Sakura of DOOM

A fantasy (despite the future setting, I think it's fantasy) of post-apocalyptic New York. Starts out good and atmospheric, ends with some plot points that make me want to spork things, most notably those having to do with the two women of color and the one older woman.

Points given for having more than one woman of color, and even more points for having a woman over 50, but still.

Also, I was rather unsatisfied with the conclusion; I think I wanted more of an explanation than there was.

Everyone was right. I loved this book.

It's 1810, and Queen Charlotte, the appointed Regent to King George III, has fallen ill. Miss Sarah Tolerance, Fallen Woman, continues to support herself by being an agent of inquiry instead of a prostitute, and somehow she gets tangled into the politics of the realm while trying to hunt down an Italian fan.

The voice is a distant third person, and Sarah is nearly always referred to in the narrative as "Miss Tolerance." It's nicely restrained and polite, though not above sarcastic comments, which made me very happy.

And Sarah Tolerance herself is just plain awesome. She isn't overtly kickass, but she means business and knows how to wield a sword quite well, thank you very much. I just love how methodical and smart she is; she's not a flashy heroine, and she doesn't want to be. She's practical!

By the time the ending rolled around, she had earned my respect as well as my love, because she made hard choices, because she could have done the easy thing but didn't, because she respected herself too much.

Alas, I cannot comment on the history, since I don't know much about it. The mystery wasn't too brilliant, as even I could tell roughly what would happen. But still, some of the turns at the end were still effective, more because of the emotional cost than because of the surprise factor.

Really looking forward to reading the second one, and I'm now trying to hunt down Robins' backlist, including her Regencies.

Links:
- kate_nepveu's review