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The Native Star by M.K. Hobson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I feel about steampunk the way Justice Stewart famously felt about pornography: I can’t tell you categorically what it is, but I know it when I see it.



And this ain’t it, aside from the gratuitous insectile flying machine. Wrong esthetic, wrong – oh, whatever, I just know what it isn’t.



But putting aside a marketing attempt to profit off a fad, this was pretty good. Alt history nineteenth century California with magic. Young woman narrator makes mistakes and learns from them, gets tangled up in world magical affairs when she leaves her small town, has one of those romances that’s 95% bickering (which I would have liked better if the bickering was better). Cool magic system, particularly the credomancers, whose power depends on the belief of those around them.



Except I never tipped over to loving it. There was something just that little bit slack about the tension, something a little vacant about all the running and jumping.



But then it pleasantly surprised me (it does happen! I forget that), and pulled out something more complicated than expected in the last 20%. The fear was more genuine, the consequences harder. Someone got hurt for keeps, someone else has the sort of awful, tragic problem that isn’t romantic and isn’t sexy, it’s just awful and tragic. Nice.



…Still didn’t love it though.



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