Book Review: The Monster War by Alan Gratz

Well, here are at last. We've reached the third and final book of The League of Seven series. There really isn't much more to say, so let's get right into it. We're taking a look at The Monster War by Alan Gratz.

Archie Dent is still reeling from the loss of the Dragon Lantern. In fact, he no longer believes that he deserves to be a hero, and has taken to sulking in the shadows. But fate isn't about to let Archie off that easily. There are still two members of the League of Seven yet to be found. Meanwhile, Philomena Moffit is using the Dragon Lantern to raise an army of monsters, and is planning on marching them on New Rome. A war is brewing, and the League of Seven are going to have to take a final stand and defeat Moffat once and for all.

The League of Seven trilogy started off with a great first book, and an equally excellent second book. So, how does the third and final book do? Well, there were many things that I did enjoy about The Monster War. Having said that, there are also several fairly significant flaws. Let's start with what I enjoyed.

The book starts in Houston in the Republic of Texas. The people of this alternate Texas are primarily Latino, though they refer to themselves as mestizo. Mestizo is a Latin American term for people of mixed ancestry; usually European and Native American. Despite this, the Texans all talk, dress, and act like stereotypical Texas cowboys. Most of them speak in the typical Texas drawl, but will toss the occasional Spanish word or phrase in occasionally. Believe it or not, in our world, Texas didn't really have a large Latino population until relatively recently. In fact, up until the 1990s, German was the most common second language in Texas. Obviously, this has very much changed over the past couple decades due to shifting demographics.

Like in our world, Houston is home to a massive arena. However, it is a colosseum-esque arena known as the Astral Dome. The ceiling and corridors as covered in glowing bioluminescent lights that look like the night sky. It is another leftover relic from Atlantis. It is at the Astral Dome that Archie meets Gonzalo. He's a member of the Texas Rangers, just like his parents and siblings. He's good are sharp shooting, horse riding, lassoing, and other typical cowboy things. All of this is very impressive given that he is also completely blind. Oh, but don't worry, he has a talking raygun named Señor X to act as his seeing eye...uh, gun.

It hasn't escaped my notice that Archie's iteration of the League of Seven falls into that trope you see in a lot of kids media. The one where all the kids in the man group are various tokens. We've got the token Black kid (Clyde), the token Asian kid (Kitsune), the token Latino (Gonzalo), the token Scottish kid (Fergus). So, I guess it makes since there would also be a token disabled kid to go along with everyone else. I was worried that Hachi would be the token Native American kid, but thankfully, we got another Native American member of the team. We'll discuss her in a minute.

Señor X has an Aztec-esque design; he looks like a turquoise serpent. That made me wonder what the X stood for. Perhaps it stood for Xiuhcoatl? It is a name that can mean multiple things. It can mean fire serpent, and there is a creature by that name in Aztec Mythology. However, it can also mean hidden weapon. Both interpretations would certainly suit a raygun like Señor X.

Lo and behold, I was correct. Turns out, Señor X, or rather, Xiuhcoatl, was created by the Lemurian iteration of the League of Seven. The Lemurians were the forerunners of the Mesoamerican civilizations; just like the Atlanteans were with the Native Americans from above the Rio Grande. Though, it turns out even Lemuria had its own predecessors in the form of Atlan. Their name appears to be a reference to Aztlan, the mythical homeland of the Aztec people. It is from Aztlan that we get the word Aztec. The people we now refer to as Aztecs actually referred to themselves as Mexica, which is where Mexico gets its name.

Interestingly, the members of the Lemurian League of Seven were all gods from Mesoamerican mythology. Or perhaps, they are misremembered as gods. They included Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca from Aztec Mythology, and Ixchel form Maya Mythology. The League of Seven has always been an international organization, so the mixing of Aztec and Maya deities is excusable. Though I was a bit surprised that the Maya hero twin Hunahpu and Xbalanque weren't members. Or perhaps they joined a different iteration of the League of Seven?

Also, if Lemuria was the forerunners of Mesoamerica, then presumably they left behind lot of steampunk tech like Atlantis did. And if that's the case, how did Mexico and Central America still get colonized by Spain? It is a bit disappointing that we never got to see what New Spain is like. Also, why does the Texas flag look the same as it does in our world? In our world, the Texas flag was model off of the American flag. In the Leagueverse, however, the flag of the United Nations of America looks like the Iroquois flag. So, logically, the Texas flag ought to look different as well, but I digress.

I should have mentioned this earlier, but the Republic of Texas comprises almost of our world's Texas. I say almost because Galveston is an independent city-state run by pirates. Oh, and it is completely underwater. A subaquatic city of glass domes and metal tubes. Galveston was founded by the pirate Jean Lafitte. As a result, the ruler of Galveston is known as The Lafitte. The primary inhabitants of Galveston are the Karankawa people. They're the indigenous inhabitants of Galveston Island. However, these Karankawa are a bit different from the ones in our world. They're seven feet tall on average, have grey skin, webbed hands, and gills; though they can breathe air just as well as water.

As soon as I read all of that, I joked to myself that the Karankawans must be related to the Deep Ones from the Lovecraft Mythos. Hey, there are a lot of references to the works of H.P. Lovecraft in the League of Seven books. Not long after that, it is mentioned that the Karankawa refer to the Mangleborn as the Deep Ones. Apparently, most Karankawa have a small amount of Deep One ancestry, hence their appearance.

It is in Galveston that Archie finds the final member of the League. She's a Karankawa girl named Martine. She's incredibly intelligent, especially when it comes to science and engineering. She has even designed her own submarine called The Kraken, which it looks like a giant squid. I usually describe The League of Seven series as a kid-friendly version of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but with original characters. I guess Martine is the Captain Nemo of the group. I always find submarines with a steampunk aesthetic to have a certain charm to them. It's a shame submarines don't appear more often in steampunk works. Perhaps, because submarines are something we have in our world, most authors don't consider them to have the same exotic romanticism as airships? But I digress.

Martine is also notable in that she has autism. Well, it is never stated outright, but it is heavily implied. She has trouble understanding emotions and social cues, she has very detail-oriented thinking, has a tendency to get hyper-focused on certain tasks, and can come across as a bit stoic and reserved. Martine also has synesthesia. It is a real-world condition where your senses get mix together. People with synesthesia might perceive numbers and letters as having different colors, or smells, or even tastes. Indeed, Martine describes letters, numbers, and symbols as having different colors and emotions attached to them. This comes in handy more than once a when the League has to navigate another puzzle trap.

It wasn't totally ignored, but shame that more wasn't made of Martine being autistic. Autistic kids, especially autistic girls, are still fairly rare in most media. It seems Martine might have been added later into Gratz's writing process. There is a scene in the first book where Archie gets a vision of the other League member. The descriptions of Kitsune and Clyde fit their eventually appearance, and Clyde even has Buster with him. Gonzalo looks more or less the same, and he has Señor X, though he's also wearing a turquoise Aztec mask that he lacks in this book. However, the final member is described as a white girl with brown hair; a marked contrast to tall, grey-skinned, Martine the Karankawan. Thanks to Martine we now have more than one Native American on the team. Also, her name is kind of a pun. Martine sounds like marine/maritime, as in, thing relating to the sea.

Martine has also found a way to harness aether. It can do pretty much anything electricity can do, but it functions under non-Euclidian geometry, so it is highly unstable. So, it usually only used as a weapon. However, Martine somehow found a way to tame the aether. Aether also has the bonus of not attracting the Mangleborn.

So, the League of Seven is united at last. Now, the hunt is on for Moffat and the Dragon Lantern. The first stop is Memphis, where we get several cameos from real world historical figures. Jesse James is back, and he's teamed up with Harriet Tubman and John Brown to bring tick-tocks to freedom in Acadia via the Underground Railroad. Oh, and did I mention the Underground Railroad is literally a railroad that runs underground? John Brown is a robot, but Harriet Tubman is a human who fights for the liberation of tick-tocks.

My problem with these cameos is that they don't really do anything interesting with the historical figures. They just pop in, say a few lines, and disappear from the plot. It reminds me of those Liberty Mutual ads that would play before The American Experience on PBS. There was the one with the animatronic Sacagawea who says "I'm Sacagawea, I helped Lewis and Clark discover the West. I'm Sacagawea, I helped Lewis and Clark discover the West." Or the one where the animatronic Paul Revere goes "I'm Paul Revere, one night in 1775 I warned everyone that the British are coming. I'm Paul Revere, one night in 1775 I warned everyone that the British are coming." The point being, there's more to American History, and American historical figures, than just these one sentence bits of trivia.

But I feel like Alan Gratz feel into that trap here. The scene with Harriet Tubman might as well have her going "Hey, look, I'm Harriet Tubman. Howdy, howdy, howdy! Oh, and John Brown is here too. Say hi, John! Well, goodbye now."

