Book Review: The Red Plague Affair and Giveaway

The Red Plague Affair

By Lilith Saintcrow

Format: eBook, 314 pgs

Genre: Steampunk/alt-history/fantasy

Series: Bannon and Clare #2 (The Iron Wyrm Affair #1, The Damnation Affair #1.5)

Recommendation: It’s Lilith-freakin’-Saintcrow—do you even have to ASK me?

Synopsis: The service of Britannia is not for the faint of heart--or conscience...

Emma Bannon, Sorceress Prime in service to Queen Victrix, has a mission: to find the doctor who has created a powerful new weapon. Her friend, the mentath Archibald Clare, is only too happy to help. It will distract him from pursuing his nemesis, and besides, Clare is not as young as he used to be. A spot of Miss Bannon's excellent hospitality and her diverting company may be just what he needs.


Unfortunately, their quarry is a fanatic, and his poisonous discovery is just as dangerous to Britannia as to Her enemies. Now a single man has set Londinium ablaze, and Clare finds himself in the middle of distressing excitement, racing against time and theory to find a cure. Miss Bannon, of course, has troubles of her own, for the Queen's Consort Alberich is ill, and Her Majesty unhappy with Bannon's loyal service. And there is still no reliable way to find a hansom when one needs it most...


The game is afoot. And the Red Plague rises.

First Sentence:  I am too bloody old for this.

Purchase at:  B&N, Amazon, Book Depository, Indiebound, Powells

My Thoughts and Summary: Melissa previously reviewed The Iron Wrym Affair, and you will find her thoughts here.

What you need to know: this is an alternate Victorian London, now called Londinium, with steampunk and magic, and partly an homage to Sherlock Holmes. Archibald Clare is a mentath: brilliant, logical, and deductive. Emma Bannon is a Sorceress Prime, in service to Queen Victrix and willing to do whatever Her Majesty requests.

The Red Plague Affair picks up a few years after The Iron Wyrm Affair ended. Can you read this one without reading the first? Look, as a writer, I am rather violently anal about reading books in order to begin with; in the case of this book, I’d say hell-to-the-no more than usual. Saintcrow prefers to immerse the reader in the world rather than force-feed details, trusting the reader to fill in the pieces without long bits of exposition. This is my preferred approach when reading (and writing) as well, however it would make it more difficult in my opinion to pick up the second book in the series and become accustomed to not only the new world but suss out past events referenced from the previous installment. In this series you could skip The Damnation Affair—as book #1.5, it takes place in another part of the world with different characters (though don’t, as that book is OMFG wonderful)—but I recommend not jumping into this one without The Iron Wyrm Affair first.

My review will be spoiler-free.

In this adventure, Bannon and Clare find themselves racing to stop a devastating plague from descending on Londinium. Mystery is a fair bit of the plot, and so I’ll avoid giving a summary; the jacket copy above does give enough of a glimpse. But this Bannon and Clare outing changes the dynamic of the series when secrets are uncovered, alliances form (we meet Dr. Vance!), and Bannon’s service comes into question. The Red Plague Affair is thrilling, dark and lush, wickedly smart, and told by two fascinating lead characters.

At first glance, our two leads seem as though they couldn’t be more different.

Reason and emotion. Logic and irrationality. Though a mentath is all logic and magic pure irrationality, part of why Bannon and Clare work so beautifully together is not that they are polar opposites but that they both are a mix of emotion and reason. Clare prides himself on his deductive skills and rational thoughts, though often he seems to be the more emotional of the two (especially with regards to his nemesis, Dr. Vance, eluding him); Bannon is a high level sorceress, commanding magic which is the height of illogic, however she is practical and calm, and even Clare admits she is more reasonable than he’d expect her to be. And this mix of both features is what makes them so compatible and able to complement each other; they have just enough in common to allow them to work in tandem, joining their two opposing abilities into an unstoppable force.

The characters are all three-dimensional and well-drawn, from the leads to the secondary ones that populate this world. I could go on at length about each distinct personality, however I'll restrain myself and focus on Emma, as she is one of my favourite characters to date. What I value most in people—whether fictional or real—is competency more than just about anything, and Emma has that in spades. As a high ranking sorceress with a gift for...magic of a decidedly darker sort, she is practical, powerful, competent, passionate, has a ruthless streak I appreciate, and manages to maintain a certain “ladylike” quality necessary for women of that period while still being someone no sane person would dare to cross. Emma Bannon, in a nutshell, gets shit done, and I love her for it. Her character grows by leaps and bounds in The Red Plague Affair; this book is not easy on Emma Bannon, and makes it clear that as the series progresses, more difficult choices are ahead of her.

The language is lush as in all Saintcrow’s works, but the voice here is crisp and distinctly British; I often pause during the Bannon and Clare books to speak sentences aloud, enjoying the feel  and sound of them (look, I like words). Words like “vexation”. Let’s all say that one: vexation. Isn’t it delicious? Every time I hear it, I spend the rest of the day speaking like I’m in a Regency film.

Saintcrow’s head must be the busiest place in existence (and I say this as someone who’s brain is always doing this), as just with her other many series, Bannon and Clare exist in a fully fleshed out world that at some point in history branched from ours. The world-building is rich and vast, and each book suggests we’ve barely scratched the surface of the history and workings of this alt-London (I, for one, could happily read a series of books on The Care and Feeding of Gryphons; they are fascinating). Though the setting is quite loosely Victorian England with clockwork horses and the like, magic is firmly entrenched in the story, woven believably into the world's history. One of the more interesting details, for me, is how the monarch Alexandrina Victrix is presented: she is Queen, yes, but that is more than a mere title. She’s the chosen vessel for Britannia Herself, literally the spirit of the Empire residing in the young woman’s body.

Let me tell you, it brings a whole new perspective on using the royal “we”.

I cannot go into detail because spoilers, but suffice to say Emma's interactions with Britannia were among my favourite in the book. 

What is perhaps most refreshing with the Bannon and Clare books for me as a reader is the entirely platonic relationship between the two leads. There is no will-they-or-won’t-they or forced romantic tension here: the two are allies, friends, and work as partners; they have an affection and regard for one another, but they aren’t shagging (if that is in the cards, I trust it will integrate smoothly and still not become the focus of the series). Romantic love is all well and good, but sometimes? Sometimes I want a story about male and female leads who are friends. Because friendship is often underrated in fiction in favour of...fetishizing romantic love and holding it above all other kinds. And I don’t know about anyone else, but I like having friends and I like seeing people work together without necessarily getting naked; friends who would die for one another, friends whose love is as strong as any romantic pairing. The non-romance between the leads is a wonderful reversal on reader expectations.

It also bears mentioning that those who prefer no naughty words and no sex scenes will be happy with this book; neither would particularly fit with the story, so their absences are entirely appropriate here. (There is violence, often implied rather than fully on screen.)

Although the main plot wraps up in The Red Plague Affair, there is definitely the sense of more to come (OH IS THERE EVER), and a lead up to the third book, The Ripper Affair (tentative), which I cannot wait for.

Bitchstress Bechdel Bonus: Does it pass the Bechdel Test? Why, yes, yes it does. There are multiple female characters who speak to each other about things other than a man. 

Disclaimer: I purchased and read this book for my own enjoyment. I am also an unabashed Lilith Saintcrow fangirl, as one should be. I tentatively call her a friend, as saying I am a rabid worshipper who sacrifices virgins in her honor makes me sound ever so slightly unhinged, but my opinion of her as a person has no bearing on my enjoyment of her work (I was a fangirl before knowing her).

Giveaway: As it’s my first review, I wanted to do a little giveaway. Winner’s choice of any Lilith Saintcrow (or Lili St. Crow) book via The Book Depository (of which there are many). Open internationally, provided TBD ships to your location. 

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