Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Roger Weathersby digs up corpses for medical schools. It is his hope to earn enough money by this means to buy his own text books and study to become a physician. Though he’s never been a man of wealth or means (he was the son of a servant) he had been childhood friends with a princess – Princess Sibylla – though that was many years ago.

For her part, Sibylla had been rather pleased when Roger left the estate. She had seen him kissing members of the staff and heard that he’d taken a bribe to leave the palace. A man like that was not needed around royalty. Now Sibylla is focused on continuing her magical bloodline, which means finding a suitable mate. (Can we guess where this might be going?)

Roger is accused of murdering one of the corpses he digs up. Since the police are sure it’s him, and he (and we) know it’s not, that means there is a killer on the loose and it’s up to Roger to find him. Roger’s only hope is his old friend Sibylla and time is running out!

I really found this book quite average. There is a slight sense of steampunk-ness given it’s mock-Victorian-era setting, but it’s not fantastically steampunk or Victorian. There is a slight murder mystery but the book is more interesting in establishing two characters to really give us a meaty mystery. There’s a slight hint of magic, which gets used more frequently as we’re about to be done with the book, but even this seems to be more a prop for a longer story arc than important to this book. And that leaves us with … I’m not sure what.

The story, such as it is, takes way too long to develop. It’s maybe two-thirds in before we start to feel like we’re getting what we came for, those pages filled with backstory and character development. But if we don’t see where it’s headed, we don’t really care where we’ve been.

This was one of those books where I could see that others might enjoy it. Romantic Victorian fantasies have a following but I rarely have ever enjoyed such myself. I was hoping for a little more on the mystery portion of the book, or perhaps even some adventure, but I found it a little too … flowery? … to provide much to interest me.

Looking for a good book? There’s a specific audience out there for The Resurrectionist of Caligo by Wendy Trimboli and Alicia Zaloga, but if you’re not into Victorian fantasy romances it might not be for you.

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

Best summed up as: I didn’t hate reading this but I’ll never remember it in six months.

This book felt promising at first, beginning with a solid premise, an intriguing mystery, and decent world building.

Unfortunately the authors abandoned the world building aspect of the book by the midpoint, which had been the story’s best feature. The plot is fine, I suppose, but it’s not particularly unique or engaging, the magical system fails to intrigue, and the characters are predictable, one dimensional archetypes.

Does the reader like the good guys and dislike the bad guys? Sure. But they’re all essentially stock characters. Even Roger, who at least had potential to be interesting, devolves into a tropey, flawed hero with a heart of gold pattern that gets dull quickly.

The villain (and therefore most of where the plot is going) is pretty obvious from early in the narrative. Surprise! The character acting suspiciously is (shocker) up to no good. Sigh.

I didn’t hate reading this and it had some charming adventure story type elements, but ultimately it’s pretty forgettable. The book appears to be set up for a sequel as well, though I can’t see myself bothering with another of these.

I was as enamored by The Resurrectionist of Caligo by Wendy Trimboli and Alicia Zaloga as I thought I would be when I picked this up. I wasn’t blown away and I wasn’t underwhelmed. It simply hit the exactly spot that needed itching! There was adventure, body-snatching, science, and interpersonal drama.

Characters were solid and smart. We have two main viewpoints, both equal, yet different. With Roger, we have the poor, working class character with noble aspirations and a practical mind. His foil, the lovely Princess Sibylla, who is the embodiment of magic. Sibylla didn’t diminish herself to prop up Roger, and he didn’t fold to her every whim or lose his intelligence or common sense. They were both strong characters that alone could support a novel, yet by working together, connected two worlds and stories. I’m actually super excited to see how the characters evolve going forward in the series thanks to… certain spoiler events that happen toward the end.

The mystery itself was quite clever. A nice mix between steampunk modernity with Victorian worldbuilding and a dash of magic, all of these elements come into play, influence the plot and mystery. This is actually one of the few YA books where I didn’t know what the outcome would be. I didn’t realize who the culprit was and didn’t even guess at the second, side mystery brought forth by Sibylla. Once both were revealed, I could see the crumbs of clues which made the resolution very satisfying and earned.

With just the right amount of modernity, magic, and Victorian, with a set of mysteries that leave you guessing, The Resurrectionist of Caligo by Wendy Trimboli and Alicia Zaloga is fun, fast-paced, and well-written. This is definitely a series I’m looking forward to continuing when the second in the series is released!

