Not Less Than Gods (Hardcover)

~ Kage Baker (Author), J. K. Potter (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The ninth Company novel (after 2007's The Sons of Heaven) introduces Edward Bell-Fairfax, a child of mysterious origins who gradually discovers that he's not quite like ordinary people. Born to an unmarried aristocratic mother, raised by distant foster parents, and spirited away to boarding school by the sinister Dr. Nennys, Bell-Fairfax serves an unhappy stint in the military and afterward is inducted into the Company of scientists and spies. Using messages from the future and Charles-Babbage-meets-Maxwell-Smart technologia, Bell-Fairfax travels Europe with his mentor, Ludbridge, attempting to swing the Crimean War in England's favor and learning in the process that achieving utopian goals requires a great deal of dirty work. Plenty of cloak-and-poison-dart action gets the reader through the exhausting Victorian nomenclature (the Aetheric Transmitter, the Ascending Chamber) and discourses on the evils of misused technology. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Returning to the worlds of the Company novels, Baker delves into the history of a young man whose name has come up before. Edward Bell-Fairfax is an idealist ideally suited to the life of intrigue and derring-do that Redking’s Club provides. One Dr. Nennys grooms him, then delivers him to a residential place at Redking’s. In a Europe layered with secret societies and intrigue, riddled with astonishingly advanced technology, where the great powers are trembling at the brink of war, Bell-Fairfax and three other young men are trained to work as a team of spies and assassins. Then they are sent on a grand tour across Europe, where they experience marvels, and Bell-Fairfax proves that he was born for the work. Baker builds a fantastic alternate Europe with a deft historical touch and spins an excellent spy story around it. Not Less Than Gods is a satisfying addition to the annals of the Company that is also an engaging stand-alone novel. --Regina Schroeder --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Subterranean; Signed Limited edition (February 15, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596062835
• ISBN-13: 978-1596062832
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #503,720 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Less Than Gods, February 17, 2010

By	Sacramento Book Review "SacramentoBookReview.com" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

Kage has written a series of books that reference a mysterious group or company, "The Gentlemen's Speculative Society (GSS)." Above and apart from art, politics, money and power, the creation and protection of science and technology was this society's singular purpose. Baker's new book develops details of GSS, which is believed to have operated clandestinely in several countries during the Victorian era. Though its origins are hard to document, members reputedly included Archimedes, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Dr. John Dee.

The story begins with a GSS senior member using a couple of London's vulnerable gentry to create himself a child, one Edward Bell-Fairfax, who he then raises and trains for the GSS. The story follows as Edward grows to manhood, completes his training, recognizes his personal and extraordinary powers, and takes up his first mission. Edward and his fellow agents are armed with a lethally useful array of "gadgets" and the advanced technology so essential to good spy thrillers. The agents brave the heat and dust of the Holy Land, outwit enemies in Constantinople, and fight to the death in the freezing streets of St. Petersburg.

The characters are complete, the spy action is taut, the dialogue is flawless, the jokes are funny, and the details of Victorian London are rich and convincing. A delight for Baker fans, and a good place to start if you are new to her work.

Reviewed by Marcia Jo

4.0 out of 5 stars For die hard fans, March 20, 2010

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Not Less Than Gods (The Company) (Hardcover)

In London in 1825, unmarried Lady Amalthea R. gives birth to a boy. Neither aristocratic parent wants to raise him so Dr. Nennys leaves the newborn with Mr. and Mrs. Bell who recently gave birth to a stillborn. They reluctantly take the unwanted infant into their home, but mostly ignore him. Eventually Dr. Nennys ships the neglected child, Edward Bell-Fairfax, to boarding school.

Edward joins the British navy, but his childhood and his unique skills of instant reaction thinking and super strength make him a loner, who fails to fit in with bands of brother warriors. He leaves unwelcome again, but Edward joins the Company of scientists and undercover agents. Dr. Ludbridge tutors Edward who is amazed with the friendly acceptance of him as well as the annual message from the future. The teacher and his prize student travel to the continent where Edward tries to influence the outcome of the Crimean War. He learns from his effort that to achieve his idealistic vision of a better world, good intentions are not enough and dirty deeds are sometimes the only solution.

This work of speculative fiction is an intriguing look at the past of one of the more fascinating Company characters; before Edward and botanist Mendoza becomes a pair. For die hard fans of the recently completed saga only who will appreciate how far Edward came from being unwanted, abused and neglected with only sinister Dr. Nennys interested in manipulating the child to take advantage of his uncanny skills. Yet through all that he remains an idealist who finds his niche with the Company and his soul with Mendoza.


Harriet Klausner