Steve Turnbull

A novelette changing the RMS Macedonia from passenger liner to airship in the steampunk era to offer a unique murder setting that highlights a biracial sleuth sensitive to LGBT suspects.

I found Maliha Anderson to be an interesting young woman who has learned how to portray self-confidence and keep her own counsel even in the most sensitive situations. Otherwise, I was glad the story could be read as a stand-alone and able to conclude in so few pages or I might not have finished the story. For this reader, it simply seemed that the author wanted to combine as many diverse subjects into one mystery in as few pages as possible. In that case, mission accomplished.… (mais)

Another excellent addition to the Maliha Anderson series. At the end of the previous book, Maliha decided to go back to her Indian family. This being Maliha Anderson, it's not all sunshine and roses.

This is quite a short book, as things go - though slightly longer than previous volumes in the series - and Turnbull isn't afraid to tackle head-on topics that usually get swept under the carpet. Other reviewers have found reading about such topics uncomfortable; I did not find it so. Turnbull does not dwell on the 'uncomfortable bits', but this certainly is not either a cosy mystery or cute, whimsical steampunk.

Innocent people get betrayed and hurt. Sometimes events have happened in such a way that things will never be the same again; happy endings all round just aren't on the cards. Life is like that. Even when there are airships.

I'm looking forward to reading the next one in the series.… (mais)

Although I think this is the weakest of the Maliha Anderson books, it's still a solid four stars - which should tell you something about the series as a whole.

Maliha is in Johannesburg, trying to find the family of the baby girl she 'acquired' at the end of the previous book. Naturally, it's not as simple as that - hence, book. This book gets a lot more science-fiction than previous books - with distinct elements of H.G. Wells.

These books are short and snappy, and this one is no exception. When Maliha realises what is going on, the action accelerates (reaching -9.8ms-2). Once again, Turnbull does not shy away from bad things happening to nice people - this is not safe, whimsical steampunk. Maliha's world is not all sunshine and roses, and I prefer it that way.

This book is probably best thought of as the first half of Maliha's final case, as the next book in the series - [b:Under the Burning Clouds|28424233|Under the Burning Clouds (Maliha Anderson Book 6)|Steve Turnbull|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1451669578s/28424233.jpg|48530244] - is the finale, and concludes the events that begin in this book.… (mais)

This is the finale of Turnbull's Maliha Anderson series, and picks up only a few hours after the end of [b:Thunder Over the Grass|25636178|Thunder Over the Grass (Maliha Anderson, #5)|Steve Turnbull|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1433068372s/25636178.jpg|45452121]. One of the consequences of her actions is that Maliha has made Johannesburg rather too hot to hold her, so she flees with the two children - Izak and Lilith, intending to bring down Terence Timmons.

These last two books in the series remind me very much of late nineteenth and early twentieth-century science fiction ([a:H. G. Wells|14980471|H. G. Wells|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], [a:Jules Verne|696805|Jules Verne|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1322911579p2/696805.jpg], [a:C. S. Lewis|14590399|C. S. Lewis|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]), whereas the first four reminded me more of Stirling's [b:The Peshawar Lancers|179021|The Peshawar Lancers|S.M. Stirling|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309201529s/179021.jpg|172953]. That's not to say that Turnbull's books are in any way derivative - they're aren't. They're entirely his own, and (as I've said before, and will probably say again) they're not steampunk-lite. Bad things happen to good people, and good people have to do terrible things because it's the least-worst option. Turnbull does not let his characters find a convenient way out of moral difficulties - it's one of my favourite things about his writing.

If you're a Turnbull fan, Khuwelsa Edgbaston (from the [b:Harry Takes Off|25143236|Harry Takes Off|Steve Turnbull|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428105865s/25143236.jpg|44842330] series) gets a cameo role, just enough to give some information about what happens to the characters after the end of that series.… (mais)