The Native Star by M.K. Hobson arrived on my front porch one chilly October day. It came from Amazon, lacking any sender information. The only thing in the box other than the book simply read “Happy All Hallows Read!” Now, I eventually determined who had sent the book (and by “eventually” I mean “almost immediately”—the list of folks who might send me fantasy novels out of the blue is tragically short), but the unexpected nature of its arrival is important because so much of the experience of reading it was a surprise. The Warlock’s Curse, Hobson’s third book and the third story from her unique alternate America, continued to surprise me at every turn.
The first two books in the series (called “Veneficas Americana”), The Native Star and Hidden Goddess, take place in the 1870s. The setting is softly steampunk (Hobson refers to it as “bustlepunk”), Gilded Age, and definitely magical. The Warlock’s Curse takes place in 1910. The bustles and steam have left the building but Thomas Edison and Nicola Tesla have waded into the fray. The heart of the first two books is rooted in magic. The Warlock’s Curse is rooted in science.
Cannonball Read V 