The Osiris Ritual (Newbury & Hobbes) - Hardcover

GEORGE MANN is the head of publishing at the UK-based Games Workshop. He edited The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction anthology series and is the author of a number of fiction and nonfiction books, including The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. The first of the Newbury and Hobbes investigations, The Affinity Bridge, was his first novel.

A steampunk mystery that includes Ottoman automatons, ancient Egyptian artifacts, a malevolent stage magician, and a quest for immortality should prove entertaining, but unfortunately, The Osiris Ritual falls short of its promise. Set in the usual Victorian London, the story feels clichéd and mechanical. The main character is a third-rate Sherlock Holmes and Regency hero mash-up, and nothing particularly new or interesting happens. A romantic subplot is evoked but left unresolved, and the author uses the excuse of a series to avoid tying up loose ends or construct a narrative arc that delivers on the promised story. (Aug.) (c)
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