Sony Luvs Books

The Red Plague Affair the follow up to the Iron Wyrm Affair. Since their encounter with the Iron Wyrm both Bannon & Clare have drifted back into the pace of their own lives. At the beginning of TRPA* this time around we find our main characters both in the separate pursuit of nefarious characters.Archibald his nemesis Dr Vance, and Emma in sussing out traitors to Queen Victrix court –there is an uncomfortable moment when The Spirit of Britain question Victrix’s mother. On her recent plot in pursuing the throne.When the discovery is made of a dangerous plague. Once again Emma Bannon and Archibald Clare have found themselves thrown together in service of the crown, to thwart yet another fiend that threatens Londinium and its inhabitants. Sounds all good right and for the most part it is. I loved reading the new tension in Archibald and Emma’s friendship.Their out of sync and it’s represented in the misunderstandings in communication. And the sudden realization with hurt feelings that the opinion of the other matters more than they care to admit. And do I sense a love triangle between Mikael, Archibald and Emma, hmm I wonder. Her concerns over Mikal’s origins increase after an encounter with a former acquaintance. Adding more strain to the tenuous relationship that maybe brewing between them. Add these elements and the new threat and the drama beginning to take shape no one knows where it will lead. I believe that is what saves the story and keeps the reader interested.Writer Saintcrow’s descriptions of the world Londinium is of a hell’s paradise. Meaning just as they’re still places of beauty–there are others equally as ghastly that would fit well into hell’s decor. The smell, the atmosphere is convey in great description. Which leads me to the plot “The Red Plague” is a nasty piece of business. The idea of a plague used as a weapon of destruction isn’t new but the way writer Saintcrow spins this tale is interesting. I loved that we see more of Emma’s emotional side, and Clare’s reflective. The introduction of new characters: the biologist Morris, the prime that has been following Emma for a while, as well as the return of the second and third fiddle characters.All in all I gave The Red Plague Affair a three and half stars not quit worthy of my book shelf, but still better than average. What killed it for me was pacing though things were happening it felt dry to me the immediacy that often spurs on the plot was lacking here. Wish is disappointing because I know writer Sanitcrow is capable, and had won me over with her other series. Archibald’s obsession with Dr. Vance is never really explained. Unless I missed something so I couldn’t buy into it. Especially after the team up to stop Morris’s. The other gripe I had–the speed in which the victims of the plague are claimed. The infected dying within hours of being diagnosed, yet Clare and Vance survived beyond that point. And the cure a major plot point the facts of the cure are glossed over. The reader isn’t told any details or how it was discovered. Who is Lady Sellwyth?If you hadn’t read The Iron Wyrm Affair you wouldn’t have guessed they were referring to Emma Bannon, because she is only addressed by title once in this book. If you were not going to incorporate her title as another part of her character don’t address it at all. It just confuses the reader.These are among the reasons I gave TRPA a rating 3.5 out of 5. So here’s to hoping that the third installment will be much better than its predecessor. As The Red Plague Affair was better than The Iron Wyrm Affair.I recommend this book for historical fiction and steampunk fans, though some of the younger readers may be turned off by the character’s dialogue.3.5/ 5