This was a much more "fun" read than its predeccesor, if a little less intellectual. I enjoyed the steampunk-y world set up in "Newton's Cannon," and after the intense finale of that book, it made sense to have everything in the sequel be a disorganized, chaotic mess. I never thought I'd read a "post-apocalyptic Revolutionary War-era" novel, but now I can proudly say that I have! The premise: What would happen if there was a "nuclear option" in the warfare of this time period? How would that world be fundamentally changed as a result of such a "doomsday device"? While I don't think this book explores these questions with as much depth as it could have, it's still an interesting concept that is decently portrayed.There was a lot more ACTION! in this second novel as well. Perhaps the author worried the first book was too talky? At any rate, the reader never has to wait for too long before another disaster befalls some of our heroes. I also appreciated that some of the mysterious questions brought up in the first book were finally answered in this book. Not ALL the questions, mind you, but enough of them that I was reasonably satisfied. However, I found some of the ifrit's powers a little vaguely outlined, and so I didn't always understand how they accomplished the things they did.I suspect Mr. Keyes has a tough time writing good climaxes to his books. The final battle of "Calculus Of Angels" was a hot mess, and it was often hard to figure out what was going on. Sort of a "throw everything at the wall, see what sticks" method of writing. However, it can't be denied that the characters are set off in a new, different direction, with new goals, and that's okay, because it promises for another fun entry in the series. Here's hoping!
Ok this one took longer for me to get in to even though the action took place a lot quicker than the first. Again many historical characters have been drawn in to the storyline but apart from that the story gets even more fantastic - new characters are brought in and old ones leave the stage - there are 2 more books in the series you can see things even though chaotic enough here are drawing to an even larger more cataclysmic conclusion - however now i am actually looking forward to reading the next instalment a feeling i didn't share with the first volume.
What do You think about A Calculus Of Angels (2000)?
So far, having finished the first two books in this series ("Newton's Cannon" being the first), it has been a very enjoyable experience. It sounds crazy, I suppose, to have Sir Issac Newton and Ben Franklin as major characters in an alternate history/science fiction yarn with some really wild and crazy gadgets thrown in, but it's really a hoot! Lots of other characters that are really enjoyable and likable, plus some really bad-ass entities make this an extremely satisfying read. Plan to read all others in this series as well. Soon!!
—Pickleman
