Review: Blameless by Gail Carriger, Book 3 of the Parasol Protectorate

After being most unjustly accused of adultery in Changless, Lady Maccon, la Diva Tarrabotti, finds herself relegated to her old home and very much a social pariah in London society. In some cases worse, the Vampires are frightened of the child she carries and plan to end her life while she is without the protection of the werewolf pack. Other ladies would retire in shame, embarrassment and fear.

Other ladies are not Lady Alexia Maccon. She refuses to hide or cower from high society and has a quite marvelous time of staring them down. Determined to prove that the child is in fact Lord Maccon’s (not that she wants him back, of course, oh no - but she looks forward to slamming the evidence down in front of him) Lady Maccon travels to Italy, to the fanatical Templars, who know more about the Soulless than anyone.

Of course, the vampires aren’t going to let a little thing like leaving the country stop them hunting and trying to kill her which certainly doesn’t help Lady Maccon’s travel; even if she is equipped with an emergency supply of tea. Then there’s the Templars themselves who, despite access to the most wonderful pesto, are most unfriendly people and not even slightly accommodating.

And things are far from quite in London, much to poor professor Lyle’s consternation. Between Lord Maccon’s drunken binge, the vampires hunting Lady Maccon and the disappearance of Lord Akeldama, there’s quite enough to keep the beleaguered beta busy.

Less than 2 pages. That’s how far I got before I collapsed giggling. The combination of Alexia’s marvellously strong character, the beautifully flowery Victorian decorum and language and just some wonderfully crafted silliness makes this book, like the two before it, a constant source of mirth - even if Miss. Hisslepenny and her hats are sadly not so present.

This book is basically superlatively wonderful in all the same ways that Soulless and Changeless were. the language is wonderfully evocative of the era. It’s screamingly, hilariously, outrageously funny. Lady Alexia Maccon is a truly magnificent character - sassy and sarcastic, funny and strong, sensible and shameless. Frankly, if the story were poor, the backing characters flat and the world ridiculous, the books would still be an amazing read just because of Lady Alexia Maccon

‘Soulless’ by Gail Carriger, Book one of the Parasol Protectorate series.

Miss Tarabotti is a proper Victorian lady. The daughter of upper class, proper British society with all the refinement, expectations and proprieties that entails.
She’s also a spinster at the grand old age of 25, cursed by her Italian father to be too dark, have too bold a nose and far too bold a tongue to ever fit in proper, elegant high society. Miss Tarabotti is also Soulless. Soullessness is a trait that she inherited from her Italian father and like everything derived from him is considered without doubt to be a negative.

Unlike vampires and werewolves who have an overabundance of soul which grants them numerous special abilities, Miss Tarabotti’s lack of soul causes her touch to counteract their abilities, rendering them no more powerful than a normal human being. It should be noted that soulless people are far more rare than supernatural creatures, in fact she is the only one in Queen Victoria’s London and, at one time, were used to actively hunt down paranormal beings.