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Bear was the recipient of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in She is the author of the acclaimed Eternal Sky series, the Edda of Burdens series, and coauthor with Sarah Monette of the Iskryne series. Bear lives in Brookfield, Massachusetts. Surreally captivating, Bear's latest melds the genres of steampunk, fantasy, adventure and dime-store western together perfectly, thanks mostly to the charming voice of the protagonist.
Karen's rough edges and obviously wicked intelligence are highlighted by nuanced details that establish her already likable voice as even more relatable; her charming self-taught misuse of phrases and terminology, and reflexive bravery and morality are just a few examples in this fantastic read.
Karen has a voice that is folksy but true, and the entire cast of heroic women doing the best they can in an age that was not kind to their gender is a delight Karen and the ladies kick ass. Bear gives Karen a colorful voice, sharp eyes, and the spunk and skills necessary to scuffle with bad types as well as to win over people whose help she needs. Her story is a timeless one: a woman doing what is needed to get by while dreaming and fighting for great things to come. Weapons, gadgets, and their places in the characters' lives put together a charmingly inventive fictional Seattle--especially for those readers bringing along some knowledge of the city's nascent history.
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Enter your zip code below to purchase from an indie close to you. The calm is shattered one night when two young women arrive at the Mon Cherie seeking help and protection. This is how Karen first meets and falls in love with Priya, a prostitute who managed to escape the horrific conditions of a rival brothel, but not without its mean and nasty proprietor Peter Bantle in hot pursuit.
When the flogged and bloody corpses of women start appearing around town, one begins to wonder if all of this is connected somehow. A new lawman rides into town with his Comanche partner on the tail of a vicious serial killer, and together with Karen and the friends, this ragtag but resourceful crew is determined to get to the bottom of this conspiracy. At times, Karen Memory did feel very much like my perfect book.
It is imaginative steampunk that feels fresh and full of life, served up as a rich blend of mystery, suspense, action and romance. The end result is difficult to describe, but delightfully easy to enjoy. Despite a healthy dose of fantastical steampunk, we never lose sight of the distinctive characteristics or nuances of this particular era. Karen herself is an amazing one-of-a-kind character, telling her story with a candidness that I found very charming.
It made Karen feel so real — I could practically hear her voice and imagine her mannerisms in my head.
That I was able to overlook them in this case says a lot. This entire cast of brave and capable kickass women will rock your world and fill you with admiration. For a certainty, this novel features no shortage of spirited women will go to great lengths for those they love and what they believe in, and will not back down without a fight.
Start by marking “Karen Memory (Karen Memory, #1)” as Want to Read: See, my name is Karen Memery, like memory only spelt with an e, and I'm one of the girls what works in the Hôtel Mon Cherie on Amity Street. Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear is a difficult book for me to review. Karen Memory is a steampunk novel by Elizabeth Bear. It was published by Tor Books, on February 3, ; a Japanese-language version was published on.
Karen Memory is a book about a lot of things — solving a mystery, hunting a merciless killer, saving the city from evil, and all the spectacular drama that comes along with such activities. Behind the rollicking adventure is also a softer, more introspective side to the story that will surely resonate with a lot of readers. Final verdict? I would definitely recommend this. Check it out. View 1 comment. Apr 25, Amanda rated it it was ok Shelves: meh , untumbled-turds. After making it to page 90 something, I just couldn't go on.
Karen Memory is a mixed bag of genres telling a story that's been told before: prostitutes with hearts of gold become targets of big, bad men in a frontier town. Now, I like a good western and I like good science fiction, and nothing makes me as giddy as when the two come together seamlessly R. Firefly , but Karen Memory wasn't a particularly good western and it was only sci-fi by way of some very minimal steampunk elements so ta After making it to page 90 something, I just couldn't go on.
Firefly , but Karen Memory wasn't a particularly good western and it was only sci-fi by way of some very minimal steampunk elements so tangential were such elements to the plot, in fact, one could read entire chapters and forget that such elements existed. Overall, the effect was underwhelming.
There were some good elements, primarily the diversity of the characters which has been mentioned in several other reviews, and with good reason. Bear is to be applauded for creating a world that includes so many varying races and sexual identities, but ultimately many of the characters seemed one-dimensional to me--especially Karen Memery her name is unnecessarily spelled with an "e" in the book itself.
Karen is an inconsistent character throughout, primarily defined by the following: she speaks in a backwoods dialect that seems to come and go throughout the novel, she sure does wear out needless euphemisms for turning tricks, she sure does love her some horses, and, boy, howdy, she sure does love the Indian waif who ends up on the doorstep of Madam Damnable's house of ill repute.
Two things in particular bother me about Karen. The first is that dialect does not an interesting character make; dialect should be a part of the character, but should not be the means by which a character is defined. Secondly, she falls in love with Priya aforementioned Indian waif the moment she sees her.
Karen, based upon no real interaction with Priya, decides she's the toughest, prettiest, smartest person in the whole wide world. Few things are as maddening to me as the "love at first sight" plot device. Maybe the book gets better and, as you can see from a sampling of the other reviews here on Goodreads, I'm in the minority. However, instead of spending more time with Karen, I think I'm just going to go re-watch Captain Mal and his band of misfits aboard the Serenity aim to misbehave.
View all 8 comments. Feb 25, Emma rated it really liked it Shelves: steam-punk , western. This was a high adventure and a barrel of laughs! Karen Memory is a fantastic protagonist with a very authentic voice. An action filled western with lots of shoot outs and shenanigans. A wonderfully varied cast of characters, heros and villains alike.
A badass bunch of women saving the day.. Well worth a read!
Jan 27, Nathan rated it really liked it Shelves: author-female , historical-fantasy , read , steam-punk , ratedstar. Reposted to Booknest.
I may put on high airs and use proper grammar and such to the best of my ability but in reality I am genuine hick. I raised hog for most of my growing days and have a fair hand with a hoss. She may not be from Oklahoma but with that accent I could sure enough take her home to meet my grandma. She got enough lernen to read and has a real keen mind.
She got lucky though, fell in with the right type of lady who runs a better sort of house. Got herself a dream too, saving up to run with a stable of her own liker her and her daddy used to work before…well, just before.
When two girls come to the door all bloody like a spark is hit that threatens to build quick. The other gal is the one doing the break out, and has a reputation for doing it more than once. It all goes to hell from there.
Enter a U. Marshall chasing a serial killer, a little gun play and some steam contraptions, and a hell of a lot of people usually found sitting in the corner of a book instead standing up and taking action. Shitkicker I may be but a long ways from the worst of the hick side of my family I sit. I love seeing a diverse cast take over a story completely. Did I mention Karen might lay with men, but paying is the only reason that would ever happen? Because when she finds love she fights for it with the same fire as anyone else would.
But a group of outsiders that stick together can do all right for themselves.
Call a spade a spade. Adventure full of twists and turns, gun play and chases, and a few gizmos doing what they do make up the base of this tale.
Kevin Hearne. Range of Ghosts. The Hugo-winning author of one of my favorite books of the year, Karen Memory , was gracious and talkative. Please follow the detailed Help center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders. She will need every advantage available to catch a terrifying new psychopath splattering London with blood. Follow us on Twitter. Dreadful Company.
Black hats take the girl and the cowboy gets her back. And she got a posse of men and women of every color and walk of life right there with her to back up her moves. It is a simple story after all.