Early Novella Review – The Kraken King Part 1: The Kraken and the Sribbling Spinster by Meljean Brook (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Length: 98 pages
Publisher: InterMix
Release Date: April 15, 2014
ASIN: B00HZ1E530
Stand Alone or Series: Book 4.1 in the Iron Seas series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

I love the Iron Seas series by Meljean Brook and was so excited to get Part 1 of the Kraken King to review through NetGalley. The Kraken King is being released in 8 parts as a serial novel. The first release will be April 15th, then the books will release periodically until Part 8 releases on June 3rd. I read part 1 and really enjoyed it. I just love this world so much.

The story features Zenobia Fox (the sister of Archimedes Fox) as she goes on her first real adventure on her own. She is supposed to be taking a relatively routine trip with her friend Helene to the Red City in Australia. However on the way there things get a bit too exciting and Zenobia ends up with more adventure and excitement than even she wanted from the trip.

The story also features Ariq, who is known as the Kraken King. When he rescues Zenobia from some marauders that attack her airship he is immediately struck by her daring, her intelligence, and her constant scribbling in her notebook. He fears she is a spy, but hopes he can woo her.

This was a wonderful start to a new Iron Seas adventure. There is definitely some romance in here but also a wonderful world and lots of action. We are in yet a different part of the Iron Seas world in this book, Australia. Rather than zombies Australia has a problem with Krakens and boilerworms. The Krakens are amazing to read about.

Zenobia is a wonderful heroine to read about, she writes all of the Archimedes Fox books and has been in and out of the other books in the series. I have always enjoyed her character and am so happy that she finally gets a story of her own.

Ariq is another wonderful character. We have heard about the Kraken King in other books, but to finally meet him is amazing. We don’t get to see him in action a lot, but the way he respects his men and admires Zenobia is admirable.

I really enjoyed this beginning. This first part is fairly short, 100 pages or so. It basically sets up the story and introduces the characters. There is definitely quite a bit of action. Like normal there are a ton of fascinating steampunk elements as well. Like all of the books in this series the written flows very nicely and is very pleasant to read.

Overall a fantastic start to an excellent new Iron Seas novel. I continue to adore this steampunk world and love the wonderfully engaging characters. I love the blend of steampunk, adventure, action, and romance….everything is just balanced so well. I am unsure how I will like this novel being released in episodes…but given how much I love this series I am definitely willing to give it a try. I honestly would buy this book in hardcover if it came out anyway, so spending the money on “episodes” instead is fine with me. I am excited to see what happens in the second part of this book.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Ebook Reading Challenge
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge