Books like OverLondon — picked by fans

This was my introduction to Discworld, and I couldn’t have asked for a better entry point. Although it features a cameo from series-favorite Commander Vimes, this is an excellent standalone story. It’s Pratchett, so the writing, humor, observations, and world-building are god-tier.

But I love the humanity and the compassion and the quiet, seething anger that underlies this tale of a nation gone berserk. Humorous fantasy simply doesn’t get better than this.

I love oddball books that don’t quite fit into any of the standard categories. (Is this book YA or adult? Does it matter? What are questions?) This book reminded me of Pushing Daisies meets Harry Potter, and god I love it.

I love the deadpan humor and the flawed characters. But mostly, I just love the wacky audacity of the whole thing. This is one of those books where things start off slightly weird (the dead coming back to life) and gets progressively stranger until, about halfway through the book, I had to just laugh at how far from reality Ms. Painter had taken me, and had done so in such a seamless way that I would have applauded except I didn’t want to weird out the people sitting next to me on the plane.

I love an epic tale as much as the next nerd, but sometimes, I want my fantasy to be a little cozier. Such is the case with this lovely book (and series). It’s a classic Odd Couple story in which a foul-mouthed and vice-loving demon has been magically bonded to a goody-goody hero. Antics ensue.

The writing is perfect, and it’s filled with great lines like, "It was Chet, our next-door neighbor. The one that shared a bathroom with us and unknowingly let me clean my fingernails with his toothbrush." The whole series is great. I was nervous going into the last book because so many writers don’t stick to the landing. I needn’t have worried, though. The finale was everything I hoped it would be.

“My brother was a cat. Currently, I mean, not usually. And I don't know the exact details, but he definitely asked for it. He always does.” I mean, how can you not love a book that starts off like this? I’ve been a fan of Kim Watt for some time, and I was tempted to choose one of her solo books. But this one, a collab with Amelia Ash, is just so fun, charming, hilarious, and wacky, I knew I had to include it.

I want to live in this world. And have a talking cat. Is that too much to ask?

At the heart of the Markhat series, there is always a mystery, and I love a good mystery. Markhat is a “Finder,” which really means he’s a private investigator set in a sort of war-torn medieval world with hints of steampunk now and then. There are some good pulp fiction aspects, lots of great fantasy, and definitely a habit of turning the trope on its head. Vampires aren’t typical; witches can be hags, but banshees, well, Tuttle does not deliver the ordinary banshee. 

One of the things I love about Tuttle’s writing is that he isn’t afraid to define his own rules, his own world, and his own characters. He does atmosphere with a touch of grim, but always with a gem waiting to be dusted off to steal the show. Fast-paced urban fantasy that I loved enough to reread.

OK, yes, I know. It’s fiction, and the first steampunk novel too. But I think that sometimes fiction can tell us (almost) as much as factual history about the past, if the authors have done their research – and Gibson and Sterling absolutely have. I can even tell just what academic papers they’d been reading!

It’s alternative history Victorian, But I think it tells us a lot about the real Victorians too, because it shows just how much technology mattered to their sense of who they were and what made them different from their parents. And, obviously, it’s a great story.

This was my very first read in the Steampunk genre. 

What a great book and series this is. 

As a baby, Modo is purchased from a travelling gypsy by a well-to-do aristocrat, the mysterious Mr. Socrates. Modo is hideously ugly. Mr. Socrates raises and educates Modo in proper English and manners and fight craft. He lives his life tucked away in a manor, hiding his face from society. 

One day, on a rare carriage ride through London, a grown Modo is abandoned in the streets by Mr. Socrates and has to fend for himself. He becomes a detective, yet he can never show his real face to anyone – he meets the beautiful Octavia Milkweed – she finds him curious and befriends him. The evil Clockwork Guild is causing chaos throughout London and Modo must get to the bottom of it. Then find a way to stop it. The adventure… show more.

This is my favorite of the Wax and Wayne series! Not only do the characters really work together in ways we haven’t seen before, but the treasure-seeking adventure gripped me tight and wouldn’t let me go. I could not put the book down; from train-top fights to secret base infiltrations, to ancient booby-traps, I was hooked the entire time.

Light humor and deep emotion in equal measure made this an entertaining read that has stuck with me more than any of the other books in the series.

I was hooked from page one and finished reading the book in just a few days. Although this is a complicated story, the description was vivid and clear. The plot was fast-paced and full of actions that will keep you on the edge of your seat most of the time.

What if humanity rocketed to the moon in the 19th Century? Then surely Mark Twain, aka Sam Clemens, would have gone to seek his fortune. I've never found a more compelling image of travel over and under the moon's surface. These adventures let me discover technology that fits the place and the time. One of my favorites is steam power – not as anachronistic as you might guess. I'm excited by real-life discoveries of water ice in lunar craters, possible fuel for future astronauts.

Twain's style is captured wonderfully, something I hadn't expected. He must keep from blowing himself to kingdom come as science and human nature mix in a delightful stew of troubles. I'm happy to see Twain may solve some of NASA's upcoming problems too.