Continuing my review of series…
The Custard Protocol by Gail Carriger includes three novels: Prudence, Imprudence, and Competent. These stories continue in the steampunk world that starred Alexia Tarabotti as a preternatural in Victorian London. Only this time we are following Alexia’s daughter, Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama. Rue is taking her best friend Primrose and Prim’s twin brother, Percy along with Quesnel in her dirigible as she causes havoc around the world.
The books are filled with Gail Carriger’s characteristic quirky writing style. There is an abundance of dirigible hijinks, werewolves, vampires and cleverly colourful characters. Carriger has an engaging, highly entertaining writing style. Her cast of characters are well conceived, colourfully described and largely diverse. These are great books, which I thoroughly enjoyed – once I got in them.
My biggest difficulty was the transition at the start of the series. It reads very strongly as a continuation of an earlier story. And this makes it a little difficult to engage, especially if you are new to the world. I struggled as Alexia Tarrabotti was the first of Carriger’s characters I met and knew. Not unreasonably, Rue has a different relationship with her mother and so Alexia is written differently than when I was reading the Parasol Protectorate. It took a while for me to warm to Rue. In fact I think I enjoyed the third book more, though not the cover. Competence featured the twins, Primrose and Percy, instead of Prudence. As such it featured less of the metanatural form-stealing and more the skills of those who were raised by a vampire queen. I didn’t mind the constant comments on the silliness of Ivy’s choice in hats.
That said, I think Carriger handled the diversity of gay, lesbian and transgendered individuals more openly and beautifully in this series than in her earlier work. While her manner of writing might be what first drew me to her work, Carriger’s diverse and honest characters are certainly what keeps one reading.
I might have thought the brightly coloured covers seemed to target a younger audience, I would still place the main audience closer to adult than younger teen.
Overall: these are excellently written books whose author has a fun, distinctive voice. 4.5/5 stars.
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Just realized that there is in fact a fourth book in the series that focuses on Percy in Japan – Reticence. I suppose this means this is not a complete series review. However, it will have to do for now as Reticence doesn’t release until August 6th.