by Gail Z. Martin and Larry N. Martin
Published on: February 23, 2018

Storm & Fury is a collection of short stories and novellas that really show how much fun the Steampunk genre can be.  If you have been wanting to dip your feet into this genre these short stories may be a good way to start.

Description:

New Pittsburgh, 1898 – a crucible of invention and intrigue. Born from the ashes of devastating fire, flood and earthquake, the city is ruled by the shadow government of The Oligarchy. In the swarming streets, people of a hundred nations drudge to feed the engines of progress. The Department of Supernatural Investigation was set up to take care of those things that live below, that go bump in the night… those odd cases that go beyond ‘standard’ investigation. Nicknamed ‘Storm and Fury’, Mitch Storm and Jacob Drangosavich are two of the more creative agents, working in New Pittsburgh and obeying the rules – when they have to.

A collection of short stories and novellas set in the world of the Iron & Blood novels and the related Storm and Fury Adventures.

Includes: Airship Down, Ruin Creek, Resurrection Day, The Hunt, Grave Voices, and Rogue. Plus two bonus stories: Ghost Wolf and a Steampunk fairy tale: The Patented Troll

Thoughts:

What fun it must be to work at the Department of Supernatural Investigations.   Set in the world of the Iron & Blood novels, this book contains 7 short stories/novella and 2 bonus content stories along with an excerpt from the Iron & Blood novel.  Most of these stories feature two agents:  Mitch Storm and Jacob Drangosavich.  Mitch is the one you can count on to take the greatest risks to complete the mission (which means a lot of things get blown up and destroyed in the process.)  Jacob has the cooler head and approach to things, although you rarely see him strongly object when Mitch has a crazy plan.  

Mitch and Jacob are a lot of fun to read, but the stories also include other members from the agency giving us a more well-rounded look at how this department works and functions.  One of the more recognizable features of steampunk are its inventive gadgets and equipment and these stories have no shortage of them.  In fact, it very refreshing to see that this world has more than just an airship and a mechanical arm or leg. 

Of the stories, my favorites were Resurrection Day, Lagniappe, and Grave Voices. Lagniappe has a little mystery to it that was fun to work through and Grave Voices was very memorable due to how one of the character’s makes his appearance in the story.

Out of all of them, I will say I was a little disappointed in the first story, Airship Down, only because I didn’t feel like I got a resolution to the mystery.  However, as I kept reading through the different stories, I learned that anything alien-related generally remains a mystery.

Thank you SOL Publishing and Netgalley for the review copy and the opportunity to provide my honest opinions.