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Aetherium #1
Assassins of the Steam Age
ASIN B004MDLL9K moved to the most recent edition here
When the local airfield is destroyed, Taziri Ohana is the only airship pilot left to help the marshals chase the killers across the skies of Marrakesh. But the case becomes terrifyingly personal when Taziri finds that her enemies have turned her own inventions into weapons and her family's survival may hang in the balance.
Meanwhile, exiled Incan princess Qhora and her swashbuckling lover Lorenzo face a gauntlet of assassins, cruel aristocrats, and wealthy industrialists conspiring against the very Queen that Taziri is trying to save, and her country's only hope for peace may be her crippled airship plummeting out of the burning sky.
Welcome to a world where strange machines sail the seas and the skies, enormous prehistoric beasts roam the earth, and the restless dead whisper to the living.
When the local airfield is destroyed, Taziri Ohana is the only airship pilot left to help the marshals chase the killers across the skies of Marrakesh. But the case becomes terrifyingly personal when Taziri finds that her enemies have turned her own inventions into weapons and her family's survival may hang in the balance.
Meanwhile, exiled Incan princess Qhora and her swashbuckling lover Lorenzo face a gauntlet of assassins, cruel aristocrats, and wealthy industrialists conspiring against the very Queen that Taziri is trying to save, and her country's only hope for peace may be her crippled airship plummeting out of the burning sky.
Welcome to a world where strange machines sail the seas and the skies, enormous prehistoric beasts roam the earth, and the restless dead whisper to the living.
331 pages, ebook
First published December 8, 2013
95 people are currently reading
363 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Robert Lewis
68 books97 followersJoseph R. Lewis enjoys creating worlds in which history, mythology, and fantasy collide in unpredictable ways. He also likes writing about heroines that his daughters can respect and admire. Joe was born in Annapolis and went to the University of Maryland to study ancient novels, morality plays, and Viking poetry.
www.josephrlewis.com
www.josephrlewis.com
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
partly-read
August 26, 2017I had this sitting on my Kindle - can't remember where I got it - and, short of books to read, I decided to give it a go.
It's not terribly edited by steampunk standards, which is to say that I only spotted about 18 errors in the 56% of the book I got through (still about half as many again as I find in the average book). Several of them were the usual homonym slips, and a number of others were words dropped out of sentences because someone was typing too fast.
That wasn't what made me put it down. That was down to the general dark tone, in which the antagonists were having things all their own way against the (multiple, geographically separated) protagonists. This probably turns round eventually, but there was so much suffering and death of innocents going on that I wasn't in the mood for it, and decided to read something lighter.
I didn't feel that the full potential of the setting was realised, either. It's a world in which an ice age has kept Europe primitive, and there's more-or-less 19th-century tech in the 16th century in Africa (Africa and the Middle East having been unmolested by Europeans and having progressed faster than our world as a result). Invading Europeans also succumbed to disease in the New World, a disease the natives were immune to, rather than the other way about. To someone who's read Guns, Germs and Steel, it's not very likely, but I was willing to suspend disbelief and go with the concept. Unfortunately, what we see isn't particularly different from a standard European-style steampunk story; it's just set in a different place with the exact same technological and cultural feel. Nor is the apparent matriarchal society a lot different; it's just that women hold most of the high-status positions. If women, Africans, and other non-white people are going to be your main characters, it should make more of a difference to the feel of the story, in my view.
It's not terribly edited by steampunk standards, which is to say that I only spotted about 18 errors in the 56% of the book I got through (still about half as many again as I find in the average book). Several of them were the usual homonym slips, and a number of others were words dropped out of sentences because someone was typing too fast.
That wasn't what made me put it down. That was down to the general dark tone, in which the antagonists were having things all their own way against the (multiple, geographically separated) protagonists. This probably turns round eventually, but there was so much suffering and death of innocents going on that I wasn't in the mood for it, and decided to read something lighter.
