Laevium

The Cerulean Airship #1

by Ruxandra Tarca

Building Her Majesty’s new airship for the Engineers World Gathering is no small matter. Especially when a groundbreaking discovery is at stake, and dark secrets are lurking in the shadows.

In a Neo-Victorian London of mechanical horses and aerial gondotrams, airship engineer Jasper Kendall Asher has a bright future ahead as the youngest member of the Engineers Order and a secret agent in Her Majesty’s service. But a terrible accident brutally changes the course of his career, sending him instead to a dull life as a mechanic among the poor of St. Giles.

Three years later, unusual circumstances give him the opportunity to return into service as the main engineer for the Queen’s new airship—and a chance to uncover the truth behind the unfortunate event that changed his life.

Along with an outlandish woman navigator, a reckless female agent, and his taciturn brother, Jasper resumes his work. From his workbench, to London’s airharbour, to remote Scottish villages, he follows the trail of a scientific discovery that promises to reveal much darker plots than he initially imagined in his search for answers.

Genres: Steampunk, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Mystery, Fiction, Ebooks

234 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 6, 2020

About the author

Ruxandra has been surrounded by books since forever, her passion for literature and writing dating back to her childhood days. Starting with her university years, and for the most part of her adult life, she has been studying literature and languages, and translating books. She writes steampunk novels, webcomic scripts, and also has a special love for historical fiction.

Reviews

[Pablo Schulman]

Beautifully written, fast-paced, a breeze to read. Sometimes, steampunk books try too hard to be steampunkish/edgy, with a lot of jargons. Not here, the setting was familiar to anyone that knows what is steampunk, but never got in the way of the plot. For me, a nice addition to the steampunk genre, and a nice gateway to it.

[Fred Hughes]

A great story in the steampunk genre. Airships and mechanical dogs. There are also twisted relationships that start to fracture as the investigation into a airship destruction opens old woulnds

[Alina Mitruţ]

The world of #steampunk definitely enriched itself with this novel! It's very nicely written, with characters' stories beautifully intertwined. It gave me pure joy reading it. And the revealing of the title... Oh my, what a masterpiece! Its world has such a brilliant construct, that I can already envision the characters and their props as Funko collectibles! Or even better: a movie! Loved it!

[Livia]

Great read! I don't normally read steampunk, but this really satisfied me! Although it is book 1, it did not end in a cliffhanger (and I really appreciated that!), but it will make you want to know what happens to the characters in the future. Being a big fan of mystery, I loved the fact that the plot contained some of that as well, it kept me wondering whom to trust and whether some characters are what they seem or not! A bit of adventure, a bit of mystery and just a tad bit of romance, all in a setting that seems to be very well thought and researched, and that also appeared highly believable to me, nothing giving the impression of being out of place or far-fetched.

[Alex]

Steampunk Sherlock with a love triangle!

[Queerthling]

Fast-paced and compelling with great visuals, Laevium could very well be a movie! I came for the steampunk and Victorian themes -which I absolutely loved- but also found a beautifully written story full of suspense, mystery, drama and romance. The best cocktail for every great adventure!
Will definitely be on the lookout for the next ones as I very much enjoyed the characters.

[L F]

A nice steampunk adventure!

This book is exactly what I was looking for, something relatively easy to read, steampunk themed. Characters are well developed and the story is interesting, keeping you on the edge of your seat later on. I like how everything is described in detail, very easy to picture each setting and character. The finale is maybe a bit rushed, but that's more like me bickering, no big deal. Well worth the price, looking forward to more books from this author.

[Anamaria]

It was my first steampunk novel, but I enjoyed it very much, enough to want to read more of this genre. The first things that come to mind after finishing the book: good mystery (I suspected almost everyone untill the end); great visuals - the story is not abundant in descriptions, but somehow you "see" what you read (especially the technical parts), it feels like a movie; well written characters - some you like, some you don't, but they make sense, and it is easy to find one to each taste (my favourite was Rowena).
It is an entertaining story, easy to read, fast paced. I look forward to reading the next installment.

