The Baskerville Tales (Short Stories): The Adventure of the Wollaston Ritual, The Strange and Alarming Courtship of Miss Imogen Roth, The Steamspinner Mutiny: Emma Jane Holloway

The Baskerville Tales contains three short stories in the Baskerville world.  Each short story includes characters we have become familiar with as protagonists.  They are an accompaniment to The Baskerville Affair series and don't really add much to what we already know. 


The Adventure of the Wollaston Ritual

This short story takes place while Emma and Imogen are still at Wollaston Academy.  It is a prequel to A Study in Silks.  With her time at the academy coming to an end Emma is concerned about her future because unlike her fellow classmates, coming out in London and searching for a husband just isn't in her cards.  Though the Academy has done much to turn her into a proper lady and smooth down the rough edges she acquired living in a circus with her father's family, traces of all she learned are still with Emma.

When a deliver girl brings a rotting arm to the Academy campus, as proof of the supposed ramblings of Dr. Larch, Emma and Imogen are the only ones convinced that this isn't just a sign that Dr. Larch has taken leave of reality but a sign that something unnatural has occurred.  When Imogen catches a chill due to her weak constitution, it's up to Emma to develop a plan of execution.

By the time we meet Emma in A Study in Silks her affinity with devas and mechanicals is well established.  This story explains how it is that Emma combines magic with mechanical objects.  To solve the mystery of the shambling zombie, Emma must trust in her abilities and accept that the blood (read: magic) will always be with her.  Emma learns that there is place to employ the skills of proper feminine behaviour and place to cut to the chase and deal with what's at hand. I do however wish that there had been less time spent on the mystery of the zombie and more time spent delving into how Emma felt about her powers and the conflict she faces regarding them.

The Strange and Alarming Courtship of Miss Imogen Roth

As the title infers, this short story is about the romance between Bucky and Imogen. It occurs just after the end of A Study in Silk.  Emma has been sent away in disgrace, and Imogen's father is facing great financial difficulties.  Imogen is being pressured to make a good match to help improve the family's fortunes and standing. Imogen however has her heart stuck on Bucky who while set to inherit a fortune does not have the class background that her family approves of.

As with all romance stories, this one includes a misunderstanding between the couple before leading to a dramatic HEA.  Unfortunately, I found the drama to be trite an uninteresting.  What drew me to this series is most certainly not the relationship between Imogen and Bucky and I found my eyes skipping over sentences in a rush to finish this story.  Imogen didn't appear strong in this story and in fact acted like an infatuated school girl, leaving me to wonder where the quiet confidence she had displayed in other books went?

In keeping with the steampunk theme of this series, Holloway does include small elements through the use of Bucky's inventions; however, it's not enough to give this story a real steampunk feel.  More than anything this is a short story about romance with small steampunk elements thrown in. For me, it was a disappointing read.

A Study in Ashes (The Baskerville Affair #3) by Emma Jane Holloway

 

When we last left this world, everything was in complete tatters.  Evie having been imprisoned by Keating, Nick presumed dead and  Imogen's soul being imprisoned by her dark twin Anna, nothing looked hopeful for our merry band of steampunk characters.  A Study of Ashes opens one year later with everything in disarray.  As bad as the events of the last book were, the characters have no idea that things are going to escalate and get so much worse. You see, the kingdom is on the brink of war because the people are tired of the strangle hold of the steam barons and for their part, the barons are determined to draw the noose even tighter and consolidate their power.  Can our merry crew survive the evil machinations and still get out in one piece?

A Study of Ashes is the darkest of the trilogy.  With the return of Magnus, Evie is once again tempted by dark magic.  With the fighting between the barons, even fearsome The Black Kingdom has a role to play. For those who are used to a lighter story, this might be disturbing; however, I found myself relishing it.  Stories must after all progress to retain the interest of their readership.  At times, A Study of Ashes felt like a blending of gothic horror and steampunk.

For as much as I enjoyed A Study of Ashes, I do feel that the story did get bogged down when it came time for the epic battle.  I understand that this was necessary to explore the full scope of Evie's power but I do feel that it dragged on for a little to long.  At times, I was even tempted to simply skim until the story had moved on. This might however be a matter of taste, as I have never been a fan of epic fight scenes.

After all that Evie has been through, she is not the same young brash woman we met in A Study in Silks.  For me this is a good thing, as I am tired of protagonists who are dragged through the mill yet do not change.  Evie still retains much of her spunk but it is darker somehow - more determined.  I will however say that it was annoying that she was constantly reduced to a pile of mush when Niccolo looked in her direction.  I understand finding comfort in love when times are tough, but did she constantly have to get distracted and drift away?

One of the largest distractions was the Imogen's storyline.  It seemed out of place and rarely interacted with the characters that we have come to know. I often found myself irritated when we returned to her predicament because it felt like being pulled out of all of the action.  That said, I am glad that Imogen got her happy ending.  It is well worth mentioning that sidelining Imogen meant that Poppy had a much larger role to play.  The problem is that Poppy is young and though brave, clearly out of her element. Not being a fan of YA, I found Poppy irritating but again, this is another case of your mileage may vary.

A Study in Ashes is a satisfactory ending to this trilogy.  All of the storylines begun in the first book were neatly wrapped up.  Holloway even gave us an interesting twist on the Baskerville Affair.  We were introduced to Professor Moriarty and the story even left potential for more with what happened to Tobias (sorry no spoilers).  It is my hope that Holloway uses these openings she left behind to continue on with these characters, perhaps even staring a much more mature Poppy.  The sign of a good book is when it leaves you wanting more and A Study of Ashes definitely had me thinking that this shouldn't be the end to such a worthy series.

Editors Note: A Copy of this book was received through Netgalley

A Study in Darkness (The Baskerville Affair #2) by Emma Jane Holloway

Evelina Cooper has lost everything that is important for her.  Forced to remove herself from society to endure her grandmother's attempts to find her a husband, Evelina still aches over the separation from her best friend, and the loss of the two men that she loves.  Little does she know that soon she will be drawn back into the world of intrigue when a bomb goes off at her uncle Sherlock's flat. Evelina will soon find herself forced to work for the nefarious gold king as all around her, ladies of the night are being murdered most brutally.  For the first time, Evelina is also tempted by black magic when she works closely with Magnus.  So much is at stake and Evelina quickly realises that will have to risk all, if she is to have any hope of saving the people she loves.

I must admit that I am a bit of a fanpoodle when it comes to this series and my only real regret is that it the Baskerville Affair only has three books.  It is so easy to lose one's self in the story and the strong steam punk aspect that Holloway has infused into this series.  The writing is very vivid and the pacing could not be more perfect.

As protagonists go, Evelina is absolutely selfless.  She is intelligent and extremely empathetic.  With everything going on, it would have been very easy for Holloway to turn Evelina into a spunky agent but she very directly has Evelina avoid this by thinking through each aspect of the challenges presented to her.  Sherlock could have overwhelmed Evelina but instead, he forces her to challenge her assumptions and think through each lesson that she has learned. 

A Study in Darkness has a strong class element in that Holloway explores what it is like for those who were not born into privilege.  This is a rare element in steampunk as much of it is focused on the upper classes and drawing room intrigue.  People do what they need to do survive at the hands of those determined to horde all of the wealth for themselves. 

A Study in Darkness includes a new twist on Jack the Ripper.  Normally when it comes to sex trade workers, there is a lot of slut shaming but Holloway makes it clear that these women are forced by circumstance into their trade and actively asserts their humanity and right to live a life free of violence.

A Study in Silks (The Baskerville Affair, #1) by Emma Jane Holloway

Though Evelina Cooper is gentry, she is a woman caught between worlds.  As the niece of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, when a young maid is murdered she is determined to find justice but at the same time Evelina must be careful as her best friend's family is indicated in wrong doing.  If that were not enough, Evelina is pulled by her past when her lost childhood love makes an appearance. With him comes the danger of discovering she is a magical person in a society that has outlawed magic.

Holmes and the famous Dr. Watson make an appearance in this story. As someone who has never read the Sherlock Holmes novels, I cannot speak to how accurate the portrayal is.  I did, however, enjoy the detective greatly and felt that he added great tension to the story.

There are several strong female characters in the novel.  As the protagonist, Evelina was completely enjoyable.  She is smart and even though Evelina is pulled between two men, she never gets so caught up in the romance that she loses sight of who she is and what is important to her.  Tobias is ordered to seduce Evelina and his love for her stops him from ruining her reputation; however Evelina is quite clear that regardless of his motivations, she cannot afford him. Even Niccolo, her long lost circus performer love, who she is terribly attracted to is desperate for her love but she is too well aware that a life with him is the path to danger because together they cannot control the magic that flows.

Though A Study in Silks is a classic steampunk novel, there are strong elements of magic in it.  I enjoyed that Holloway was accurate and portrayed how magic witch hunts invariably are problematic for women.  It is women who prosecuted and attacked by flimsy evidence in order to control them.  Evelina is well aware that though she uses her power for the good, if discovered it could mean becoming subject for scientific investigation or worse yet, death.  It is clear that in the books to come, Holloway intends to expand upon this theme.