This book was entertaining but never quite drew me in as much as I'd have liked.

The Victorian-inspired atmosphere seemed good at first, but the world-building is otherwise a bit lacking. I didn't get a truly good sense of place or of the magic system. The dual protagonists, Roger Weathersby and princess Sibylla -- childhood friends forced apart by circumstance and now brought back together by dire and complex necessity involving a magical bond -- were not equally sympathetic (I liked Roger and disliked Sibylla), and the other characters were pretty bland. The murder mystery plot started off well but ultimately had a pacing problem, and eventually took a backseat to Roger and Sibylla's drama.

Overall it's not at all a bad book though! I'd recommend it to particular fans of Gaslamp Fantasy, but probably not to general High Fantasy or Mystery fans.

The Resurrectionist of Caligo is a fantasy murder mystery set in the Victorian era. Just by knowing that about the book I was intrigued by it. As you may know, I love reading about the Victorian era and I also tend to love historical fantasy. This seemed like such a great combination for a story and while I enjoyed The Resurrectionist of Caligo it did let me down in some aspects.

The setting was probably my favourite part of the book. The combination of the Victorian era and noir elements was amazing and I had a lot of fun finding out things about the world. There are themes of medicine and illness in this book, so if that is something that you don’t enjoy reading about I would recommend staying away from this book. The mystery was alright. It wasn’t anything outstanding, but it wasn’t bad either. The pacing of this book felt off at times. I didn’t know for the longest time if the main conflict had started or not, which ended up just confusing me. The last 30% or so of the book let me down, but I can’t go into detail about the reason because of spoilers.

The two main characters, Roger and Sibylla, were interesting. I enjoyed learning more about them as the story progressed. It was compelling seeing them try and figure out what was going on. Despite saying all of that, I don’t think they are too memorable as characters. Don’t get me wrong, I liked them fine but I’m not going to be thinking about them in the future. The dynamic between Roger and Sibylla was strange as well. They obviously liked each other and their relationship grew stronger throughout the book but it also felt it didn’t go anywhere. I was just confused by their relationship, or rather I just expected their relationship to go farther than it actually did.

Overall The Resurrectionist of Caligo is an imaginative book with an interesting premise. The mystery wasn’t the best, but the setting was amazing. The characters were good, but their relationships somewhat confusing. I would definitely recommend this book, especially if you enjoy reading about the Victorian era.

3 ANGRY STARS.

“No human is better than another. I’ve cut up enough of ’em, and we all look more or less the same on the inside. We all rot when we’re dead.”

There's no higher pain in the multiverse than when a book pulls you in, makes you so emotionally engaged, and has you falling in love with its immersively written Victorian era and noir atmosphere so deeply that you don't care about the mystery which could've been better unraveled because it's all about the characters—the two complicated and miserable characters and their warped dynamic and it could be the best thing ever and it's got you spending 70% of the book thinking why aren't there higher ratings and of course you'd be giving this intriguing, preciously slow, and character-driven steampunk a 4.5 rounded up and shelving it as your new fave...and then proceeds to ruin it all in the last 30% with the character and relationship development's path (or lack thereof) and its approving seal on Sibet's selfish, self-absorbed, self-righteous attitude.

Sibet is an at first glance admirable person who bewitches you with her strength of character, will, devotion, and unrestrained quality, resisting chains splendidly and making you fall in love with her and adore her and root for her, only to reveal herself to be in reality a selfish woman blinded by her privilege and luxury, thinking her a suffered and wronged, poor creature, and thus humiliating and blaming a penniless fellow human for having turned bitter from grovelling, thieving, and scraping by only to make it to another day and somehow still be able to sneak medical lessons to follow his unreachable dream of becoming a doctor.

“Scrape me off your shoe with a stick, why don’t you.”

And that's not even the worst of it. No, this Sibet has the audacity to, in her high-and-mighty attitude, believe she is above said human, using him and abusing him however she's wished since they were children and he dare not give her the verbal lashing she deserves for treating him as she does and making him feel as he does for godforbid her self-righteous ego gets hurt. Nope, she's always had the right to treat him as her slave, instilling the feeling of being powerless and worthless and small in him for all his life, without ever apologising or even internally acknowledging the injustice of her words and actions because, gasp, she can never make a mistake!

The Resurrectionist of Caligo perfectly paints this despicable creature, having her continuing to exist in this stale mindset without the slightest of character developments, except for becoming more glorious in her oh-I-have-suffered-more-than-all-of-you-and-am-worth-all-you-worthless-things-put-together.

