Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1) – Gail Carriger
Grand Central Publishing Hachette, 2010
374 pages
RRP: AU$14.99
ISBN: 978-031-605663-2

Reviewed by Kate Smith

Soulless by Gail Carriger is simply too much fun!  With all the potential for disaster in the storyline, this novel of vampires and werewolves (and parasols) avoids all the stereotyping of current vampire novels and entertains in a most wonderful and amusing way.  Carriger employs a turn of phrase at just the correct moment, eliciting smiles and even giggles at times.  I so thoroughly enjoyed this story that I am currently hunting down the next, Changeless.

Soulless is the story of a lady who is essentially an outcast in her own society.  Possessing too much Italian blood (from her father), Alexia is out of place in Victorian London, more out of place than the werewolves and vampires are, and is consequently a long-time spinster at twenty six.  Such does her life appear to be set to continue until her occasional meetings with Lord Maccon take a physical turn.  However, at the same time there are larger issues that are difficult to focus on through the chemistry – vampires and werewolves are disappearing and new vampires are suddenly and briefly appearing.  On top of that, someone appears to want to kidnap Alexia.  Too forthright and outspoken for her own good at times, Alexia sets about finding some answers while trying to maintain the composure and decorum of a properly correct Victorian woman in the face of attentions from the Scottish werewolf Lord Maccon.

Soulless does not degenerate to soap opera or seek to ride the current vampire subject matter fads.  It is a simple tale of love, the supernatural and the preternatural, with a happy ending expressed in a well crafted and diverting fashion.  It is not possible to say that Soulless is a classic of its time, however it is a thoroughly enjoyable read and one that readers will find hard to put down.