Vermilion: The Adventures of Lou Merriwether, Psychopomp

One star because I felt utterly betrayed. The beginning is amazing. Steampunk ghostbusters. I was sold. But then the chemistry between Shai and Lou is off putting. I guessed right away his secret because he seemed to entrance Lou but even lucid she is way too naive to be an inspiring main character. The journey to the sanitarium is far too detailed to be enjoyable. Every day every stop for camp every bland dialogue between two characters who I ended up liking less and less. This had so much potential but the unnecessarily high word count, pacing, and bland dialogue killed it for me in part 2. I’m very disappointed because the world is excellent.

Tanzer’s world building was excellent, but the plot didn’t really have much pay off following an interesting first chapter. The characters were endearing, for the most part, but spend a good bit of the book whining. While I love her efforts and giving us characters who fight against gender archetypes, in some respects it felt forced and distracting. Finally, you could probably skip the middle third of this book without missing any real plot of substance.

I'm not a huge fan of steampunk but this book really blew me away. The blend of Asian culture with the American west, the use of spirits, vampires, and other lores, and the complex characters really rounded out this book. However, I'm not happy with the cliffhanger. I think it could have been a great standalone novel.

I did enjoy the story overall. It bogged down in several places or this may just be the author's rhythm and I never got used to it. Near the end things sped up to the point that it felt rushed and it had sequel or hopefully, series, stamped all over it. As an introduction to a character it offered enough to ensure that I'll pick up the next novel if it ever comes.

The book was really engaging and it did keep me going! The ending felt rushed, almost like there should be a sequel. Lots of big ideas thrown in at the end that I felt deserved more detail. Overall, entertaining, but the ending was a little unsatisfying.

PROS: A good example of the Weird-Western/Steampunk or Alt History genres. Explores cultures and events that are different with unique perspectives. Strong female leads.CONS: Uneven pacing, stale and predictable characterizations, anachronisms that tarnish the suspension of belief, and an over-reliance on character motivations intended to seemingly "shock" rather than propel the plot.Overall a good book, if not great. Looking forward to a sophomore effort that expands and shows the author's growth.

Fantasy? Steam punk? Historical fiction? Horror? You get it all in this romp through a re-imagined 19th century west. Her descriptions of Wyoming and Colorado mountains are exquisite (and spot on). Anything else I say would be a spoiler.

There were definitely a few spelling errors & in the beginning some pacing issues, but once it got going, I was sucked in! Lou's world is super interesting & fun, and I can't wait to read more.

I had a hard time getting into Vermillion, and kept having a hard time reading it. It almost annoyed me; I was really excited by the premise, really wanted to read it, but…I’d read a few pages and I’d put it down, go do something else. It was frustrating, and unfortunately, it now means I’ve given up on it. It’s rare that I do give up on books, but I plodded as far as Part Two and just thought, “I’m not enjoying this”.The story just wasn’t engaging. I wanted to warm to Lou, wanted to get into her world…but I just found myself skimming the details without any interest. I love the psychopomp details and the mix of alt universe and ghost/spirit ideas; the animal-folk and alt San Francisco. But the writing just didn’t catch me. I couldn’t keep focused on the story, despite the well-drawn characters, the plot that looked fairly interesting…It’s frustrating. I wanted to like this. I wanted to be engaged. I know other people have read it and liked it; I can see that it’s nice writing and a wonderful setting. I’d suggest that anyone who’s into adventure or steampunk gives it a go; it’s got a nice Wild West (with several twists) theme. But for me…meh.

After enjoying 'A Pretty Mouth' and 'Rumbullion', I had very high hopes for Molly Tanzer's debut full length novel. Those hopes were not to be dashed.Set in an alternate American history, our heroine is Lou Merriwether, a young lady who dresses unlike a young lady, and whose job is to persuade (by compulsion, if necessary) reluctant spirits to pass on into the realms of the dead.Persuaded by her mother to travel across country to investigate the disappearance of young men from San Francisco's Chinatown who were supposed to be working on a railroad that apparently doesn't exist, Lou sets off on her travels without the slightest notion of what she is letting herself in for.During her journey, Lou - who has never left San Francisco before - discovers herself to be a fish out of water. She prides herself on her quick wits, but discovers she isn't nearly as smart as she thinks she is.There's hardly a single person in this book who's what they appear to be on the surface, it's a very rich experience as truth leapfrogs expectation several times.The climax of the novel manages to be both bloody and horrifying and yet camp and comical at the same time.A most charming and delightful read, occasionally macabre, sometimes vicious, often funny. One to go in the pile to be reread at some future date, and deserving of a sequel.

Vermilion is annoyingly difficult to put down; indeed, I managed to read it in two days worth of reading, sneaking in chapters during lulls in work shifts and reading when I should be sleeping - like now, at 4am. Alas, this book is as strangely captivating as it's antagonist surely must be. There's something oddly comforting about slipping into the boots of Elouise, who is competent at her job, but hopeless in so many other areas. A true delight to read about, I find myself empathising with her more often than I would have expected. Lou suffers no fools, which is probably my favourite thing about her, but oh my is she a sweet and naive character. There is something heartwarming about her attitude, and the journey that she embarks upon in the pages of this little piece.There is a charming feel of the spaghetti western feel laden in her character, as though you can feel the character's she emulates in her dress and attitude. The book leads you through the story at the perfect pace, teasing and hinting with it's plot points to keep you guessing. Whenever you think you have a handle on it, you feel the rug tugged out from under you in a joyfully fun way. The author, much to my own personal delight, pulls no punches in treating her main character exactly as one would expect. She gets no free pass by want of being a main character, and in fact her fool-hardy decisions bite her buttocks rather amusingly and realistically.Despite it's fantastical setting, Vermilion is well grounded and pays attention to it's own lore, giving the reader enough to immerse themselves in the book without the fear of being bogged down by pages and pages of needless exposition. A solid read and one I heartily recommend.

After a fine start (first three chapters) the book degenerates into long stretches of inane dialogue (first the road movie, then ineptly handled personal relations). The problem is that in this section the heroine comes across as feeble, not to say pathetic - in complete contrast to her professional approach initially.The story does pick up again in the last few chapters (a fair bit of action and interesting developments), but it's a bit of a slog getting there.

Didn't make it all the way through this one I'm afraid. Starts off promisingly but then wanders off into a fairly boring road story for about half the book; maybe the ending is a blockbuster but bored me so much I just quit.