Sunday, April 22, 2012

All Men of Genius (Lev AC Rosen)

When I first heard that someone had written a steampunk re-imagining of Twelfth Night mixed with a little The Importance of Being Ernest, I was over the moon. For months now, my friends and I have been obsessed by our play-by-post RPG world in which (in a total coincidence) our characters are staging a steampunk musical of Twelfth Night. You can see how this translated into an eagerness to get my hands on Mr Rosen's story.

No shipwrecks here: Violet masquerades as her twin brother Ashton so she can be a student at the illustrious, all-male Illyria College. What's admirable about her efforts is that she is not merely driven by personal ambition; she genuinely desires to change the way society looks at female inventors. Ironically, to do this she must submit herself to the standards and approval of men first. Despite the confusing social politics governing female inventors (Ada Lovelace is a patron of the college and she doesn't seem to have any problems gaining said masculine approval), All Men of Genius strives to impress upon the reader the celebration of individual differences despite society's standards and rules.

Violet's first days at the College, her interaction with her professors and peers -- these all seem to be an effective way to get the readers acclimated to the world of the text. As with other re-imaginings, I enjoyed seeing familiar characters show up in different roles. There was also the promise of something darker, more sinister, brewing beneath the surface (and I mean that literally: Violet and her friends uncover strange plots in Illyria's off-limits basement). But after a while these action-adventure elements seem tacked on. Twelfth Night already has a number of subplots going on, and giving Violet and her crew the added burden of discovering a plot that threatens Illyria College doesn't seem too well thought-out. That part of the plot felt thin and poorly explored both in intention and in execution.

The cover immediately made me think that it's being marketed as a young adult read but note: it's very bold about exploring homosexual relationships, bicuriosity, May-December affairs. That, together with the smattering of mature jokes and situations, ought to serve as a warning that some younger or more conservative readers may not find this the most ideal reading material. As a romance though, it has its moments, but to enjoy those I had to leave the young adult frame of mind and enter the Regency one: Violet is eighteen and the Duke is about thirty. Add to this their uncomfortable relationship of being student and headmaster and you've got a romance that I was surprised to find in what I assumed to be a YA story. (Note: If this wasn't marketed as YA, then please tell me. I'd love to know that I was wrong.) I enjoyed this quick read but I wouldn't call myself a fan; there's something in the gender politics that doesn't quite sit well with me, although I can't quite pinpoint what it is. But if that has you curious, then by all means, grab a copy and let's discuss. Despite this, Mr Rosen's writing is lively and impassioned enough that I'll be looking forward to his next book.

14 comments:

Celina said...

I've been curious about this because I haven't read a lot of steampunk books. Too bad you didn't love it, but I'll still definitely read it.

I actually thought it was YA too, so thanks for the heads up on the more mature themes.:)

dementedchris said...

Maybe it's still YA and I'm just being a prude? Haha! It looks like I'm in the minority over this one though, it's gotten really good reviews on Amazon!

dementedchris said...

Yeah, read it, please! I actually left out some of my negative thoughts and encouraged some friends to read it too. Haha. I think it's one of those things that I'd love to discuss.

Celina said...

All right, I'll read it when my copy arrives and will let you know what I think after - but that will take a while since I don't have my copy yet. I hope by the time I get it, we can still discuss.

I don't think you're being a prude at all.:) The cover does make it seem like a YA book, but I guess it really isn't since it's not categorized as Teen Fiction in bookstores?

Celina said...

Ha, sorry parang ang labo ng first sentence ko. What I meant was, it will take a while to get here because I haven't had the book sent yet.:)

Chachic said...

Sorry to hear you didn't love this one, Chris! I added it to my wishlist because I saw it pop up on several best of 2011 lists. I also enjoy reading books that feature girls in disguise. I'm still planning to give it a try and probably just keep my fingers crossed that I'll like it. :P

dementedchris said...

@Cel
Enjoy!

@Chachic
I hope you do and I'm in the minority here. Actually, it really looks like I am because it's gotten really high reviews elsewhere.

Osing said...

I started reading this a few months ago but something about it just left me uninterested on what was going to happen so I stopped reading it and left it for later. Now I'm just waiting for a right mood to be in before I resume reading it. With my long list of to-read books though, I have a feeling that I won't be in the "right mood" for a while.

dementedchris said...

@Oz
Friends talaga tayo! Haha.

Chachic said...

I saw positive reviews on Goodreads din. I read the prologue and I'm intrigued naman. We'll see if I can squeeze it in anytime soon. :) Hey, Celina said you'll be here next month. We should definitely meet up!

dementedchris said...

@Chachic
Yup! I'm flying in for Mina's Author at Once talk and then I'll be there until mid-May. Will also be staying in Katipunan :D

Kyameel said...

I guess I'm part of the minority since I didn't like it all that much either. There was just something about it that didn't sit well with me. It's either I couldn't relate it enough to the original idea (Twelfth Night) or something about how the themes were explored.

dementedchris said...

@Kyam
I think I prefer a certain steampunk Twelfth Night version... :P

Kyameel said...

Chris, I prefer that version too. XD