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Bianca: The Silver Age
It's the Age of the Paladins... The age of the so-called "Vigil-ebrities" who fight crime and protect the innocent as the world tries to recover from economic collapse. And on the streets of Bohemia, Bianca is trying to find answers to her unique chemistry. She's a succubus, forever trapped in a cycle of lust and violence that affects her very survival. But when she looks into the murder of a chemist responsible for the latest addictive gel, the trail leads to exotic cities, new allies and sinister criminal enemies, and a corporate conspiracy that threatens everyone on Earth. By the end of her journey, Bianca will join the ranks of the most famous Paladins in the world: Orson Hawkwood, the leader of Defenders Without Borders, the enigmatic Clerfayt, detective avenger of Paris, Thelonius Minh, the peculiar "shrink to the stars" and master of combat yoga, Makeda Falosade, the Bandit Queen, and the creepy, disturbingly powerful Plague Man. Enter the Silver Age and join a unique heroine on her first exciting quest!
266 pages, Paperback
First published March 23, 2011
18 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 10, 2012
(Cross-posted from Adarna SF)
Bianca: The Silver Age is a sexy piece of superhero fiction. Bianca is a bisexual succubus, stalking through the streets of Bohemia in hakama pants and a bolero jacket with nothing but a bra beneath. She has super strength, healing powers, and shapeshifting abilities, and she’s on the quest to unravel a corporate conspiracy to find the truth about her origins.
I adore the world; it’s best described as an urban fantasy that takes place in the future. It’s enchanting and cosmopolitan, and this is reflected in both the prose style and the characters. One noteworthy superhero is Orson Hawkwood, who is essentially a cooler Bruce Wayne if he were a famous tech and PR savvy journalist:
[Millionaire philanthropist. Muckraking reporter and blogger. Paladin. His working clothes had become almost a signature uniform: the light linen suit with the classic suspenders, the double hourglass of the bowtie never tied around the open collar, as if he were fresh from a formal dinner party.]
He’s also in charge of Defenders Without Borders, an organization of “doctors, nurses, lawyers, child psychologists and social workers—all trained by the UN before its collapse—made up a task force of muckraking reporters and investigators.” And these Defenders run around in understated 1920s business suits. I don’t know about you, but I’d take them over Bat Family any day.
Another strength of this book are the links it makes between the criminal and the political. When their investigation leads them to Sudan, Orson resists involvement in internal politics. A local superhero, the Bandit Queen, criticizes him. “Same old Orson. You think you can show up, blow a police whistle and go after a mugger while the real pirates go merrily on with business.” It’s refreshing to see these concepts explored so courageously.
I have a number of criticisms. I was skeptical of the alchemy science (magic) in this book. Magic systems don’t need to be elaborated with overwhelming detail (in most cases, under-explaining is better than over-explaining). I didn’t find the alchemy-related explanations believable and yet they affect large portions of the plot. It sometimes felt arbitrary and it took me out of the story. Bianca’s motivation for her quest could have been more convincing, and it was difficult to follow the investigation—hampering the reading experience.
My favourite part of the book was the beginning when Bianca works solo while meeting the other heroes. Unfortunately, when she begins to work with them, she is often overshadowed by her colleagues. It she didn’t lose out in the superpower lottery and she’s good at beating up the bad guys, but much of the progress of the investigation depends on the deductive skills of others—and she ends up playing an oddly passive role for a book named after her. There’s nothing wrong with that dynamic if this is about a superhero group, but this book is supposed to be focused on her, and she should have sat in the driver’s seat more often.
While Bianca is seductive in some ways, it was an uneven experience and I wasn’t captivated by the main storyline. It’s not the greatest read, but the promising world-setting and the ideas that it explores within the superhero genre makes it stand out. I recommend it to readers who value innovative concepts over a tight plot, and can suspend their disbelief for the fantastical pseudo-science that often comes with superhero fiction. I’d consider checking out the sequel coming out this year.
Note: a free review copy was provided by the author.