[Giuseppe]

DNF 49%

I do not often read books that have so few ratings and this is why.

This book is fucking boring.

I'm sorry, I really wanted to like this book. I love steampunk and the book sounds intriguing. But I'm halfway through and nothing has happened! Why write a novel about nothing? So far there's just a bunch of characters and them living mundane lives. If you want to write a book, you need something entertaining. Otherwise... what did you write?

A huge disappointment. I really thought this would be a fun read.

[Fiona Tewson]

An action packed read

This is the first book I've read by this author, but I'm going to look for all the rest in this series as well as others written by her.

I like steam punk fantasy, and this didn't disappoint. What's not to like about London and flying gas filled airships? The action moves from London back streets, up to the Scittish highlands and back to the smelly sewers of London. I'm eager to start book 2 and find out what happens next to Jasper, Rowena, Edward et all.

[Andreea Bookats]

4.25⭐️

I absolutely loved this book! The steampunk vibe makes it stand out, the characters are engaging, and the flashbacks add a really unique layer to the story. The plot is so well built that you forget about time and just want to jump straight into the next volume.
The only reason it’s not a perfect 5 stars for me is that some resolutions felt a bit too neat—but that’s more about me as a reader than the book itself. For a debut, it’s fantastic, and I’m sure the next volumes will be even better!

[Barrie Davis]

Hardcore steampunk.

In steampunk Victorian London a diabolical plot slowly unfolds, with some evil aristocracy hell-bent on bringing down the monarchy and subjugating the lower classes. Filled with action murder, incredible inventions even a little romance and a cast of amazing characters some that you will love and some you will hate. Overall a great read one that I couldn't put down, If only all steampunk was this good don't miss this one, Baz.

[Dani]

I enjoyed this book and I will continue the series but this book has some pacing issues and the way certain serious problems were fixed instantly made me frown a little. It's well written and the characters are interesting so I recommend reading it.
I also enjoyed the more technical aspects of the story and would love to know more the Orders.

[The Reading Ruru (Kerry)]

Love Steampunk & Airships?

Then this book is for you. with a stellar cast of characters, insane engineers, treachery, murder all set in a steampunk London.
Can't wait to get into the sequels.

[Stanley]

very interesting

I don’t read very many steampunk books, but all I have read have been fun and interesting and this book is a good example of the genre
Truly a fun and engaging book

[David Kinzer]

This is an interesting, entertaining book. As an engineer, I found the descriptions of "Steampunk London" fascinating (though occasionally preposterous).
The characters are well-developed individuals, and there is romance and intrigue. Laevium is quite unlike any other book I've read.

[Barry]

I'm going with 3*, but considered 4*. The alternate history world is interesting. What goes on specific to that world is relatively interesting, but the story itself, without those trappings, is ordinary. But in R Tarca's defense, it just isn't my type of story; too much relationship focus.

[Ted Williams]

Great writing and thrilling adventure...when is Engineerium coming out????

[David Pospisil]

An interesting steam punk whodunit.
Great characters and action.
Will read on in the series in the future

[Michael]

A fun read with some good twists.

The characters played well off each other. There were a few clever surprises along the way. 1st steampunk in a while. Thank you!!

[Jane Balke Andersen]

I just couldn’t get into this book. Finished at 63%. Maybe its just not for me.

[Andreea Irina]

It has steampunk London, it has airships and, most importantly, it has Edmund Asher. A fun read, containing an intriguing mystery, well fleshed characters and a pace that never falls flat.
My only complaint, if I can call it that, is that the romance was lacking. But that's my personal preference and if I were to be honest with myself, it wouldn't have blended exactly well with the tone of the book. Still, Rowena and Jasper make for a cute couple and I would have liked them to have more moments together.

[EmmaReads]

This book was an easy read and good fun. The world and characters are interesting and I love any books which involve airships, although I wish there was a bit more airship action in this book as most of it was over very quickly.
Overall it was good fun and an interesting world and I expect the next books are even better.

[Dorian Iacobescu]

Adventure and mystery in a beautifully imagined alternative Victorian London. My first steampunk book and cannot wait for the next one in the series.