Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate) [Mass Market Paperback]

Gail Carriger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2009 | Series: The Parasol Protectorate (Book 1)

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring 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? 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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Carriger debuts brilliantly with a blend of Victorian romance, screwball comedy of manners and alternate history. Prickly, stubborn 25-year-old bluestocking Alexia Tarabotti is patently unmarriageable, and not just because she's large-nosed and swarthy. She's also soulless, an oddity and a secret even in a 19th-century London that mostly accepts and integrates werewolf packs, vampire hives and ghosts. The only man who notices her is brash Lord Conall Maccon, a Scottish Alpha werewolf and government official, and (of course) they dislike each other intensely. After Alexia kills a vampire with her parasol at a party—how vulgar!—she and Conall must work together to solve a supernatural mystery that grows quite steampunkishly gruesome. Well-drawn secondary characters round out the story, most notably Lord Akeldama, Alexia's outrageous, italic-wielding gay best vampire friend. This intoxicatingly witty parody will appeal to a wide cross-section of romance, fantasy and steampunk fans. (Oct.)
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Review

"Soulless is a character-driven romp with great worldbuilding and delicious rapier wit that recalls Austen and P.G. Wodehouse." - io9.com

"Deliciously, vampiricly satiric, a tremendously clever, sexy read." --- Karen Marie Moning, New York Times bestselling author

"Soulless has all the delicate charm of a Victorian parasol, and all the wicked force of a Victorian parasol secretly weighted with brass shot and expertly wielded. Ravishing." --- Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Orbit; Original edition (October 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316056634
• ISBN-13: 978-0316056632
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (415 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

New York Times Bestselling author Gail Carriger writes to cope with being raised in obscurity by an expatriate Brit and an incurable curmudgeon. She survived her early years by reading most of her local library and memorizing Greek battles. Eventually, she escaped small town life and inadvertently acquired several degrees in Higher Learning. In pursuit of further finishing, Ms. Carriger traveled the historic cities of Europe, subsisting entirely on biscuits secreted in her handbag. She now resides in the Colonies, surrounded by fantastic shoes, where she insists on tea imported from London.

The Parasol Protectorate books are: Soulless, Changeless, Blameless, Heartless & Timeless. Soulless won the ALA's Alex Award. Manga versions of the first two books release in 2012 (Soulless Vol. 1 & Vol. 2) and Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 3 is due out Nov. 19, 2013. The first in her young adult Finishing School series, Etiquette & Espionage debuted at #9 on NYT. The second in the series, Curtsies & Conspiracies is due out Nov. 2013.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

137 of 146 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Whole Lot Of Fun October 3, 2009

By Catherine

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I don't really think I've ever come across a book quite as quotable as Soulless, and right from the start it had me in a combination of giggles and "oh, I'm so going to have to remember that line" - it was a pattern that started very early on ("a vampire, like a lady, never reveals his true age") and continued right to the very end (I cannot post the quote as it is both spoiler and possibly NSFW). For all the dark and dreariness that does appear in a world populated by vampires, werewolves and London fog, this is a very humorous book with a great many wonderful lines. The best humour, naturally, comes from the interactions between Alexia and Lord Maccon, who are already familiar with each other, and his dislike of her at least somewhat relates back to an incident with a hedgehog - don't worry, folks, we do find out what the hedgehog incident actually was. And if you're a fan of UST between people who don't quite get along, you'll be more than happy to know it's absolutely dripping with the stuff.

Carriger has done a lot of clever world-building when it comes to her paranormal steampunk London, and the many people and beings who live in it. The organisation of this Victorian society populated by supernatural beings is well-displayed, with the relevant information coming out at the right time, and not being dumped on us all at once. Every author puts their own twists on the concepts of vampires and werewolves, and while for the most part she sticks to standards she adds her own flare to things - like how vampires have influenced fashion and the like (pale, my dears, is very much in). But the thing I like most is the concept of preternaturals, their historical role and their own unique abilities. It's quite fascinating, and I'll be keeping an eye out on how Carriger develops the concept in future novels - in the meantime though I was more than satisfied with how it went in Soulless.

There were two things that niggled at me, and which kept Soulless from reaching the full five stars I would have given it otherwise. The first was the name-jumping: in one paragraph a character would be addressed by title and surname in the narration, and then in the next it would just be the first name. Then it would go right back to the first way and continue jumping all the way through the novel. This mainly occurred with the main character, but other minor ones were similarly afflicted, and it made for a whole lot of distractions, thus taking me much longer to get into reading the story fluidly.

The other niggle was the repetition of some aspects. As I was reading along I was constantly reminded that Alexia was half-Italian and olive-skinned and was curvy and didn't have a tiny nose and that was Not Good in her world. I can understand that it was important as it marked her as different and odd in an outward sense (as her own preternatural abilities aren't something you can just see), but after a while it got frustrating enough for me to want to yell back "I KNOW!" when that repetition came up once again. Fortunately that lessoned over the course of the novel, but it was still very frustrating.