Bianca: The Silver Age is a sexy piece of superhero fiction. Bianca is a bisexual succubus, stalking through the streets of Bohemia in hakama pants and a bolero jacket with nothing but a bra beneath. She has super strength, healing powers, and shapeshifting abilities, and she’s on the quest to unravel a corporate conspiracy to find the truth about her origins.
I adore the world; it’s best described as an urban fantasy that takes place in the future. It’s enchanting and cosmopolitan, and this is reflected in both the prose style and the characters. One noteworthy superhero is Orson Hawkwood, who is essentially a cooler Bruce Wayne if he were a famous tech and PR savvy journalist:
[Millionaire philanthropist. Muckraking reporter and blogger. Paladin. His working clothes had become almost a signature uniform: the light linen suit with the classic suspenders, the double hourglass of the bowtie never tied around the open collar, as if he were fresh from a formal dinner party.]
He’s also in charge of Defenders Without Borders, an organization of “doctors, nurses, lawyers, child psychologists and social workers—all trained by the UN before its collapse—made up a task force of muckraking reporters and investigators.” And these Defenders run around in understated 1920s business suits. I don’t know about you, but I’d take them over Bat Family any day.
Another strength of this book are the links it makes between the criminal and the political. When their investigation leads them to Sudan, Orson resists involvement in internal politics. A local superhero, the Bandit Queen, criticizes him. “Same old Orson. You think you can show up, blow a police whistle and go after a mugger while the real pirates go merrily on with business.” It’s refreshing to see these concepts explored so courageously.
I have a number of criticisms. I was skeptical of the alchemy science (magic) in this book. Magic systems don’t need to be elaborated with overwhelming detail (in most cases, under-explaining is better than over-explaining). I didn’t find the alchemy-related explanations believable and yet they affect large portions of the plot. It sometimes felt arbitrary and it took me out of the story. Bianca’s motivation for her quest could have been more convincing, and it was difficult to follow the investigation—hampering the reading experience.
My favourite part of the book was the beginning when Bianca works solo while meeting the other heroes. Unfortunately, when she begins to work with them, she is often overshadowed by her colleagues. It she didn’t lose out in the superpower lottery and she’s good at beating up the bad guys, but much of the progress of the investigation depends on the deductive skills of others—and she ends up playing an oddly passive role for a book named after her. There’s nothing wrong with that dynamic if this is about a superhero group, but this book is supposed to be focused on her, and she should have sat in the driver’s seat more often.
While Bianca is seductive in some ways, it was an uneven experience and I wasn’t captivated by the main storyline. It’s not the greatest read, but the promising world-setting and the ideas that it explores within the superhero genre makes it stand out. I recommend it to readers who value innovative concepts over a tight plot, and can suspend their disbelief for the fantastical pseudo-science that often comes with superhero fiction. I’d consider checking out the sequel coming out this year.
Note: a free review copy was provided by the author.
August 20, 2011
Y’all know how I like a woman who can stand on her own two feet and who can kick ass when needed and not hide in a corner or behind a man? Well if you like that as well than you will most definitely like Bianca: The Silver Age, trust me on that. Sci-fi setting or not, this book was a fresh wind through my read booklist a while back. Let me see if I can tell you why this book rocks!
Jeff Pearce is a not so well know author yet, but he sure knows his way around words. When he wrote Bianca, he wrote a book with an original setting – well at least to me – a cast of unique characters and an action adventure mystery story that will keep you on the edge of your seat!
This story is mainly about Bianca and the friends she collects along the way. She’s most definitely not your average kinda gal in a post-economic apocalypse world that is called ‘The Age of the Paladins’ – crime fighters who protect those who need protecting. She’s a succubus. Yes, you heard that right, she lives of sex - she has to maintain a balance or go insane. Despite that, she is independent and smart, has skills and wit and a soft side. She doesn’t just give up. She becomes entangled in a dark plot. Together with others she has to get to the bottom of it and soon! People are dying!
The writing is very good. The author creates a world that is not just your typical sci-fi setting with some stock characters. While there is a big evil, that is not just the main focus of the story. The author not only creates an original world and knows how to populate it; he creates character with some unique skills too. Combat Yoga anyone? It’s enough to make this story believable, fun and not far-fetched!
