In the city of Paris, Severin Montagnet-Alarie, a wealthy hotel owner and treasure-hunter, is confronted by the elite rulers from the Order of the Babel. In exchange for his inheritance that he was once stripped of, he is tasked with finding an ancient artifact that holds great and unknown power. He enlists the help of an unlikely crew - an engineer, a historian, and a dancer - each of which have their own personal motivation for embarking on this adventure.
This is a tale full of mystery and danger. I loved getting to know the quirky cast of characters, brothers in arms, as their backgrounds are revealed throughout the story. I even enjoyed a villain turned hero who unexpectedly captured my heart by the end. The plot, however, felt a bit too cliché, with the usual conflicted heroes and mysterious villains revealing their intentions when it seems they have won. The setting as well just didn’t work for me. It supposedly takes place in 1889, but I didn’t get that feeling when I was reading it. I was expecting this to be integral to the world-building but it almost seemed irrelevant. The story could have honestly taken place in any time and would still work. It was a tad disappointing as I was expecting it to have more of a historical theme. I also think this hindered the development of the story itself, because a crucial aspect of story narrative felt underrepresented. To me, the characters saved the book, and for this reason I am considering picking up the next in the series at my local library. It is not a book I’d purchase or keep on my shelf. It was good but not great.
This is a tale full of mystery and danger. I loved getting to know the quirky cast of characters, brothers in arms, as their backgrounds are revealed throughout the story. I even enjoyed a villain turned hero who unexpectedly captured my heart by the end. The plot, however, felt a bit too cliché, with the usual conflicted heroes and mysterious villains revealing their intentions when it seems they have won. The setting as well just didn’t work for me. It supposedly takes place in 1889, but I didn’t get that feeling when I was reading it. I was expecting this to be integral to the world-building but it almost seemed irrelevant. The story could have honestly taken place in any time and would still work. It was a tad disappointing as I was expecting it to have more of a historical theme. I also think this hindered the development of the story itself, because a crucial aspect of story narrative felt underrepresented. To me, the characters saved the book, and for this reason I am considering picking up the next in the series at my local library. It is not a book I’d purchase or keep on my shelf. It was good but not great.