Apart from those two things, Soulless was an incredibly fun novel, and I'll be looking forward to May to read the next one, Changeless. In the meantime, if you like novels such as Pride and Prejudice and the Sookie Stackhouse novels, then Soulless might definitely be the book for you.

79 of 87 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting romp in an alternate history with Vampires and Werewolves November 10, 2009

By Suzanne Thomas

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Soulless is a light book with an imaginative premise. The main character is Alexia Tarabotti, a woman who is born without a soul, who is thus able to negate the powers of the supernatural with her touch. The cast of characters is interesting, albeit a little one-dimensional.

The story is a fun romp but I did find the writing a bit choppy. Certain scenes felt contrived. Some of the actions of the characters didn't make sense in their situational context and left me scratching my head going "huh, seriously, NOW??? When your life is in danger, you want to do WHAT?!" I can't be more specific without giving away some of the key scenes but if/when you read this, you'll know what I mean. Despite that, I did enjoy the book.

Here's a list of the things I loved about this book:
- Alexia is half Italian and different from her peers and while she is made to feel like an outsider, she embraces her status as an independent thinking woman. I liked that she is a nonconformist.
- Highly imaginative premise. Brilliant!
- Loved the writing style!! Very classic, very British and fun to read.
- Quirky supporting characters: Ivy, Professor Lyall and Lord Akeldama.

Here's a list of things I didn't love about this book:
- Alexia is half Italian. Okay. I get it. I think I got it after the 1st two or three times. I also get that she's darker than her peers and has a bigger than usual nose, hence she's been shelved and has never presented for marriage. And I get that she's generously proportioned in the bosom and hips, okay, okay. I just don't need to be reminded over and over again of her appearance. The repetition was making me crazy.
- Characters were one-dimensional and needed more development.
- Situations were a little contrived.
- Predictable storylines. I say storylines, because Ms Carriger does a good job of weaving several storylines into the book so there's a lot of things going on. While that is positive, the storylines seemed a wee bit thin and underdeveloped. (Sorry!)
- A little too reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice: 1) female protagonist who is strong-willed, opinionated, independent, determined, well-read (like her father), and unmarried (but who would secretly like to marry for love, ahem), 2) dingy mother who is obsessed about the daughters' marriage prospects, 3) 2 silly sisters, and 4) a love/hate relationship with a powerful, titled wealthy man who also seems to dislike the female protagonist on the surface.
- The sexual tension could have been drawn out a little longer. (Just saying!!!) I felt it would have been more fun had it been stretched out.

Overall, I liked the book and am looking forward to book 2 but am hoping for a less repetitive installment and more of Ms Carriger's witty and quotable lines.

43 of 47 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Steampunk meets a lot of genres with a delightful result September 29, 2009

By Blodeuedd

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring 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 is being rudely attacked by a vampire to whom she has not been properly introduced! Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire, and 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? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?
---

This book is a mix of things and I fell head over heels for it. I had heard a lot about steampunk and after reading this I want more. I love a good alternate history/earth kind of book.

And yes I know I put up a lot of genres there, but there is a lot of different things in here, and how to tell what is what. Also I am first now getting the whole steampunk idea. What not to miss is that it's also comedic. It's so witty, and even if it's not laugh out loud haha, it has that witty streak through out the whole book that I often sat there with a smile on my face. I loved the banter between the main characters.

Alexia is a great heroine, witty, smart and not like her half sisters or other women. She is also soulless, a soulsucker as the vampires call her kind. She has been a spinster from once, her mother does not know about her condition, but because of her Italian look she has been on the shelf for 10 years. But she is quite happy there, and she has the freedom to at least try to do what she wants.

But then there is the nasty incident with a rude vampire who does not introduce himself instead he goes straight for her neck. Vampires have more manners than that since they, werewolves and ghosts now are a part of society. She is of course shocked and does what she has to do. here the book starts, and we get to meet Lord Maccon who she has come across now and then. The alpha wolf from Scotland who came and took control over the London pack. Rather rude, and very much a werewolf. Can she figure out things without running in to him all the time?

Lord Maccon, well yes I fell for him. He is all alpha, and the dance between those two is great, she has really succeeded with creating chemistry between them. They are so annoyed by each other, but at the same time there is something more there. Something a soulless really should not feel for a werewolf, because what would others say? How I wanted them together.

Werewolves. vampires and ghosts are a normal sight in England, an the rest of the world these days. In England they are a part of society, and it's a nice twist to it. The setting feels normal.

This is a great and funny book. There is the romance, the comedy of manners, and the insight in how things could perhaps have been. The main characters are lovely, and very rude. The side characters are nice, especially Lord Akeldama, her vampire, and very eccentric friend.

For lovers of paranormal, historical, urban fantasy, steampunk or romance, this is a book that I can recommend. It's a nice read, and I am so happy I was lucky to win it, and discovering yet another great side genre. With likeable characters, a funny story and that little bit of extra this is a good start to a series. The next book will be released in the spring of 2010, and I hope to hear more of this author in the future.