There's really not much point to the scene, other than to make the slavery parallel with the treatment of tick-tocks more obvious. Señor X even says that Lemuria collapsed as a result of a civil war over the rights of tick-tocks. You'd think that something more interesting could be done with someone Harriet Tubman. Alan Gratz was able to do interesting things in the previous book with historical figures like Marie Laveau and George Armstrong Custer.

We also get a cameo from Winchester Colbert. In our world, he was a member of the Chickasaw people who traveled the Trail of Tear. He went on to become an important tribal leader once the Chickasaw arrived in Oklahoma. In the world of the Leagueverse, however, the Trail of Tears never happened, and the Chickasaw remained in the ancestral homelands in Tennessee. Winchester Colbert is the mayor of Memphis as of 1876. You actually get a lot of cameos from less well-known historical figures. I wish Gratz had made more of them. One thing I liked about Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan trilogy was that each book ends with a section that explains what part were based in reality, and which parts were artistic license. Doing something similar with The League of Seven books would be a great way to introduce kids to lesser-known historical figures.

Moffit has created a Shadow League to oppose the League of Seven. The shadow leaguers include murders, thieves, and...William Tecumseh Sherman?! In the Leagueverse, he was a notorious arsonist who was sent to Alcatraz. Wait, if Sherman is from the United Nations, and Alcatraz is in the Republic of California, how does that work? Is Alcatraz the Leagueverse equivalent of Guantanamo Bay? Now, Sherman's famous March to the Sea could, I suppose, be categorized as a bit harsh. However, it also helped speed up the end of an incredibly brutal war. For reference, the American Civil War killed two percent of America's overall population. Oh, and you know, assuring a Union victory also ended slavery once and for all.

Some people say "But what about all the Southerners who suffered from Sherman's March?" And that I say, what about all of the African-Americans who suffered under the yoke of slavery? The fact remains, Sherman helped put an end of the horrors of slavery. Plus, the Confederates had it coming. Most of the historiography that paints Sherman as a monster tended to be written by pro-Confederate historians. The sort of people responsible for the myth of the Lost Cause. Thankfully, modern historians are reexamining Sherman in a more sympathetic light. As far as I'm concern, Sherman was a true American hero, and deserves to be remembered as such.

Well, anyway, getting back on track, the League splits up...again. I mean, I know they had their reasons, but it is repeatedly emphasized that the League is strongest when they're together. Archie, Hachi and Fergus got into numerous situations that could have been avoid if they'd stuck together in the last book. Also, Hachi killed everyone involved in the slaughter of her village. So, technically speaking, Hachi is a serial killer. Yet none of the characters ever bring this up, or object to her actions. I know they villains had it coming and all, but you'd think at least Clyde, being a lawman, would object to Hachi's methods.

Clyde and Fergus go back to Wichita, while Hachi and Martine go back to Standing Peace tree. Really? There's still plenty of interesting places left to explore, but instead we're retracting our footsteps? I was hoping we'd at least get to see the Navajo, or perhaps the Inuit.

Well, at least Kitsune and Gonzalo go to Shikaakwa, which you might know as Chicago. All the buildings of Shikaakwa are on hydraulic lifts to cope with flooding. The buildings are also connected to a massive grad that crisscrosses the city. This means the buildings can be moved around quite easily. So, when someone in Shikaakwa says "There goes the neighborhood!" they mean it literally. Still, gotta wonder how the plumbing and gas lines work with such buildings. Of course, steampunk tends to favor things that are cool over things that would actually work. In real life, most steampunk machine would require way too much fuel to actually function. There is a reason our world never developed steampunk tech.

I'll give points for having the Ametokai Strangler be made out of kudzu vines; that was genuinely clever. Kudzu is an invasive vine from Japan that is wreaking havoc on American ecosystems, particularly in the Southeast. One of the issues is that it, essentially, strangles native plants of the region. It was also nice to have more scenes of Gonzalo and Kitsune interacting with each other. Also, apparently the Shikaakwa Cubs are a thing, but they're a lacrosse team, rather than a baseball team.

Also, apparently the Leagueverse does use oil. However, they use it to light lamps, rather than for internal combustion engines. Well, I guess internal combustion does require an electric spark, and electricity is a no-no. That, and apparently oil is actually the blood of the Mangleborn. Guess that's why the Leagueverse is steampunk, rather than dieselpunk. On an unrelated note, why do some many of the Native Americans in the Leagueverse wear Western style clothing? By Western, I mean clothing white people would wear. If anything, you'd think it would be the other way around. Native Americans are implied to have a numeric majority over Yankees.

So, the titular Monster War happens, and the League of Seven links up with the United Nations at Gettysburg. Due to allohistroical irony, Robert E. Lee is leading the Union at an alternate Battle of Gettysburg. Lee is presented as far nicer than he was in real life. For example, he promotes Clyde to a captain, and compliments him on his excellent leadership skills. In real life, Lee would have whipped Clyde and told him that his name be Toby now. Lee even delivers an alternate version of The Gettysburg Address to rally the troops!

It is another Lost Cause myth that Lee was a kindly slave owner, and that he only joined the Confederacy out of loyalty to his home state of Virginia. Lee's personal letters make it crystal clear that he knew that the Confederacy was fighting to preserve slavery, and that this is why he joined them. Also, he was a terrible commander who regularly got his troops slaughtered. For example, during the Battle of Vicksburg, every man under Lee was either killed or captured. By contrast, Ulysses S. Grant got through the whole battle without losing a single man. Though, the fact that Lee is commanding so many Native American troops is accidentally accurate. In our world, the Five Civilized Tribes owned slaves and fought for the Confederacy.

Speaking of Native Americans, apparently the tribes are all fighting each other in a massive civil war...which we only know because Lee tells us so. We did get hints of this back in this first book, but that particular plot point got dropped up until this book. I mean, that's a pretty significant detail to ignore until just now. This is why it is important to show, not tell. Also, one of the monsters is a wendigo that has possessed an Inuit man. Slight problem, wendigo are from the mythology of the Algonquin peoples, not the Inuit.

Okay, now we're getting into the really spoiler stuff. So, if you don't want any of that, turn back now.

This is your last chance. Are you sure?

Okay, if everyone who wants out is gone, let's get into it.

There was one major bombshell early one in The Monster War that I've been leaving out til now. We know that Archie was created via a ritual carried out by Edison and Blavatsky. However, it turns out they got funding by some mysterious benefactors: the Septemberist Society! Archie was created as part of another attempt at making an artificial league. Archie and the other member of the League decide that they can't work for the Septemberists anymore after that. Hachi has found out about this, but she doesn't blame Archie. Well, actually, that's a lie. She's deeply resentful towards him, and convinces the other members of the League that he's too dangerous to be trusted. So, they keep blue amber from Dodge City on hand to encase Archie if he ever snaps.

Oh, and wouldn't you know it, Archie goes completely berserk and hulks out specifically because his friends didn't trust him. Now, granted, Archie has lost control of himself and gone on rampages in the past. However, if the rest of the League had just sat him down and explained their concerns, then maybe they could have avoided all of that. Especially if they got Mr. Rivets to act as the voice of reason. I suppose there's a message here about the importance of not keeping secrets and being honest.

I also kind of get what Gratz was trying to do with regards to Archie's origins. It didn't escape my notice that a bunch of Native Americans had to die for a white boy to live. The United States of America is a land of so much wealth, prosperity, and opportunity. And yet much of that prosperity was build atop the corpses of millions of indigenous peoples. But, like Archie, most of us didn't choose to be born into such a world. It's just the way the cards were dealt.

That having been said, I feel that things between Hachi and Archie could have been handled better. I understand that Hachi felt angry and all, but she let her grief consume her almost to fatal consequences. Worse, none of the other characters ever call her out on this. We all got shit to deal with. That's no excuse for dragging everyone else down. I feel like Rocket Raccoon in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie; the part where he calls out Drax for letting his grief and desire for vengeance nearly kill everyone.

Hachi does sort of forgive Archie...possibly. She calms him down by having Kitsune create an illusion of all the men in Hachi's village saying they don't blame Archie for being born. The way it is written is kind of ambiguous. Did Hachi really forgive Archie, or was she only saying that to calm him down? Oh, and during all of this, Kitsune is barely hanging on after Archie impaled her with a harpoon. But she doesn't hold it again him, and she refuses to lay down and do nothing. She keeps pressing on to help calm Archie down. And that is why Kitsune is best girl.

Speaking of which, we finally learn her true origin. One of her ancestors was a kitsune, so occasionally members of her family are born with fox ears and tails. Her parents thought she was a monster and abandoned her, but her kindhearted grandmother raised her in a cabin in the woods. Well, at least until Kitsune was about eight, and grandma died. Kitsune was pretty much on her own until she met Archie and the League. She masks a great sadness with her mischievous personality. But she isn't sad, because the League is her family now. Will somebody please give best girl a hug for me?

