Gail Carriger’s Book Signing & Review of Timeless
By Maeve Alpin
Gail Carriger, author of the Parasol Protectorate series, entered Houston’s Murder By The Book store where rows of people, several in Steampunk costumes, sat in chairs with her books nestled on their laps. She greeted everyone with a dazzling smile and a perky, “Hello, My Darlings.”
“I believe in leaving a party before it’s over,” was her response to the question, why is Timeless the last book. She explained that if she walked out and got run over she’d known she’d left behind a finished series. She likes the package wrapped up with a big bow on top. The author also mentioned that Clueless had a cliffhanger ending because she didn’t have a contract at that time. With Blameless she knew they’d be five books in the series.
Now that the Parasol Protectorate series is finished with Timeless, what we can expect next is a young adult series, The Finishing School, which takes place in what really isn’t a finishing school at all. Also she will soon begin the first book in a series about Alexis and Conall’s daughter, who is also Lord Akeldama’s adopted daughter, the Parasol Protectorate Abroad series. The first book will be called Prudence and the second Imprudence. We have something else to look forward to, we will see familiar faces in both series.
As for Timeless, “The werewolves have a saying. It takes a pack to raise a child.” A pack, a vampire hive, a thespian troupe, and more if that child is a metanatural toddler, who walks at a young age. Young Prudence turns life tipsy every time she changes from human form to a toddler vampire, complete with fangs, when she touches any vampire, including her adopted father. She also transforms into a wolf cub, complete with fuzzy tail, when she touches any werewolf, including her own father. This makes life quite challenging for her preternatural mother, Lady Maccon, and her supernatural werewolf father, Lord Maccon, as they venture forth from their odd home, in Lord Akeldama’s third closet, to an ocean liner for a voyage to Egypt at the command of a Vampire Queen, and to search for information about the God-Breaker Plague, also to find out what Alexis’s father was really up to at the time of his death, and for Ivy and her husband and their acting troupe to perform their rendition of The Death Rains of Swansea for the Egyptian Vampire court . As I read Timeless, I wondered if all four were tied together, and if so how. I was pleased at the revelations and the conclusion Gail Carriger came up with.
Timeless is a great finish to an incredible series. Witty, funny and creative, Timeless also prepares us for the Parasol Protectorate Abroad series with a new Vampire Queen and a glimpse of a new Werewolf Alpha in the future I laughed out loud as I always do when reading Gail Carriger’s books. I will miss Alexia and I hope to see some of her in the coming series with Prudence. Timeless is a fun read, a great escape, and I highly recommend it.
Blogging Contest: I’m giving away an autographed copy of Gail Carriger’s Manga book of Soulless, an autographed copy of my To Love A London Ghost novel, and two Lady Mechanika comic books, Issues #1 and #2. To enter the contest, please comment below and include your email so I can contact you if you win. Here is a trailer for To Love A London Ghost.
~Maeve Alpin
I absolutely ADORE Gail Carriger’s world! Alexia makes me laugh out loud every time (and I’ve shot frozen coffee out my nose on more than one occasion). I can’t wait for her next books…kendrayoung713 AT comcast.net
I cannot wait to read “Timeless” – Carriger’s writing inspired me to write Steampunk and your blog helps me a lot! Thank you so much! 😀
I really enjoyed Timeless; I’ve followed the series from the beginning and am happy the series ended with a nice finish! 🙂
“No cephalopod fancier can be all bad.” Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series has intrigued since first sight; unfortunately, though I have the first 4 and will seek out and purchase the 5th book shortly, due to circumstances too tedious to go into, I haven’t actually started reading them yet. Perhaps reading this blog (and winning this contest?) will provoke me into doing just that. I’d seen the trailer for “To Love a London Ghost” before and been intrigued as well though I do not yet own it. “Lady Mechanika” I had not yet heard of, but it also intrigues.
Should I win this contest I shall soon be forced into the Hell on Earth of reading (and reviewing on Amazon of course) some very interesting, not to say intriguing books; otherwise, I shall probably just keep putting this off.
