Hordes! Buggers! Bounders! Frenzy, oh my!What a world. It took a while for me to understand this extremely imaginative world, but I enjoyed every moment of this book. The Iron Duke portrays an alternative history in a very different Europe. The Horde controls people through nanotechnology. People, especially those living in polluted London, are infected with these agents because they have healing properties. When certain radio frequencies are transmitted, the infected people, known as the Buggers go into a Frenzy. This is a world full of imaginative contraptions and genetically/mechanically altered creatures and zombies, too! There are airships, mechanical carts, mechanical page turners, even mechanical sex toys. Mechanically altered people exist as well, reminiscent of Star Trek’s Borg.Our story begins when a man is dropped from an airship on to The Iron Duke’s house. Inspector Mina Wentworth is dispatched to investigate the crime. The Iron Duke, also known as Rhys Traheaern, is immediately attracted to Mina. Rhys arranges to use his former pirate contacts in order to help Mina solve the crime.Rhys uses this opportunity to get closer to Mina, the woman he wants to shag. The romance aspect is not spectacular, but there are some hot and heavy moments. I really enjoyed the author’s sense of humor. There were some really funny lines and some very clever pillow talk. Did I mention that there are sea monsters in this book? “Release the Kraken!” A most memorable scene with a very large, mechanically enhanced sea monster kept me at the edge of my seat. I loved the secondary characters, especially Yasmeen, The Lady Corsair. Airship pilot, mercenary, I hope that there are more stories planned for her – just her acrobatics alone were spectacular.So there you have it – a book with zombies, sea monsters, Borg-like people, all sorts of mechanical gadgets. Can’t wait to read the next book in the series!Update May 23, 2012 - The Iron Duke is now on the Badass Book Reviews' Best Badass Zombie Books List. Check it out!
