Ministry Protocol: Thrilling Tales of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences

Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences #anthology

by Pip Ballantine (Editor), Tee Morris, Leanna Renee Hieber

From the Creators of the award-winning steampunk Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series ( Phoenix Rising and the Janus Affair) comes a collection of new adventures from around the world.

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences investigates the bizarre and unusual, and protects the citizens of the Empire from forces of darkness. Every agent knows that thrusting themselves into danger is part of the job, and may demand of them the ultimate sacrifice. They call on their own inner strength, wits, intellect, and innovations of science and technology.

But is it enough to face the unknown and the unexplainable?

This is Ministry Protocol: Thrilling Tales of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, a collection of short stories featuring the derring-do of secret agents cut from a different cloth. These original short stories feature the imagination and voices of…

Leanna Rennee Hieber
The League of S.T.E.A.M.’s Glenn Freund
Delilah S. Dawson
Jared Axelrod
Tiffany Trent
Karina Cooper

…and many more!

Travel to the farthest corners of Queen Victoria’s mighty empire and back again to the shores of Old Blighty, unlocking the mysteries of legend, lore, and shadowy societies. Welcome to a world of steam, secrets, machinations and madness.

Genres: Steampunk, Fantasy, Anthologies, Ebooks, Science Fiction, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 25, 2013

About the author

See also works published as Philippa Ballantine.

Reviews

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining fantasy listening

This was a free kindle e-book novel from Amazon.

Fourteen short fantasy stories by various authors each different with interesting well developed characters lots action, misdirection, and violence racing to each conclusion. As with multiple story books, series, and Megapack some stories you will enjoy more than others but that is normal.

I would recommend this novel and various authors to readers of fantasy action novels. 2023

I received a new Kindle Fire for Christmas and I am still learning. Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year🌋🎉😀
, by b

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing, though it gets better if you persist. My error: I know I don't like short stories, but I thought anything for another dose of Books & Braun. Some of the first few stories don't seem to be in the same world; one or two are barely in the same universe, and the editing... This is perhaps the worst example:
"He also had a penchant for women a man of his age maybe shouldn't have, and that penchant had landed him in trouble a time or two." [So far, so good. Now try to make sense out of the next two sentences immediately following]
"His box of wedding rings was known all throughout the islands and Central American field agents. But out of respect, the local women didn't."
Some of the later stories are good, and we do get a backstory on the establishment of The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, so it's not a total loss. I'm looking forward to my pre-ordered copy of "Dawn's Early Light".

[Shannon Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this was well put together anthology to represent the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series. Most of the characters in each story REALLY did seem as if they could be proper ministry operatives. However, as few didn't quite fit for me. Rather than go into too much detail, I'll just rate the entries separately:

The New Recruit by Leanna Renee Hieber: 5 STARS, lovely story about a young recruit, an orphan girl, who upon be booted from an orphanage, ends up on the Ministry doorstep. The girl is quite gifted and is given a task involving ghosts and a steampunk dragonfly. There's also a cameo by Wellington! The ending had a unexpected sad twist. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this tale!

A Feast of Famine by Karina Cooper: 3.5 STARS, entertaining tale about two female operatives (one very unlikely), but both of whom I wouldn't mind seeing in future novels. Fun read!

Chinoiserie by Tiffany Trent: 3 STARS, tale about an operative sent to china to collect artifacts in the midst of a war. He indeed finds a unique item but gets quite a bit more than be bargained for on the train ride home. Fun to read, but the story didn't fit quite "The Ministry" world as well as others.

Panther Nights by Gleen Freund: 2.5 STARS, Dr. Sound sends an agent Flowerdew to Belize to uncover the mystery of a possible missing agent, multiple disappears, and murders at a lumber camp. I didn't care much for this tale, it felt more like a horror short and lacked elements of steampunk. Not a fit for this anthology, in my humble opinion.

New London Calling by Peter Woodworth:4.5 STARS, A very dapper Ministry operative is sent to assist an inventive archivist in uncovering and disabling a mysterious device that is causing destruction in the States. This tale was full of action and entertainment! There're gadgets, fist fights, gun battles, and a nutty group of Henrys'. This was a perfect Ministry tale and I would love to see cameos of agents Bernard and Arthur in the future!

Where the River Shines by Dan Rabarts: 2 STARS, in New Zealand two ministry agents are trying to recover a stolen artifact and apprehend the thief, in the midst of dealing with hostile natives. I liked the 'idea' of the story. It had elements of steampunk and could very well have been logged into The Ministry archives, however the writing was rather confusing. I had a difficult time picturing the events as they were described, which ultimately ruined it for me.

