Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #152395 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 336 pages

Synopsis
In two scant months the nation, and all her colonies, will celebrate 160 years of Queen Victoria's glorious reign. But all is not well at the heart of the empire of Magna Britannia. A chain of events is about to be set in motion that, if not stopped, could lead to a world-shattering conclusion. It begins with a break-in at the Natural History Museum. A night watchman is murdered. An eminent Professor of Evolutionary Biology goes missing. Then a catastrophic overground rail-crash unleashes the dinosaurs of London Zoo!

Customer Reviews

A good introduction to the world...
This book served as a fantastic introduction to the world of 'Pax Britannia' bringing the reader fully up to speed with the fact that by 1997 the visions of the great Victorian sci-fi writers have been met or surpassed by the British Empire. Whilst also delivering a nicely paced adventure with many a twist and turn which allowed the reader to comprehend why the characters (some of whom are bound to turn up again in sequels) had such noteworthy places in society as they held because Ulysses, Jango, Wormwood et al played their parts magnificently.

My only main point of fault with the book was that some of the plot twists were let on a bit too early. Thus when a shocking turn of events left many characters shocked and surprised we the reader already knew who was in league with who, even if the precise details were new to us, which lessoned the impact somewhat.

Not worth buying new
Truly one of the worst books I've ever read in terms of characterisation, plot, science and the sheer stupid-ness of the characters' names. The book manages to cram every preposterous caricature and cliche of the genre into the smallest possible space and pays no regard to either serious alternate history or serious science, instead hurling bucketfuls of "handwavium" all over the place.

On the other hand, it's a gripping-enough plot and there's no denying that there's something fun about the sheer scale of the preposterousness. If you want good quality steampunk, don't start here (go read "The Difference Engine" by William Gibson). But if you can get it for £1 or from the library then it might fill a few hours with pleasing nonsense.

A Modern Penny Dreadful
Penny Dreadfuls were the Victorian equivalent pulp fiction; disposable magazines (often sold for a penny, hence the name) that contained lurid tales of horror, crime and adventure. Although a 'proper' novel Jonathan Green's 'Unnatural History' very follows in the same tradition. It doesn't pretend to be high art or great literature. Its a tall tale intended to entertain, and it does exactly what it sets out to do.

A mixture of steam punk alternative history, Ryder Haggard-style adventure, Hammer horror and Conan Doyle-ish whodunnit, mixed in with action sequences that wouldn't be out of place in a Hollywood blockbuster, it often feels like a comic book without pictures (the fact that the author has also written comics might partly explain that). All the characters, from hero Ulysses Quicksilver to the bad guys, are stereotypes of one sort or another, drawn in broad strokes, but this suits the genre and the tone of the book. The same goes for the plot, which is suitably convoluted and packed full of incident. It might also be utterly implausible, but in a setting where dinosaurs still live, robots are commonplace and Queen Victoria is 160 years old, it fits in perfectly.

It might be valid to say that there is a surfeit of ideas on display, with some working better than others. Equally the focus on keeping the plot moving and on almost relentless action means that readers are given very little time to get to grips with the world Green has created. I'm sure this will be corrected in future books, but at times in Unnatural History it can leave your head spinning.

As adventure fiction however, Unnatural History provides great entertainment. Its utterly disposable and over the top at times, but it rockets along and gives you everything that you'd want from this sort of fantastical high adventure. On its own terms therefore it has to be consider a success and worthy of four stars.