Bronze Gods by A.A. Aguirre

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Terrance McArthur

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Details on how to win a copy of this book at the end of this post.

Long, long ago, in Hy Breasil, land of the Ferisher fey, lost ships appeared from a world of Iron. Before the bearded crews and the native folk could wipe out each other, the groups intermarried. Centuries later, that realm is the setting for a paranormal-steampunk-fantasy-noir mystery, Bronze Gods, an Apparatus Infernum novel by A.A.Aguirre. It’s an amazing journey for the adventurous reader.

Janus Mikani and Celeste Ritsuko are detectives who have a maddeningly platonic work relationship. She had to fight the system for her position, and her detail-oriented style uncovers clues and links. His streak of fey helps him sense things, at the price of nosebleeds and headaches that he drowns in medications, alcohol, and serial romances. When the disappearance of a daughter of one of the Great Houses turns into a grisly series of ritual-seeming murders, the pair’s abilities and relationship are put to the test.

Image source: Penguin

Ann Aguirre created the Sirantha Jax (Aftermath) series and the Corine Solomon/Shannon Cheney stories, but this initial offering of a new venture teams her with her Mexican-born husband Andres; the two of them are the A and the A of A.A. Aguirre. The language is softer, more evocative, with a dream-like shading that is reflected in the misty nights of Hy Breasil. Steam cars powered by elementals, children of the rich taking menial jobs to escape the restrictions of their fathers, a man hiding behind a mask, mirror communication, men who kill others because it’s their job (and they love their work), diabolical machines of death, a mysterious man with a mansion in the hills and the ability to kill an attacking group of thugs, a choreographer who is fifty years older than she looks, and memories of the powers of the past: all have pieces and places in the clockwork pattern of Bronze Gods.

Mikani and Ritsuko are beaten, bullied, attacked, and taken off the case, but they keep closing in on the killer and his purpose. Close in on this book. It’s the beginning of a crackerjack series with a complexity and power that will make you want more, but you’ll have to wait; Silver Mirrors isn’t scheduled for release until May 2014. Save me a seat in line.

To enter to win a copy of Bronze Gods, simply email KRL at life@kingsriverlife[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “Bronze”, or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen June 8, 2013. U.S. residents only.

Terrance V. Mc Arthur is a California-born, Valley-raised librarian/entertainer/writer. He lives in Sanger, four blocks from the library, with his wife, his daughter, and a spinster cat.