Soulless
| Title: | Soulless |
| Author: | Gail Carriger |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Series: | Alexia Tarabotti (1) |
| Copyright: | 2009 |
| Ranking: | Good |
| LibraryThing: | Title:Soulless ISBN:978-0-316-05663-2 (Add Book) |
Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.
Thoughts
This reminds me of Sorcery And Cecelia Or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot; a period piece with magic and Society manners and a touch of romance. Note that I wouldn't call it a "Paranormal Romance" because I've learned that with those, the Romance is the most important part of the plot, while here there is a proper plot and world-building.
I do like the world-building. It's an interesting take on Vampires and Werewolves, where they are neither evil nor diseased, but where they have their own culture. The thing that makes me smile is the idea that artistic persons (whether that be thespians, artists, musicians etc) are likely to have an excess of soul.
I think the author has managed to capture Our Heroine's lack of soul pretty well - she's pragmatic and has no appreciation for art, and she's perfectly aware of this. I liked the way that the author, in the climax, managed to portray both the horror of what the villains were doing, and their self-righteous callousness.
However, I wouldn't call this a page-turner. It was enjoyable, but I wouldn't rave about it. I'm still going to read the next book, but I'm not in a hurry to.