I didn't feel that the full potential of the setting was realised, either. It's a world in which an ice age has kept Europe primitive, and there's more-or-less 19th-century tech in the 16th century in Africa (Africa and the Middle East having been unmolested by Europeans and having progressed faster than our world as a result). Invading Europeans also succumbed to disease in the New World, a disease the natives were immune to, rather than the other way about. To someone who's read Guns, Germs and Steel, it's not very likely, but I was willing to suspend disbelief and go with the concept. Unfortunately, what we see isn't particularly different from a standard European-style steampunk story; it's just set in a different place with the exact same technological and cultural feel. Nor is the apparent matriarchal society a lot different; it's just that women hold most of the high-status positions. If women, Africans, and other non-white people are going to be your main characters, it should make more of a difference to the feel of the story, in my view.
May 4, 2015
For the most part I enjoyed 'Assassins of the Steam Age' for what it was, good action and adventure and a bit of a mystery, some characterization was thrown in or out as the plot thickened - and those seeking a matriarchal society should look elsewhere.
This isn't a society with much gender equality or female empowerment. Yes, there is a queen (Din Nasin) and a female inventor (Taziri) and a exiled Aztec princess (Qhora), and the main antagonist and her cohorts are females but there are male counterparts who exceed their strengths and achievements, and ultimately win the day.
Syfax is a marshal of Marrakesh, and he and his partner Kenan urge the engineer Taziri after the explosion at a airfield to use her experimental (electrical, not steam) airship to chase after a rogue Ambassador Chaou on the airship Copper Crake.
With her captain Isoke Geroubi injured, and despite a daughter and husband waiting for her at home, and her own injuries, Taziri takes along Kenan, Syfax, their prisoner Medur Hamuy (once of Lady Sade's employ), and a doctor named Evander who desires to go to Orossa under the Queen's papers for his own reasons upon her airship, the Halcyon.
Along the way they save a pilot by the name of Ghanima, and Detective Kella who has her hands full with Lady Sade's assassins like Shifrah Dumah and a Doctor Medina that links to events in the disturbing trend of animal and human experimentation with mechanical technology.
It's a race against time to save the Queen and her family in Orossa, one which the exiled Aztec princess Qhora and her lover Lorenzo may suffer as the 'Trojan Horse' of Lady Sade's plots...
One thing is certain, after this, none of their lives will be the same.
This isn't a society with much gender equality or female empowerment. Yes, there is a queen (Din Nasin) and a female inventor (Taziri) and a exiled Aztec princess (Qhora), and the main antagonist and her cohorts are females but there are male counterparts who exceed their strengths and achievements, and ultimately win the day.
Syfax is a marshal of Marrakesh, and he and his partner Kenan urge the engineer Taziri after the explosion at a airfield to use her experimental (electrical, not steam) airship to chase after a rogue Ambassador Chaou on the airship Copper Crake.
With her captain Isoke Geroubi injured, and despite a daughter and husband waiting for her at home, and her own injuries, Taziri takes along Kenan, Syfax, their prisoner Medur Hamuy (once of Lady Sade's employ), and a doctor named Evander who desires to go to Orossa under the Queen's papers for his own reasons upon her airship, the Halcyon.
Along the way they save a pilot by the name of Ghanima, and Detective Kella who has her hands full with Lady Sade's assassins like Shifrah Dumah and a Doctor Medina that links to events in the disturbing trend of animal and human experimentation with mechanical technology.
It's a race against time to save the Queen and her family in Orossa, one which the exiled Aztec princess Qhora and her lover Lorenzo may suffer as the 'Trojan Horse' of Lady Sade's plots...
One thing is certain, after this, none of their lives will be the same.
May 22, 2015
Finished this morning, need to write my review this weekend.
December 7, 2016
Can't get into it and there are so many other books in the world.
January 21, 2019
"Aetherium Book 1: Assassins of the Steam Age" by Joseph Robert Lewis is a fantastical steampunk adventure for the modern reader. Pre-historic creatures, political unrest, strong female characters, and massive steam powered vehicles push the action seamlessly.