So, Moffit is defeated once and for all. You'll have to read the book if you want the specifics on that. She was completely insane, but she had a point about the Septemberists being untrustworthy. Ultimately, Moffit was a tragic villain. She was born a monster, but the Septemberists made her into one. So, the League decide to operate in the open from now on, and reveal the truth about the Mangleborn to the United Nations of America. Oh, and they're dissolving the Septemberists Society, effective immediately, and placing the leaders of the Septemberists under arrest for the kidnapping and forced medical experimentation of countless children.

Well, I guess this does somewhat mitigate the positive portrayal of Robert E. Lee earlier in the book. Hopefully, Lee will be rotting in prison for a very long time. Although, Fredrick Douglas is also a member of the Septemberist Council. Thus, one of the great American heroes in our world was an evil child kidnapping monster in the Leagueverse. Well, he was complacent in such activities, at any rate. Also, Hellcat Maggie is a member of the Septemberists Council. In our world, she was a member of the Dead Rabbits, an Irish street gang based in Manhattan. She was a fighter who wore brass claws on her fingers and filed her teeth to sharp points.

So, justice is served, the truth is finally revealed, and our heroes get a ticker tape parade in their honor. Well, except Archie. He's sulking in the shadows inside the float. He doesn't think he deserves to be a hero because of what he is. He is still convinced he'll always be a monster. Worse, Archie speculates that he not only has the strength of 100 men, but also all of their lifespans too. Meaning, potentially, Archie will live for over 8,000 years. Oh, but don't worry, Mr. Rivets assures Archie that he'll always have him.

Does Archie decide to quiet being so mopey and join his friends in the celebration? Nope! We end with him still sulking in the dark, bitter about how nobody understands him. I mean, wow, that's really the note we're going to end the series on? Archie, serious question, were you even paying attention to what Kitsune told you? Pretty much everyone in the League, except Gonzalo and possibly Martine, lost their family in one way or another. But that doesn't matter. You guys are a family now. You wanted to be the Percy Jackson, but you wound up as the Nico di Angelo of the team. Less than ideal, maybe, but end of the world? Not even close. On that note, nobody rejected you, you rejected yourself. Ugh, where's Will Solace when you need him?

Maybe you will outlive your friends, but that doesn't mean the time you have with them matters less. If anything, it is all the more valuable because it might end. So, get off your stone ass and go be in that ticker tape parade with your family, by Hiawatha! And hey, you've still got Mr. and Mrs. Dent. They kind of disappeared after the first book, but you've still got them...unless they were arrested with the other Septemberists. 

I know Alan Gratz has written some short stories set in the world of The League of Seven. I really do hope he does consider revisiting the Leagueverse, because as it stands, it has ended on way too depressing of a note for my taste.

I know I sounds like I've been rather critical, but on the whole I did enjoy The Monster War. It was a very gripping and engaging story with great worldbuilding and characters. I was never bored, and I was always eager to see what came next. Sure, it has its flaws, but so do the other books in the series. Taking the overall experience into account, I found it an enjoyable book, and would be more than happy to recommend it. I'll also plug the audiobook version one final time.

So, what are my overall thoughts about The League of Seven series. Overall, I did enjoy it. I think it is a great series for introducing alternate history to kids. I also appreciated that it remembered that Native Americans are a thing exist. Though, I do feel that Gratz didn’t do quite enough to make all the tribes more than just names on a page. Still, the series has very interesting worldbuilding, and great characters. My biggest complaint is that three books, at roughly 336 pages each, simply wasn't enough to explore this incredibly interesting world in full. Gratz tried to pack as much as he could into each book, but things jump around so much, we never get enough time to really explore the different stops on the journey. Well, for the most part anyway. That's why I'm really hoping we get more books, or at least short stories, set in the world of The League of Seven.

But on the whole, I find The League of Seven a welcome addition to the alternate history genre. So, there you have it. We reviewed The Monster War, and our time with The League of Seven is at an end. It is a somewhat flawed, but highly entertaining read. Hey, sometimes a speckled axe is best of all, as Benjamin Franklin famously observed.

Well, that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

Book Review: The Dragon Lantern by Alan Gratz

You guys seemed to have enjoyed my review of the first book in Alan Gratz's League of Seven series. Well, I have some very good news for all you. We are reviewing the second book in the series today. So, without further ado, let's get into it. We're taking a look at The Dragon Lantern.

Archie Dent and his friends Fergus and Hachi are continuing their mission as the founders of a new League of Seven. To that end, they've traveled to the city of Cahokia in the Clouds to retrieve the Dragon Lantern. It is an artifact from the civilization of Mu, and they hope it will give them a major advantage against the Mangleborn. Unfortunately, they lose the lantern almost as quickly as they find it. So, the team decides to split-up. Archie and Mr. Rivets head out to the western territories to track down the thief. Meanwhile, Hachi and Fergus follow a tip to New Orleans. They hope to track down the woman responsible for the death of Hachi's father. There's plenty more steampunk adventures in an alternate America to be had, but is splitting up the team really the best idea?

The League of Seven started off strong with an excellent first novel. The Dragon Lantern not on keeps up the momentum, but is even better than its predecessor. There's plenty of new exciting details to add to the worldbuilding. First of all, what is Cahokia in the Clouds? In our world, Cahokia was a major settlement in southwestern Illinois, not too far from where St. Louis is, during pre-Columbian times. It had widespread agriculture and irrigation, but was most famous of its massive earthwork mounds. If the artifacts that have been found are anything to go on, then Cahokia might have been able to rival the civilizations of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and the Andes in terms of advancement. Of course, given that the people Cahokia left no written records, we know frustratingly little about their civilization.

In the world of The League of Seven, however, Cahokia was never abandoned. These days, it is owned by the Illini people. Although, in a twist of irony, St. Louis was abandoned following the awakening of the Mangleborn. It is only remembered as a former French settlement. Anyway, there are technically two Cahokias; the one on the ground is call Cahokia on the Plaines, and the one in the sky is called Cahokia in the Clouds. Cahokia in the Clouds started as a massive hot air balloon connected to the ground by an equally massive cable. It was built by Mu; another of those lost civilizations like Atlantis, but said in the Pacific. Cahokia in the Clouds was used as a docking port for airships over the years, and before long people began hanging entire buildings off of the great balloon.

By the present day, Cahokia in the Clouds is a massive layered dangling city crisscrossed by walkways and gangplanks. It is a popular destination during the hot summer months. Sounds a bit too acrophobia for my liking, but different strokes for different folks, I suppose. Cahokia in the Clouds also serves as the prison for the giant Antaeus, who is a Mangleborn. He was defeated by Heracles, but Antaeus being a king in Greece was just the cover story. Antaeus will remain frozen as a statue as long as he never touches the Earth.

There are also more appearances from real world historical figures. Archie gets a ride thanks to George Armstrong Custer. He's a captain in the United Nations Steam-Man Corp. The United Nations of America has about ten or so giant steam-powered mechas. Each of them is ten stories tall, super strong, and can shoot aether blasts out of their arm cannons. In many ways, they're kind of like battleships that travel on the land. The one Custer commands is named Colossus. Colossus is used for border skirmishes with the Sioux. So, Custer is still fighting the Sioux, but Colossus' crew is almost entirely composed of Native Americans; so, two steps forward, one step back, and all that.

There is one notable non-Native America among the crew: a black kid named Clyde. He's training to help pilot Colossus, and is a natural-born leader. He spent many years in an orphanage, but he doesn't let that get him down. He's nearly always cheery and upbeat, and has a kind word for everyone. Naturally, it isn't long before Archie recruits Clyde to the League. It is good that Clyde knows how to pilot Colossus. At one point, Colossus becomes possessed by the spirit of a dog named Buster. Colossus, or rather Buster, will only obey Clyde  If you want to know exactly how that happened, well, you'll have to read the book for that one.

Well, things were getting a bit animesque once the giant robots got introduced, but that's just makes it even more so. Clyde‘s like the protagonists of one of those animes where there's some giant robots or mecha, but only the protagonist can command and/or pilot it. Get in the robot, Clyde  He wouldn't need my promoting, but I couldn't help myself.

So, now let's talk about Hachi and Fergus in New Orleans. I was a bit wary when I saw that voodoo was going to play a major role in the New Orleans storyline. If you'll recall, last time, Alan Gratz tried to pass a Billy Graham quote off as Cherokee wisdom. There were a lot of potential pitfalls and stereotypes that Gratz could fall into if he wasn't careful. Thankfully, I'm pleased to report that this did not happen...for the most part. We'll get to what wasn't good in a minute. We're going to focus on the positive for now. Early on, Hachi and Fergus meet Marie Laveau. She was a practitioner of Voodoo, but did so out of religious devotion. Voodoo is a religion like any other. Most of that stuff about charms and spells is called Hoodoo. There were practitioners of both in New Orleans, and there was a bit of cross-pollination between the two.

Laveau played up her reputation as a Voodoo queen to scam gullible white people out of their money. Before you think too harshly of her, I'd remind you that a black woman in 19th Century New Orleans didn't have very good prospects for employment.

The League of Seven version of Marie Laveau does seem to have at least a few legitimately magical powers. However, magic is a fact of life in the world of The League of Seven, so that is perfectly excusable. Moreover, the vast majority of the time, Laveau prefers to use trickery, sleight of hand, and misdirection, rather than magic, to get things done. One detail I like is that, at certain points, Laveau wear a white robe and a white headdress. That is the traditional attire of a voodoo priestess. I also liked that it is emphasized that the point of voodoo is to serve the loa. They aren't gods per se, but they largely fill that role in voodoo. Voodoo teaches that there is supreme creator deity, but he isn't involved much in daily life. So, daily life is overseen by the loa. You serve them, and pray through them, but don't actually worship them directly. It is important to note that Voodoo is the result of fusing traditional West African religions with Roman Catholicism.

Now let's talk about the Kingdom of Louisiana itself. Shortly after the Mangleborn rose in 1775, Aaron Burr gathered an army and marched on New Orleans. He then proclaimed himself as King of Louisiana. The Kingdom of Louisiana comprises the states of Louisiana and Arkansas from our world. As of 1875, Aaron Burr's daughter, Theodosia, is the current monarch of Louisiana. In our world, Aaron Burr did indeed take part in a scheme to carve out a new nation somewhere in the American West. Where exactly is subject to some debate; many historians say Louisiana, but others say Texas, or the Southwest. However, he was only able to attempt this thanks to the many connections he'd made over the years. Burr simply did not have these connections in 1775. I enjoy alternate histories with independent Louisianas, don't get me wrong, but Burr establishing a kingdom in 1775 is too early to be considered realistic.

Louisiana doesn't really use Tick-Tocks like America does, but it compensates by using zombies to supplement the military and workforce. Vodou, the Haitian equivalent Voodoo, has a special class of priests called bokors. They serve the loa with both hands. That means, they can perform rituals that some might describe as black magic. However, it is important to emphasize that, in this context, black magic is not the same as evil. There are certain spirits in Vodou that are said to be bribable, and for a price, they can help you out. If you want to make a deal with the spirits, a bokor will act as the middle man. Bokor are also useful for making zombies. In Vodou, zombies are believed to be revived as mindless slaves, not flesh-eating monsters.

Louisiana does have a few particularly notable zombies on-hand. For example, Andrew Jackson served as a general in the army of Louisiana, but he died twenty years before the event of The League of Seven. So, he was revived as a zombie, and serves as Queen Theodosia's personal bodyguard. Quite ironic, as Jackson was one of the people responsible for getting Aaron Burr tried for treason in our world.

There's an amusing scene where zombies are going crazy in the throne room, so Fergus decides to make a magnet. He mentions how gold won't be magnetically attracted. Shortly after this, pretty much every gold object in the room comes flying at him. Queen Theodosia has to sheepishly admit Louisiana has been going through some tough economic times for the past few decades. Let's see, corrupt government, economic turmoil, hot and humid weather. As someone who is actually from Louisiana, I can attest that this all checks out. Also, I sure hope somebody invented steampunk air conditioning units; because if not, and with all the other steam-powered machines being used, Louisiana is going to be hell on Earth. Well, more so than usual. That goes for the rest of the South as well.

Okay, now we get into the main flaw with the Louisiana storyline. At one point, Helena Blavatsky, who killed Hachi's father, summons the loa Baron Samedi. He is portrayed reasonably correct. He loves to party, drink rum, and is a shameless ladies' man. Hey, he's the lord of the dead, and you don't have to worry about proper behavior when you're dead. However, he's also portrayed as being evil, and wanting to take over New Orleans. The loa can be temperamental, and easily offended, but they are not evil. Baron Samedi is not evil just because he is connected to the dead. His wife Maman Brigitte also appears, and at first it looks like she's going to be good, but no, she's evil too. She also has storm powers, despite Maman Brigitte not being associated with storms. Damn it, Alan! And you were doing so well too!

What's more it is mentioned that the loa are actually aspects of a Mangleborn, known as Le Grande Zombi, that is buried beneath Lake Pontchartrain. Salt repels it and puts it to sleep, and usually the waters of the lake are brackish enough to keep it sedated. Pretty much everything from mythology and folklore is connected to either the League, the Mangleborn, or both in the League of Seven universe. However, having the loa being an aspect of a Mangleborn plays into the "Voodoo is basically Satanism" trope.

As an aside, Helena Blavatsky was a real Russian person who was involved in the occult. She mentions she came to America after Napoleon invaded Russia. So, the Mangleborn took over the Old World, but Napoleon still conquered Europe? And he was more successful than in our world? Was Napoleon a Manglespawn, or otherwise working for the Mangleborn?

Let's move back to the Western storyline. Last time, I wondered how the presence of the Tick-Tocks impacted slavery. Turns out, slavery never happened in the world of the League of Seven. Black people came to America of their own volition. We also frequently see women serving in the armed forces, and in positions of authority, without issue. It seems that Alan Gratz wanted to create an alternate 19th Century free from the racism and sexism that characterized the decade in our world. Though, that's not to say there are no social issues in the Leagueverse.

Tick-Tocks have certain limitations built into them. They can't deliberately harm a human, they can't disobey an order, and they can't lie. If pressed for sensitive, or otherwise classified information, they are programmed to respond "I'm afraid I can't say." Well, most Tick-Tocks have these limitations. Mark-3 Tick-Tocks were built without these limits, and thus had genuine free will. They could also wind their own springs and insert their own talent cards. However, this meant they could back talk to their owners, and question their orders. Many revolts and uprisings ensued, and Mark-3s were discontinued. For reference, Mr. Rivets is a Mark-1, and the latest model as of 1875 is the Mark-4. It is mentioned there was a particularly large uprising lead by a Tick-Tock named Mr. Turner in 1831. So, yeah, apparently Nat Turner was a robot in the Leagueverse. Though, confusingly, it is mentioned that the Haitian Revolution still occurred. Was it a robot uprising? Was Toussaint Louverture a robot?

Of course, Nat Turner isn't the only robot of note. Jesse James is a Tick-Tock outlaw. He and his gang kidnap other Tick-Tocks, and give them upgrades to make them more like Mark-3s. The James Gang is based out of Dodge City in the nation of Wichita. It's called Dodge City because it is the site of a major biohazard. Well, that's what the signs around it claim. Robots don't have to worry about such things, but humans try their best to avoid it at all cost. In other words, they dodge around it.

The hunt for the lantern thief leads Archie and company across quite a bit of western North America. I was pleased that we finally got to see the mobile city of Cheyenne. I was even more pleased that we finally to see Beikoku. I'd been especially interested in them. Beikoku is a Japanese colony located about where Washington state is, and also includes a few bits of Idaho and Montana. Unlike the nations of the Americas, Japan doesn't hide the existence of the Mangleborn from its citizens. All citizens of Japan work together to fight the Mangleborn. As a result, Japan is one of the only places in Asia not to fall to the Mangleborn. The cities of Japan and Beikoku are defended by giant steam-powered mecha samurai. Japan established Beikoku to supplement their food supply, and to mine for materials to make more mecha samurai.

The capital of Beikoku is Ametokai. It is located where Seattle is in our world. It has lots of tea shops, but it has even more coffee shops. Clyde thinks it's all a bit much. By far the most popular coffee chain is Queequegs. It's a joke about how Starbucks got its start in Seattle; and that it gets its name from the character of the same name from Moby Dick. From this, we must assume that Herman Melville still had a noteworthy literary career. Ametokai also has an underground city where numerous illegal activities take place. This further reinforces that Ametokai is an alternate version of Seattle. Seattle has a very famous underground city dating back to the 19th Century.

Interestingly, when Archie and company first arrive in Beikoku, Mr. Rivets has to act as their translator. Most of the Native American nations speak English without issue, but Beikoku uses Japanese as its primary language. Also, the way the dialog of the Japanese characters is written suggest they are speaking with accents. This is in contrast to the Native American characters, who lack any noticeable accents.

So, who is the mysterious lantern thief? She's a girl with fox ears and a tail named Kitsune. Her name and appearance are an obvious nod to the shapeshifting fox women of Japanese Mythology. She's a compulsive liar, and likes to troll people just for shits and giggles. In fact, she gives Archie at least three or four different versions of her backstory. Kitsune also has the power to cast illusions. However, Tick-Tocks are immune to the effects of her illusions. She grew up in an abusive orphanage, but escaped, and became quite skilled at stealing and pickpocketing. But her mischievous nature is what I love about her, and I was very pleased that she joined the League. Well, that and I've got a soft spot for fox girls.

Archie's half of the League also briefly stops in the Republic of California. For some reason, San Francisco is called Don Fransisco. The Golden Gate Bridge is there ahead of schedule, but that's because it was built by Mu. It is cover in pagoda roofs, and has dragons and lions on either end. It would seem that Mu was the forerunner of Chinese Civilization. If I did have one complaint about the Western storyline, it is that we moved around so much where barely get to explore any of the places the characters visit. This is a real shame, as based on what we do get to see they all seem fascinating.

Also, as a random aside, at one point a character mentions that Yankee people have invented some sort of cheese and tomato pies. Cheese and tomato pie is a thing that exists, but I think what he meant was pizza. So, despite not have any Italian immigrants in sufficient numbers, the United Nations of America somehow invented pizza. Granted, I suppose it isn't impossible that some cook might go "I wonder what would happen if I put cheese and tomato sauce on this dough and stuck it in an oven?" But it is still pretty odd.

I'll also take a moment to plug the audiobook version. It is once again narrated by James Fouhey, who keeps up the good work.

Okay, now we're getting into the spoilers. So, if you don't want any of that, turn back now.

Last chance, you sure you want to continue?

Well, okay then, if everyone who wants out is gone, let's get into it.

Let's back track a little to Dodge City. Just what sort of biohazard was going on there? Well, turns out it used to be a secret Septemberist research facility. Back in 1850, the Septemberists decided to create an artificial League of Seven, rather than wait around for a new league to rise. They gathered several children and exposed them to the power of the Dragon Lantern. What does it do? It activates latent Mangleborn DNA within humans. It is estimated that at least forty percent of all humans have at least some Mangleborn DNA. Kitsune was also exposed to the Dragon Lantern at some point, and that's why she has fox ears and a tail.

One of the most promising kids was an Illini girl named Sings in the Night. The Dragon Lantern gave her bird wings and bird feet. She built, essentially, a cryogenic preservation chamber. Good thing too, because that's what saved her after the other kids went crazy and started killing everyone. The Septemberists decided to cut their losses, released a virus to kill their failed test subjects, and washed their hands of the whole affair. The virus is long gone, but they keep the biohazard signs up to keep nosy people out of Dodge. I liked how this added some shades of grey to the conflict. It shows that the Septemberists aren't above performing morally questionable acts in the name of defeating the Mangleborn. The implication being that they view the ends as always justifying the means.

As you might imagine, Sings in the Night is shocked to wake up twenty-five years in the future. She's initially hesitant, understandably, to join Archie's league. However, after mulling it over, she decides she can trust them, and that she doesn't have many other options. Sings in the Night is a bit shy and nervous, but she does start to open-up more as the book goes on. Personally, I was very excited when she joined the League. It was nice to have more than one Native American on the team. One of my complaints from the first book was that it looked like Hachi would be the sole Native American on the team, despite how much Native Americans factor into the plot. Sings in the Night being from the past also presented many excited opportunities. It would be a great way to compare how North America has changed over the decades, and expand on the worldbuilding.

Things were looking great, but sadly, it was not to be. You see, there was one other survivor of the Dodge City lab. Sings knew her as Mina, but she grew up to be Philomena Moffit, the current leader of the Septemberist Society. Mrs. Moffit has gone a tad insane over the years, and wants to use the Dragon Lantern to mutate as many people as possible. Also, her lower body is entirely composed of octopus tentacles. That’s the reason she always wears large hoop skirts. For some reason, none of the Septemberists ever noticed this.

I bring this up because Mrs. Moffat kills Sing in the Night when Archie's half of the League visit Alcatraz Island. I mean, wow, Alan Gratz was not messing around. At the same time, I'm as appalled and outraged as Archie was. We barely got to know Sings, she had so much potential, and now she's dead! Well, at least Kitsune gave her a traditional Illini burial. Oh, and then it briefly looks like she survived. Nope! Just an illusion Kitsune casted. Wow, way to twist the knife in, Alan.

Oh, but Archie isn't done getting traumatized just yet. Turns out he's, basically, a golem. He was carved from stone and bathed in the blood of 100 men. Thus, he has the strength of 100 men. Oh, and did I mention Hachi's dad was one of those men? Well, Archie has officially been run through the wringer, and this is all probably going to play major roles in book three.

Well, at least there is one silver lining. Queen Theodosia is dead, and the people of New Orleans picked Marie Laveau as their new queen. She's going to reveal the presence of the Mangleborn. That way, everyone in Louisiana can work together to fight the Mangleborn. And we find out how she constantly jumps between different bodies: she doesn't. Her two masked assistants are her mother and daughter, and they all take turns being Marie Laveau. That way, everyone will be on the same page, and able to keep up the illusion. That defiantly sound like something the Marie Laveau of our world would do. A good resolution to the Louisiana storyline.

Okay, this review has gone on for way longer than I intended. Suffice it to say, The Dragon Lantern is a more then worthy second entry to The League of Seven series, and an excellent follow-up to the first novel. It’s full steam ahead for more action, adventure, and alternate history. I can't wait to see where the rest of this series goes.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

Book Review: The League of Seven by Alan Gratz

I've said before that it is often true that good things come to those who wait. This is especially true in the case of audiobooks. So, today we're going to take a look at an alternate history audiobook that was more than worth the wait. We're taking a look at The League of Seven by Alan Gratz.

The League of Seven takes place in a world here Lovecraftian monstrosities, known as the Mangleborn, arose in 1775. The Mangleborn feed off of electricity, and will awaken when electricity is harnessed in sufficient quantities. The Americas were relatively unscathed, but they were cut-off from the Old World. The Thirteen Colonies founds themselves cold and hungry, but then salvation arrived. The Iroquois Confederacy agreed to adopt the colonists as the Yankee tribe, and thus, the United Nations of America was born. Over the years, the United Nations forged alliances with other tribes and expanded their territory, but mostly stayed east of the Mississippi River.

By the year 1875, the United Nations is a prosperous nation where whites and Native Americans live as equals, and is home to countless steam-powered marvels. Archie Dent is a young boy whose parents work for the Septemberist Society. They're an organization dedicated to the League of Seven. A group of seven heroes always form to take down the Mangleborn whenever they rise. Unfortunately, the Mangleborn have infiltrated Septemberist Headquarters. Before long, Archie is on the run with his trusty robot butler Mr. Rivets. They're soon joined by a Scottish boy named Fergus and a Seminole girl named Hachi. Archie and company have to find a way to take down the Mangleborn before it's too late.

As you might know, before I started this blog, I got my start writing for the Alternate History Weekly Update. It was a truly great blog, and one of the places I looked to for inspiration when I started The Audiophile. It's a shame it had go, but that was a big motivation for me to really kick my own blog into gear. Anyway, one day Alan Gratz stopped by to talk about a new novel he would be publishing soon called The League of Seven. I loved the setting that combined steampunk tech and adventures as well as Native American cultures. Oh, and the maps, I loved the maps too. Personally, I'm a bit sad that an updated version of Alan's full color map, complete with little mini flags, wasn't used. I mean, I get that black and white is more economical, and the map in the book doesn't look bad. Still, that full color map is awesome. Here, I'll include it and the revised official map blow it.

They're mostly the same baring a few minor differences. The most noticeable is that, in the revised map, there is a former Japanese colony called Beikoku in the Pacific Northwest. Interestingly, the book makes mention of something called the Seattle Alliance, whose location is now occupied by Beikoku. Perhaps a holdover from an earlier draft of the book? Anyway, Alternate History Weekly Update founder Matt Mitrovich did a review of the book, which only made me want it more. Alas, there was no audiobook. I patiently waited for this to change, until one day, when my patience was rewarded. So, now here we are

This book was exactly what I expected. I expected it to be an absolute blast, and it was. I loved the way it blended steampunk tech and alternate American History. In particular, I loved the focus on Native American peoples. You don't really see Native Americans too much in alternate history, or historical fiction for that matter. Actually, come to think of it, Native Americans also tend to get left out of the historical record in general; though recent scholarship is working to fix that. There's a lot of untapped potential in alternate history featuring Native Americans; particularly, in stories where Native Americans successfully resisted European colonialism, or else didn't get totally screwed over. As such, I'm glad to see that The League of Seven is working to fix that.

At times I got the impression that Native Americans comprised the major of the United Nations of America; or at least, where in equal name to the white population. In fact, since 1775, some parts of America have gone from majority white to almost entirely Native American. For example, Atlanta, now known as Standing Peach Tree, is primarily populated by the Cherokee and Muskogee. I suppose it does makes sense, given that there haven't been any immigrants from Europe since 1775. The Southeast had a fairly large Native American population prior to the Trail of Tears, which never happened in the world of The League of Seven.

New Jersey retained most of its colonial names, but is pretty entirely Iroquois as of 1875. They build their houses out of brick and stone, but in a way that evokes the longhouses of old. Wait a minute, what happened to the Lenape? They were the original inhabitants of New Jersey before white, and in this case Iroquois, settlers moved in. So, where did they go? It could be an oversight on Alan Gratz's part. On the other hand, at one point, Archie is going through his family's belongings and finds an aether pistol used in the Pawnee War. So, perhaps the expansion of the United Nations wasn't as peaceful as we're led to believe. We do see that there is growing tension between the Cherokee and Muskogee, though this is hinted to be caused, at least in part, by the Mangleborn. I thought that was actually good. Native Americans weren't a united block, they had tensions and rivalries just like everyone else.

So, just what is this League of Seven? Well, like I said, they're a team of seven heroes that forms every time the Mangleborn awake. They're roster is a veritable who's-who of famous members from World Mythology and Folklore. The most famous iteration of the league is the Ancient League. They consisted of Daedalus, Heracles, Atalanta, Ma'at, Anansi, Wayland Smith, and with Theseus as the leader. Wayland Smith is the only one I didn’t recognize from mythology. Apparently, he was a smith in Norse and Germanic Mythology,  and is the one who developed the aether pistol. Ma'at is the name for the Ancient Egyptian concept of balance and order, but there was also a goddess by that name, who acted as the personification of the concept.

It would seem that, in the world of The League of Seven, all myths and legends are true, but not all myths are and accurate account of what actually happened. The stories from mythology we know are just the cover stories, because the truth was too terrifying for the general public to know. For example, Theseus didn't fight a Minotaur in a labyrinth. He actually fought a shape-shifting Mangleborn capable for producing powerful illusions.

The Septemberist have identified a group who they believe to have the potential to be the new League of Seven. Well, maybe they did before the Mangleborn infiltrated headquarters. You know you're reading an alternate history novel when you've got Fredrick Douglas and Robert E. Lee on the same team. The novel makes a point of mentioning that Lee is wearing the blue uniform of the United Nations military. It appears that the United Nations had no equivalent of American Civil War. That raises a good question. Did slavery still happen, or did robots make it redundant? Mr. Rivets has been serving the Dent family since at least the 1770s, so the world has had steampunk tech since at least the 18th Century. We spend plenty of time in the South later in the book, but none of the people we see are black. Hopefully the sequels will address this.

I love the little incidental bits of worldbuilding we get along the way. For example, lacrosse, rather than baseball or football, is the sport of choice in the United Nations. It makes sense, given that lacrosse was invented by the Iroquois. 

The alternate history of The League of Seven goes beyond the 18th Century. For example, the Roman Empire expanded into the New World and established colonies in North America. Atlanta, Georgia was the site of a Roman fort. However, these colonies were a major finical drain, and contributed to the downfall of the empire, along with barbarian invasions. Well, that's the cover story anyway. In reality, the real reason Rome fell was because they started building electrical power stations, and this attracted the Mangleborn.

Also, New York City is instead named New Rome. Is it a former Roman colony perhaps? Instead of the Statue of Liberty, a statue of Hiawatha, the founder of the Iroquois Confederacy, stands in New Rome's harbor. Going back even further, Atlantis, Mu, and Lemuria were all real places that actually existed. Atlantis was located in North America, and the Atlanteans were the ancestors of the Native Americans. This is also why there's so many technologically advanced Native American tribes; the technology they use is derived from leftover Atlantean tech. Like the Romans, Atlantis met its end due to building electrical power station and awakening the Mangleborn.

Okay, enough gushing about worldbuilding, let's talk about the characters. Archie wasn't a bad character, and overall, I did find him a good protagonist. That having been said, compared to cast of colorful characters featured through the book, he just came across as a bit bland by comparison. Of course, his primary job in this book was to introduce us to the world of The League of Seven. Perhaps he will get a bit more fleshed out in the sequels. There's more to discuss, but we'll save that for the spoilers section.

Fergus was born in the Carolinas, but apprenticed with an Iroquois man in New Jersey. They both worked at Thomas Edison's lab in Menlo Park; where they sought to unlock the secrets of electricity. However, as previously established, messing around with electricity is dangerous in the world of The League of Seven, and not just because you might shock yourself. Of course, Edison knows this perfectly well, given that he's working for the Mangleborn. Yeah, I didn't like that particular plot point, but more on it in a bit. As part of a ritual to summon Malacar Ahasherat, also known as the Swarm Queen, Edison has Fergus infused with blood from an electric squid. His body is covered in weird tattoos, but he gets the power to shoot electricity out of his hands. I guess it isn't impossible for Fergus to be Scottish, but I found it slightly odd, given that there haven't been any immigrants from Europe since 1775.

Hachi is a Seminole girl from Florida. She lost pretty much her entire tribe to one of Edison's previous attempts to summon Malacar Ahasherat. Did she mean her specific branch of the Seminole? She must have, because we see other Seminole at various points. Anyway, because of this she tends to be fairly reserved and stoic, but she does open up as the book goes on. She has a menagerie of miniature clockwork animals that help defend her. We later learn that she attended an all-girls boarding school in Georgia. They covered all the subjects that young ladies ought to be proficient in. This includes, but is not limited to, reading, writing, arithmetic, sword fighting, archery, and hand-to-hand combat. I loved the scenes set at Hachi's old school.

Okay, now let's switch gears and talk about some of the stuff I didn't like. As previously stated, Thomas Edison is a villain. Can't say I was too pleased about that, but then the book made it worse. At one point, Archie and the gang meet Nikola Tesla at an Atlantean power station beneath Niagara Falls. Tesla is presented as a noble hero working for the Septemberists. First of all, if there haven't be any immigrants since 1775, how his Tesla even there? Second, it really annoys me when people lionize Tesla. While it is true that he did some admirable work in electricity and radio, he also has quite a bit of black marks against him. Chief among them is his support of eugenics. Tesla supported the forced sterilization of the mentally ill, criminals, and racial minorities. Quite ironic, given that Tesla suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder and hypochondria, meaning he'd be subject to the very policies he championed.

And here's another bit of irony: Tesla briefly worked for Edison before striking out in his own. Thomas Edison gets an undeserved bad reputation. True, he was very strict with his patents, but that largely stemmed from how he got screwed over early in his career. True, he could be a jerk, especially later in life, but the energy market was a pretty cutthroat place. People like to blame Edison for Tesla never getting credit, but that fact remains that many of Tesla proposals, such as his plan to use massive Tesla coils to give free electricity to all of America, simply would not have worked. To be fair, not as much was known about the laws of physics as we know now. If anything, Tesla would have made a far more fitting villain. Say what you will about Edison, at least he didn't support eugenics or forced sterilization.

Then there was a scene where Fergus meets a Cherokee police officer. The officer tells him an "old Cherokee legend" about how there are two wolves inside each of us. Slight problem, that's not a Cherokee legend. In reality, the whole "two wolves inside you" story was actually invented the American televangelist Billy Graham. In fact, in the first few tellings, he claimed it was an Eskimo legend from Canada. He only changed it to Cherokee after the Canadian Inuit successfully sued him for libel. Whenever someone tells you about a "Native American" legend or myth, ask them what tribe it came from. If they can't name the specific tribe, then it probably isn't authentic. Of course, as we've seen here, being able to name a tribe is no guarantee of authenticity.

This is particularly frustrating as, up until that point, The League of Seven had done an excellent job depicting Native Americans. It didn't fall into lazy stereotypes or caricatures. This was also disappointing due to how infrequently Native Americans appear in alternate history, as I've previously mentioned. Granted, this was the only major error I could stop, and I certainly hope that future installments of the series won't make similar mistakes.

I realize that electricity summoning the Mangleborn was necessary for the story to happen. I realize this, but it still gave the story an oddly anti-science, anti-technology, and anti-progress feel to it. Quite ironic, given the frequent emphasis on how cool the steampunk tech is. Moreover, steampunk tech is shown to have a few drawbacks. For example, Mr. Rivets has a variety of skills and functions, but can only activate them when the relevant punch card is inserted into him. Oh, and he can't insert the cards on his own, he needs a human to do that. If you want him to pilot an airship you need the airship pilot card, treating injuries requires the surgeon card, cooking requires the chef card, and so on. Technically, he can do functions other than whatever card is currently in him, but he does so slowly and inefficiently. And if you happen to lose the punch cards, well, tough luck.

Okay, now we're getting into the spoilers. So, skip down a few paragraphs if you don't want any of that.

Last chance, you sure you want to continue?

Well, okay, if everyone who wants out is gone, let's get into it.

At one point, Archie and the gang go to the nation of Acadia, which is located in Quebec rather than the Maritime Provinces. I would think that Canada would be a more fitting name, but I digress. Anyway, they retrieve the fur coat of a Mi'kmaq cultural hero who was a member of a pervious iteration of the League of Seven. Think of the coat like the Nemean Lion skin Heracles wore. The Mi'kmaq hero was, according to legend, the son of a bear. In reality, however, he was a Manglespawn. Manglespawn are half-human and half-Mangleborn. Yeah, have fun with that mental image. Heracles was also a Manglespawn, rather than a demigod.

I mention this because, at one point, Archie survives falling from12,000 feet in the air. He was wearing the special coat, true, but that was still pretty impressive. It reminded me of that time Percy Jackson survived jumping off of the Gateway Arch and landing in the Mississippi River. Of course, that was because Percy is a demigod. It was then that the gears started turning. Archie thought of himself as the Theseus of the group, because he's the leader, but what if he's the Heracles? What if he was not entirely humans?

Well, come the end of the book, my suspicions were confirmed. Archie isn't completely human, because he is indeed a Manglespawn. The Septemeberists found him on a mission to the Amazon rainforest. The Dents wanted children, but had trouble conceiving, so they agreed to adopt Archie. He isn't biologically their son, but they still love Archie very much.

I mean, I saw that twist coming, but I was still a bit surprised. That's definitely going to play a big role in the future books in the series. Coming to terms with his nature is probably going to be a big part of Archie's character arc.

And you know I have to take a moment to talk about the audiobook. I initially wasn't sure if James Fouhey would be the right fit, but I soon found that I had nothing to worry about. He gave a solid performance, and from the looks for things, will continue to do so in the next audiobooks of the series.

And I can't wait to explore those next books. Sure, The League of Seven had a few issues, but overall, I was extremely pleased with it. It was an absolute joy from start to finish, and I can't wait to explore more this steampunk alternate America. Do yourself a favor a get a copy of The League of Seven today. Believe me, you will be glad that you did.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Alt-Hist File: Brass

There are plenty of times that I see an audio drama via Apple Podcasts' recommendations or on social media. However, if you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll know that sometimes it takes a while before get around to these shows. Of course, there are times when I receive motivation to check these shows out. A major source of that being when I'm asked to review them. Such is the case with the audio drama we'll be reviewing today. We're taking a look at Brass.

Brass is a steampunk audio drama that that begins in the year 1885. Ah, but not the 1885 of our world. The world of Brass is home to numerous steam-powered mechanical marvels. The British Empire still rules the waves, and much of the world, but it is a more socially progressive empire. It is watched over by the Brass family. They are family of adventurers and crime fighters. Lord Benjamin Brass is a brilliant inventor and man of science. Lady Madleyn Brass is a crack detective who can easily rival Sherlock Holmes himself. Just don't mention him in her presence. Their son Cyril Brass is a master of martial arts and swordplay. Their daughter Gwendolyn is a mistress of disguise and a master actress.

The Brass family has just returned from another of their adventures, but all is not well. Sinister forces, led by the notorious villain the Crime Minster, are conspiring against the British Empire. The First Family of the Realm must draw upon all their wits and cunning, and their many allies, to save the empire they love for queen and country.

I was first asked to review Brass by series creator John Longenbaugh, who acts as the narrator for the series, and is also the head writer and producer. He'd seen my review of Red Moon over on the Audio Drama Lovers group on Facebook, and correctly guessed that I'm into alternate history. I said I'd be happy to, after I attended to We Fix Space Junk, and few other obligations and personal projects. So, here we are at last.

I can best describe Brass as a steampunk superhero show. It has a very The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen meets The Fantastic Four vibe to it. We've got a family of four individuals who each have their own special talents, and who are well known as crime fighters and adventurers. They also live in an alternate history steampunk world complete with several public domain characters, or those closely modeled on public domain characters.

Brass began life as a pitch for a television series, but it was never able to get off the ground. Undeterred, John adapted his ideas into a short film, and later a stage play. Not long after this, John decided to expand his idea into an audio drama podcast. This legacy of theatrical productions is most evident in the first season. From what John tells me, he began as a playwright, and theatre is the medium he's most comfortable writing in. The first season production is fairly barebones. No music or sound effects, other than the opening music. The actors perform their lines the lemony narrator, played by John, sets the scene at the opening and during scene transitions. He also does a brief "how will our heroes escape this" monologue at the end of each episode to entice the listeners to tune-in next time. This gives the impression of being a recording of a stage performance. Though, it was also pretty obvious that the team hadn't quite gotten the hang of making audio drama yet.

Midway through season two, however, this begins to change. First off, we got new opening theme music. Whereas the old music was a soft piano piece, the new music is bombastic trumpets that practically sing with the sound of adventure. We also get actual music and sound effects added into the episodes. This trend continues into seasons three and four, which are stronger still. It is clear that, by this point, the production team got more comfortable working with the medium of audio drama. They used these new found talents to give us an excellent audio drama.

Okay, now let's talk about the world of Brass. As should be obvious by this point, it is a world of mechanical steam-powered marvels. Apparently, this is partially due to the rise of new British political called the Technocrat Party. They were founded by Lord Byron, who went on to become Prime Minister. In fact, he's considered one of the greatest prime ministers of the world of Brass. His poetry is but a distant footnote to his political career. Meanwhile, Jules Verne is an Elon Musk style inventor, and has created . Robur the Conqueror prowls the skies aboard the Albatross, and Captain Nemo charts the seas aboard the Nautilus.

The British Empire still rules much of the world, but it is a more socially progressive empire, in addition to being more technologically progressive. There is talk of granting dominion status to Ireland and India. Brass where the worst excess of British imperialism were blunted, if not outright avoided. As for the imperialism of other European powers, well, we'll get to that soon enough.

Moving along, Britain seems to be more open minded about homosexuality. We see that Oscar Wilde is still producing plays. Cyril also openly lusts after several male characters, but never show in concern about hiding his sexuality, nor does he fear getting thrown in jail. The rise of the Technocrat Party, along with Prince Albert still being alive, has contributed to British society being more open-minded and less ridged.

Queen Victoria is still doing quite well, and so is Prince Albert. Oh, they had a bit of a scare in 1861, but the doctors were able to save him, and now...well, he's not in perfect health, but the important thing is he's still alive. This is a sharp contrast to our world, where Albert died in 1861. His death was a major blow to Victoria, who wore widow's weeds for the rest of her life. In the world of Brass, with Albert being alive, Victoria is in much better spirits.

Of course, the world outside the British Isles has also changed. The Opium War still occurred, but it ended much quicker, and still in Britain's favor. However, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise for China. Following the war, China enacted a series of reforms and successfully modernized. China also seems to have a fairly good relationship with Britain. In fact, Chinese youths are often sent to universities in Britain to learn about engineering and other subjects.

Across the Atlantic, the South won the American Civil War. As of 1886, slavery is still alive and well in the Confederate States of America. Though, they are also referred to as the Southern States of America, so I'm not sure what their actual name is, but I'll say Confederate States for simplicity's sake. Blacks don't have it much better in the United States. Many whites blame blacks for the war at ruined the Union, and black still face discrimination in the Union. As such, many blacks have opted to move to Liberia to build a society based on the ideals of what the United States were supposed to be. As of 1886, Liberia is major technological power, and a major player in the fight against slavery.

This is much better than how Liberia fared in our world. Liberia was founded by an organization called The American Colonization Society to serve as a homeland for freed slaves. This is why the Liberians flag resembles the American flag so closely. Unfortunately, the fledgling nation didn't get much support for America after its establishment. Moreover, American Blacks didn't get along very well with the native African Blacks. It was pretty much colonialism, except that everyone involved was black.

Moving back to the world of Brass, let's talk more about Africa. The Scramble for Africa still happened, but the European powers tried to be more humane and humanitarian in their colonization efforts. Emphasis on tried. The International African Association and the International Association of the Congo sought to introduce the wonders to modern science and technology to the peoples of Africa. Well, that's what they claimed. Both organizations existed in our world, and were headed by King Leopold II of Belgium. However, also like in our world, it was all a smokescreen so that Leopold could turn the Congo into his personal rubber plantation.

Britain, France, and Germany all wanted the Congo, but it ultimately went to Belgium because they were small and wouldn't upset the balance of power. Leopold then turned the Belgian Congo into a giant rubber plantation fueled by slavery and inhumane cruelty. Congolese who failed to produce enough rubber got their hands chopped off. Children as young as five were subject to getting their hands chopped off. If a white person shot a black person, they were expected to cut off one of the black's hands as proof. Severed hands were practically currency for the Belgian Congo. This is the land that inspired Joseph Conrad's famous novel Heart of Darkness. By the time Belgian rule ended at least one-fifth of the Congo's population had been slaughtered.

A tragedy and a massive human rights abuse, and not as well-known as it ought to be. Partially this is because Leopold's supporters made a point of destroying any evidence that might paint him in an unflattering light. So, I appreciate that Brass acknowledges the tragedy of the Belgian Congo. Oh, and guess who else was involved in both The International African Association and the International Association of the Congo? Why, Lord Brass, of course. To be fair, he didn't know it was all a scam, and he feels deep guilt and remorse for his involvement.

All very interesting stuff, and excellent worldbuilding. Okay, so enough history lessons, let's talk characters. I like the Brass family well enough. I like them, but I can't help but feel that they come across as just a tad vanilla compared to the more colorful side characters. For example, we've got Ponder Wright the cyborg detective, and Dan Abraham the Jewish martial arts master. There's also Tuknor, Lord of the Apes, whose real name is Lord Whitestone. He's seems a lawyer-friendly version of Tarzan, who's copyright status is the subject of much debate. For reference, Tarzan's real name was Lord Greystroke. Though, from what John tells me, this isn't necessarily the case. There were several other lords of the jungle besides Tarzan. So, perhaps it is best to view Tuknor as a cousin of sorts to Tarzan. Ponder and Tuknor were my favorite characters, and I was very happy they even got a few episodes where it was just the two of them together. I loved Tuknor's deliberately stilted and overly formal way of speaking.

Towards the later portion of season four we are introduced a team of freedom fighting pilots called the Lincoln Brigade. They're headquarters is in New York City, fight for freedom and fight against the horrors of Confederate slavery. They're comprised of a Liberian mechanic, who used to be a slave in the Confederacy, a woman from the Union, and a white woman from the Confederacy. That last one isn't as out there as it might seem. There were several Southerners who opposed secession most famously, the Free State of Jones in Jones County, Mississippi. New Orleans was also home to a society of Southerners opposed to secession. Though, I'm not sure they'd name themselves after Lincoln. Unless he got assassinated sooner than in our world, he'd be remembered as the president who lost the Civil War. The name the Lincoln Brigade is a nod to the American volunteers who fought for the Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War.

If the creators of Brass ever consider spin-offs, I hope they make one about the Lincoln Brigade. John likes the idea, but worries that he isn't the right person for it. He says he'd rather hand the reigns over to a black creators. So, if you're black and involved in audio drama, maybe consider messaging Battleground Productions. I'm sure they'd love to hear from you.

I also hope that we might possibly get one about Ponder and Tuknor having adventures together. But most of all I would hope we'd get one about the Brass family having adventure around the world. That was one of my biggest complaints about Brass. We frequently get old about all the many adventures the Brass family has had around the world, but we never get to see any of it. You could have an episode now and again that could be a flashback to a past adventure. If you really needed, add a framing device to help tie it into the theme of the storyline in the present. For example, instead of having Lord Brass tell us about his shameful role in the colonization of Africa, make and flashback episode and show it.

I will say that I liked that Lord Brass wasn't born into nobility. He was a commoner, but he earned a title of nobility thanks to his work in science and engineering. In fact, he's a Peer of the Realm. That's the highest title of nobility anyone in British society can attain. The only higher title of nobility is that of the ruling Royal Family.

Okay, so let's talk about the villain. The Crime Minister is the lead of all the villains and criminals in Britain. He has a man working for him within the British government. Lord Trent is the public face, but the Crime Minister is the one calling the shots. Trent is a member of the Conservative Party and manages to get elected Prime Minister. He claims that Britain's problems due to foreign influences such as Jews, Muslims, the Irish, and other immigrants. He pledges to Make the British Empire Great Again. Brass began production during the twilight of the Obama years. John has said that, while he did get the idea of progressive heroes fighting against reactionary villains after Trump was elected, Trent isn't meant to be directly based off of Donald Trump.

I will say I like the reasoning for the Crime Minister's schemes. He believes that progress is driven by chaos and strife. Thus, to advance the march of technology and science, he must sow discord and discontent. Technically speaking, he isn't too far off the mark. Technology did see several leaps forward during and following World War I and World War II. You could even argue, to an extent, that the same held true for the American Civil War. Then, of course, there's the Cold War. While it wasn't a war in the convention all sense, the principal holds true.

Trent, and by extent the Crime Minister, want to...make Britain more like it was in the 19th Century of our world. Britain under Trent is supposed to be oppressive, but it didn't sound any different than what our world's Britain was like in 1885. This brings me to a point I made earlier. One of my biggest complaints about Brass is that it often ran afoul of show, don't tell. We are told that Britain is oppressive, we are told that it is a grim time for minorities, we told but are hardly ever shown. Dan Abraham says that anti-Semitism is on the rise, and that Jews are being attacked, but we never see that. It easily fixable. Just have a few scenes where we hear the sounds of angry rioters, and maybe have them shout some mildly racist slurs or slogans.

John tells me that he keep thing deliberately limited as a personal stylistic choice. More power to him, he's free to make his audio drama as he pleases. Still, I can't help but feel that Brass might have benefited from doing a bit more showing, rather than telling.

On a related note, there is a part where it is mentioned that Prince Dakkar has pledged his services to help the Brasses and their allies overthrow the Crime Minister. You probably know Dakkar better as Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It does make since that he'd ally with the Brass family. In the Mysterious Island it is revealed that Nemo was a prince from India who lost his family during the Sepoy Mutiny. So, he'd be concerned about how the Crime Minster's policies would affect India. However, he never gets an on-screen appearance. This was, I would say, a pretty big missed opportunity. At one point, Lord Brass mentions that he's just returned from lunch with Nemo. It would have been nice to have seen that, rather than told it. John says he did so to keep things suspenseful for the audience.

While we're on the subject, let's talk about some other things that didn't work. Apparently, Nikola Tesla has moved to Britain and become an apprentice to Lord Brass. Lord Brass mentions how much better Tesla is than that mean old Thomas Edison. Edison gets an undeserved bad reputation. He was aggressive with his patens, but that was because he got screwed over early in his career. Meanwhile, Tesla supported eugenic and advocated sterilizing poor people and minorities. Say what you will about Edison, at least he didn't support eugenics. In fact, Tesla would be far more likely to be working for the Crime Minister. Now, I must be fair. Brass is hardly the most egregious alternate history in this regard. Edison is only mentioned in one scene. I just really don't like it when alternate histories poo-poo Edison while ignoring Tesla's flaws.

Then we have Father Reynard. He's a Jesuit priest that Cyril is attached to. Apparently, the Catholic Church is very displeased with how Trent's government is persecuting Catholics, Jews, Muslims, and other minorities. What a load of bullshit. Obviously, the Vatican would care about Catholics, but I know for a fact that the 19th Century Catholic Church wouldn't care about Jews and Muslims. If anything, they'd be ecstatic about Trent's policies. In 1886, the Catholic Church still had the blood libel on the books. It was the belief that Jews used the blood of Christians for their religious rituals. They also believed that the Jews were the ones responsible for Jesus getting crucified, and thus that Jews were the scum of the Earth. Oh, and the blood libel didn't get repealed until the Vatican II consul in 1965.

As for Reynard himself, well, Brass was starting with a handicap there. I attended Catholic middle school and Catholic high school. As a result, I have an absolute rock bottom opinion of the Catholic Church and its employees. As far as I'm concerned, the only good priest is a dead priest, and the Church is the world's oldest racket. Didn't help that my high school was folded by Jesuits, which is the order Reynard belongs to. I kept secretly wishing that Reynard would get killed, or at the very least seriously injured, by the villains. Still, he was absent from big climax. I suppose I should be thankful for small mercies. But I still say the part where he insisted on sneaking into Britain in a barrel was needlessly stupid. Reynard claims it would be wrong to lie. I'm fairly certain the Catholic Church is okay with lying when your life is in immediate danger. Now, I must be fair. I don't want sound like I'm picking on Brass in particular here. Still, I hope by now it should be clear why I don't have any love for Reynard. Maybe the Catholic Church is more progressive in the world of Brass, but I'm just too cynical to buy that.

Now, I don't want to get too negative here. Despite these flaws, the team behind Brass still managed to put out a reasonably solid show that I very much enjoyed.

Moving on to more positive things, overall, I found that the voice actors did an excellent job. The actors who played the Brass family were a bit rough at first. It was pretty clear they were Americans attempting to fake British accents. That having being said, they got better as time went on, and it was less noticeable. I will add that the rest of the cast had very good British accents. Yes, that includes John. Though, I suspect that some of them were played by British actors. Tuknor speaks with a deliberately stilted and overly formal American accent, which I though worked quite well. I also liked how Ponder has a slight static hiss to his speech, and sounds like he's playing off of a recording. It underscores his cyborg nature. The only real sore spot was Dan Abraham. He speaks in a stereotypically Eastern European accent, even though he's supposed to have lived in Britain for his entire life. Though, in fairness, there are several Jewish neighborhoods in London where the residents do indeed still speak with Eastern European accents.

Brass ran for four seasons of about ten episodes each. The ending wraps-up all the plot threads neatly, but also leaves open the possibility for future adventures. I'd certainly be open for more adventures, but I'd hope we'd get to explore the world outside of the British Isles. One of my biggest complaints about steampunk audio drama is that they seem to be under the impression that the British Isles were the only place of note during the Victorian Era. I would very much like to think that Brass could avoid this pitfall in any future spin-offs. Also, from what John tells me, the team behind Brass are still attempting to get it adapted as a television series. We shall have to see how that pans out.

So, there you have it. Brass is a steampunk proto-superhero adventure audio drama. Despite a bit of a rough start, and a few flaws here and there, it goes on to be an excellent audio drama, and one I happy recommend to all of you. Give it a listen today.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.