“We all serve our masters, whether they be of mind or heart. And isn’t she yours either way?”

If you're a Roger, I want to tell you that you're not worthless, or useless, or powerless, or small. Roger, this brilliant, caring blighter with the worst luck in the world, this tragic soul who's endured so much, lost so much, lost everything, stole my heart and bled it dry. And the authors literally spat on him and all like him in the world with his reverse character development, changing from that unyielding rebel who saw how he'd been used as a toy, to this cowed servant who won't blink to fall to his knees and beg for the favour of his abuser.

Every time I think about it, I want to punch something. Scratch that, I have punched something. In fact, I've punched many things while writing these words to the point where my knuckles are actually sore.

To the Rogers of the world, I say:
Put down whatever you're doing and walk up to that son of a gun and give them the metaphorical slap in the face they're begging for (it would be good if it weren't only metaphorical but, small steps). And if you think you're gonna loose your nerves when face to face and think it's all futile anyway (which it's not—those people need to have their pride handed to them), then pick up your phone, record your anger-smeared words of truth, and send it to them before you can change your mind. Remove their festering poison from your life and cut off the leech before it drains you.

“If I know anything about wounds, your highness, it’s that they scar, even as they heal.”

Now that all that is out, I will say that (if you put aside the path Roger and Sibet's dynamic takes in the last 30%) I extremely enjoyed this book. No, that's an understatement, I adored it, I lived for it.

The characters who jumped out of the page to drag me down into their pain and love, the complicated and real love-hate relationships and family bonds, the fierce unforgettable Ghostofmary who comfortably nestled in my heart, the brazen and creative storytelling, the perfect noir/steampunk atmosphere building, the sobering tragic ending with a taste of grim reality...all made this a worthy read. I wish the mystery had taken more of a centre stage to make up for the nonexistence of internal developments. Alas, that was not to be.

“In the old days, they used to blame disasters on heresy. Now it’s science. Any scapegoat’ll do.”

Do I regret reading this book? Not really, if only because I don't regret anything. There's always something to gain from all experiences, however unpleasant or conflicting.

Do I want to forget reading this book? Well, parts of it. All of it. Sigh, yes I do. I'll remember what I learned, I just don't believe thinking back on the process of learning it would do me any good, other than riling me up all over again for no reason.

Long sigh. I just want to reimagine the ending as Roger walking with Ghostofmary into the sunset while the whole world burns and turns to ash behind them.

“No society’s laws are perfect, nor is any leader’s will.”

2.5 stars

"The Resurrectionist of Caligo" has an interesting premise, but the plot just dragged on and I really didn't like the male protagonist. The writing also wasn't really for me and the climax felt rather rushed.

This takes a really, really long time to get anywhere, and when it does, it’s a little underwhelming. I wasn’t a fan of the world-building, which is a messy mix of Victorian England and mediocre fantasy ideas, and neither of the main characters endeared themselves to me. I didn’t feel that the society felt well-fleshed out, more that the fantasy aspects had been tagged on to a Victorian base in order to make it more unusual, since they don’t really seem to add anything to the plot. Roger is not very engaging, as he is a very intelligent man who acts in the most idiotic way possible at all times, and the mystery (women being murdered and Roger being framed for it) didn’t grab me. Not one for me, but maybe if you are someone who enjoys takes on Jack the Ripper it might be more of a success.

In this fantastical version of Victorian England, magic runs in the royal family, which jealously guards the purity of its bloodline. One of the elite is young Princess Sibella, currently in disgrace at a remote, austere country estate. Her magical abilities include an inner glow and streaming ink from her fingers to create not only letters on paper but tapestries in the air. Her childhood companion, Roger, has also been expelled in disgrace and now ekes out a living as a “resurrectionist,” procuring bodies for anatomical study at Caligo’s medical school while learning everything he can about surgery. Their parting was rife with misunderstanding, hurt, and anger.

Now danger stalks the back streets of Caligo as “The Greyanchor Strangler” strikes again, just as Sibella is summoned back home to be a marriage pawn in trade negotiations with a neighboring kingdom. Eventually, of course, their paths cross again, Roger is accused of being The Strangler, Sibella navigates the tortuous schemes of the royal court, and secret plots and parentages are revealed. It’s as much a comedy of manners and switched identities as a love story, a murder mystery, and a tale of international intrigue as it is a fantasy. The characters are fresh and lively, the plot twists many and delightful, and a delicious vein of humor, while not taking itself too seriously, runs through the whole story. Verdict: an entertaining read, quirky world-building, and fun characters mark this as hopefully the beginning of wonderful series.

The cover is what picked my interest at first. When I read the blurb, I thought it could change me from the usual Fantasy. Adding historical fiction / Steampunk as its genres made me curious to see if I would like it. Unfortunately, I can say Victorian Fantasy is not my thing.

I was supposed to read the e-ARC before its publication but I didn't get to it on time so when I saw the audiobook was available on Scribd, I chose to listen to it. The thing with audiobooks is that I get bored easily if I'm not hooked right from the start.

The Resurrectionist of Caligo had a good premise, however, the main plot took forever to start and develop. I felt like it would never happened and instead, focused on some things I didn't care about (especially during Sibylla's chapters). Roger was, in my opinion, more interesting. At the beginning of the book, he dug out a corpse to sell to medical schools. However, the woman was murdered and Roger is going to get in trouble. I also liked the way he cared for Celeste and her daughter. I was disappointed that Roger and Sibylia didn't really interact with each other until 70% into the book. I thought there might be a romance but I felt like it didn't really go anywhere. Also, the ending wasn't satisfying. I thought this was a standalone but it didn't really feel like one.


(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

This book didn’t quite hit the mark for me. When I read the synopsis, I thought I would be in for a mystery-solving duo, instead I got a lot of snarking between the two characters via letters. I think the problem was that what drew me to this book from the synopsis, wasn’t actually what the book was about. Instead, the book focused on family drama, and palace intrigue, rather than an interesting murder mystery.

Neither of the main characters were particularly interesting to me. The most interesting character was Mary, the little girl. As for Roger’s brother, he was just infuriating. There just wasn’t much to make me root for any of the characters, and thus, I wasn’t that interested in the book. Nor did I think that Roger and Sibylla had particularly good chemistry (probably just me being salty), though I did find their history kind of interesting.

What did work for me was the atmosphere of the book. It was exactly what I was expecting and really well done. Additionally, I thought the world-building was interesting, particularly the magic, which I wish would’ve been explored a little more (though a particularly nice twist with a clue based on the magic was nice).

Overall, a decent read that didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes to dip their noir in victorian aesthetic, and probably anyone who liked The Bullet-Catcher’s Daughter.

I have a habit of accumulating my reading until the point that I cannot see where it began and where it ends. Then, when I use random ideas to kick start my way through the list, I sometimes stumble upon some hidden surprises. I did not remember the synopsis by the time I started this tale but did not suffer for it. In fact, it might have been the reason I enjoyed it!

This is a victorian/steampunk surrounding where our reality is inverted a little. Magic has more clout than science does. Considering the level at which the medical industry is depicted here, it stands to reason that that would be the case. We are allowed to better understand the two parts of the city through the eyes of two people on the opposing side of the argument while having a whole other relationship between them. The princess Sybilla has manifested a few talents from her line of magical ancestors but is kept in seclusion for failing to comply with her grandmother's wishes. She is to be brought back to society for some hidden agenda that she cannot wait to get to the bottom of. Roger has made many sacrifices to be called a Man of Science. He has to dig up bodies to further his studies and to earn enough to keep him afloat. Apart from their past, there is a new reason these two are linked (more than one, but murder turns out to be the primary one), that of a spate of killings. The deaths are attributed to a strangler, but no one questions the reasons and the common factors between the victims apart from Roger and Sybilla. There is a lot about this world and its magic that we as well as the protagonists are unaware of, but the steady trickle of information made the book a treat to read. The supporting cast is also very vivid and entertaining in their own right.

There is a lot of drama, politics, tons of secret manipulations and a lot of undercurrents of emotions. The only reason I do not give this a full five stars is because I am holding out to see what happens next to them all.

I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

The Resurrectionist of Caligo brings together the two sides of Victorian-era society: on one side, the foggy nights of cemeteries, paupers and brothels, and on the other side a powerful royalty with possession of magic and intrigue and secrets.

Our duo of main characters come from different side of tracks and fit into the atmosphere of this novel perfectly. Roger- a resurrectionist- is a young man who wants to be a doctor and on his way up the career ladder, as well as in the name of scientific advancement, supplies the medical schools with fresh corpses fresh from the graves. Sounds pretty grim, but he goes about it in respectful enough manner.

