Review: The Chemickal Marriage by G.W.Dahlquist

The Chemickal Marriage by G.W.Dahlquist (Miss Temple, Doctor Svenson and Cardinal Chang #3)

Review copy courtesy of Penguin UK

Synopsis from Goodreads
Miss Temple, young, wealthy and far away from home, never wanted to be a heroine. Yet her fiancé is dead - admittedly by her own hand - her companions slain and her nemesis, the terrifyingly wicked Contessa Lacquer-Sforza, still at large. It falls upon Miss Temple's tiny shoulders to destroy a deadly cabal whose alchemy threatens to enslave the world.

But Dr Svenson and Cardinal Chang are alive - barely. Exhausted and outnumbered, their bodies corrupted by a poisonous blue glass, Miss Temple, Dr Svenson and Cardinal Chang must pursue their enemies through city slums and dazzling palaces as they fight to prevent the cabal's unholy marriage between man and science.

In the final instalment of Dahlquist's epic trilogy, an assassin, an heiress and a surgeon battle against the world's most frightening evil...in an adventure that will decide everything.

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8.5/10

* * *

 Beautiful book, complex, engrossing. You can't read it fast, as you really need some time to digest the information you are given. I've missed out on a book two as well, but the prologue in the beginning will actually give you a brief description of what happened in previous two books so you won't feel lost when the action starts right where it left in book #2.



You won't find repetition in Gordon's writing, so you have to stay sharp. He also describes the same situation from three points of view - Miss Temple's, Dr Svenson and Cardinal Chang which gives you very deep understanding of each big scene, it becomes truly three-dimensional.

The Chemickal Marriage is pure alchemy, exquisite flight of fantasy and so much more. I'm awed by Mr. Dahlquist imagination and such deep world-building.

Cardinal Chang is by far my favorite character, although Dr Svenson and Celeste Temple are superbly written as well.

I can't even describe any of the plot to you because it's way too complex, I also think that it's very steampunkish and at times unexpectedly erotic. Overall, great series, and much recommended.

* * *

Обалденная серия, тонко и тщательно выписанная. Немного стимпанка, много алхимии, кабаллы и превосходные главные песонажи, отчаянно сражающиеся с могущественным злом.

Повествование ведётся от лиц Мисс Селестиал Темпл, Доктора Свенсона и Кардинала Чанга, причём каждая большая сцена написана со всех трёх точек зрения.

Кардинал Чанг - мой любимый персонаж, хотя я люблю и двух остальных. Графиня Лакёр-Сфорца тоже восхитительная злодейка, и читателю приходится держать ухо востро на протяжение всей книги, чтобы не упустить важные детали, настолько книга напичкана информацией.

Читается медленно, так как нужно время чтобы переварить каждую деталь, но книга того стоит. Рекомендую.