I found this book in a search for steampunk novels. The book fits the genre - set in Victorian England with the apparent presence of technology not known in that era. So far, so good. But the story telling failed. The author plays with the reader - some information is given, some is withheld. Fairly normal, but in this case it just comes across as artificial and annoying. After 70 pages I gave up. I think there may have been a good book here, but sadly it has been murdered by the author. ( )

The first book I read by Blaylock was All The Bells on Earth .
[b:All The Bells On Earth|421028|All the Bells on Earth|James P. Blaylock|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174590304s/421028.jpg|1437645]

That book immediately won me over. It was an exquisite example of what Dark Fiction (or Urban Fantasy, or the new Weird, or whatever you call the genre) can do. Unfortunately, since that book I just haven't found another Blaylock book as good.

This book wasn't bad, and I guess I judged it two ways.

If I judged it on its own, I probably would have given it a 2. It starts slow, I didn't really find myself enjoying it until about halfway into the book. The characters are easy to confuse. There's a good sized cast, and they all seem to fall within two groups. The good and the bad. Within those groups the characters are all but interchangeable.

The plot was tangled, but still felt arbitrary. In the end I don't feel like the characters really moved the book, rather they were caught up in it.

Where this book scores points is when judged within the steampunk genre. This was one of the early cornerstones of that form. And in that respect it was a fun read. It did pick up in the second half. And if you like the general setting and style of steampunk stories you'll enjoy this one. ( )

Gawd, that was not my idea of a good read. I think I have found my weakness where books refer to one character by 3 or 4 different names. It makes me want to have a post-it note with the various ways the author refers to each one. If the whole idea of the book was to strive to recreate the confused pell-mell of a frantic scamper along the plotline, then it did it admirably. Ill be wary of more of the same in future though. ( )

Homunculus by James P. Blaylock is a part of the “A Tale of Langdon St. Ives” series. Now, for some people who aren’t familiar with James P. Blaylock, let’s just say that he is often called a founding father of the steampunk genre. In other words, if you’re into steampunk, you need to at least get some Blaylock into your reading list. But I digress. The point is that Homunculus is a well written book that will give your imagination a great workout. Set in Victorian London, an alternative – steam powered – tale sets the scene. Our hero, Professor Langdon St. Ives, has a mission. Recover a wooden box containing a huge emerald that Jack Owlesby’s father left for him. However it’s easier said than done. Throw in a few mad-scientists, villains, a dirigible steered by a skeleton, a tiny little man in a jar who may be an alien, and reanimated corpses into the mix and you have a novel filled with sci-fi/steampunk that will have you laughing at inappropriate times, biting your nails as the story progress and turning the pages constantly.

Steampunk isn’t really my genre of choice, but I do enjoy dabbling in things that I don’t know and I was surprisingly pleased after I finished this book (lucky for me I had two other Langdon St. Ives books to read, so that rocked too). You see, what I prefer in books is originality to some degree, imaginative settings that’s creative and beautiful, and good writing. Throw those elements together and you have Homunculus, which will make you love the genre and the author (not to mention the characters). What’s more is that this particular book won the Philip K. Dick award back in the day (1986), which already tells you that it’s a really good novel and definitely worth a read.

I won’t say that steampunk is now my preferred genre, but I will keep on reading James P. Blaylock and try to keep my mind open when it comes to other steampunk authors.

(Originally reviewed on www.killeraphrodite.com ) ( )

http://speculiction.blogspot.com/2016/04/review-of-homunculus-by-james-p-blayloc... ( )