Written in a style that is at times poetic, this book encompasses a world with beautiful descriptions. One passage that illustrates this diverse universe is:
"They sat together in silence, staring out into the darkness below the wide curve of the gas envelope. Grassy hills and swaying trees slid past them to port while the distant glitter of moonlit waves to starboard revealed the Atlanteen Ocean churning and foaming from the shore out to the end of the world."
This is a must-read for all fans of steampunk adventure.
Written in a style that is at times poetic, this book encompasses a world with beautiful descriptions. One passage that illustrates this diverse universe is:
"They sat together in silence, staring out into the darkness below the wide curve of the gas envelope. Grassy hills and swaying trees slid past them to port while the distant glitter of moonlit waves to starboard revealed the Atlanteen Ocean churning and foaming from the shore out to the end of the world."
This is a must-read for all fans of steampunk adventure.
February 21, 2025
The Burning Sky is a wonderful story. I have read 4 of J.R. Lewis' books, and have enjoyed them all.
Tarizi Ohana is an engineer on an airship, Halcyon. When the airfield is blown up and her captain is injured, Tarizi is recruited by a marshal to chase the bomber/assassin.
Qhora and Lorenzo are sent to the Queen with a gift from Espana's prince. Lorenzo is a great diestro, or swordsman. They are in love. Qhora has fantastic creatures with her. She rides a giant eagle and has a sabertooth cat as a pet.
There is non-stop action and adventure throughout the entire story. It was hard to put the book down. There is 8 books to the series.
Tarizi Ohana is an engineer on an airship, Halcyon. When the airfield is blown up and her captain is injured, Tarizi is recruited by a marshal to chase the bomber/assassin.
Qhora and Lorenzo are sent to the Queen with a gift from Espana's prince. Lorenzo is a great diestro, or swordsman. They are in love. Qhora has fantastic creatures with her. She rides a giant eagle and has a sabertooth cat as a pet.
There is non-stop action and adventure throughout the entire story. It was hard to put the book down. There is 8 books to the series.
October 28, 2016
Cannot really get interested in this story, so I am giving up on it for now. It does not have much going for it, no world building, no character building, everyone is just there with very little backgrounds or explanations. I feel like this should be a book four or five of a series where the author assumes you already know the world and characters so he doesn't bother to put it into the story. I might come back to it during the winter when I don't have much to do.
March 10, 2022
Overall I gave the book 3.5 stars. I found the world building and character development could have been better. I couldn’t get totally into the story until near the end. More work needed to be don on the characters at the beginning to get me connected to them.
January 20, 2018
I didn't like this book. The plot was boring and the dialogue was stilted and unrealistic. I made it about half way before I started just skimming.
July 14, 2018
3 stars for the world, 2.5 stars for characters.
November 19, 2019
Not a big fan of the dialogue or any of the characters. Couldn't get into it.
August 31, 2025
A bit dull. A steampunk detective story that drifted along as all the heroes chased the bad guys only for everything to be resolved with a crashed airship and events that take place off the page.
January 24, 2017
I had always wanted to get into some good steampunk work---sadly, this was not the place for it. While the author demonstrates skill in describing a scene or environment, the characters and dialogue fall flat and the plot is just uninteresting. For whatever reason, I could find no connection to any of the characters. There was no setup for the characters. You get a moment with Taziri to establish she cares for her family, and then off we go.
Most of how things happened just didn't seem believable. It *felt* like it happened for plot, not naturally, and that is a problem. While everything is always about plot, the skill comes in being able to obfuscate that fact. That did not happen here. Syfax is bored with the antagonists---which in turn made me bored. There was no real threat as far as I was concerned. Taziri suddenly realizes that she could have saved the world if she had only kept inventing! She could have stopped ALL of this from happening, even down to the riots. She is the chosen one. It came off as more pretentious and arrogant than any epiphany.
