All
too often the Steampunk genre is judged by its bare basics. Add in an airship,
monocle and some contemporary items with gears, and to some people you’re set
to go. However, the charm of the genre comes from other aspects – Archaic
societal norms given futuristic technology, the Empire at a height it never
truly knew, and concepts from other genres put into a new light. This is what
the Newbury and Hobbes series has
always excelled at, and this new outing offers to show that much more of the
world.

Having resolved a multitude of seemingly
impossible cases, Newbury’s star is on the rise. Held in high esteem and
venerated by the public, life has never been better, but his increasing
reliance upon opium is taking its toll. As such, his new case could not have
come at a worse time. A criminal is performing high risk crimes with astounding
success, despite having been confirmed dead for weeks. The police even have his
body in the morgue, and it is down to Newbury and Hobbes to solve this
mysterious riddle.

This time the steam-driven future-tech is
kept largely in the background. Instead, it focuses initially upon the
political and societal elements of the world, furthering the series’ world
building efforts. While the steampunk elements help drive the story forwards,
the focus is more upon the mystery and characters themselves. It’s used as a
catalyst, to help enhance the other elements of the tale rather than overwhelm
them, and this sparing approach to the story allows Mann to craft a far more
immersive world. When the more occult elements come into play, the mix of
body-horror and insanity gives the tale a sense of boundless energy; and there
is far more thought put into how these secret societies operate than you would
expect.

What sadly holds this book back more than
anything else is some surprising contradictions with real-world history. While
a few odd dates or even strangely paced figures would be fine, you end up with
everything from misjudging when the Empire was at the height of its power to
certain social norms. This makes it difficult to read even with the benefit of
suspension of disbelief, and paired up with some surprisingly clichéd turns for
the series, it proves to be a much weaker outing than the first two books.

The series is most definitely worth
exploring for its futuristic Victorian setting and steampunk elements, and The Immorality Engine does benefit from
some fascinating ideas. However, it’s definitely one best saved until after you
read The Affinity Bridge or a few of
the better outings.

THE IMMORALITY ENGINE / AUTHOR: GEORGE
MANN / PUBLISHER: SNOWBOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW