The Wrath of Fate is a unique sort of novel, as it is written to accompany and provide context to the music of Abney Park, a real-world steampunk-themed band, and the books are written by the band’s vocalist. This first novel in the set is part time-travel romp, part swashbuckling escapade, and part steampunk dystopian tale. It chronicles the adventures of Captain Robert Brown, a musician from the modern era, as he follows a series of unusual happenings that lead him on an exploration of the past and future. The events are told from the perspective of Captain Brown, and the places and people that he encounters are described using his dry sense of humor and businesslike stoicism that borders on fatalism. The colorful narrative of this storytelling perspective makes the tale feel like a fun romp that moves the action along through the novel at a quick pace. The sci-fi aspects of the story are not delved too deeply into as far as the scientific end of them, and the emphasis in the “fiction” half of “science fiction” makes them seem just foreign enough to be believable without questioning the whys and the wherefores of the whole time-traveling concept. The only negative observation I have about this book is that a few grammatical or spelling errors were overlooked by the editor, and those can be a bit distracting, but they are not frequent. This book has a cinematic feel to it, like an action movie painted with words. It is entertaining from start to finish.
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 11 religious exclamations; 39 mild obscenities; 1 religious profanity; 3 derogatory names; 8 scatological words; 2 anatomical terms,
Note: The word “gypsy” is used to describe nomadic people, not in an intentionally derogatory way, but some readers may find this offensive (not tallied). British use of the word “bloody” as a profanity (not tallied).
Violence/Gore: A few vehicles are destroyed with passengers killed or injured; a gunfight without injury; a few ship battles with property damage and deaths (not graphic); a few attacks with siege weapons; a fight using firearms and melee weapons in which people are killed with blood described; an animal kills another animal; a few fights with animals in which people and animals are killed or injured; a verbal threat; an illustration shows a man whipping a slave; minor property damage; a scene in which a man is whipped, an adult kicks a child, breaking his nose, and a man is tossed into the ocean to drown; a report of a fight; a report of a death without details; a report of a murder; an adult hits a child; characters are injured in an accident, with minimal blood described; a fight in which characters are killed by gunfire or fall to their deaths; a man dies from a blow to the head; characters are executed by firing squad with blood described; a fight with a robot in which people are injured; a man and woman are hit and dragged by attackers; robots are destroyed a few times; a few reports of many deaths; characters find the corpses of many humans and animals, including some dead bodies found in blood; characters find a pool of blood; a character stabs another through the eye; a few reports of accidental deaths; report of animals killed in science experiments; suicide is mentioned (in a poem).
Sex/Nudity: Characters flirt verbally; the companionship of a female robot, who is wearing revealing clothing, is offered for use in the bedroom; characters joke about a woman wanting to get another woman alone; the word “phallic” is used to describe architecture; a woman readjusts her revealing clothing to draw attention to her breasts; an illustration shows naked female breasts (the picture is not sexual in connotation); mention of pornography; two woman, wearing skimpy bathing suits, kiss each other; a man and woman kiss a few times; report of orgies occurring; a man and woman embrace, and he kisses her chest (the description is not specific about whether her chest is clothed or not when observers see this).
Mature Subject Matter:
Prostitution; racial segregation; government oppression and corruption; population control; a few characters are orphans; slavery; piracy; death (parent, friend, spouse); genocide (mentioned); murder (reported); war (mentioned); kidnapping; executions; police brutality; pornography (mentioned); lesbianism; suicide (mention): burglary.
Alcohol/Drug Use:
Adults drink alcohol; adults smoke cigars; characters are drugged to unconsciousness.