For a short read, something to kill time, it is fair enough. Just don't expect too much.
Most of how things happened just didn't seem believable. It *felt* like it happened for plot, not naturally, and that is a problem. While everything is always about plot, the skill comes in being able to obfuscate that fact. That did not happen here. Syfax is bored with the antagonists---which in turn made me bored. There was no real threat as far as I was concerned. Taziri suddenly realizes that she could have saved the world if she had only kept inventing! She could have stopped ALL of this from happening, even down to the riots. She is the chosen one. It came off as more pretentious and arrogant than any epiphany.
For a short read, something to kill time, it is fair enough. Just don't expect too much.
February 10, 2017
This does not do it for me.
I have trued, but I cannot find compassion for any of the characters and while there are multiple threads throughout, I do not care what happens in any of them. In the end, this just does not do anything for me.
I have trued, but I cannot find compassion for any of the characters and while there are multiple threads throughout, I do not care what happens in any of them. In the end, this just does not do anything for me.
February 9, 2015
I wanted to give this book 4 stars - it almost warranted it. I'm interested enough in the story to keep reading the next books, though. Plenty of action and character building here. I was a little confused why Qhora and her mate(?) were so detailed, when I felt they didn't add much to the story. Yes, their presence was integral to the plot, but their character depth wasn't necessary at all.
A warning about the Kindle version (not sure if other versions have this problem or not) - The last 10% or so of the book is a sort of glossary which has some cool information about what parts of the book are analogies of real life things (ie: Aegyptus = Egypt, and other less obvious things), and histories of the characters in the books. The problem is that there is history of the characters that hasn't happened yet (in book one)! This means there's quite a few spoilers hiding in there, so don't read the glossary if you don't want to know what will happen in future books.
A warning about the Kindle version (not sure if other versions have this problem or not) - The last 10% or so of the book is a sort of glossary which has some cool information about what parts of the book are analogies of real life things (ie: Aegyptus = Egypt, and other less obvious things), and histories of the characters in the books. The problem is that there is history of the characters that hasn't happened yet (in book one)! This means there's quite a few spoilers hiding in there, so don't read the glossary if you don't want to know what will happen in future books.
April 3, 2015
I cannot begin to express the epic story telling and writing that is in this story. I think that The Assassins of the Steam Age and Joseph Lewis is going to be one of my favorites. I recently picked up his Angels and Djinn book and I can't wait to get it started. I think that the Assassins of the Steam Age would translate well into a game because its got all the tellings of a story that would interest gamers and enough suspense that could play well into some fun action sequences. I know it probably sounds bizarre but that's how it played out in my mind as I read the book. I liked all the vivid detail Joseph brought into his work and the vintage/futuristic feel of the environment.
Such is the beauty of steampunk.
Such is the beauty of steampunk.
April 18, 2015
This was a great book. One of the best as far as plot and story goes that I've read in a while. I couldn't stop reading. I really wanted to give this book a five star and would have till I got to the end. Unfortunately the end left me with my mouth open it just stopped. The Epilogue was a great closing for Sytax, but left me dangling with Taziri, Qhora and Lorenzo.
That a side I will be reading the next book. I would recommend this book to other readers. It's well written and is a great read.
That a side I will be reading the next book. I would recommend this book to other readers. It's well written and is a great read.
November 16, 2015
Plenty of action in this book. The characters were fairly developed and I enjoyed their story. My min problem was at the end of the book there was background and information for characters not involved in this book (number 1). So massive spoilers for future novels. I HATE that.
Want to read
April 10, 2015kindle
June 22, 2015
As usual his books are awesome! :)
August 25, 2015
A good read. Plenty of action, reverse gender roles, strange and exotic characters,unusual setting. A 1940s detective-like story meets steampunk and fantasy. Well done Mr. Lewis
December 10, 2015
Better than expected. Likable enough characters - interesting world that could have probably used a little more exploration.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews