The Backlot Gay Book Forum discussion

Just finished Boots for the Gentleman by Augusta Li and Eon de Beaumont:

Hired by a mysterious faerie gentleman to steal seemingly worthless artifacts, Querrilous Knotte is seen as a traitor by the humans of Halcyon. But as long as he's getting paid, Querry doesn't mind. When his client makes a cryptic comment about a certain house, Querry contacts his old flame Reg--a former street rat who now works in the Royal Archives--to learn if the property contains anything of value.

Though Reg has no answers for him, Querry learns there is indeed something precious in the house, something Reg is convinced will bring nothing but trouble. The armed guards that attack the thief prove Reg's prediction true, and he can't leave Querry to face it all alone. Not when Reg's feelings for the man may not be as extinct as he'd thought.

The trouble is, Querry's heart doesn't just belong to Reg anymore, and surprisingly, Reg's heart no longer belongs only to Querry. In the end, it may not even matter, because if Querry, Reg, and their hearts' desire can't stop Lord Thimbleroy from draining Halcyon's magic, they won't live long enough to regret their unresolved romance.

This alternate universe tale is an interesting mix of steampunk (with the focus on a society that runs on various clockwork mechanisms) and urban/paranormal fantasy (with the addition of the fae---portions of the story are set in the fairy realm). I think it all holds together fairly well, though I really would have liked to see just a little more world-building. I would have liked to learn a little more of the background of Querry and Reg; there’s no mention, for instance, of how on earth Reg managed to get adopted by a wealthy family when he was just one of the thousands of anonymous orphaned youths used to run the monstrous factories that are poisoning the city.

The book paints a grim picture of this society; we’re looking at it from Querry’s perspective after all, who is one of the poor unfortunates that had no advantages starting out in life. But the thief and his best friend/sometimes lover are a likable enough pair, though I’m not sure the reader ever gets to know them as well as I would have preferred. My favourite character was Frolic, however---his innocence is quite charming, and the reader feels protective of him throughout the tale.

The fae are considerably less charming; the Gentleman of the title displays all the attributes usually associated with this race, though he does become at least a bit more sympathetic by the end of the story.

My one real complaint is… Well, I can’t say without giving away spoilers! Let’s just say that there is an aspect of the plot that I really was not comfortable with, and that as a rule I don’t care for in any book. So, that knocks it down a bit in my estimation. Still, it’s a creative tale and if you are interested in the genres which it encompasses, I think it’s worth a read.

The book ends things well enough, though the conclusion is a bit rushed. The immediate plot points are all tied off, while leaving things open for a sequel. And that’s just what we have with the book two in the “Steamcraft & Sorcery” series, titled A Grimoire for the Baron . I liked the first book well enough that I’m curious to read what happens next, though at the same time I have to say that I don’t feel the need to push the second title to the top of my wish list.

I bought both Boots for the Gentleman and A Grimoire for the Baron on the basis of Octobercountry's review quite some time ago and they lay undisturbed in my Kindle until a fortnight ago. I like hybrid-genres in general and these offerings from Li and de Beaumont fall into the broad gaslight/steam-punk fantasy category.

After the initial two chapters which I found a tad slow ... things picked up immeasurably once our thieving protagonist breaks into an old home and discovers a surprising hidden treasure. And as is wont to happen in many fantasy titles ... this discovery unleashes a chain events that place our hero Querrilous (you've got to love that name!) and those whom he holds dear, into significant peril and danger.

The clockwork magic and artifices are quite nicely set up in this fantasy world. The power struggle between humans and elves living in relative proximity to each other is less clearly defined but didn't detract from my reading pleasure.

However, it is the 'romance' aspect that sets this book apart from many others I've read. Octobercountry rather obliquely refers to this in his review ... but I'm just going to lay it out there - this is a M-M-M primary triangle folks. Now I have said that I'm not usually a fan of this form of set-up (having read a couple of other fantasies which handled such relational set-ups badly) ... but I am quite surprised that I became rather enamored with Querry, Reg (his longtime childhood friend) and Frolic. I echo Octobercountry - Frolic is a wonderful character! There is also some scenes outlining graphically hawt bedroom activities - so readers are forewarned of menage-type scenarios!

The authors provide significant back-story (through flashbacks) of both Querry and Reg ... their traumatic childhood experiences, their shared sufferings that tie them immeasurably together. Several really interesting secondary characters are also provided ... not least of which is the elven 'gentleman' of the book title (and whose real intentions and goodwill (or not) towards Querry are never fully resolved; perhaps this is the capriciousness of the fae folk. I was also quite taken by the Fagin-like character and his craftsman skills and inventions; such a pity that more was not revealed and developed of him.

The denouement battle with the evil forces and wicked anti-hero figure rolls forward to an exciting battle ending ... the authors don't gloss over or rush the fight sequences. I did find it slightly annoying that despite Querry being written as a savvy, street-smart capable fighter ... he was constantly being undone by opponents and then needing to be bailed out/rescued.

I found the book's ending to be bitter-sweet ... not because any of our three heroes die; but rather as a sense of 'lost innocence', for at least one of the three. Relational and character plot-lines are sufficiently tied up by the end of the first book with hints of more exciting things to come in the second.



A Grimoire for the Baron takes up the storyline fairly soon after the end of the first book. Our trio has set up home and hearth in a new country and as Querry's impetuous ways and thieving fingers land him and the others into a new crisis (read here - adventure). And before long, our heroes find themselves accompanying a wizard Baron out on a magical quest to locate a 'treasure' which promises to do much good for the world (or is this just a lie by the Baron?).

The quest-journey starts with an epic sea-battle and moves fairly quickly through varying landscapes, with all manner of magical beasts, monsters and warriors being encountered by Querry and crew. Some interesting new characters are introduced from amongst the mercenary crew, fighters and tech-support; thank goodness there is at least one significant female character!

I did like how the authors kept me guessing as to the real intentions of the Baron leading the quest ... is he truly being altruistic or is he hiding some dreadful truth / motivation; the answer is of course provided by the endings but not before some from left-field aha reveals (some of which were a little too incredible). Still - this sequel was a decent follow-up with the same detail to action adventure fighting as in the first book. Also continued over is the development of the complex relationship between the three protagonists ... although there were less sex-scenes (which is fine by me).

All in all, these proved surprisingly entertaining books for me.

Thanks for the reminder about these books! I really must pick them up and read them. I never thought I'd like Steampunk until I picked up Wayward Grace during a Dreamspinner tweetaway and absolutely loved it. I gather these are set in the same universe, so I'm sure I'm going to love them too.