Originally reviewed at Hooked on Books 
 Sorcery! Mayhem! Dragons! Corsets! Logic! (Ok maybe that last one didn't need an exclamation point but you get the idea) 
 Lilith Saintcrow's newest steampunk adventure, The Iron Wyrm Affair, has all the mixing for an incredible and magical adventure. Emma Bannon is a sorceress of the highest calibre, so when some suspicious deaths start occuring within the city's mentah population (which as far as I could tell is basically an investigative person who uses logic to get to the bottom of things) she is called in to figure out what is going on. She's an incredibly independent woman, with a brilliant mind, and some impressive attitude. At times I found her a bit over the top - particularly when it came to her obsession with dresses. Every single one was described in so much detail, I sometimes found myself skimming to get on with the story. But overall I was definitely drawn to her as a character and fascinated by what she would do next. 
 Lilith Saintcrow is an intelligent woman. That much comes across in her writing. She nailed the Victorian aesthetic dress, customs etc. There was never a doubt in my mind that this is what an alternative Britain would have looked like. And not only is her book well researched, it quite clever writing. It was difficult at first to get into it. I got bogged down by the detail and structure, but then I began to pick out the similarities to Victorian writing and I could appreciate in much more. It was still occasionally difficult to decipher exactly what was happening at some points but it was beautiful writing nonetheless. 
 My one complaint about The Iron Wyrm Affair is that I still have a lot of questions. Potentially too many questions. There were a lot of character motivations that I just didn't understand. There were a few things hinted at, that never came to anything. It was almost as if the book was trying to accomplish too much, too include too many things. If you could weed through the surplus information, there was a really great story underneath, but it all comes down to whether or not you want to put that much effort into it. 
 Final recommendation: An intelligent, well written, sometimes witty steampunk novel, that captures the Victorian age perfectly. Great for fans of the genre.