Book Review: Timeless is more of the same, more werewolves, bustles, vampires, cravats, dirigibles, wee bairns, mummies, tea, comedy, and all the rest of the good steampunk fun you've seen in the previous four books. This time the Egyptian local color adds a touch of the exotic and an opportunity to delve into ancient mysteries. Alexia does not like coffee. If you've read the first four books you must read Timeless as well, or is that just me? Now that I've read all five, I look back at the series with three thoughts in mind. First, the books were all enjoyable, all pretty much of a piece. If you liked one you should like them all, there were no radical changes in quality, flavor, or feel. But second, Gail Carriger is always willing to go some place new both geographically and plotically, and the reader never knows quite where the story may go from there. Carriger is willing to turn expectations upside down. Raymond Chandler said that whenever he ran out of ideas, he'd just have someone come through the door with a gun; Carriger says, who is the most unlikely person to come through that door with a gun? Thinking outside the box is her stock in trade, but eventually that becomes the box. The reader says, "Ah, didn't see that coming. Well, of course." Surprises become less surprising. Third, what these books lacked for me was a story arc. The series didn't suffer from middle book syndrome as so many trilogies do (is this a pentalogy?), but beyond continuing characters and life events (you know, marriages, babies, and such like) there was no continuing mystery or quest that united the books. They were simply episodic. There were some ongoing questions about Alexia's father, but that was really more curious than compelling. I think if Carriger had added a plot line, a story arc, from Soulless through Timeless, it would have made for a stronger and perhaps more meaningful pentalogy, than the simply enjoyable and entertaining series that it was (not that there's anything wrong with that!). For those who wish to keep reading, some characters from the Parasol Protectorate series reappear in Carriger's new Custard Protocol series, beginning with Prudence. There's also the YA Finishing School series. Timeless was a worthy and companionable conclusion to this series, and it's comforting to know that more of Gail Carriger's world is available. [3 Stars]
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