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The Society of Steam #3
Power Under Pressure
Steampunk superheroes in Victorian-era New York! The Society of Paragons is gonedestroyed from within by traitors and enemies. With the death of The Industrialist and the rebirth the Iron-Clad as a monstrous half-human creature known as The Shell, Lord Eschaton now has almost everything he needs to cover the world in fortified smoke and rebuild it in his imageeverything except for the mechanical heart of the Automaton.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
3 people are currently reading
327 people want to read
About the author
Andrew P. Mayer
11 books66 followersAndrew P. Mayer is an author and video game designer.
His first novel series, the acclaimed steampunk superhero trilogy, The Society of Steam, was published by Pyr books.
He has published two volumes of "The Fool", a cross-dimensional fantasy series, and is currently hard at work on a new epic fantasy series.
Andrew currently lives in Portland, Oregon, where he crafts his novels on cloudy days.
His first novel series, the acclaimed steampunk superhero trilogy, The Society of Steam, was published by Pyr books.
He has published two volumes of "The Fool", a cross-dimensional fantasy series, and is currently hard at work on a new epic fantasy series.
Andrew currently lives in Portland, Oregon, where he crafts his novels on cloudy days.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 27, 2013
In THE FALLING MACHINE we were introduced to Sarah Stanton and her father's team of heroes called the Paragons. In the sequel HEARTS OF SMOKE AND STEAM Sarah's life changes as she learns the difficult truth of what it really means to become a Hero. In Andrew P. Mayer's exciting conclusion, POWER UNDER PRESSURE, Sarah must become the hero, or else watch the people and the city she loves fall to the machinations of the villainous Lord Eschaton.
Lord Eschaton's plans are coming to fruition. He wants to see the human race realize its glorious potential using his fortified smoke, even if it means making martyrs of New Yorkers in the process. His first experiment is Nathaniel, Sarah's step-brother, captured in the battle for the Hall of Paragons. Meanwhile Sarah and Emilio are trying to rebuild Tom the automaton, because they won't survive Lord Eschaton's plans without him. Unfortunately, Tom is not the same machine he was in FALLING, even making the loyal Sarah question his stability.
Mayer's development of the technology shines in POWER. Lord Eschaton and Emilio's experiments are really what drive the story, and it's interesting to watch the technology develop and evolve. One wouldn't think that a machine could change much over a series, but despite not seeing much of him in book two, Tom's transformation in book three is clever and explores fascinating ideas and possibilities.
If you haven't read the first two books, POWER won't have much appeal--there's too much back story and character development in order for it to make sense. FALLING and HEARTS are both satisfying reads, with an interesting cast of characters, and a well-drawn setting. Sure, as a first-time author, Mayer's books aren't without their flaws, but on the whole the series has been enjoyable. And by book three, Mayer's storytelling should be improving, right?
As a reviewer I try to give new authors leeway as they progress in their writing, because even though they're published, writers are still honing their craft. I remember Brent Weeks' first series, Night Angel, was fun and enthusiastic, but had serious new writer issues. He's since improved considerably. While Mayer has great ideas and fun characters, I didn't see any improvement with POWER; in fact, all the problems from the first two books only got worse in book three. POWER felt like Mayer pounded out everything he had as fast as he could and didn't bother to go back and revise it for plot/consistency/characterization.
To prevent repeating too many of my complaints about books one and two, I will provide for you a Reader's Digest version of all the books' issues: painfully slow plot buildup, PoV changes in action sequences that overlap chronologically and thereby slow down important events, predictable fights, repetitive and sometimes confusing characterization, clunky prose and trite dialogue.
I got through the first quarter of the book and began to wonder if book three was the end of the series as planned. I got halfway through and began to despair that it wasn't. Where was this plot headed? I couldn't tell. All the new PoVs indicated to me that Mayer was expanding the story, making it head into many other potential directions. Sure the secondary characters are interesting and I like what he did with them (there are too many to explore here in detail in order to explain), but the extra PoVs made the book lose its focus. By the end I'd lost my interest in the main characters, the climax (while exciting) was on the whole unimaginative and predictable, and the resolution left enough loose ends to hint at possible sequels. Not really the best way to wrap up a series.
Despite all the extra information about the cast of characters, we get the opposite problem with the city since the story is limited to a few locales, which is unfortunate. We get a taste of the era, but by this point the setting feels more like repetitive gripes about society's attitude toward women and minorities, and less about what it was like to live in 1880s New York City.
