Cruel Numbers: A Steampunk Noir Mystery

The Magnocracy #1

by Christopher Beats

After the North loses the War of Southern Secession, money buys power in the Magnocracy, and people can disappear in a blink. War veteran Donovan Schist's specialty is finding these missing persons. There isn't much money in it, but he sleeps a little better.

This time, Donovan is looking for a girl named Bridget Cleary. Her family's had no word from her for months. Donovan's certain he'll find her belly-up, but it seems her talent for analytical machines has made her a valuable asset to the powers that be - an asset that they're determined to keep hidden and out of reach.

In over his head, Donovan enlists his friend Verhalen to help. The eccentric inventor may be unstable, but his steam-powered gadgets give Donovan the edge.

Donovan's no stranger to the rougher edges of society, but when the usual threats turn to attacks on his life, it quickly becomes clear that someone very important does not want him to find Bridget Cleary...

Genres: Steampunk, Fiction, Crime, Audiobook

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Shawn Deal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a hard novel to read. It was well written and plotted. I wish there had been more steampunk references in the novel, but that could be a personal preference there. The problem comes with our main detective, a flawed individual indeed. Normally that is a good thing. A perfect character leads to no growth potential and a very bland, two dimensional character. Problem is, this character may be too flawed. Obsessed with his ex wife our character is dominated throughout the story by her, who we never see. As more and more details come out about their relationship, only one word jumps to mind: toxic. They were never good together, always bad to each other, a train wreck. This provides the story with a sour taste in the mouth by the end. You don't really like the character, and it is hard to go on to a sequel from there. I will be honest, I saw a piece of this guys life, and I don't want to see anymore. I thought the writer could tell a story and I would try something else by him, but not in this series.

[Russ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh. I wouldn’t necessarily say the book was poorly written, but it certainly fell short of expectations. Most notably, it was pretty light on the steampunk, making for a disappointing read. I doubt I would read another work by this author.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not a great book. The world is pretty well-drawn and the author seems to have thought quite a bit about even minor details. There could have been a little more explanation of the social/governmental structure, but otherwise pretty fair world-building. The plot was pretty messed up in two fairly major ways, and this obviously brought down the whole reading experience.

First, the character's romantic backstory was shoe-horned in. It wasn't well-drawn, it was handled crassly, and it added nothing to the mystery plot or the alternate world; it may be setting up character development in future series installments, but even that could have been handled in better ways. Second, the pacing was way off. I read a downloadable copy of this, so didn't have the physical/visual cue of where my bookmark was to help me anticipate how much story was left. When I got to the end, it felt like a shock. Nothing was fixed, personally or professionally, just passed along.

eARC from NetGalley.

[WTF Are You Reading? · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Thoughts

This is a very well written steampunk mystery with very pronounced dystopian elements. Donovan is the steampunk Dick Tracy. He is a man who doesn't know the meaning of the word quit. It is that quality about him that leaves the reader wondering why the hell he is still on the case after things seem to resolve themselves mid book.

He also has a love hate relationship with his estranged wife that causes him to visualize her at during some of the more hairy moments during the read. This is one of the things that serve to either make the reader want to run screaming from the room, or to endear the reader to the brooding PI.

Once readers get past the really shallow reason that he chooses to risk marriage, life, and limb for what may or may not be a wild goose chase; readers find an action packed read full of twists and turns, money, and schemes that have to be read to be believed.

This review was cross posted from my blog: http://wtfareyoureading.blogspot.com

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little quick read with a very understandable and easy to live main character. It definitely didn't have as much steampunk feel to it as I wanted but it was present. The author keeps you on your toes making sure to take the road less traveled. I greatly enjoyed this book, so much so that I am picking up the second book in the series today.

[MsBDiamondDiva1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick fun read; I hope to read more from this author. The plot was simple and at times, you could very well guess the next moves of the main character; but still the story was filled with action which helped it the obvious outcome.

[Ginny Lurcock · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't bad, it just wasn't for me. It's ok though, we've agreed to remain friends.

For my full review head on over to Pure Textuality

[Sherri]

Steampunk? Check. Dystopian? Check. And a future where The South actually kicked The North's ass in the U.S.A. Civil War? Hell yeah I'm in!!!!!

[Wayne Potter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good dystopian dark grainy book :)

[J. Griff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of my favourite stories. The world building is great & the characters are well constructed. Donavan Shist is fun, unique detective.

[Commentary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yep, I like this. Steampunk noir. Popcorn read with just the right amount of butter and salt.

[Kris Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very Noir. Super disjointed narrative.

[Andria Potter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a strange book. On the one hand, it read nicely. A short mystery filled with nods to the Steampunk Genre, and believable characters. It was the alternative history that was a bit confusing.

Overall, I'm going to re-read this at some point, and try to write a better review. The authors writing style was spot on, but the story itself isn't going to be one of my favorites.

Three and a half stars.