Sibylla is the princess of Caligo’s court. Royalty in Caligo carries magic in the family line and generation after generation of sons and daughters have been born into carefully selected and paired parents. Sibylla is… well, she has her heart in the right place but she didn’t make a lasting impression on me. She just is. Magical, maiden-like, heroine… of sorts.

Interestingly, I can’t quite recall how Roger and Sibylla got involved with each other in the first place, but in the story, we get a sense that there are some undeniable feelings in between the two lingering from the past. Even though Roger and Sibylla were effectively pushed apart a while back, the current events bring the two back to each other’s lives and not in any way either of them would imagine.

The Resurrectionist of Caligo is a story of 2 mysteries: a strange and deadly illness and murder. Our amiable Roger gets the wrap for murdering the women. Naturally. He does have a motive to murder- fresh bodies for the academy, remember? But to the rescue comes princess Sibylla who through a magical ritual is able to bind Roger to herself and thus cleanse him from his crimes. Not good enough for good, old Roger though- he knows something more deadly is ravaging the females on the foggy Victorian streets and he intends to find out!

Whilst we romp through desperate attemps to keep his head attached to his body, Roger also demonstrates the side ti him that proves he would be a good doctor. I could really get behind this character and root for him in all his endeavours. Sibylla, on the other hand, brought with herself the court politics, intrigue and plenty of secrets. So, yes, while I enjoyed this book for it kept me busy with it’s revelations, twists and creepy, gothic magic, it didn’t really blow my wee socks off. Why? Well, some books just pull you in because every single box gets ticked. This one was very close, but not 100%. Maybe because of Sibylla who could have been more as a character? Not that I disliked her, but perhaps she could have shined more? I don’t know… For a princess, a magical one at that, she left me a bit cold 🙂

The Resurrectionist of Caligo is a steady-paced, entertaining read from a time that will certainly capture many imaginations and draw gasps as it unravels another Victorian Easter Egg. From an era where medical science is on the cusp of making huge advancements, the stakes are high as society’s norms need to morph into making sacrifices for the greater good. Where and by whom will the line of morality be drawn though?

Sibylla is a princess, in a world where only the elite (including the royal family) are born with magical gifts, leading to jealously guarded bloodlines and inbreeding within the nobility. Roger Weathersby is a resurrectionist and aspiring doctor, trying to fund informal medical studies by providing the cadavers which medical professors need to dissect and learn from. Despite the differences in their background, almost insurmountable in such a status-driven society, Sibylla and Roger are former friends and had a brief romantic history in their teenage years, but that's very much behind them - until Sibylla decides to bring it up in a letter, and then Roger is arrested for a series of murders he didn't commit and the only way out of being hanged for them is to submit to an ancient form of enslavement which will give Sybil complete control of him for the rest of his life. If this seems like a good basis for a slow burn romance, you're right - but Resurrectionist of Caligo isn't delivering this in full. Instead, this is a story about the two protagonists coming together over the injustices and prejudices of their highly stratified society, and attempting to leverage their limited agency to bring down a killer who the rest of the world seems uninterested in bringing to justice.



Resurrectionist of Caligo moves in two very different worlds: the intersection of the working class and academia which Roger inhabits, needed by but never accepted by members of the latter; and Sibylla's repressed court existence, dictated by her Grandmother the Queen. The range of characters in the former turn out to be significantly more interesting and sympathetic than the latter (Sibylla has three "Cousin Eds" who I didn't even try to learn to tell the difference between) and Roger's story also escalates much more quickly, with far more immediate consequences, than Sibylla's, meaning for much of the book it was his sections I was most engaged by. In contrast, much of what engages Sibylla: her return from several years of enforced seclusion after refusing an arranged marriage to her cousin, and her designs on making a mark in diplomacy with a neighbouring-closed off kingdom - are issues that feel only tangentially related to the main plot as its presented to us. This is thoroughly driven home by the scenes in which Sibylla engages with the sections of society which literally pray to her (as a sort of fertility goddess, which she has mixed feelings about) and finds out about the Strangler through a plea for her intervention; she resolves to do something about it but is soon blown off course by external events and ends up more engaged in her Grandmother the Queen's marriage schemes instead.



The plot itself moves slowly, and its one of those books whose blurb conditions don't actually get set up until quite far through the first half - with the effect that a lot of what should be the first act is spent speculating on how its going to get to the promised premise. Once there, Roger's criminal conviction ends up being a curiously weak barrier to allowing him to continue exactly as before, although it does bring him into the orbit of a slightly hard-to-pin-down but entertaining brother. What this means is that the effect of what should be a deeply tense and uncomfortable magical binding - one which comes with a presumption of criminal guilt and infamy which ought to be life-changingly horrible - is undermined until the last act, when it comes home to roost in a pretty significant way; even then, we don't get the scenes of what this binding means day to day for Roger and Sibylla until the novel's aftermath, when it feels like that bringing that reality home a bit earlier would have underscored some of the intended tension of this particular setup.



The strength of Resurrectionist of Caligo is in its synthesis of the history of medicine with an intriguing gene-linked magic system providing a basis for the magical talents of the royal family which will make those with a basic understanding of dominant and recessive genes go "oh, it's related to that". The driver of medical curiosity in this story from Roger are what allow his sections to really shine, and there's enough real-world science and history of medicine in here to make the system satisfyingly scientific without being overreliant on "realism". Sibylla's sections of the narrative do a good job of demonstrating why the "purity" of the royal family's bloodlines, with their party tricks, are important enough to create their inward-looking political system, with so little interest in the outside world that even the overtures of an important neighbour at a point of possible crisis are barely enough to break through tradition. In this context, the eventual direction of the mystery makes a horrible sort of sense, although it's also a smack to the face of the rare forces in the novel who are attempting to address the injustice in a slightly more systemic way. Class warfare might eventually become a part of this world, but its certainly not the focus of this particular story. Add into that the homogeneiety of the society, both in Sibylla's circle and Roger's, and the result is a pretty conservative read - oddly so, given the incorporation of a Victorian aesthetic into a distinctly more closed off monarchy means jettisoning the aspects of global imperialism that made Victorian culture possible in our own world.



As noted above, this is not one for people looking for a capital-R romance: although Roger and Sibylla have a romantic history, the enemies-to-lovers-with-a-history romance element is being set up as a long game, if it's happening at all. That said, there's clearly still feelings between the two, which are well explored despite being from the perspectives of two characters attempting not to admit it to each other or themselves, and the "will-they-won't-they" angle is likely to be just as enjoyable to many readers as a happily ever after. There's also a complicating factor in the form of an enigmatic emperor, around whom Sibylla apparently forgets all pretences to diplomatic nicety in favour of entertaining but ill-advised escapades - not necessarily out of character for a young, sheltered woman with a demonstrated lack of impulse control, but it's a little convenient. The emperor doesn't bring a huge amount of character beyond his role as a third point in a love triangle, but there's potential for this to get quite nicely complicated in future volumes, if that's where the series is going.



All of this adds up to a book that I enjoyed, and which certainly has elements of novelty - particularly the synthesis of medicine and magic - but which struggles to meld together its dual narratives, stoke the tension of its creepy central magic premise, or bring enough texture to its wider worldbuilding to really make the concept sparkle. However, fans of Victorian-era fantasy (who don't mind reading a homogenous version of that worldview) will no doubt enjoy the setting, and fans of enemies-to-lovers who don't need an HEA will find Roger and Sibylla's dynamic scratches that itch, especially if the promise of further books in the series comes through.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

We’ve all done some questionable things for money. I’d like to think that, anyways. Something under the table, something that made you wince a little but then think, “Man, fifty bucks is fifty bucks.” Maybe you haven’t, thought – maybe you’re this pillar of strength, held up by your rock-hard morals and five-figure bank account.

Have fun balancing your check book.

The rest of you? You know the feeling. So does one of our main characters in our book this week, THE RESURRECTIONIST OF CALIGO.

So let’s talk about it.


THE RESURRECTIONIST OF CALIGO follows two characters as they try to solve a murder in a setting described as “Edwardian London but with magic,” by its authors.

Roger is an aspiring surgeon with the heart-felt desire to one day be able to help people. In the meantime, to pay for his apartment, he resurrects bodies and sells them to medical colleges. (Which is, as my sister says, “Not very cash money,” but I want to disagree.)

Sibylla, on the other side, likes keeping her hands clean while she struggles to find a way out of marrying her cousin and assuming the role of queen.

Their paths had crossed before, and are destined to cross again as they both turn their attention to the string of murders that’s captivated the city of Caligo.

I obviously love the book. I mean, first off, graverobbing? Complicated family trees? Never before in my life did I realize that I needed something like this until it gracefully fell into my hands. (That cover is also to die for, I love how goddamn saturated it is.)

