Book Review: Iron Duke

Iron Duke by Meljean Brook is the established author’s first foray into the steampunk genre. The book is a great read, with an atmosphere, which combines the British Regency with an Industrial Revolution out of control. Brooks builds a world in which the defeated Horde had previously infected people with nanotechnology, which would allow them to control infected individuals with a simple radio frequency. In the wake of their defeat, people such as detective inspector Lady Wilhelmina Wentworth are still trying to simply survive and keep food on the table of her family. Mina’s job leads her to the doorstep of the man that effectively defeated the Horde five years prior, Rhys Trahaearn who is most often referred to as the Iron Duke. The two have a shared attraction and a desire to get to the bottom of the crimes and intrigue that have brought them together. There are airships, nanotechnology, and metal creations to assuage steampunk fans and eclectic characters, subterfuge and danger to please romance and adventure fans. Brook’s world and character development has me eager to see what will happen next in this new series, and am eager to read Heart of Steel which is due to be published in November 2011.