Jacqueline is a
teenager living on the streets of the Free City of New Orleans, scratching a
living in the only free city and independent city in the Confederacy. She is
helped by her constant companion - the Orisha Oya, lady of winds.
She doesn’t want to
stay - she wants to see the world and Anne Marie, agent of Haiti and the Free
Islands, may be the ticket out there on her airship.
But first they have a
city to save…. As a Haitian scientist has been captured and with the secret of
their most powerful weapon: the Black God’s Drums.
Oooooh, yes, yes this
is me intrigued
This is an alternate
world, a steampunk world - honestly I don’t even know why I’m calling it a
steampunk world because i think there’s only one airship to give me that hint,
but the whole sense of this is really evocative of steampunk. In fact the whole
book has an incredibly powerful sense of of place and setting. It’s surprising
because this is done with very neat language. Normally when I describe a book
as evocative and with a strong sense of place it’s a very positive spin on
“really overwritten” or “in need of an editor with a big pair of scissors”. But
this isn’t overwritten - it’s short and the writing is wonderfully concise at
giving this sense of the entire world with minimal info dumping despite a
massive amount of information to impart
And this world is
fascinating. We have the standards of steampunk with the airships et al. But we
also have a mix of magic and religion with the yoruba gods and loa having
direct effect on the world and clear other magic systems being powerful
influence. The United States is divided, the civil war still ongoing for years
albeit with a truce. New Orleans is a free city, fiercely independent with
strong allies allowing it to be independent from the Confederacy despite forces
trying to undermine that. The Caribbean is independent, the Free Islands,
following Haiti’s revolt now aided by powerful technology and divine
intervention
It’s a fascinating
world setting to take a steampunk setting and then outright addressing and
combating the themes of colonialism which are almost inherent to this genre -
or completely ignored by this genre. By openly addressing this, addressing the
bigotry and oppression and then taking the magic and technology of the setting
and using it to overturn some of that, it really does subvert so much of this
genre. And any historical genre - there’s so much ”alternate history” fiction
out there which basically replicates exactly the same modes of oppression that
exist today - and the exact same victors, despite throwing in all kinds of
supernatural elements. There’s no reason to repeat the same reality we have
today when so much else is changing.
Our protagonist is
Jacqueline (known as Creeper), a classic Urban fantasy orphan who lives on the
streets of New Orleans. Her mother, a sex worker is gone - but despite that
still has multiple maternal figures - from a collection of subversive spying
nuns, to the madam at a brothel (and both she and Jacqueline are clear in combating
and resisting any sense of shaming of sex workers) who are there to try and
grab her off the streets and still look out for her. She also has a deep
relationship with the goddess Oya, orisha of the winds, storms etc which is a
fun relationship with powers and visions - albeit at Oya’s will not
Jacqueline’s - I think Oya definitely has her own agenda
And Jacqueline
definitely does - despite a path laid out by Madame Diouf for a more
“respectable” lifestyle. She wants to leave the city. She wants to join an
Airship commanded by Captain Anne-Marie St. Augustine. A Haitian with her own
godly connections and she has an absolutely excellent relationship with
Jacqueline. I love how they jab back and forth. I love their biplay, I love how
Anne-Marie continually underestimates how mature Jacqueline is and has to
remind herself who the adult in the situation is. They work extremely well
together and I look forward so much to seeing this team develop because this
story with Anne-Marie having to take Jacqueline along on her mission was so
much fun
And the rest of
Anne-Marie’s crew. She is Haitian, Black, bisexual, a swashbuckler, fighter and
passionately loyal to her country and cause. Her crew has a Mongolian and
Indian members - and these are just the ones named in this short book and her
complicated fight with Oshun, the Orisha which has formed a relationship with
her. I waaaant more of this.
There’s also some
really nice examination of hierarchies and classism - like the recently free
people of New Orleans turning round and looking down on Jacqueline as the child
of a sex worker. Or how Haiti’s independence wasn’t unfraught with different
fights between different groups
So we have a diverse
cast, we have an absolutely amazing world setting, we have magic, we have steam
punk, we have some excellent characters with some really good relationships. We
have some excellent writing I loved, magic, adventure, neglected mythology, and
so much more awesome potential and some nicely sharp social commentary. I love it
and want more. So much more
Sadly, oh how short it was! Why so short! We could have had sooo much more - and there better be many many many many sequels.
Many sequels
MANY
