"3.5 Stars. I’ve been mulling over A Siege of Bitterns (great title), by Steve Burrows, for a few days now. The premise of setting a mystery in a Norfolk marshland with its plethora of birders was good. As was the mix of motives from wind farms to possible toxic spills and animosity between business minded folks and champions of nature. I also enjoyed a number of the characters. But the moody, albeit talented, bird watching enthusiast, Inspector Domenic Jejeune just didn’t impress me much. His back story (something about his brother...) and the reason he moved from Canada to Britain wasn’t fleshed out and neither was his previous case which propelled his career forward. I kept thinking, “perk up lad, adopt a bit of gratitude�!
I might dip into the next in the series though as I found the birding aspect quite informative and maybe more about Jejeune will be revealed. "

" (Received my ARC via Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ)

It's all about the journey, not the destination, in Priest's third entry in The Clockwork Universe. A journey undertaken via airship, steamship and the eponymous Dreadnought, a monstrous Union war train carry more guns than the Texas chapter of the NRA. It's a journey with more than its fair share of bumps along the way, true, but it's also a very linear one.

Throughout the voyage battles are fought, unsurprising mysteries revealed, rebel raiders repelled, numerous secondary characters with hazy motivations encountered, and a horde of zombie heroically disposed of. Because what's a steampunk tale without a healthy dose of zombies? Don't worry, we're sure the werewolves will appear next issue.

And throughout all these varied tribulations protagonist Vinita "Mercy" Lynch remains as steady and unflappable as bedrock. Nothing much seems to truly shock the recently widowed Mrs. Lynch, which, unfortunately, means nothing much truly shocks you.

Still, it's entertaining enough. Three-and-a-half stars out of five."