I’m not a real big fan of sci-fi, but this book is GOOD. It’s sci-fi with a dark edge. I really enjoyed reading it and I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author. So the conclusion: if you’re looking for something different and you like sci-fi and you want a kick-ass heroine? Then this book is most definitely for you! Go get it!
Jeff Pearce is a not so well know author yet, but he sure knows his way around words. When he wrote Bianca, he wrote a book with an original setting – well at least to me – a cast of unique characters and an action adventure mystery story that will keep you on the edge of your seat!
This story is mainly about Bianca and the friends she collects along the way. She’s most definitely not your average kinda gal in a post-economic apocalypse world that is called ‘The Age of the Paladins’ – crime fighters who protect those who need protecting. She’s a succubus. Yes, you heard that right, she lives of sex - she has to maintain a balance or go insane. Despite that, she is independent and smart, has skills and wit and a soft side. She doesn’t just give up. She becomes entangled in a dark plot. Together with others she has to get to the bottom of it and soon! People are dying!
The writing is very good. The author creates a world that is not just your typical sci-fi setting with some stock characters. While there is a big evil, that is not just the main focus of the story. The author not only creates an original world and knows how to populate it; he creates character with some unique skills too. Combat Yoga anyone? It’s enough to make this story believable, fun and not far-fetched!
I’m not a real big fan of sci-fi, but this book is GOOD. It’s sci-fi with a dark edge. I really enjoyed reading it and I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author. So the conclusion: if you’re looking for something different and you like sci-fi and you want a kick-ass heroine? Then this book is most definitely for you! Go get it!
March 3, 2012
I so wanted to like this book... I was very intrigued by what I'd read here and in other reviews about the overall concept and the unusual futuristic/post-apocalyptic setting. The setting was very well drawn. I found Biana a compelling character and liked the author's take on the succubus; sex is only a short-term fix for her, what she really needs to thrive is love, with the resultant melding of physical and creative energy. When denied that, her body literally transforms, becoming other as the pain of self is too much to handle. However, I was not prepared for the very explicit scenes of sex and violence. I dealt okay with threatened rape, some thoroughly described lovemaking, lots of drug-related issues, and a child rigged to explode as a literal living bomb. However, when I reached the part that describes Bianca half-torturing, half-pleasuring an auto-asphyxiatiant in order to get information from him, I stopped reading. If you enjoyed Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Game of Thrones, you probably won't find Bianca disturbing. If you don't enjoy that sort of thing, I recommend avoiding this book.
June 4, 2011
This novel has everything I want to see in a sci-fi/fantasy read. Overall the story creates a rich and complex world for the reader. It's easy to become immersed in the city of Bohemia. The feel of this book encompasses the originality of Watchmen but with edgier, sexy characters. Or it can be compared with the sheer cool of the Aeon Flux shorts. The characters are very developed, and contain some of the most real-feeling superheros I've ever become involved with in a story. And you will become very involved...Bianca is the ideal heroine. She's intelligent, cool, and a total ass kicker. Like all bad ass heroes, and in combination with being a succubus, she has a soft side. Her relationships are fascinating and don't take away from the plot. The other characters are delightfully original. Clerfayt for example, the detective vigil-ebrity, is a fantastic example of a well matched supporting character with a lot of interesting histories and quirks...Oh, and he's insanely sexy. Bottom line: This story reads like a Ferrari; fast, cutting-edge and just plain cool.
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May 13, 2011I edited this, so I'm not objective, but I enjoyed it. The superheroes and supervillains were colorful. The world-building was quite creative, I thought. This might especially appeal to those who read comic books.
May 16, 2011
Fast-paced, sexy, superhero sci-fi.
That's the best way to describe it. It's a bit like an adult's version of Justice League. The characters are very well written. Bianca is a a great heroine. I'm looking forward to the sequel!
That's the best way to describe it. It's a bit like an adult's version of Justice League. The characters are very well written. Bianca is a a great heroine. I'm looking forward to the sequel!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews