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The Raven Ladies #2
The Steam-Powered Sniper in the City of Broken Bridges
ASIN B008741XXY moved to the more recent edition
Claudia Marceau, sniper extraordinaire and notorious flirt, has grown bored with Tombstone and the Lazy Ravens as a whole. With her unrequited crush on the gunfighter Fiona Bishop growing ever more impossible after the inclusion of Gieo into the mix, she has found temporary comfort in the arms of the White Queen Veronica. But what she really wants is out—out of Tombstone, out of the Ravens, out of the range of the romance she can’t have. On the tumultuous last night, with Tombstone burning down around her, she makes her escape into the desert night to seek out the father she is certain still lives and the freedom she craves.
Her years of experience as a scout and survivor serve her well on a tremendous journey through the post apocalyptic wasteland where she takes counsel from a scorched Owl, slays a rising caste of Slark, and survives an encounter with an army of mutants that forever changes her and the fortunes of humanity.
When she arrives in the City of Broken Bridges that arose from the ashes of San Francisco, she finds her father not only lives, but has become a powerful warlord charged with protecting the most technologically advanced city in human history.
The maudlin French Canadian heroine becomes embroiled in a love tangle with a British sailor, a Scottish footballer, and the world’s last donut shop girl. In a landscape filled with man-eating trees, giant god-like robots, and vile mutants, Claudia strives to find a moment’s peace before the Lazy Ravens make their push to the west coast and claim a city with more secrets than people.
Claudia Marceau, sniper extraordinaire and notorious flirt, has grown bored with Tombstone and the Lazy Ravens as a whole. With her unrequited crush on the gunfighter Fiona Bishop growing ever more impossible after the inclusion of Gieo into the mix, she has found temporary comfort in the arms of the White Queen Veronica. But what she really wants is out—out of Tombstone, out of the Ravens, out of the range of the romance she can’t have. On the tumultuous last night, with Tombstone burning down around her, she makes her escape into the desert night to seek out the father she is certain still lives and the freedom she craves.
Her years of experience as a scout and survivor serve her well on a tremendous journey through the post apocalyptic wasteland where she takes counsel from a scorched Owl, slays a rising caste of Slark, and survives an encounter with an army of mutants that forever changes her and the fortunes of humanity.
When she arrives in the City of Broken Bridges that arose from the ashes of San Francisco, she finds her father not only lives, but has become a powerful warlord charged with protecting the most technologically advanced city in human history.
The maudlin French Canadian heroine becomes embroiled in a love tangle with a British sailor, a Scottish footballer, and the world’s last donut shop girl. In a landscape filled with man-eating trees, giant god-like robots, and vile mutants, Claudia strives to find a moment’s peace before the Lazy Ravens make their push to the west coast and claim a city with more secrets than people.
321 pages, ebook
First published May 20, 2012
8 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
Cassandra Duffy
14 books84 followersCassandra Duffy spent most of her childhood being precocious, which stopped being entertaining or impressive when she grew into an adult, at which point she had to start being precious. After being an outcast child prodigy it was no surprise when she graduated from one of the many fine University of California schools a year early to follow her girlfriend in a cross country move.
She writes a free-lance sex advice column found in various lesbian magazines and dating websites. Her short story collections and novels can be found on her website.
Two of her greatest prides are being a true California girl and author of some truly naughty things. She is a dutiful partially-Asian daughter who is beloved by her fairly traditional Korean father who thinks having a gay daughter is just fine as long as she keeps playing coed flag football. She is a stereotypical younger sister, and an adoring aunt of a hilarious little boy. Being a modern techno-freak, gamer-girl, she spent most of her childhood dreaming of being a video game designer, but changed her mind and brought her dreams of world building and story-weaving to writing unique romance novels.
Cassandra is a gleefully monogamous girlfriend to an earthbound goddess who was once her high school bully, but has done a magnificent job of making up for all the school girl nastiness ever since. When she isn't being an avid fang girl (vampire fan girl) or tormenting people in online gaming, she lives and writes in Winter Park, Florida with her partner and soul mate Nichole and their two cats: Dragon and Josephine.
She writes a free-lance sex advice column found in various lesbian magazines and dating websites. Her short story collections and novels can be found on her website.
Two of her greatest prides are being a true California girl and author of some truly naughty things. She is a dutiful partially-Asian daughter who is beloved by her fairly traditional Korean father who thinks having a gay daughter is just fine as long as she keeps playing coed flag football. She is a stereotypical younger sister, and an adoring aunt of a hilarious little boy. Being a modern techno-freak, gamer-girl, she spent most of her childhood dreaming of being a video game designer, but changed her mind and brought her dreams of world building and story-weaving to writing unique romance novels.
Cassandra is a gleefully monogamous girlfriend to an earthbound goddess who was once her high school bully, but has done a magnificent job of making up for all the school girl nastiness ever since. When she isn't being an avid fang girl (vampire fan girl) or tormenting people in online gaming, she lives and writes in Winter Park, Florida with her partner and soul mate Nichole and their two cats: Dragon and Josephine.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 19, 2017
For the most part, I found this to be a frustrating read and I'd rate this somewhere between 2.5 - 3 stars.
In this second book in the series we mainly follow Claudia's adventure, the petite sniper we met in 'The Gunfighter and the Gear-head'. She's on a quest to find her father who she was separated from seven years previously when the alien race, the Slark, attacked Earth.
I'll say this, the very best part of the book is the last 30% of it followed by the 2nd best part of the book which is the first 20%. I wish the middle could be completely gutted and reduced to about 50 pages instead of the approximately 150 pages it is.
The first 20% has Claudia attempting to get to San Francisco and what she encounters on the way. The story is completely in her point of view and, though it could use a little help from an editor, the story is there and fairly good.
Once Claudia reaches San Francisco though, argh, I had problems. My complaints are several. Main plot points fall into place way too easily, then Claudia becomes a more dislikable character as the story goes on because she's so adrift and callous, narrative-wise there is way more description of action and circumstances than I'd ever like to know, and the relationship between her and her father was just odd in that they spent very little time together once they were reacquainted. As a reader I was wondering who or what I should be invested in because the plot and Claudia felt looser...harder for me to hold on to, I mean.
In general, this book seemed to have a lot less dialogue and much more internal monologuing or description which I didn't care for. Yes, Claudia is completely on her own in the first 20% of the book, with the exception of various individuals she meets along her journey, so that internal monologuing was fitting and okay. But once we're in San Francisco and she's in the presence of others we're still stuck with a lot of description/history which didn't interest me. The story and writing are at their best when the characters are working with and bouncing off of each other.
Claudia is a character that doesn't seem to change from the beginning of the book to the end. And, for me, this made her less attractive because I wanted her to change and evolve. I *think* though that it was the author's intention to keep Claudia the same because some of the other characters as well as herself acknowledge that Claudia is what she is...that was my interpretation, anyway.
There are two new female protagonists introduced in the book, Olivia and Esme. Initially, they are treated as minor characters but they take on bigger roles as the book progresses. Why the book shines in the last 30% is due to much tighter writing and all of the interactions between her characters, especially with Olivia and Esme. They're just more likable and relatable people with appropriate emotions and foibles. This section of the book also felt more polished and had the rhythm I was looking for...
So, yeah, overall a grating read that was redeemed in the last third of the book.
In this second book in the series we mainly follow Claudia's adventure, the petite sniper we met in 'The Gunfighter and the Gear-head'. She's on a quest to find her father who she was separated from seven years previously when the alien race, the Slark, attacked Earth.
I'll say this, the very best part of the book is the last 30% of it followed by the 2nd best part of the book which is the first 20%. I wish the middle could be completely gutted and reduced to about 50 pages instead of the approximately 150 pages it is.
The first 20% has Claudia attempting to get to San Francisco and what she encounters on the way. The story is completely in her point of view and, though it could use a little help from an editor, the story is there and fairly good.
