Mir's Reviews > The Bookman

And so, not worrying about selling, not worrying about markets-- all the things I was doing with my aborted trilogy-- I began writing The Bookman.

For fun.

It would have all the things I love, I decided. Automatons and airships, poetry and magic, the underworld, and the London sewers. It would have chases and escapes! And a quest, of sort, done for love.

And so I wrote it. Like my hero, Orphan, I did it for love. And I had fun doing it…

It was the sort of book I could research by drinking in pubs. Old pubs. Old pubs that made it into the book! Great research!

Why can't I get a research gig like that?!

Tidhar is right, this book IS a ton of fun. And he didn't even mention Jules Verne and Lizard Queen Victoria and whales and

Okay, this was full of stuff I loved. I get why it isn't better known, because if you haven't read any of the books he's referencing and don't know much history then you end up missing a lot, especially the humor, although I think it would still be an enjoyable adventure novel. But definitely more strongly recommended for those with a grounding in Victorian (and some earlier) lit and history.