I wanted to like POWER, I really did. Mayer has created an interesting world by exploring how a new era of heroes rises from adversity and how personal ability and technology makes that happen--all while doing it in a fresh setting. Ultimately, though, Mayer didn't spend the time refining POWER UNDER PRESSURE to give the conclusion the series deserved.
Recommended Age: 16+ (more for the sexual references than for the violence)
Language: Not really any
Violence: Fighting, deaths, and torture, but not particularly graphic
Sex: Referenced
***Read this and other reviews at Elitist Book Reviews.***
Lord Eschaton's plans are coming to fruition. He wants to see the human race realize its glorious potential using his fortified smoke, even if it means making martyrs of New Yorkers in the process. His first experiment is Nathaniel, Sarah's step-brother, captured in the battle for the Hall of Paragons. Meanwhile Sarah and Emilio are trying to rebuild Tom the automaton, because they won't survive Lord Eschaton's plans without him. Unfortunately, Tom is not the same machine he was in FALLING, even making the loyal Sarah question his stability.
Mayer's development of the technology shines in POWER. Lord Eschaton and Emilio's experiments are really what drive the story, and it's interesting to watch the technology develop and evolve. One wouldn't think that a machine could change much over a series, but despite not seeing much of him in book two, Tom's transformation in book three is clever and explores fascinating ideas and possibilities.
If you haven't read the first two books, POWER won't have much appeal--there's too much back story and character development in order for it to make sense. FALLING and HEARTS are both satisfying reads, with an interesting cast of characters, and a well-drawn setting. Sure, as a first-time author, Mayer's books aren't without their flaws, but on the whole the series has been enjoyable. And by book three, Mayer's storytelling should be improving, right?
As a reviewer I try to give new authors leeway as they progress in their writing, because even though they're published, writers are still honing their craft. I remember Brent Weeks' first series, Night Angel, was fun and enthusiastic, but had serious new writer issues. He's since improved considerably. While Mayer has great ideas and fun characters, I didn't see any improvement with POWER; in fact, all the problems from the first two books only got worse in book three. POWER felt like Mayer pounded out everything he had as fast as he could and didn't bother to go back and revise it for plot/consistency/characterization.
To prevent repeating too many of my complaints about books one and two, I will provide for you a Reader's Digest version of all the books' issues: painfully slow plot buildup, PoV changes in action sequences that overlap chronologically and thereby slow down important events, predictable fights, repetitive and sometimes confusing characterization, clunky prose and trite dialogue.
I got through the first quarter of the book and began to wonder if book three was the end of the series as planned. I got halfway through and began to despair that it wasn't. Where was this plot headed? I couldn't tell. All the new PoVs indicated to me that Mayer was expanding the story, making it head into many other potential directions. Sure the secondary characters are interesting and I like what he did with them (there are too many to explore here in detail in order to explain), but the extra PoVs made the book lose its focus. By the end I'd lost my interest in the main characters, the climax (while exciting) was on the whole unimaginative and predictable, and the resolution left enough loose ends to hint at possible sequels. Not really the best way to wrap up a series.
Despite all the extra information about the cast of characters, we get the opposite problem with the city since the story is limited to a few locales, which is unfortunate. We get a taste of the era, but by this point the setting feels more like repetitive gripes about society's attitude toward women and minorities, and less about what it was like to live in 1880s New York City.
I wanted to like POWER, I really did. Mayer has created an interesting world by exploring how a new era of heroes rises from adversity and how personal ability and technology makes that happen--all while doing it in a fresh setting. Ultimately, though, Mayer didn't spend the time refining POWER UNDER PRESSURE to give the conclusion the series deserved.
Recommended Age: 16+ (more for the sexual references than for the violence)
Language: Not really any
Violence: Fighting, deaths, and torture, but not particularly graphic
Sex: Referenced
***Read this and other reviews at Elitist Book Reviews.***
August 30, 2018
This was a decent read for me. After the first two books I didn’t have too high expectations of it, but was still counting on an entertaining read. And that was exactly what I got.
The strong element in this book is the technology and the development of it. Tom changes and evolves throughout the series, something you rarely see in an automaton character. It is very cleverly done in this book, and explores interesting ideas.
This book very much follows the first two in its over-the-top everything. The dialogue is often quite cringy. People just don’t talk like that. I still do not know if that is just how Mayer writes or if it’s supposed to mimic, and slightly make fun of, the whole superhero genre. All the eccentric costumes, the insane super villain and the ridiculous names would suggest the latter. Still, I did have plenty of ‘Seriously?!’ moments which didn’t make it a better read.
Mayer also has a habit of telling certain events form several points of view, thereby slowing down the whole story to retell the exact same events, just from someone else’s eyes. Seeing as this mainly happens in action sequences, it doesn’t add anything to the story – it is the same punches that are being thrown.
We have POV’s of several characters, which were almost all interesting and I very much enjoyed all their story lines. Sarah is a wonderfully strong character. She gets out of a depression throughout the book, and ends up leading the society of steam into battle – even though frown upon by many, including her brother. Many of the secondary characters get their shining moments as well, not only the good guys but also the bad. It did all get a bit much at some point though, making me wonder how Mayer was going to wrap it up in a satisfactory manner. The ending was definitely epic, as might have been expected, and also fairly predictable.
Though this is a book with some definite issues, I still really enjoyed it and hope this wasn’t the final book in this world.
The strong element in this book is the technology and the development of it. Tom changes and evolves throughout the series, something you rarely see in an automaton character. It is very cleverly done in this book, and explores interesting ideas.
This book very much follows the first two in its over-the-top everything. The dialogue is often quite cringy. People just don’t talk like that. I still do not know if that is just how Mayer writes or if it’s supposed to mimic, and slightly make fun of, the whole superhero genre. All the eccentric costumes, the insane super villain and the ridiculous names would suggest the latter. Still, I did have plenty of ‘Seriously?!’ moments which didn’t make it a better read.
Mayer also has a habit of telling certain events form several points of view, thereby slowing down the whole story to retell the exact same events, just from someone else’s eyes. Seeing as this mainly happens in action sequences, it doesn’t add anything to the story – it is the same punches that are being thrown.
We have POV’s of several characters, which were almost all interesting and I very much enjoyed all their story lines. Sarah is a wonderfully strong character. She gets out of a depression throughout the book, and ends up leading the society of steam into battle – even though frown upon by many, including her brother. Many of the secondary characters get their shining moments as well, not only the good guys but also the bad. It did all get a bit much at some point though, making me wonder how Mayer was going to wrap it up in a satisfactory manner. The ending was definitely epic, as might have been expected, and also fairly predictable.
Though this is a book with some definite issues, I still really enjoyed it and hope this wasn’t the final book in this world.
November 5, 2017
Published 2013. #3 in the Society of Steam series and in some ways the best of them all. The writing is more mature and Mayer does some introspection on the issues of equality, humanity, race without a bludgeon. There's not actually as resolution to the topics but I felt this gave #3 a deeper sense of writing. I described #2 in the series as "transitional" and I think that is true to the series (not just as the middle book) as there are some glimmers of #3's heavier concepts there. While I can't say the series was completely satisfying, as much is left hanging (for a future volume?), as to make one feel it isn't complete. Perhaps Mayer will return to this world one day and show even a greater evolution on the themes he developed.
Tom...are you out there?
Tom...are you out there?
July 17, 2018
I have never been so relieved for a book series to end. The characters, though flawed, were seriously unlikable, including and especially Sarah Stanton. Her relationship with Emilio wasn't believable and I don't like how they were forced together. So many many people died, so many bad things happened, and it was almost unbearable trying to sit and read through it. There was no happy ending, nor was it bittersweet. It felt out of balance, and the only character I cared about, Tom, didn't get the ending he deserved. This whole book series just made me uneasy on the whole and gave me a bad feeling in my stomach after I finished it.
July 30, 2024
I enjoyed the series overall. Definitely kept me surprised and guessing, and I really enjoyed several of the ideas.
June 2, 2013
I really did enjoy this final installment of Mayer's "Society of Steam" trilogy. But I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous installments.
The negatives first: to me, this story felt far more disjointed than the previous editions. In part, I'm sure this is due to the expanded size of the cast and more points-of-view to be represented, but it feels like Mayer handled the transitions much smoother in HEARTS OF SMOKE AND STEAM. I noticed this disjointed feeling especially in the second half of the book, where we shift a great deal not just in point-of-view but also in time; cliffhangers from one chapter are not resolved in the next but rather several chapters later after long periods of character-time have passed. This is a classic comic-book device and I don't begrudge Mayer using it, but there were a couple of times where the timing of events doesn't seem to line up when you go back and track the characters through these mini-flashbacks.
[Spoiler (click to open)]
I also don't remember Mayer using the device quite so heavily in previous books.
I also felt like there was a heavy reliance on the insanity of Lord Eschathon as a plot device. Again, a classic comic book trope, and Mayer usually plays with these tropes capably. And again the problem crops up only in the second half of the book: Eschathon's insanity feels too conveniently escalated for not-very-clearly-explained reasons in the context of the events of the story (unless I missed something other than the off-hand assumption that his earlier injuries and fortified smoke inhalation led directly to his growing insanity; if that was the only explanation, then I think I wanted a bit more detail from someone's POV as to why one led to the other). Again, I feel like Mayer made a stronger and more character-centric case for Eschaton's insanity in book two.
Now, the positives: Sarah Stanton is still a wonderfully strong character. Yes, she's at a low-point at this point in the story, but she climbs back up very well once it becomes necessary. Just like Tony Stark's original battle with alcoholism in the comic books of the 80's, we needed to see Sarah at her lowest to clearly see her through to the woman we've known she could be. Nathaniel's journey throughout the book made me feel more positively towards him than I had in either of the previous books. Both the background revelations and character growth for Anubis were welcome and really well paced out for maximum effect. I would have welcomed a bit more background detail for Emilio and Viola (building on what we got in book two) but I was happier that we got to see character progression for both of them (and rather heart-breaking progression, at that). And what really impresses me is the attention to character arcs for the secondary characters. Jenny and Grusser in particular get some strong moments in the story, and several of the secondary villains, like Jack Knife and The White Knight, get almost as much detail provided as the main characters get. (Not that it makes The White Knight any more likeable, mind you, but at least it puts his behavior in some kind of context.)
While this is my least favorite book in the trilogy, I can honestly say I'd follow Andrew Mayer back to this world in a heart-beat. Whether he chooses to move forward with the Society of Steam or move backward to tell earlier stories of The Society of Paragons (in particular, I'd love to see some adventures of Sir Dennis Darby and The Sleuth), I'll be along for the ride.
The negatives first: to me, this story felt far more disjointed than the previous editions. In part, I'm sure this is due to the expanded size of the cast and more points-of-view to be represented, but it feels like Mayer handled the transitions much smoother in HEARTS OF SMOKE AND STEAM. I noticed this disjointed feeling especially in the second half of the book, where we shift a great deal not just in point-of-view but also in time; cliffhangers from one chapter are not resolved in the next but rather several chapters later after long periods of character-time have passed. This is a classic comic-book device and I don't begrudge Mayer using it, but there were a couple of times where the timing of events doesn't seem to line up when you go back and track the characters through these mini-flashbacks.
[Spoiler (click to open)]
I also don't remember Mayer using the device quite so heavily in previous books.
I also felt like there was a heavy reliance on the insanity of Lord Eschathon as a plot device. Again, a classic comic book trope, and Mayer usually plays with these tropes capably. And again the problem crops up only in the second half of the book: Eschathon's insanity feels too conveniently escalated for not-very-clearly-explained reasons in the context of the events of the story (unless I missed something other than the off-hand assumption that his earlier injuries and fortified smoke inhalation led directly to his growing insanity; if that was the only explanation, then I think I wanted a bit more detail from someone's POV as to why one led to the other). Again, I feel like Mayer made a stronger and more character-centric case for Eschaton's insanity in book two.
Now, the positives: Sarah Stanton is still a wonderfully strong character. Yes, she's at a low-point at this point in the story, but she climbs back up very well once it becomes necessary. Just like Tony Stark's original battle with alcoholism in the comic books of the 80's, we needed to see Sarah at her lowest to clearly see her through to the woman we've known she could be. Nathaniel's journey throughout the book made me feel more positively towards him than I had in either of the previous books. Both the background revelations and character growth for Anubis were welcome and really well paced out for maximum effect. I would have welcomed a bit more background detail for Emilio and Viola (building on what we got in book two) but I was happier that we got to see character progression for both of them (and rather heart-breaking progression, at that). And what really impresses me is the attention to character arcs for the secondary characters. Jenny and Grusser in particular get some strong moments in the story, and several of the secondary villains, like Jack Knife and The White Knight, get almost as much detail provided as the main characters get. (Not that it makes The White Knight any more likeable, mind you, but at least it puts his behavior in some kind of context.)
While this is my least favorite book in the trilogy, I can honestly say I'd follow Andrew Mayer back to this world in a heart-beat. Whether he chooses to move forward with the Society of Steam or move backward to tell earlier stories of The Society of Paragons (in particular, I'd love to see some adventures of Sir Dennis Darby and The Sleuth), I'll be along for the ride.
