I've been looking for a book that reminds me of the Iron Seas series every since I read the first book a few years ago, finally I've found one that measures up to it. Too much too soon, HER SKY COWBOY never got off the ground for me. Rather than absorbing the world organically, I felt like I was cramming for a test that was coming too soon (every time Ciotta changed to the villain’s POV, I felt like I was scrambling to apply all that I had learned so I could give a damn about his plots). I was already struggling to adjust to the Victorian-flavored dialog, having to comb through dense paragraphs of politics and factions brought the narrative grinding to a halt. Freaks and Flatliners and Peace Rebels, Ciotta took an interesting concept and just about rammed it down my throat. My sticking point with HER SKY COWBOY was the world building.
And underneath the flowery period jargon, both Amelia and Tuck seemed like they’d develop into real, relateable characters. The supporting characters were interesting, if not particularly deep. I was a little disappointed that the only overt manifestation of her mechanical skill was whacking things with a wrench, but I presume she’s get a chance to dazzle later on in the book. I like Amelia once she was on board with Tuck and his crew. HER SKY COWBOY has glimmers of goodness, and I made it about 100 pages in before giving up. Gail Carringer’s Parasol Protectorate series is the only one of the lighter, more overtly comical series that I made it through (and that can be contributed to how often I laughed out loud). For the most part, I seem to gravitate to darker versions of the genre, Meljean Brook’s Iron Seas or Lilith Saintcrow’s Bannon & Clare. Steampunk can be a tricky business, and I'll be the first to admit that I'm persnickety about what I like.
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