Chronicles of Steele: Raven (Episode 1)
By Pauline Creeden
Publisher: Blackstrip
Books Publishing
About the Book:
Human life has value.
The poor living in the gutter is as valuable as the rich living in a manor.
The scoundrel is no less valuable than the saint.
Because of this, every life a reaper takes must be redeemed.
Raven has lived by this first tenet since she was trained by her father to become a reaper. But since his death, she’s been spending years redeeming the lives she’s taken. By her count, she’s even and it’s time for that life to end. If she settles down and becomes a wife, she might just feel human again. But on the way to the life she thinks she wants, the baron of New Haven asks her to complete a task which she cannot
ignore… Just when Raven decides to give up on her life as an assassin, she’s pulled right back in.
The Chronicles of Steele: Raven is a steampunk-inspired fantasy set in an alternate universe.
The poor living in the gutter is as valuable as the rich living in a manor.
The scoundrel is no less valuable than the saint.
Because of this, every life a reaper takes must be redeemed.
Raven has lived by this first tenet since she was trained by her father to become a reaper. But since his death, she’s been spending years redeeming the lives she’s taken. By her count, she’s even and it’s time for that life to end. If she settles down and becomes a wife, she might just feel human again. But on the way to the life she thinks she wants, the baron of New Haven asks her to complete a task which she cannot
ignore… Just when Raven decides to give up on her life as an assassin, she’s pulled right back in.
The Chronicles of Steele: Raven is a steampunk-inspired fantasy set in an alternate universe.
Book Links
My Thoughts:
This is my first foray into steampunk literature and I find
I quite like it. It’s the era of steam-driven machinery on steroids. There are
all kinds of steam-driven machinery in these novels that didn’t exist in our
steam-driven machinery era such as steam-driven horses and clockwork mechanical
men. I’m sure I’ll find many more wonders too but this episode was just a short
work.
As Raven Steele is on her way back to her love she saves the
Duke’s youngest son from an almost certain death when his carriage and
mechanical horses run awry. Then at the request of the heir apparent she takes
the young boy and heads to the Wood Witch to see if he can be healed of his
particular ailment. The Duke sends his men after her and his son and now it
becomes her duty to protect him from his father who is bent on killing him.
Pauline Creeden has a magical way about setting up her
stories that draw you in and make you see the world that she is creating. It
was easy to visualize the setting as she described the town she was in – my
imagination kicked in and I almost forgot I was reading a book because I could
see the images in my head.
I can’t wait to find out what is going to happen now that
the Duke’s men were not treated by Raven the way they thought they would be and
with the final few developments that occurred in this first episode. I can’t
say more than that or it would spoil the episode for you. I will say this
though - you’re going to love it. This
novel is full of intrigue, love, heartbreak, mercy and plenty of action – all
the things that make a good book. Plus, it’s a clean read – no smut and no
profanity.
The characters in The
Chronicles of Steele: Raven (Episode 1) are being revealed to us through
their interactions with one another so they are not yet fully developed, but
already we know a fair amount about Raven and except for the fact that she used
to kill people I think she is someone who would make a good friend.
The story so far has flowed very smoothly at a good pace and
I was able to read it all in one sitting within a very short time. It was an
absorbing read.
I rated this book 5 stars out of 5. I highly recommend this
steam-punk episode to all steam-punk enthusiasts and to those who have never
tried this genre before. I say try it. I think you’ll like it!
Thank you to the author who provided a copy of her work in
exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All
thoughts are my own.
About the
Author:
In simple language, Pauline Creeden creates worlds that are
both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She
becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she
will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long. Pauline is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy.
Her debut novel, Sanctuary, won 1st Place Christian YA Title
2013 Dante Rosetti Award and is now available as an audiobook. #1 Bestseller on
Amazon in Christian Sci/Fi and Fantasy (October 2013)
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