Finally taking a break from reading faerie and steampunk crossovers, I took the time to pick up a copy of and read Blood in the Skies by G.D. Falksen, a highflying adventure story complete with airship pirates, historical intrigue, and deadly cartographers.

Blood in the Skies takes place in 2120, approximately 200 years after an event called the “Upheaval” that shattered portions of the Earth and redrew borders between countries as well as cultures. The story begins when Wing Commander Elizabeth “Lucky Lizzy” Steele of the Commonwealth Air Force and her squadron break a pirate raid upon a merchant airship.  Aboard the ship she rescues a man who gives her a strongbox containing a metal punchcard with the “power to change the world”. He then instructs her upon dying his breath to “[d]on’t let him find it!” What follows is a global game of cat and mouse between Steele and her cartographer friend Amartya Ray, and pirates led by the mysterious Lord Burkhalter.

Falksen clearly considers the nuances and patterns in history and culture when creating his post-apocalyptic world. He takes into account certain developments in architecture, weaponry, technology, fashion, and even social etiquette not only within the setting, but also in how characters act and react to each other. His attention to detail is rather impressive. I rather enjoyed particular elements such as civil service recruitment posters reminiscent of propaganda posters during the World Wars, and perhaps the most intricate mechanical bird ever with camera eyes and a gramophone recorder in its neck. In that sense I must remark on how many of the machines featured in the book are just plain cool from clockwork prosthetics to steam powered planes.  Falksen without a doubt cobbles together a vivid, all-encompassing dieselpunk world that is thoroughly enjoyable to explore.

There are definite areas in need of improvement in the work, however. The text is in great need of some extensive line editing for clarity, typos, redundancy, and pacing. The story would also probably benefit from shortening or taking out the prologue entirely in favor of revealing the background history bit by bit throughout the series. Also as entertaining as some of the fight scenes are (using a frilly hat as a shield in a knife-fight = fantastic!), the sheer length of these scenes draws away from the focus and mystery of the outer plot. In fact the main battle takes up a couple of chapters. Granted, Falksen’s education in history is apparent in this book. His careful tactical plotting in his battle scenes is done rather brilliantly, actually. However it is a bit much and unrealistic even for someone hardened in battle to notice every detail of what’s going on in multiple areas of the battlefield as the main character does in the book--especially when she’s in the middle of fighting, herself. It would have been a better idea to rein in some on these scenes because as brilliant and well thought out as they are, they don’t always translate well to fiction or the attention span of the reader.

I also notice that Falksen's skills in character development are still a work in progress. Knowing how much to include and not include is a very tricky thing to do, especially when dealing with minor characters. In this book I feel that he develops some of the minor characters too much, and the major perhaps too little. There is also a great deal of telling and not showing in this sense, though he gets better at avoiding it later in the story. I must applaud Falksen, on the other hand, for creating such a well-developed and charismatic character as Agent Amartya Ray. Ray is the type of character one wants to learn more about, especially how he surprises the reader in practically every chapter as each layer of his character peels away.

Issues aside, Falksen definitely possesses a talent for creating and sustaining suspense. It was difficult to put the book down at times. It is obvious that he spent a great deal of effort in creating his world. However, I would like to see a little more focus on the relationship between plot and character in the next book. Transitioning from writing short stories to novels can be rather difficult. And as this is his first novel, the author shows great potential. I look forward to seeing how his writing evolves in the next book.

 Catherine Barson is a contributer to the Steampunk Chronicle and a self-proclaimed nerd of many talents including costuming, belly dancing, and writing. You can follow her on Twitter, or on her writing blog: Writing Fiction With The Plot Junkie.