3.5 starsI love alternate histories. They are always so much fun to read. The Queen is Dead by Kate Locke is an alternate and quirky history of London where aristocrats – read vampires, werewolves, and goblins) control London. Even Queen Victoria is a shrewd vampire. The goblins – yes goblins – control the underground. Those that venture below the city rarely return as goblins do like their meat. The vampires and werewolves jostle for power and live among the humans. Add in a few human wannabes – and a few flamboyant entertainers and this is quite the colorful book. This is an interesting world, complete with its own vocabulary. Thankfully, there is a very useful glossary at the back of the book. If you are reading this on an e-reader, it may be awkward flipping back and forth to the glossary. The author has some pretty intriguing gadgets worthy of a steampunk world. Funnily enough, their mobile devices are called rotaries. Cute!The Queen is Dead continues the story of Xandra Vardon, who is now trying to deal with her new responsibilities. Actually, for most of the story, she is trying to avoid her new position. Xandra must deal with all sorts of personal problems including the disappearance of her brother Val. Xandra is aided by the rather hunky Vex, her werewolf lover. The story takes the reader on an action packed romp through a 1930’s alternate history steampunked London.I enjoyed this story and I loved Xandra. For a young woman, she had a lot of important decisions to make. Xandra valued her humanity; she feared becoming a monster. While she did take a long time to accept her responsibilities, I felt that she made the right choice. If you enjoy steampunk and alternate histories, The Immortal Empire series may be for you. It is highly recommended that this series be read in order. Thank you to Orbit for a review copy of this book.Review posted on Badass Book Reviews. We are also giving away 2 copies of this book - US/Canada - Check it out!