FredTownWard@aol.com
I love Alexia, she’s such a great character. Ivy and Madame LeFoux are amusing too, I love how dynamic they all are. 🙂 evafortuna0 (at) gmail
I cannot wait to get my hands on Timeless! I’d order it now, but I know I wouldn’t be able to stop reading it, and I have too much to do in the next few weeks. I’ll just have to live in suspense.
cdivizio at gmail dot com
What is not to love about all of these books?
alden (dot) ash (at-symbol-thingy) gmail (dot) com
Kly, Amber, Kathryn, FredTownWard, Gina, Catherine D, and Alden Ash, thank you so much for your comments. I appreciate them. Though the book, The Steampunk Bible has been out awhile, I am just now reading it, I was thrilled to see that Gail Carriger is mentioned in it, and rightly so. Gail Carriger”s reading and book signing was so fabulous also. She’s really there for her readers. If you ever get a chance to meet her at a booksigning or at a Steampunk Con or romance con, definitly try to make it. She’s truly fabulous.
oh my goodness, i LOVE steampunk. i fell in love with that genre a while back. the clothing and jewelry is awesome. i love gail carriger. her protectorate series is one of my favorite series, right next to katie macalister’s aisling grey, dragon sept series. i’d love to read any of the books listed. they all sound great. pinkdrama@gmail.com
HI, I came to the blog from a post on one of my groups. I love the post and the info. debby236 at hotmail dot com
Thank you for your comment Ella. I can tell by your comment that you like witty, humorous, paranormal books. I like both Gail Carriger’s parasol protectorate series as well as Kate MacAlister’s dragon series.
I so love this series, Gail Carriger is nothing shy of brilliant in my estimation! Having read and loved every book of hers I must find other more unique ways of satisfying my cravings for parasol, such as finding the perfect accessory for my July wedding.
Oh, I suppose and email address would be nice. Here you are: jmball0211@gmail.com
Please count me in as a contestant! These books sound awesome! Dina Rae
Thank you so much for your comment Jessica. Congratulations on your June Wedding.
I have Timeless on my TBR–I can’t wait!
I Love the trailer for To Love A London Ghost, it captures the feel of the story. So what’s next on your writing? More Steampunk?, Please??
I’m going to have to get my hot hands on Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate, I LOVE the idea of a child absorbing the abilities of anything she touches.
Mindy 🙂
Birdsooong@aol.com
Dear Dina and Heather, thank you both so much for your comments. I’m sure you both will love Gail Carriger’s Timeless and her new series as well. As you can tell, I enjoyed Timeless and I am looking forward to her two new series. If either of you get a chance to read To Love A London Ghost , I hope you’ll like it also. .
Dear Mindy.
Thank you so much for your kind comments. I’m so glad you like the trailer for To Love A London Ghost, Julie Darcy made it for me, she’s so incredibly talented. As far as what’s next for me, under Cornelia Amiri I had a release this month , Dance of the Vampires from EC, I plant to submit a Steampunk novella soon , set in the early 1600’s in Spain and Italy and most of it set on an unnamed planet.. I’ve begun writing a sequel to Dance of the Vampires and another Steampunk novella set in London about a Librarian. I just started those two.
I totally agree with you, Prudence’s ability to take on the paranormal abilities of anyone she touches is incredible and I really can’t wait for Gail Carriger’s The Parasol Protectorate Abroad series with Prudence. That Prudence is quite something as a two year old. I can’t wait to see what she’s like grown up.
I have only read Heartless, having heard about its recommendation before I discovered it was a series. I am not in the position where I can afford to expand my library, even with paperbacks, so I am unfortunately stuck waiting for the library to order it. I adored Heartless. The humor is my favorite type to read and I was constantly quoting it out loud to my husband, not to mention my natural affinity to vampires and werewolves. Can’t wait to finish the series!
It’s a great series Linsey. I loved Heartless too. Try the interactive library loan program at your library if you haven;’t already. That allows you to borrow books from any library in the county. If you go to your library’s website -a lot of times the url will be on your library card – there should be an option for interlibrary loan and you can type in the titles and if they come up order them to come to your local library and they will hold them there for you and email you when they arrive for you to check out. That may give you a better chance to get all the books sooner. I use interactive library loan ll the time. You may already know about this, but just in case you didn’t.
I am so so so so so hoping that this counts internationally! Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series has been my introduction into the fascinating world of steampunk (and what an intro!) I can’t wait for Timeless and more series following these characters!
My email is scottliz.anderson (at) gmail (dot) com if I am allowed to be a contestant (please, pretty please!)
Thanks so much for your comment. The contest is Elizabeth it is international. Good luck.
I just added your book to my TBR pile, and thank you so much for furthering my love of steampunk and for a chance to win such great prizes!!! I am so glad I found this site (I was directed her by an email from Suzanne Lazear).