February 12, 2013
This is the third book of the Trilogy, and, yes, I read it first without reading the previous two. Why? Because my local book carrier didn't have book one of the series. They had book two and three, so I opted for three. To start, I was really excited to read a brand new steampunk novel, released only weeks into the year 2013. So, I went into reading it like a kid in a candy store. And I must say that the first 100 pages was not disappointing at all. I really enjoyed the technical side of the story as some of the characters worked on building a steam powered robot. Andrew P. Mayer did a great job describing how the robot was being built. He really made it come alive, and I was riveted with each word. It does help that I enjoy mechanics, such as working on my vehicle and other machines, but I believe that there is enough relationship drama happening while the characters are building the robot to keep anybody's interest.
I was also stoked to know that this book was written in a way that most superhero books are written. It is a book about steampunk superheros more or less, and I wasn't let down by the creativity and imagination of each of the characters and their super abilities.
I do have one criticism of the book as a whole. Andrew likes to put small bits of theology into his story as he writes. And I enjoyed the philosophies that he explored for the most part, but I did find them slowing the story down. The plot would have been driven at a more suitable pace if Andrew hadn't been so intent on explaining truths and theories on why life and people are they way they are.
Other than that, I really liked everything about the idea, the plot, and the characters. It was a lot of fun to read, and I believe Andrew should get five stars as a pioneer who is pushing the frontier of steampunk forward. His ideas and imagination worked excellent to develop a new type of superhero that I can definitely get in to. Great work Andrew!!!
I was also stoked to know that this book was written in a way that most superhero books are written. It is a book about steampunk superheros more or less, and I wasn't let down by the creativity and imagination of each of the characters and their super abilities.
I do have one criticism of the book as a whole. Andrew likes to put small bits of theology into his story as he writes. And I enjoyed the philosophies that he explored for the most part, but I did find them slowing the story down. The plot would have been driven at a more suitable pace if Andrew hadn't been so intent on explaining truths and theories on why life and people are they way they are.
Other than that, I really liked everything about the idea, the plot, and the characters. It was a lot of fun to read, and I believe Andrew should get five stars as a pioneer who is pushing the frontier of steampunk forward. His ideas and imagination worked excellent to develop a new type of superhero that I can definitely get in to. Great work Andrew!!!
July 21, 2013
I did enjoy this story and felt that it was a worthwhile read. I seemed a bit closer to a young adult story, bit there were a few adult themes that I think took it out of that catagory. some focus on death of enemies and the main character dealing with a family death.
I thought that the gadgetry was clever and the details about the "smoke" vs. "steam" was interesting.
I really liked the epilogue a lot! Very clever setup for a future trilogy!
I thought that the gadgetry was clever and the details about the "smoke" vs. "steam" was interesting.
I really liked the epilogue a lot! Very clever setup for a future trilogy!
March 24, 2016
This is the final book in the series. The story picks up the action of the previous book.
Sarah Stanton is recovering from the tragic loss of her father and the fall of the Society of Progress.
Mayer's plot skillfully combines influences from: "Deathly Hallows," Superman/Doomsday comic, Mary Shelly's: "Frankenstein," and Arthur C. Clark.
I liked that Mayer acknowledged the emerging Feminist movement at the end of the story.
Sarah Stanton is recovering from the tragic loss of her father and the fall of the Society of Progress.
Mayer's plot skillfully combines influences from: "Deathly Hallows," Superman/Doomsday comic, Mary Shelly's: "Frankenstein," and Arthur C. Clark.
I liked that Mayer acknowledged the emerging Feminist movement at the end of the story.
June 16, 2014
A fine finale.
I have enjoyed all three of the books in this series. They have interesting characters which includes a very resourceful young woman, fine evil villains, gallant young men, clever inventors, and mechanical wonders.
The "steam punk" aspects work well.
Nothing is resolved easily, that is for sure!
I have enjoyed all three of the books in this series. They have interesting characters which includes a very resourceful young woman, fine evil villains, gallant young men, clever inventors, and mechanical wonders.
The "steam punk" aspects work well.
Nothing is resolved easily, that is for sure!
September 29, 2013
It was a good ending to the trilogy overall. There was some stuff that was just weird, but I think the bad guy pushed the weirdness level to that point. This wasn't my favorite of the three novels, but I think it is a fine book.
July 10, 2020
Steampunk superheroes save the planet from a madman who wants to "purify" the human race. Gott im Himmell. Here we go again!
August 8, 2015
A good ending to this trilogy of steampunk super-heroics.
October 21, 2015
Couldn't finish it. Didn't relate to the characters. There were too many to keep track of. This is book 3 in the series. Perhaps I should have started with book 1.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews