made with human brain matter rather than typical porcine brain. Simultaneously, he is hired to look for Emily Skye, whose sister fears the girl may have fallen in with a shadowy guild of necromancers, the Nightshade Cabal. The cases inevitably collide, leading Barrow to meet Emily, who serves as an excellent foil to his magico-mechanical exposition. But other pieces of the world’s magic, like the living tattoos of the Cabal’s stereotyped Chinese muscle, get little explanation. Most glaringly, the politics and practices of the Cabal never really come into play, and the social implications of minority magical ability beg for a more thorough exploration. Readers will enjoy the flavor of Carolan’s alternate history, but will find it frustratingly light on connective tissue.