Soulless: Book 1 of The Parasol Protectorate (Orbit) (Parasol Protectorate, #1)

by Gail Carriger

Alexia Tarabotti is labouring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.
Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire - and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.
With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Or will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?
SOULLESS is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.

***Also available as a manga adaptation***

• ISBN10: 1841499722
• ISBN13: 9781841499727
• Publish Date: 2 September 2010 (first published 1 January 2009)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Orbit
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

The writing style of Soulless is more suited to Historical Fiction than Urban Fantasy, so it threw me off in the beginning. But as I kept reading, I noticed that it works perfectly. It's a historical setting that just happens to have vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and preternaturals (people without souls), so why not? I love Historical Romances anyway, so it's not like the writing was bothersome.

I found the humor to be rather dry, and mostly didn't make me laugh. I could easily tell when something was meant to be funny, but that just made me find it not funny at all. If that makes sense. It was too obvious, I guess is what I'm getting at. There definitely were some things that did tickle my funny bone though, so not all was lost!

I have to say that I enjoyed the romance aspect far more than the mystery. I thought it was really funny and cute that Lord Maccon was trying to court Alexia as if she were a female werewolf, then wondering why it wasn't working! But Alexia is a bit eccentric, so once she discovers what's going on with him, she goes along with it and sexy times ensue!

The one thing that I absolutely LOVED was the science. There's all kinds of wacky inventions that pop up throughout the book, and the explanations for the existence of supernaturals was super interesting. Instead of being the soulless creatures that fiction usually paints them to be, the supernaturals are actually people who had an excess of soul, which is what helps them through the transition. This of course means that Alexia, who has no soul, cannot become supernatural. In fact, preternaturals actually null the supernaturals powers when they come into contact! This was all very cool and interesting.

Overall, I enjoyed Soulless, although not as much as I was expecting to. It's smart, witty, and compelling, but sometimes the humor was lost on me. The unique portrayal of supernaturals was definitely what made this novel for me. I just wish more time had been spent to Alexia's soullessness rather than her generous curves, too tan skin, and prominent nose.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

Alexia Tarabotti may only be a spinster with no soul but when a she is so rudely attacked by a pack of vampires she discovers just how useful being soulless is. With the ability to negate supernatural powers, she is asked by Lord Maccon, who has been sent by Queen Victoria to investigate what is actually happening with London’s high society. Soulless is a book on social etiquette with a mixture of steampunk, werewolves, vampires, and tea-drinking.

Admittedly, this is not something I would normally read but the mixture of steampunk and Victorian high society did seem to appeal to me. However I was reluctant to try something that sounded very much like paranormal romance. Being a literary explorer, sometimes you just have to suck it up and read something way out of your comfort zone. I know I haven’t read many chick lit/romance novels so I thought maybe it was time to give Soulless ago.

One thing I did enjoy about this book was the Victorian elements; Gail Carriger is an archaeologist and it feels like she has taken all the elements from Victorian literature and society, mixed it with her love of science fiction and formed what she likes to call Urbane Fantasy. The Victorian and steampunk elements really help drive this book for me; although I’m sure Jane Austin would be shocked to read this book.

Then you have the werewolves, vampires and the soulless which I really did hate, I would have much rather read a book like this without paranormal elements and maybe replacing it with a mystery element. That way everything plot wise could still work barring some minor changes. But I have to accept paranormal novels are big sellers and they won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. It just doesn’t work for me; I don’t think I can continue the series.

Overall this book felt too predictable with the romance and the rest was just too cutesy. I like that this novel had a strong heroine like Alexia but there was too much of a struggle between what I liked and hated to really enjoy this book in any form. I know there is a lot of love for this series out there and I’m sorry to say I wasn’t able to love this book. I was glad it was a quick read. There is a lot of wit and humour in this novel but it wasn’t enough. I’m not going to continue this series but I might give one of Gail Carriger’s Etiquette and Espionage a go, even if it is set in the same universe, it does look interesting.

The review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2012/11/22/book-review-soulless/

[MurderByDeath]

I started out listening to this book at the recommendation of a fellow GR member in one of my groups. I can't recommend this book in audio version highly enough. Emily Gray is outstanding. She brings every one of these characters alive and manages even to make the men sound like men without sounding the least bit silly or diminishing their characters even a little bit. She made this book come alive for me to such an extent I'm actually hesitant to *read* the second one in paperback. I'd much rather listen to the audio, and I have never said *that* before.

As for the story, well, I just truly enjoyed it - the dry wit throughout the book had me chuckling constantly (I'm sure I was the only one smiling and laughing during rush hour traffic!) while the plot itself was delightfully creepy, with an ending that had me cringing and laughing at the same time. An excellent start and whether I read or listen, I can't wait to dive into the next book.

[ladygrey]

Exquisitely British, exciting with a very unique and fun voice. I liked the combining of paranormal and regency romance with a flare of steam punk. I really liked the characters, the heroine and hero and all the secondary players, actually the secondary characters probably even more than the primary ones. Except the mad villain, I quite hated him. It's rather more salacious than what I normally read but managed not to be terribly indecent about the whole thing. Also it was great to read some good third person omniscient because it's been a while.

The thing that makes this book so enjoyable, though, really are how fun and well developed all the characters are. It keeps you engrossed in the story even when things slow down a bit. They're vibrant and interesting and exceptionally amusing and, ok, admittedly I probably only liked the book well enough until Lord Akeldama's drones showed up and were so delightfully efficient. And Lyall and Floote, they were great.

[inlibrisveritas]

What do you get when you combine paranormal creatures, the Victorian era, and a wonderful touch of steampunk? Sheer brilliance.

I simply loved this book! It took me a bit to actually get into it, but that was more due to the fact that I simply didn't want to read anything at that moment. I loved the main character Alexia. She's a strong woman and definitely strong willed as well, and pretty quick witted. More importantly she isn't one of those overly tough women who only admit to being scared when no can see them and will not back down even when they are wrong. I also adored Lord Maccon...when it comes to werewolves, I'm fairly sure he may be my favorite now. So yummy. Lord Akeldama is also delightful and I love the unique way he talks. The other characters are equally lovely in their own way and I think the character base has made me fall in love with Victorian era fiction.Of course I wasn't fond of Alexia's family and their slightly harsh opinion of her, it just didn't seem entirely fair...but it worked for the story. The way the soul plays a part in the paranormal world is really unique as well, and I really love the explanation and find it refreshing that it's not just another unexplained thing you accept.

I love how Carriger decided to intertwine the paranormal aspects of the story with history so as to explain a lot of England's successes. She also did a lovely job on incorporating steampunk without it being overwhelming or overly visible. The way it's written really pulls everything together in a rich and intelligent way, and it flows so smoothly that even with change in vocabulary and vernacular it's pretty easy and quick to read. The overall plot was really great too, and given the circumstances of the world was written in an entirely believable way. The only think that irked me was the 'wax-face' man, and that's only because I don't quite get him...but in all fairness neither to the characters.

Overall a great book and I can't wait to get the second one. I totally recommend this to paranormal fantasy lovers, especially if you enjoy Victorian era books.

[Hixxup]

good book, I liked the world Carriger made here. I love the characters, I loved the story, I loved the ending can't wait to read more of this series.

[e_rodz_leb]

Soulless is a very entertaining book. It is a historical paranormal book for adults that take place in Victorian England in a world where vampires, werewolves and ghosts (supernaturals) are part of the community and have government representation. On the opposite site of the scale are the soulless (or preternatural) that can neutralize the abilities of the supernaturals with a mere touch. Alexia is a great heroine. I just loved how she is determine to not be guided by convection, because being a woman, of an Italian father and not very pretty doesn’t hold her back at all. I am glad I read this book in my Kindle because there were several words I have to look up in the dictionary! Lord Macon is to die for, very protective and at the same time never underestimates Alexia. I think they are a brilliant couple. The book is so funny; it had me laughing out loud more than once.

[lizarodz]

Soulless is a very entertaining book. It is a historical paranormal book for adults that take place in Victorian England in a world where vampires, werewolves and ghosts (supernaturals) are part of the community and have government representation. On the opposite site of the scale are the soulless (or preternatural) that can neutralize the abilities of the supernaturals with a mere touch. Alexia is a great heroine. I just loved how she is determine to not be guided by convection, because being a woman, of an Italian father and not very pretty doesn’t hold her back at all. I am glad I read this book in my Kindle because there were several words I have to look up in the dictionary! Lord Macon is to die for, very protective and at the same time never underestimates Alexia. I think they are a brilliant couple. The book is so funny; it had me laughing out loud more than once.

[empressbrooke]

Oof. I had really expected to like this one, and I was under the impression that it was going to much better than it actually ended up being. Despite its promise of a steampunky setting and a soulless heroine, which seems like it has to be interesting, Soulless felt like a cookie cutter example of the current paranormal urban fantasy stuff that saturates the market right now. The writing is stiff, the ridiculous courtship between the main love interests pops up in the most unfortunate situations, and despite some vague hints about what it means to be without a soul, aside from her ability to neutralize the effects of the paranormal creatures she encounters, the idea was never fully developed. It didn't seem to have any effect on her personality - she still has emotions, she still forms attachments to people, she still cares about things. There are some rumblings about not being able to pick out clothes and needing to follow the trends closely because she can't feel or somesuch, but her soulless status seemed little more than a plot device to bring up when it was convenient. I had the sequel reserved from the library, but I canceled my spot on the list as soon as I finished this one.

[mitabird]

This was an excellent story. I was quickly engrossed in the world building and I did not find it complicated. Alexia was a smart woman with a backbone. I liked the fact that she was loyal to the few people she entrusted with her friendship. Conall was a bit gruff and Alexia constantly exasperated him, but his feelings for her were clear to me, though it took him a while to realize them. I thought they were great couple. I really enjoyed reading about the mysterious appearances and disappearances of the supernatural. I cannot wait to read the next one.