Once Claudia reaches San Francisco though, argh, I had problems. My complaints are several. Main plot points fall into place way too easily, then Claudia becomes a more dislikable character as the story goes on because she's so adrift and callous, narrative-wise there is way more description of action and circumstances than I'd ever like to know, and the relationship between her and her father was just odd in that they spent very little time together once they were reacquainted. As a reader I was wondering who or what I should be invested in because the plot and Claudia felt looser...harder for me to hold on to, I mean.
In general, this book seemed to have a lot less dialogue and much more internal monologuing or description which I didn't care for. Yes, Claudia is completely on her own in the first 20% of the book, with the exception of various individuals she meets along her journey, so that internal monologuing was fitting and okay. But once we're in San Francisco and she's in the presence of others we're still stuck with a lot of description/history which didn't interest me. The story and writing are at their best when the characters are working with and bouncing off of each other.
Claudia is a character that doesn't seem to change from the beginning of the book to the end. And, for me, this made her less attractive because I wanted her to change and evolve. I *think* though that it was the author's intention to keep Claudia the same because some of the other characters as well as herself acknowledge that Claudia is what she is...that was my interpretation, anyway.
There are two new female protagonists introduced in the book, Olivia and Esme. Initially, they are treated as minor characters but they take on bigger roles as the book progresses. Why the book shines in the last 30% is due to much tighter writing and all of the interactions between her characters, especially with Olivia and Esme. They're just more likable and relatable people with appropriate emotions and foibles. This section of the book also felt more polished and had the rhythm I was looking for...
So, yeah, overall a grating read that was redeemed in the last third of the book.
June 24, 2013
What an impressive world Duffy has created! This is the second book in the Raven Ladies series, but I read it last. Partly because I was super excited to continue Fiona and Gieo's adventures right away, but also because after reading reviews of this the heroine didn't sound like she would interest me. Claudia is bisexual and has a romance with a male and that's something I'm not interested in spending my time on. I read lesbian books for lesbian relationships and I can see straight relationships anywhere. I finally picked this up because I was interested in the world of the books and no matter what, Duffy is a great writer.
Well I was partly right that Claudia didn't capture much of my interest, but it turns out she's only one of the leads. The story is much bigger than just her and it turns out she isn't the the romantic focus of the story. A beautiful lesbian relationship does happen and grows sweetly and quite unexpectedly. Another lead Olivia, was awesome and right up my alley. And there are many more well defined and interesting characters in the mix.
Beyond that, Duffy just continues to be a wonderful, funny writer with a deep imagination. Characters have a lot of depth and things constantly surprise you. The Raven Ladies organization is an amazing idea of female empowerment and far more sympathetic than first impressions make them seem. She also writes great action scenes that would fit well in any summer blockbuster. She has fleshed out the whole world to a great degree and I just can't wait for the next in the series.
Well I was partly right that Claudia didn't capture much of my interest, but it turns out she's only one of the leads. The story is much bigger than just her and it turns out she isn't the the romantic focus of the story. A beautiful lesbian relationship does happen and grows sweetly and quite unexpectedly. Another lead Olivia, was awesome and right up my alley. And there are many more well defined and interesting characters in the mix.
Beyond that, Duffy just continues to be a wonderful, funny writer with a deep imagination. Characters have a lot of depth and things constantly surprise you. The Raven Ladies organization is an amazing idea of female empowerment and far more sympathetic than first impressions make them seem. She also writes great action scenes that would fit well in any summer blockbuster. She has fleshed out the whole world to a great degree and I just can't wait for the next in the series.
January 10, 2013
This is the sequel to The Gunfighter and The Gear-Head and it's less lesbian romance than that one. It follows sniper Claudia as she searches for her father and ends up in what's left of San Francisco. It's much more steampunk sci-fi meets Independence Day with a touch of cylons/borg than romance novel. It didn't feel as focused and was less developed than the first one (some things were just too convenient and the characters less fleshed out) but I enjoyed it for what it was. And please, please, Cassandra, get a decent editor or ask a literate friend to give it a once over. There's no excuse for the typos and stumbling over grammar in a second book.
September 16, 2013
Steam-Powered Sniper is another fantastic read by Cassandra Duffy! If you read The Gunfighter and the Gear-Head first (which you should), you might be thrown for a bit because this book follows one of the minor characters from that book (Claudia Marceau) in a completely different direction all her own. Searching for her father on a rather vague clue, she encounters a bizarre landscape filled with mutants, alien generals, killer trees, giant robots, and donut shop girls (okay only one of those) on her quest. Duffy's sense of character, action, and world-building really create a fun and interesting read out of one of the craziest genre-bending mashups I've ever read. Sexy, funny, and at times tragic, I can't wait to read the 3rd installment.
August 11, 2019
Not nearly as good as the first
I have a major problem with authors who start a series introduce you to characters, that you expect to follow into the second, well that didn't happen. She took a very minor character from book one to start book two. You could probably even skip this book. She brought in more characters limiting the development of the main character, focusing the other minor characters. The story was broken convoluted and at times boring. Having said all of that I can only think of one redeeming possibility and the would be to bring the characters of book 1 and mix them with book 3 and tie it all together so you have something that makes since.
I have a major problem with authors who start a series introduce you to characters, that you expect to follow into the second, well that didn't happen. She took a very minor character from book one to start book two. You could probably even skip this book. She brought in more characters limiting the development of the main character, focusing the other minor characters. The story was broken convoluted and at times boring. Having said all of that I can only think of one redeeming possibility and the would be to bring the characters of book 1 and mix them with book 3 and tie it all together so you have something that makes since.
February 2, 2017
***1/2
This book mostly came together for me in the last third. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that the setting isn't as much fun as the first one (Sci-fi Western as apposed to post-apocalyptic urban warfare), and the characters don't really hold their own quite the way the self-doubting but hardened Fiona, and the excitable and confident Gieo do.
Claudia's a bit of a misery, and Esme didn't really have anything to offer until the last third. Olivia was cool throughout though.
Also, some of the set-ups - like the way we're supposed to accept the general shrugging in answer to what the Transcendeds (Giant Robots) are about, left me a little frustrated. Also a few early on coincidences annoyed me.
All told though, I think this is a more solid book than the last one.
I do like Duffy's writing. She pulls together some nice action set pieces and the world she's created, and the way the people she's filled it with behave do feel real.
This book mostly came together for me in the last third. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that the setting isn't as much fun as the first one (Sci-fi Western as apposed to post-apocalyptic urban warfare), and the characters don't really hold their own quite the way the self-doubting but hardened Fiona, and the excitable and confident Gieo do.
Claudia's a bit of a misery, and Esme didn't really have anything to offer until the last third. Olivia was cool throughout though.
Also, some of the set-ups - like the way we're supposed to accept the general shrugging in answer to what the Transcendeds (Giant Robots) are about, left me a little frustrated. Also a few early on coincidences annoyed me.
All told though, I think this is a more solid book than the last one.
I do like Duffy's writing. She pulls together some nice action set pieces and the world she's created, and the way the people she's filled it with behave do feel real.
November 2, 2012
I was reluctant to purchase this ebook as I only found it available through the large retailers and I prefer smaller indy houses, but I caved as her first book was good (purchased through the indy smashwords) and this character was from the first book and seemed promising. I really enjoyed the first half of this book, and it deserved 4 stars, but the character seemed to loose herself a little past the halfway point. At that point the book seemed to lose focus and that's why it earned only 3 stars. New characters were introduced that had interesting histories and lives but there was no clear direction and their stories began to usurp the main character's. There was the potential for this book to have been better. I liked all the characters, even the unsavory ones, and I hope we can meet them again, or others like them, but I need a strong plot/story line to show them off.
October 29, 2013
Tripe. Fevered, amateurish writing.
Read, together with the first book of the series, by request for an honest opinion. Although I promised to read the entire series before judging, this is a promise I am going to have to break.
Read, together with the first book of the series, by request for an honest opinion. Although I promised to read the entire series before judging, this is a promise I am going to have to break.
September 10, 2014
Not the same as the first one at all. Story continues with new characters but the genre is totally different. There was a lot more sad than fun this time around.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews