Trafalgar & Boone and the Books of Breathing

Lady Dorothy Boone, Trafalgar of Abyssinia, and Beatrice Sek return, along with the members of the adventuring Mnemosyne Society, in the third novel (after Trafalgar & Boone in the Drowned Necropolis) of Cannon’s wondrous steampunk epic. The year is 1921, and Trafalgar and Boone have received an ancient Egyptian ka statue. They begin the task of unearthing its secrets and soon discover it contains the soul of an ancient priest named Amenemhat. When they awaken it, the priest sets in motion a scheme that involves souls switching bodies. After a harrowing journey from London to Egypt and an even more dangerous long-distance flight, the intrepid heroines desperately attempt to put everyone back where they belong before the priest’s devious plans come to fruition. Meanwhile, Beatrice, an earth Elemental, continues to probe her mysterious background and seek out others like herself. A diverse cast spices up what would otherwise be a standard Indiana Jones–like story, but the intriguing inclusion of feminism and other gender-related elements is overshadowed by the almost obsessive focus on the characters’ sexualities. (Sept.)