The Incident of the Clockwork Mikoshi by Lauren Harris: 5 STARS, Ministry Agent Lawrence P. Dagenhart is sent to Japan to assist Investigator Ogawa, whom he is startled to learn is female. The pair are trying to uncover the mystery behind the murder of an important clock-maker. Let me just say I loved these two characters. Dagenhart is tall, has mechanical arm, carries a large colt revolver, and rides a huge horse named Burtus. In short, he sticks out like sore thumb in Japan, but doesn't care one whit. Contrarily, Ogawa is small, soft spoken, but is fast and can fight better than most men. These two are trying to thwart a clock-work bombing in the middle of a traditional parade. Much chaos ensues, yet I did detect very subtle hints of a possible romance between these two characters. It was refreshing and surprising! Loved these two and the story, definitely a favorite!

The Trouble with Phoenixes by Jaren Axelrod: 4.5 STARS, this story takes place at Ministry Headquarters in London, England. All of my favorite characters are there, mainly Eliza Braun and Mr. Wellington Books! This was a funny tale. A inventor, Agent Axelrod, in the R&D department seeks advice about dating Eliza from Wellington, much to Welly's dismay! Lets just say Eliza does not have a most pleasant evening. As punishment she goads Axelrod into a fighting ring, where upon he makes use of some of his inventions. The story ends with a rocket fueled top hat escape, an angry singed Eliza, and a most pleased Wellington. Perfect story for this anthology!

The Boy, the Bomb, and the Witch Who Returned by Alex White: 2 STARS, a time traveling Baba Yaga makes an appearance in this tale. To be honest I can't recall much about this entry...except there was a house with chicken legs. It was okay, but not my favorite.

Our Lady of Monsters by Delilah S. Dawson: 3.5 STARS, baker and previously inactive agent Anne-Marie Bouvier is called upon to partner with Agent Joseph Tipping by Dr. Sound. The pair need to uncover the mystery behind the unexplainable deaths at Notre Dame. Oddly, enough the clues lead them to a brothel and an unusual madam. Kidnapping and chaos ensue, along with mechanized grotesques, revenge, and the detestable House of Usher. This was a well written Ministry tale, though I must say the note at the end had me scratching my head, second guessing certain things.

The Mystery of the Thrice Dead Man by J.R. Blackwell: 4.5 STARS, this is a must read as Archivist Wellington is the story's main character. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say Welly takes a forced "holiday" with Agent Blackwell to investigate some unusual commonalities in the archives. The trip takes place on an airship, where pirates, fights, mechanical failures, and an unlikely dead relative all make an appearance. Perfect story for this anthology!

The Clockwork Samaria by Jack Mangan: 3 STARS, it was late when I finished this and to be honest I can't recall much of this one. I may have to re-read it and update this review.

A Nocturne for Alexandra by Tee Morris: 5 STARS, this was an amazing story. It tells the story of how The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences was formed, which I'm very glad to have learned. I don't want to ruin anything, so I will keep this review very brief. In London England 1839 a Professor Culpepper Source is granted an audience with Queen Victoria. Their meeting changes the course of how England will govern 'peculiar' events and who shall deal with those. I was quite impressed with how Queen Victoria handled the situation and the events that followed. I would love a more in depth story about the early days and the forming of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. Perfect ending to this lovely anthology!

*****WOULD RECCOMEND THIS TO ALL FANS OF THE MINISTRY OF PECULAIR OCCURANCES SERIES, and to those who are thinking of giving the series a try!******

[Chris The Story Reading Ape · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ideal for Steampunk Fans.

10 authors, 13 Victorian Era Steampunk adventures of the supernatural kind, spanning the world. PLUS, a FREE book offer.
What’s not to like.

See my review also at:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ministry-Pro...

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Once a tiger or leopard develops a taste for human flesh, it can never be sated by anything else."

This, obviously, belongs to a larger universe. These stories seem written by fans of that universe.

Mix bag of stories. Some better than others.

Some are paranormal, others purely steam punk. I found the purely steampunk one's less appealing than those with a hint of the paranormal.

If you like steampunk and are looking for a rich (and possibly growing) universe, with its attendant history, mythology, lore, in-jokes, rules, familiarity, then this should appeal to you.

Some quotes from inside:

His moustache is like a smear of tar above his lips.

"[I]t’s not that I belong in England. Maybe it’s that I belong to England"

“You get to ask questions when you’re the one pointing the gun.”

"He was a portly gentleman, with a rather bushy moustache that in some odd manner flattered him. The receding hairline, however, she found slightly irritating. Perhaps with a full head of hair, she would have found him quite dashing. In a rather plump sort of way."

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this on an email sale and thought it would be a good way to test out the series. While I found it enjoyable, it was a little less both steampunk and especially paranormal than I expected. What it was a good example of was the adventure story, with lots of daring do and narrow escapes. Since the stories were by different writers they differed greatly in tone and location (all within the British Empire, broad as that was at the time) so I liked some better than others. What I found really a goldmine was the author bios in the back because they referenced lots of podcasts, book series, and websites that I was unfamiliar with and highly interested in! Based on the book I will most likely begin the main series soon.

[Deetya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good collection of short-stories in the universe of the Ministry. The stories are mostly in the thriller-escapade types with one or two containing romantic plot lines.

The only sore point for me is the story where the White agent took Maui's hook (the same Maui and hook from the movie "Moana") and uses it slice open some of the natives and then escape, with the story implying that the hook is really not magical at all.

Another stand out story is the one about one of the Ministry's enemies, the Usher family. We get a glimpse of why they became the "bad guys" of the universe.

An enjoyable read.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good stories and some not as good

I enjoy reading the books about the "Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences"; in fact I have read them all!This book was a collection of some stories that had something weird in them. My favorite story was the one about Queen Victoria and how the "Ministry" was started. My least favorite was the one about the Samarai. I hope that the authors will continue with the "Ministry" series or at least have a spin-off with some of the same characters. (I just LOVE Wellington Books)!!

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a fan of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series, or steampunk in general, you'll no doubt like this. Some of the biggest names in the genre contribute, and for the most part they manage to capture the spirit of the original series rather well. If you haven't read the series, though, I wouldn't recommend starting here.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I stopped at the 63% mark on my Kindle. I just couldn't finish. I loved the Janus Affair & Phoenix Rising so thought I'd love this too. And the 1st story was delightful. But the rest that I read went from boring to just ok. When I realized I was putting off reading just because I'd have to read this book, I knew it was time to give up.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Short Story Collection by Various Authors

I hadn't read any of The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences books, but I had no problems coming up to speed on the world reading these stories.
Like any other shorts collection, I enjoyed some of the stories more than others, but several hit my sweet spot.
I'd recommend it to fans of TMoPO or steampunk aficionados

[Kent Archie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sort of recall reading one of the novels in the Ministry Of Peculiar Occurrences series.
And yet I really enjoyed this book.
The stories are set all over the world and vary from funny to scary.
If you haven't read any of the books, just look up steampunk on Wikipedia and read the cover blurb of one of the novels and you'll be all set.

[Donald E Rockwell III · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steampunk adventures!

Not my usual fare but I thoroughly enjoyed the imaginative plots set in the Victorian era. Different authors using the same characters and devising unusual machines to accomplish their missions with Bond-ish flair. Very good indeed.

[Steve Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A creative collection of reports from agents of the Ministry stationed around the world. They date back to the early days of the Ministry in the mid 1800s, and include the origin story itself. Queen Victoria was especially perspicacious when she was shown the need.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and fun

An interesting and fun steampunk and paranormal collection of stories. Well written with good characters. Recommend for those who like steampunk

[Whitebeard Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I willingly say that the writing, in burst, was excellent, the overall book is disjointed and at times even a bit confusing. Even after finishing, I'm not exactly what the story is about.

[Tym Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

not bad, got a glimpse of other goings on inside the Ministry.

[Vicki Barrett-nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable

I enjoyed these short stories very much. Would love for several of them to be novels.Especially if they would go back in detail of the begining.

[Colin Parfitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining but unspectacular collection of steampunk/ghost/spy stories.

A couple of great stories, quite a few clunkers.

[Daniel Deitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Collection

What a good selection of stories. The realms of fun and fantasy are well provided for in this collection. Hopefully more volumes will be forthcoming.

[Mark Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full steam ahead

I really enjoyed this Anthony. I especially like the shared world aspect of it all. I truly reccomend this book.

[Jo]

DNF at page 75. Might try again sometime.

[Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to listen to the Ministry of Peculiar Occurances podbcast and, although the quality of stories was variable, it was a podcast which was both fun and well worth the listen. This collection of stories follows the formula and is equally varied in content and quality. Worth investigating for fans of steam punk with ahint of Victorian Gothic.

[Sheldon Wiebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ministry Protocol: Thrilling Tales of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is an odd duck. It's an anthology of thirteen stories about an array of previously unknown agents of the Ministry from the novels by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris. As with any anthology, there will be tales that will appeal more to some readers than others.

In my case, I found four tales particularly effective for my tastes and about the same number that left me just a little disappointed - which means that there were five I enjoyed but wouldn't exactly say I loved.

The four stories I loved - Chinoiserie by Tiffany Trent,The Incident of the Clockwork Mikoshi by Lauren Harris, The Mystery of the Thrice-Dead Man by J.R. Blackwell, and The Clockwork Samurai by Jack Mangan - all had the kind of pacing and swiftly drawn characters that short stories need to pull a reader in.

Chinoiserie is a lovely little ghost story which takes a melancholy turn that I felt nicely balanced the fun of a steampunk world; The Incident of the Clockwork Mikoshi built the beginning of an intriguing relationship into a story of political intrigue with an element of terrorism; The Mystery of the Thrice-Dead Man poked a bit of fun at classic monsters against the background of a symposium on the subject of women's rights - set on a classic airship (can you say Pirates!) and giving our intrepid archivist a paid (not quite) vacation and presenting us with a bit of a certain female clankerton's unexpected background (which I hope is now canonical!) and, finally, The Clockwork Samurai presented a team from the House of Usher (whom I would have loved to get to know better) in a tale of vengeance vs. honour/dishonour.

I won't name the tales I found lacking - Tee Morris' A Nocturne for Alexandrina was not one of them - others may feel different about them.

Overall, Ministry Protocol kept me entertained and I would thrououghly enjoy seeing certain of the characters created within (Anne-Marie Bouvier from the otherwise average Our Lady of Monsters; Major Charles George Gordon from Chinoiserie, and the team of Agent Lawrence P. Dagenham and Investigator Tokiko Hanamura (Ogawa) from The Incident of the Clockwork Mikoshi) again.

[Vicente L Ruiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Irregular result, as is usual with antologies, but by now I am such a fan of the Ministry universe I just love the result. Several of the stories I specially liked:

"The Incident of the Clockwork Mikoshi" by Lauren Harris was my favourite: sometimes it almost looked confusing, due to the amount of background and worldbuilding thrown in into such a short story. I kept feeling I would love a full-length novel set in the Ministry's Japan.

"A Feast of Famine" by Karina Cooper, because of the great couple of female agents. I also felt I'd love to read more adventures of the pair.

"The Boy, the Bomb and the Witch Who Returned" by Alex White. I liked the time travel and thought of a friend of mine who loves time travel stories.

"Our Lady of Monsters", because of Paris. Sorry, a weakness of mine.

And, last but not least, "The Mystery of the Thrice Dead Man", by J.R. Blackwell, because of the depth it adds to a secondary character in Brown and Books adventures, the clankerton Doctor Josephina Raven Blackwell.

However, there were still a number of annoying editing and grammar mistakes, that should not have made it into the final copy. My Kindle couldn't recognize the document language, either, so I couldn't use the dictionary. My copy was bought at Smashwords, so perhaps there was some mistake with the copy uploaded there?

[Kaarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, I love the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series and have the website and a lot of the authors on my RSS feed so when I heard about the anthology I was very excited. And the cover is fantastic. Makes me wish I had bought a physical copy rather than on kindle.

Some of the some of the stories I loved, some I liked and some I didn't really care for. But overall I had a good time. I definitely think that if you love Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series you should pick this up because it adds that little extra to the world building and characters.

My favourites were: A Feast of Famine, The Trouble with Phoenixes, The Mystery of the Thrice Dead Man.

I really hope Miss Snow and Miss Kennedy (from A Feast of Famine) are featured again in the future because their dynamic was too adorable.

[Seth Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a fan of the Ministry ever since I stumbled upon the first book. I've read through the "Archives" series and was super-excited when this set of adventures was released. While our two favorite agents aren't spotlighted, the writers assembled provide us with a wide-range of stories from all over the British Empire. You'll see familiar faces as agents that have been side characters in the main series get to headline. Also included, is a story detailing the founding of the Ministry and how Queen Victoria was convinced of the critical nature of their work. A must for fans of the series or fans of good steampunk adventures.

[Gary Lange · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of steampunk stories set in the "Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences" universe has a variety of tales emphasizing different slants and aspects. This collection of steampunk stories vary from others in that they are all steampunk and they are all good or better. You don't have to be knowledgeable on the "Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences" series to enjoy this book, but it does add to a couple of the tales.
I recommend this book for those new to steampunk and to those who have fallen under the spell of the "Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences."

[OldBird]

The usual problem I have with anthologies applied to this one: variable quality, and with some of the earlier stories being less to my taste it really put me off more than skimming a few more. I couldn't get into any of them - they were either a little too slow, or all-out action with a lot of odd steampunky language (as well as unfamiliar non-English terms) that I just didn't have the time to take in and get used to before the story ended. I don't know if this is because I haven't read any of the Ministry series, but I found myself feeling alienated from their OTT what-ho!Victoriana world.

[DrJatMBC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having first come across the Ministry in a podcast finding it in print is a joy! Podcasts are great when you are driving, but nothing beats a book, a good chair, and a nightcap when you want your mind to fly free. The team of Ministry Field Agents has provided a wonderful collection of adventures, a fun read.