A NIGHT OWL REVIEWS BOOK REVIEW | Reviewed by: Terri
Sir Richard Francis Burton has been asked to return to Africa by Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston. Before the journey even starts though, attempts on his life begin to occur, some even resulting in other people’s death. Still Richard must go on because if he fails, England and everything the English hold dear may be destroyed. He has help on his journey; his good friend and poet, Swinburne, as well as a man for Scotland Yard, two police officers, a nurse and more. Each brings some sort of skill or ability with them. They will need every bit of their skills and abilities as they race again Richard’s one time friend, John Speke. Speke and Burton are after the same prize and will do anything they can to achieve it. There is also a Richard Burton in the future He’s landed in the middle of a war with England loosing and not much hope. . He’s lost his memory but knows that there is something important he must remember and do. If he can remember, he will change everything but if he doesn’t???? This is the third book in this series. Each book builds on the previous one so if you haven’t read the previous books it may take you a while to get into this one. It can, however, be read without having read the previous books. There is an absolutely awesome world in this story. Actually there are two, one in 1863 and the other in the early 1900s. There are not only a couple of alternative universes but there is a strong element of steam punk. There are two separate schools of thought in the earlier world, one that genetically changes plants and the other who builds machines. Each can make deadly weapons using their technology. Other things are extremely similar to what we are familiar with during that era like slavery in Africa and malaria. The characters are very well developed. There are wonderful personalities that come out as they interact with each other. Richard even runs into an old girlfriend in a most unlikely place and in a most unlikely way further developing his character. At no point do the characters act out of what is expected and what is expected is a lot. I had a few problems getting into this story and keeping all the plot lines straight. However, I soon had that under control and began to enjoy the adventures. You have to be able to keep two plot lines straight though as each is pretty much fully developed. I think part of my problems were due to not having read the previous two books. I did enjoy the creativity of the worlds. Things were created that stretched the imagination such as overly large spiders and forests that are full grown after a day. The adventures never seemed to cease. From bombardments in trenches to a death at a ball to an assignation attempt at Queen Victoria, things never slow down. This keeps the story at a very fast pace and keeps the readers’ attention.
Feb 03, 2012 | 9781616145354
5 - Rare Top Pick | 4.5 - Top Pick | 4 - I Liked It | 3.5 - Enjoyable | 3 - OK | 2.5 - It just didn't click
Book Blurb for Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon
It is 1863, but not the one it should be. Time has veered wildly off course, and now the first moves are being made that will lead to a devastating world war and the fall of the British Empire. The prime minister, Lord Palmerston, believes that by using the three Eyes of Naga—black diamonds possessing unique properties—he’ll be able to manipulate events and avoid the war. He already has two of the stones, but the third is hidden somewhere in the Mountains of the Moon, the fabled source of the Nile. Palmerston sends Sir Richard Francis Burton to recover it. For the king’s agent, it’s a chance to redeem himself after his previous failed attempt to find the source of the great river. That occasion had led to betrayal by his partner, John Hanning Speke. Now Speke is leading a rival expedition on behalf of the Germans, and it seems that the battle between the former friends may ignite the very war that Palmerston is trying to avoid! Caught in a tangled web of cause, effect, and inevitability, little does Burton realize that the stakes are far higher than even he suspects. A final confrontation comes in the mist-shrouded Mountains of the Moon, in war- torn Africa of 1914, and in Green Park, London, where, in the year 1840, Burton must face the man responsible for altering time: Spring Heeled Jack! Burton and Swinburne’s third adventure is filled with eccentric steam-driven technology, grotesque characters, and bizarre events, completing the three-volume story arc begun in The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack and The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man.
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