Then there’s the subtle horror that’s seeped into so many aspects of this story. The murders, the body horror (which I won’t elaborate on because I’m about to eat lunch and I don’t hate myself that much), the personal turmoil of wanting to be greater than you are (and knowing you can be) but being held back by things like social norms and class structure, Roger getting buried alive . . . This is definitely a book for the Halloween season, so it came out at the perfect time.

But what am I saying? You came here for the interview, and I shall not disappoint! Our episode BUT WHAT IF GRAVEROBBING WAS CASH MONEY is out now on iTunes, Spotify, and Podbean!

3.5/4 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2019/09/23/the-resurrectionist-of-caligo-by-wendy-trimboli-alicia-zaloga/
I have to say straight up that I had a good time with The Resurrectionist of Caligo. I had a few little issues but they were only minor and didn’t spoil the read at all for me.

The Resurrectionist is set in a pseudo Victorian time and place and really plays into that setting.

As the story begins we make the introduction of Roger Weathersby, a body snatcher or grave robber – or ‘man of science’ as he prefers to be called. Body snatching was, lets just say prevalent, during a certain period in history. People had no knowledge of anatomy or the inner workings of the body and cadavers were in short supply. Stealing the dead was actually a legal ‘grey’ area even though resurrectionists were generally frowned upon. For Roger, employed by an anatomy school and keen to learn more himself, the ends justify the means. So, spade and lockpicks in hand he starts the story in a graveyard which is where he receives not only a ghostly apparition (to be known affectionately henceforth as ‘ghostofmary’) but also uncovers a body that seems to have been buried whilst still alive! And this is where the mystery element begins.

At the same time we make the acquaintance of Princess Sibylla or Sibet to her friends. The Royal Family line are all bestowed with magic abilities although in recent years these are becoming somewhat diluted. It’s therefore become popular between royalty and nobles to marry within families to keep the bloodline strong. As such Sibylla was expected to marry her cousin – a fate which she had no stomach for – and has spent a good while in isolation for her dissent. This is a period of great change. A time when questions were being asked and superstitions beginning to be set aside. The divine rights of the monarch are falling under the spotlight and the last thing they need is to lose the support of the people through failing magic. Sibylla still longs for her first love, a young man who in spite of being far beneath her in station won her heart before disappearing from her life. Roger is that young man and both he and Sibylla have a difference in opinion about what actually happened to split them apart.

Let me be clear right now – this is not a romance novel at all (at the moment). Yes, there is an underlying tension between Sibylla and Roger when their paths eventually cross but this has more in common with Holmes and Watson than Lady Chatterleys Lover. Just saying.

There is plenty of intrigue going on here. A murderer seems to be at large nicknamed the Greyanchor Strangler who seems to predominantly focus on young ladies of the night! This is a part of the story that vividly calls to mind all the different theories around the Whitechapel Murderer – old Jack the Ripper himself. Was it a member of royalty, was it a doctor or surgeon, etc, and these theories and suspicions all play really well into the story.

Along with this there is some royal posturing taking place that also serves to cast suspicions and red herrings around the place.

What I really liked about this were all the little ways that this plays delves into the Victorian era and takes a spotlight to the sort of things that were intensely popular at the time – such as over the top ostentation and elaborate funerals. There is the intense disparity between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. The Queen here seems to rule with an iron rod and certainly doesn’t seem to find much to amuse her. Some members of the royal family seem to take their responsibilities very lightly indeed. There’s the murders and the red herrings and it’s all wrapped up with a sort of light and sometimes almost absurd comedy of manners style that gives it a lovely feel – it seriously could become quite dark and gothic with all the focus on cadavers, murders, ghostly apparitions, graveyards and grave robbings, poverty and fog bound streets and so I have to say that I appreciated the injection of gallows type humour.

In terms of criticisms – very little really. I don’t think I’ve totally got on board with Sibylla yet – which isn’t to say I disliked her but I’m just not quite on side with her yet – although I really did appreciate that she grudgingly took on the pampered princess role. As it was I much preferred Roger’s chapters so that did sometimes make me race to get to those parts in particular. That being said, it was the Princess’s chapters that brought the delightful comedy of manners side to the read.

Overall though, I really enjoyed this gaslamp fantasy and I’m keen to read whatever comes next and learn more about the magic and the strange rituals such as binding criminals to members of Royalty, Given the ending here I suspect the next book will give much more opportunity to travel further afield with both Roger and Sibylla.



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

• Title: The Resurecctionist of Caligo
• Author: Wendy Trimboli
• Series: Legends of the Condor Book 1
• Pages: 360
• Genre: Historical Fantasy
• Rating Out of 5 Stars: 3.5

My Thoughts: This was such an odd book. When I first read the synopsis I was expecting a gas-lamp/ steampunk murder mystery with a male and female tag team. What I got was book that was trying to mesh together two different story styles. While it didn’t fully mesh and work out, I did enjoy my time reading it.
We have two protagonists with Princess Sibylla and grave robber/med student in training Roger Weathersby. One of the corpses Roger sells ends up possibly being a murder victim. When the body starts showing signs similar to others and strange mushrooms are being grown and harvested from these corpses things really start getting interesting.
Sibylla and Roger were childhood friends, he worked in the palace she was the princess who took a liking to him. When it comes to parts her of the story, it felt like a high fantasy. The majority of the characters have fanciful names, the royal family has magic in their veins that allow them elemental controls. She’s set to be married off and doesn’t want to be but a foreign prince makes her change her mind..you get the idea. She really plays a minor role in the overall scheme of things which I don't mind. I found her to be extremely whiny.
Now on Roger’s side of the story, the characters all have fairly standard names, the environments all run in the Victorian /gas-lamp era setting even with the few fantastical elements. His actions guide most of the story and the solving of the mystery. It’s not until around the last 25% of the story that the two come together to work on the investigation. I really enjoyed Roger as a character and the path that he took. The interaction of him with Sibylla I could have done without. I think the mystery could have been implemented without having her personal story-arc involved.
While this was not at all what I anticipated, I’m not mad about it. It was quick, interesting read and the cover is gorgeous.

The Resurrectionist of Caligo by Wendy Trimboli and Alicia Zaloga is, I believe, the debut novel of both coauthors. It's a fantasy-Victorian-era/gas-lamp fantasy novel about a princess and a "resurrectionist" who (illegally) digs up bodies to sell to doctors and medical students. Also, it has a gorgeous cover, which I urge you to zoom in on if you haven't already.

With a murderer on the loose, it's up to an enlightened bodysnatcher and a rebellious princess to save the city, in this wonderfully inventive Victorian-tinged fantasy noir.

"Man of Science" Roger Weathersby scrapes out a risky living digging up corpses for medical schools. When he's framed for the murder of one of his cadavers, he's forced to trust in the superstitions he's always rejected: his former friend, princess Sibylla, offers to commute Roger's execution in a blood magic ritual which will bind him to her forever. With little choice, he finds himself indentured to Sibylla and propelled into an investigation. There's a murderer loose in the city of Caligo, and the duo must navigate science and sorcery, palace intrigue and dank boneyards to catch the butcher before the killings tear their whole country apart.

This book is set in a world where the nobility (and especially royalty) has magic, technology is roughly early-Victorian, and class and poverty divides are stark. Our low-class protagonist, Roger, wants to be a surgeon, but can't afford the tuition fees. He also becomes interested in a string of murders after stumbling over an unusual dead body and wants to solve them, getting himself framed in the process. The princess Sibylla, meanwhile, was a childhood friend-then-lover of his, but is mostly consumed by her own typical problems, like a forced betrothal to her annoying cousin. Their stories don't directly intersect until quite late in the book, which I found a little disappointing. I kept waiting for a dramatic reconnection, but it was pushed back surprisingly far.

I found the start of the book a little slow. This was exacerbated by the fact that the blurb summarises a large swath of the story and I was more than half-way through the book by the time I felt like I'd caught up with the expectations the blurb had set. Also, while Roger was trying to solve the murder mystery, it wasn't so much his cleverness that helped him with the day as luck, always a disappointing plot twist.

Overall, this book was OK. It took me a while to get into it and the resolution was interesting but not executed the way I expected. There's also a spoilery thing near the end which made me raise an eyebrow for the lack of exploration given to it and was an unpleasant note to leave on. That said, the story is self-contained but the end set up a potential sequel which could be an interesting read. I would certainly consider picking it up if it comes to exist. I recommend this book to fans of gas-lamp fantasy and Victorian-ish settings. Also, corpses.

3.5 / 5 stars

First published: September 2019, Angry Robot
Series: Not yet but maybe?
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley