Month: June 2023

There are two sides to every story. This is a truism of life that people have a tendency of forgetting, and it’s a truism that fiction often ignores. It’s far easier to tell a story where the focus is on one side, fighting for what’s right… or what the author wants the reader to believe is right. It can also result in a satisfying read that doesn’t get bogged down by presenting all sides of the argument in equal measure. The Vitruvian Mask, BJ Sikes’ follow-up to the fantastic The Archimedean Heart (my review for that went live yesterday; click here to check it out), does a wonderful job of telling the other side of the story in the battle between Naturalists and Scientists (both are proper nouns in the book’s world), without becoming the least bit bogged down. Not that The…

Riddle me this: When is a steampunk novel not a steampunk novel? That’s a trick question, because the answer is never. Like most genres, authors can bend it to their will, to tell the story they want to tell. Author BJ Sikes is the perfect example of how an author can do exactly that, as exemplified through The Archimedean Heart. While it includes many of the trappings that fans of the genre—myself included—love, the author has written a novel that, in many ways, feels more akin to straight historical fiction than steampunk.

While the above statement may alarm the steampunk faithful, it’s no cause for concern. The Archimedean Heart is a stronger book for feeling more like a classical historical fiction. While set in a steampunk world during the Victorian Era—although in France, an unexpected location that offers a distinct European flavour—Sikes…