Title: Something Strange and Deadly
Author: Susan Dennard
Series: Something Strange and Deadly #1
Genre: Steampunk/YA/Paranormal
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: July 24th, 2012
Edition: Kindle Edition, 405 pages
Source: Library
Synopsis:
There's something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia. . . .
Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about.
Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she's just read in the newspaper:
The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.
And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor . . . from her brother.
Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she'll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including the maddeningly stubborn yet handsome Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.
Review:
I wasn't exactly sure what to expect when I borrowed this book. I've never read a book by her before, but for a while now, it's been three months total but I showed up a little late to the party, there has been a twitter Choose your own adventure hive-mind story thread authored by her with the decisions decided via-twitter poll. It's been quite fun and funny.
Anyways, since I've enjoyed that so much and the wait time for the Truthwitch is SUPER long, and this book was available, I borrowed it. Let me tell you, this book was a lot of fun and very interesting.
Anyways, since I've enjoyed that so much and the wait time for the Truthwitch is SUPER long, and this book was available, I borrowed it. Let me tell you, this book was a lot of fun and very interesting.
Eleanor is a great character. I like her sass. I like how she's smart, but not perfect at everything. I appreciate how she's aware that most don't see her as a great beauty and while she does at times wish she was, she also doesn't seem too bothered by it in the long run. She's more concerned with the well being of her family than the opinion of others.
The Spirit-Hunters were great as well, Joseph was more of a background character than Jie and Daniel, even though he was the leader of the Spirit hunters. There isn't much I can say about Jie without spoiling the character. There's a mild mystery to the character, it's nothing major but it's enough that it's something I think is better discovering while reading the book. It adds an interesting dynamic between Jie and Eleanor.
Daniel, he's one of those rough around the edges harshly judges people based on past experiences kind of characters. I didn't much care for him at first, but he grew on me. I liked the way his character grew to respect Eleanor, it was a natural progression of his character.
This book is set in Turn of the Century Philadelphia, with Zombies and a splash of Steampunk tech. The clues of who the Necromancer was, were there the whole time, but I didn't catch on until the character who I thought it was turned up dead, then I felt like a fool for not noticing it sooner.
It might be a "me" thing, but I didn't really find this book scary. There are certainly moments that are meant to be scary, and while they were still creepy, I wasn't scared by them. If gore of any kind bothers you, I don't know how much you'll like parts of this book. Things are never described in overt detail, but if you have a vivid imagination and don't like gore, then this book might not be for you.
It's a lot of fun though, and the characters are great, and I love steampunk. I'm currently reading the Prequel short story (that has a scene of the end of the first book at the start so read it after reading the first book), and I am really enjoying it and can't wait to read the second book in the series.
The Spirit-Hunters were great as well, Joseph was more of a background character than Jie and Daniel, even though he was the leader of the Spirit hunters. There isn't much I can say about Jie without spoiling the character. There's a mild mystery to the character, it's nothing major but it's enough that it's something I think is better discovering while reading the book. It adds an interesting dynamic between Jie and Eleanor.
Daniel, he's one of those rough around the edges harshly judges people based on past experiences kind of characters. I didn't much care for him at first, but he grew on me. I liked the way his character grew to respect Eleanor, it was a natural progression of his character.
This book is set in Turn of the Century Philadelphia, with Zombies and a splash of Steampunk tech. The clues of who the Necromancer was, were there the whole time, but I didn't catch on until the character who I thought it was turned up dead, then I felt like a fool for not noticing it sooner.
It might be a "me" thing, but I didn't really find this book scary. There are certainly moments that are meant to be scary, and while they were still creepy, I wasn't scared by them. If gore of any kind bothers you, I don't know how much you'll like parts of this book. Things are never described in overt detail, but if you have a vivid imagination and don't like gore, then this book might not be for you.
It's a lot of fun though, and the characters are great, and I love steampunk. I'm currently reading the Prequel short story (that has a scene of the end of the first book at the start so read it after reading the first book), and I am really enjoying it and can't wait to read the second book in the series.
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