Friday, August 23, 2019

2019 book 101

Gail Carriger's Reticence
The latest in Carriger's Custard Protocol series feels like it might be the end of her stories from the Parasol Protectorate world, and if so, it's a pretty satisfying conclusion. In this one, the usual gang (and all their new additions) make their way to Japan to find out if fox shifters exist. And there's a new (lady) doctor on board, the perfect love interest for awkward intellectual Percy! Lots of callbacks  to the earlier books here (said doctor is the daughter of the villain from the prequel series, and those lady spies make some appearances) but I think the story and characters here are entertaining enough that it works without knowing all the context. I mean, these books are fluffy and fun and what's not to like? It's like steampunk meets Studio Ghibli. (I felt that Carriger did a pretty good job of avoiding Orientalism, but of course I am not an expert.) A-.

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