Rod Duncan's earlier book, <em>The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter</em>, was one of the most powerful books I'd read in a long time. The follow-up books were just as strong and just like that Rod Duncan became one of my most eagerly-anticipated authors.

<em>The Queen of All Crows</em> continues with the same core set of characters as the Gas-Lit Empire series but moves away from the gritty steampunk London and takes adventure to the high seas. But we don't deviate far from the world where the Patent Office holds the most power. We're still in a world of fantastic machines and inventions but now we find our heroine, Elizabeth, stranded on an island of female pirates who have enslaved the men and put Elizabeth through a grueling challenge to determine whether she can live with the other women on the island or be put to death. The Queen of All Crows and her two daughters will determine Elizabeth's fate. But an attack on their secret land puts Elizabeth at the forefront in a battle she will lose no matter the outcome.

Duncan is an absolute master storyteller. In addition to a well-devised story with a plot that unfolds around us as we immerse ourselves in the story, we get a rich, detailed world that is just different enough from the world we think we know that it has an air of mystery around it.

As real and fantastic as this world and this setting is that Duncan has created, at the heart of the story are marvelous characters.

If you've read any of my reviews prior to this you probably know that I'm often focused on the characters and whether or not we buy in to their plight. All of Duncan's characters are unique, strong in their own way, and fully realized. Even the most minor characters feel like actual people and not just fodder for an author to use for slaughter or filler. This is a real relief as we don't often see this.

And because we have characters who are so real we find it easy to get invested in what they are doing. Elizabeth is such a marvelously complex character. I'm thrilled that her story didn't end with the Gas-Lit Empire series. Despite the steampunk sensibility of this story, Elizabeth is a most modern heroine and her adventure here is completely absorbing and well worth reading.

Put Rod Duncan on your Must-Read list.

Looking for a good book? <em>The Queen of All Crows</em> by Rod Duncan continues the adventures of Elizabeth Barnabus - and that's a very good thing if you like very well-written, character-driven science fiction/fantasy.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Rod Duncan's first Elizabeth Barnabus trilogy (The Bullet catcher's Daughter, Unseemly Science, and Custodian of Marvels) so I was delighted to find that he's picked up Elizabeth's story again a short while after Elizabeth has won her freedom from the lecherous Duke and the Patent Office. She's having a clandestine affair with Patent Office agent John Farthing, but when she discovers that her best friend Julia has gone missing after her airship has been shot down in the middle of the Atlantic, she resolves to leave John and risk all to find out what's going on. Other airships and vessels have gone missing, too, and there are rumours of a band of female pirates with high-tech weapons. In the guise of a man - her alter ego has always been her (invented) brother – she becomes a spy for the patent office and ventures beyond the borders of the Gas Lit Empire to where she's completely out of her depth, in more ways than one. But Elizabeth is resourceful and what she seeks, she finds, which leads to adventures she could never have dreamt of. This certainly did not disappoint and I'm looking forward to Elizabeth's further adventures.

I actually ended up finishing this book at the end of last year, but I needed to step away before writing my review. When I "closed" the book, I was antagonistic and aggressive towards it. If it hadn't been on my Kindle, I probably would have thrown it out the window, down the mountain. Now that I am sitting down to finally write up the review a lot of that emotion is coming back so I will be keeping this review incredibly brief.

To say I am disappointed by this novel would be an understatement. I truly enjoyed The Bullet Catcher's Daughter immensely. The trilogy was strong, but the first novel was something new and exciting that pulled me in from the first chapter. The series lagged a little in the middle, but it finished strong and I continued to have high hopes for the author. I even bought Kindle and paperback copies of each.

I knew The Queen of All Crows was going to be a new trilogy. It would have the same protagonist and some supporting characters, but they would be in a whole new situation. I just wish that situation hadn't felt like an overdrawn, exhausting propaganda pamphlet. This work was so, so disappointing.

If you were a fan of The Bullet Catcher's Daughter, I would not recommend this book to you. If you are looking for pirates, political intrigue at every corner and an all woman society, then please pick this up and find some entertainment where I just couldn't.

I'll continue to check in with the author to see if Elizabeth handles her predicament better than my current predictions and for any new works that might go back to those bullet catching days. But for now, I will certainly not be supporting this work.

Fear not gentle reader, I am back with my Week in Review :) I thought I would give you a short break from my WIR and share two of my SPFBO 2017 reviews. I hope you enjoyed them. Keep your eye on the blog for reviews from my fellow Qwillery reviewers on what they thought of the books they read for the competition.

I had a little pooch at NetGalley this week and was surprised by two books I had read last year but hadn't yet reviewed. Lately books have been available months before their publish date and then I get all excited about reading them. This time I had convinced myself that I had actually posted a review here but after some checking it transpired I hadn't left you a review so check out what I read.



First up is The Queen of All Crows by Rod Duncan which is the first instalment of The Map of Unknown Things, published by Angry Robot on January 2nd. This series is set in the same world as Duncan's The Fall of the Gas-lit Empire series with Elizabeth Barnabus back in her role of spy but this time with the dreaded Patent Office. When airships start to disappear, along with someone close to Elizabeth, she decides to take action and goes undercover, again as a man. As the science officer on a whaler far out to sea Elizabeth is desperate to find out what has happened and more importantly, who is responsible. Elizabeth finds herself in the middle of a mystery and in more danger than anything the Patent Office could do to her. It will take every ounce of her ingenuity and bravery to discover what has happened and survive long enough to report back.

I loved Duncan's The Fall of the Gas-lit Empire series and thought that Elizabeth was a complex, gutsy heroine. Normally, I am a bit nervous when an author creates a new series for one their characters as it usually means they don't want to let go and new books usually aren't as good. I prefer a shorter, excellent series than a long mediocre, drawn out one. However, Duncan doesn't disappoint and this is an excellent start to what I feel is going to be a compelling series. At the beginning of the story I had pretty much guessed what was going to happen, but midway through every thing changed and I couldn't really guess what was going to become of Elizabeth. This is a difficult book to review because I don't want to give anything away. I want you to discover what happens to Elizabeth on your own because it is such a tasty tale. I have read too many reviews that spell everything out and basically rewrite the book so I don't want to do that here. What I can say is that Duncan fleshes out Elizabeth even more and the new landscape in which this story is set is rich and bleak in equal measure. If I had to sum up this story I would describe it as a story of the power of friendship. Cruel, beautiful, warm, and chillingly lonely. It's all these things and a great mystery as well. If you haven't read the original series don't miss out and then join Elizabeth in The Queen of All Crows.


That is it for me this week. Apologies for not getting these reviews to you sooner. Better late than never! Until next time Happy Reading.

What a crazy read! Really looking forward to see what happens next. I love a great strong fem protagonist.

I really enjoyed the first three books and this one was a breath of fresh air. I love the ideas introduced in this book and cannot wait for #5.

3.5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2018/01/04/the-queen-of-all-crows-the-map-of-unknown-things-1-by-rod-duncan/
The Queen of All Crows is a difficult book for me to review. I did struggle a little to get through it but in fairness to the book and the author I think that’s down to me and not the book – hence why I’m having difficulties putting my thoughts down. On the face of it this story has so many elements that I was excited about. A gaslit empire with airships, a female who isn’t afraid to forge herself a place in a world where women are restricted and not appreciated for their minds or actions, an adventure out at sea with spies and pirates – come on.

The main character is Elizabeth Barnabus, as the story begins Elizabeth, in male disguise, is employed as the Scientific Officer aboard a whaling ship called Pembroke. As the story unfolds it becomes apparent that Elizabeth is being employed by The Patent Office as a spy. Elizabeth has her own agenda and obviously the Patent Office has theirs. Elizabeth is looking for her dearest friend who went missing after her airship was shot down whilst flying over the Atlantic. This is a world where many nations have banded together to form a peaceful alliance. The Patent Office oversee the whole affair, primarily it seems by policing the creation of inventions that could be used to aid war and bloodshed. When more airships are shot down the Patent Office needs eyes in territories that they are forbidden entry to and Elizabeth/Barnabus needs a way of entering an environment which she is similarly forbidden entry to.

I don’t really want to say too much more about the plot but I don’t think I’m giving anything away by saying that the pirates of the story are females, women who have escaped their lives to create something new for themselves, a world unrestricted by petticoats and polite manners.

There are a lot of intriguing elements to this book. I loved the time spent at sea – and to be clear, that’s a lot of time. I think Elizabeth is a great character who I loved. She actually has real determination, she’s brave and caring and she is relentless in her search to find her friend, in fact she takes tremendous risks to do just that.

So, why did I struggle a bit with this one? Well, the plot felt a bit vague to be honest. The thrust of it really is Elizabeth saving her friend and I think my issue with that was that I didn’t really know either of them well enough to really sink into the story. I know that there have been three books from this world already and I also understand that this is the start of a new series but I wonder whether I would have felt myself more invested if I’d read the other series first. The other thing was, as much as I love this idea of a whole boatload of women becoming pirates, shirking their restricted lives, banding together to break free – I felt like their world needed a bit more building up. Don’t get me wrong, there was some detail but I felt that it was a little skimmed over.

Overall, although I had a few issues with this book I certainly wouldn’t discourage others from reading. I feel that I was having a bit of a reading go-slow for a couple of weeks in December and that probably also contributed to my mood in some ways.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

In the year 2012 the International Patent Office continues to maintain a tight grip on the types of technology in use around most the world.
When airships begin disappearing in mid-Atlantic the Patent Office need to find out what is going on. But as their authority does not extend beyond the territorial water of member nations, unofficial methods of investigation have to take place.
Desperate to discover the fate of her closest friend who was on the latest airship to be downed, Elizabeth approaches the Patent Office for recruitment as a spy.
Once again Elizabeth must disguise herself as a man and launch herself into what may be her riskiest situation yet.
Describing a book as a page turner is an overused phrase, but over the last three novels Rod Duncan has devised such devilish situations for his much-put-upon heroine Elizabeth Barnabus you feel the act of reading might be the only way to get her to a place of safety. This series is written in such a way you are afraid a vital event might be going on while you’ve put the book down to take a break.
The author writes his characters well and the plot of the new The Map of Unknown Things series is no less convoluted than the previous Gas Lit Empire trilogy. This story relies particularly on Elizabeth second-guessing the women who rule the inventive floating empire, at the centre of which is the Unicorn, a hulk with a colourful history.
The beauty of this story is that because it is set in a tight-knit community on a man-made (or in this case woman-made) island floating loose on the ocean, Elizabeth has nowhere to run. More than ever this is a battle of wits and wills, which Elizabeth must win or perish. But it is not only Elizabeth’s life that is in danger. Everything has been built into the story to ramp up the tension (and the page turning), creating a delicious anxiety in the reader who needs a stiff drink at the end of it all.
If you’ve missed the previous books, this story stands up just fine on its own, but you will have missed an engaging trilogy where technology is in the frustrating stranglehold of the International Patent Office, and the role of women within its territories it is far too limited for an independent spirit like Elizabeth.
Although well-formed from the beginning, the development of Elizabeth’s character is a complex as her personality and values. That her beloved is an officer within the Patent Office, who is torn by his vocation and the demands Elizabeth makes on it, really creates a depth to a most intriguing fantasy heroine.

I literally gave squeak when I was accepted for this book! I love steampunk and I had read the series that precedes this one (The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire, review to come!) and loved it so much! This author doesn't get enough love in my opinion!

This is the story of Elizabeth Barnabus, a detective, who detests the Patent Office for the role they played in the ruin of her family. In this novel, she must however learn to work with them when airplanes and ships start disappearing under a new menace that is unseen. Her friend Julia was in one of those airplanes - and now Elizabeth will do whatever it takes to find out if she is dead and what happened to her airplane. And for that, she must become a spy.

I love Elizabeth and Julia and their friendship is so nice to read! I devoured this novel in a few days and really loved it. Rod Duncan's writing style is very pleasant to read, descriptive but not overly much, and his characters are very unique! I won't go into the plot a lot not to spoil it, but it was very creative and I liked this novel even more than I liked the previous series. I'd say it's better to read The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire to get the context of Elizabeth's life and her relationship with Julia, with John Farthing, with the Patent Office, but I think it also works by itself.

This story takes place mostly in ships, which I thought was very interesting! The technologies used were intriguing but not described in an overwhelmingly way, so that if you're not a big sci-fi fan, I think you'd still enjoy it! There's adventure, pirates, lots of women, great characters and a smart main character. What else do I need to say? I recommend this novel highly!

When my request Queen of All Crows was approved on NetGalley, I was thrilled to hear that the wait to see what happened with Elizabeth Barnabus and John Farthing would be over. However, my experience reading the newest story in the world of the gaslit empire was a little different than it was last year. It is impossible to review without touching on how gender is portrayed in it.

Now, I’m more open about my gender identity, and am more engaged in conversations about gender and sexuality. Even though Elizabeth is referred to as “she/he” I’ve always thought “they/them” would be better suited as far as pronouns go. Barnabus was one of the first characters whose gender identity seemed to come close to mine -- not really man or woman, but something fluid and in between.

Yes, pretending to be a young man was labeled as a disguise, but to me, it always seemed like it was more part of Barbabus’ identity than a disguise, and I think part of why my review is four-stars, not five, was because of the phrase “disguise herself as a man” being present in the back cover copy.

I read slower than normal, rereading every sentence that hinted at Barnabus’ true gender identity. Some lines made me angry by placing Barnabus’ in a binary, but then there were twice as man that proved my theory that whether the author intended it or not, Barnabus was genderfluid.

The role gender played in this book went far beyond one character's identity. Much of the plot was driven by power and perceptions of power: power over technology and weapons, but more importantly, the balance of power between men, women and those who are both or neither.

As anyone who has read the other books knows, the Gas-Lit empire, is not a place women have much power or agency. However, in Queen of All Crows Barnabus travels to an island made up of all women, which unfortunately, fell into the trope of a complete reversal -- women enslaving men, and claiming they are better than them when they are really no different. I was a bit annoyed at this, but even here, the characters did not lack depth, and this little bubble of reversal did seem necessary to the larger plot at work throughout the serie. Since the characters were varied and not all raging idiots, and the description and integration into the world was so well done, I was able to forgive this.

The book did not have too many other flaws. The opening was slow, but once the plot picked up it was difficult to put the book down. The descriptions were detailed and gorgeous. The emotions and tensions high. The characters were tested and changed. The role of power and technology really got me thinking, and at times, I had to stop mentally debate ideas before diving back in.

Yes, there are some flaws, but every book has flaws, and this ones just make it more revealing in so many ways. I highly recommend it, but also reccomend you read Custodian of Marvels trilogy first

Some authors really find a groove in their series where each new book is more enjoyable than the last. But Rod Duncan has done even better with The Queen Of All Crows: he's taken the Gas Lit Empire series into a completely new direction that is both wonderful and wondrous. Gone are the canals and dirty London streets, now replaced with high seas adventures with female pirates and fantastical new weapons. As well, The Gas Lit Empire's philosophy of technology stifling is proving to be unmanageable in that it cannot be enforced outside of their sphere of influence. It's a big world out there and technology will always eventually end up in martial use.

Story: When Elizabeth's best friend Julia is presumed lost at sea when her airship is shot down by pirates, Elizabeth will use all her connections to get out to the ocean in the hope that Julia is still alive and can be rescued. Even if it means betraying her lover and forcing him to break his Patent Office vows in order to get her information, Elizabeth will do anything to save Julia. Including posing as a science officer on a whaler to track down her beloved best friend to the heart of the ocean and a band of inventive female pirates.

It's clear Duncan does his homework before writing and there are interesting concepts explored in this modern day AU universe. Most importantly, that the Patent Office isn't necessarily as evil as Elizabeth believed. But also that there are worse things out there and technology is leading the advancement toward scarier forms of war. Shades of the Uboat fears of WWII to ocean garbage patches are among the topics explored. As well, there was even a bit of "Waterworld" that was both imaginative and scary at the same time.

But with all the concepts, this is still very much a character driven story. Main character Elizabeth is one of those rare heroines that isn't suffering under "TSTL" syndrome (Too Stupid To Live). Rather, just the opposite, she's the other kind TSTL - Too Smart To Live. Brave, inventive, intelligent - she's also living in a world where none of those qualities are appreciated in a woman. It leaves the story with a very strong feeling of hopelessness that can be dreary at times but still very much worth the read. Duncan definitely puts Elizabeth through the wringer and it makes all the much better a story for it. For me, I especially enjoy the psychological dances and character readings that Elizabeth does throughout the series.

The Queen of All Crows begins a completely new storyline. Although the book finishes its arc, it's clear there is a lot more to come. I greatly look forward to where Duncan will take the story, and the characters, next. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

A great adventure, maybe the best book in this series of the Gas- Lit Empire. Floating cities, sky ships being sot from the sky, female pirates and Elizabeth Barnabas now working as a spy for the patent office. Wonderful!