Name: All Men of Genius
ISBN: 9780765327949

Lev AC Rosen

Violet Adams finds it difficult to keep her true gender secret when she disguises herself as a man to attend an exclusive college.

All Men of Genius

Jeni Enjaian

I added this to by "to-read" list when I first started using goodreads and tried to win some advance copies of books to review. While I took most of the others off my "to-read" list, this one and a few others stayed. I was intrigued by the concept and thought I'd give steampunk a go.

I'm not familiar with steampunk at all so I wasn't sure what to expect with it. After reading this novel (even though I rated it with only 3 stars) I find myself fascinated with the idea of steampunk and may do some investigation to find some good examples of steampunk. (The idea of "what if" and "anything goes" is quite appealing.)

This book however had high points and low points. The potential for a great story lay hidden beneath the surface for the whole book, never actually emerging. This potential kept me reading and it's lack of fulfillment left me disappointed with the book.

I appreciated the allusions to Twelfth Night (and am sure I would have appreciated the allusions to The Importance of Being Earnest but it's been a while since I read that). It wasn't until the latter portion of the book that I realized Rosen's play on the name Malvolio with Malcom Volio. Finding those "Easter Eggs" throughout the book enhances the enjoyment.

That being said, Rosen is no Shakespeare. Shakespeare's plays are full of what could be termed "objectionable elements" (violence, sexual allusions and etc) but he masterfully manipulates them to further the plot and the theme. Rosen is not as masterful. Some of the "objectionable elements" are well suited for their particular location and purpose. Others, however, are not. Much of the description of the interactions with Ashton and Antony are unnecessary. They do nothing to further the plot or enhance the theme.

I was also a bit disappointed with the one-dimensionality of the characters. Admittedly, Shakespeare had little room to spare in his plays for detailed character description and as such leaves fairly one-dimensional characters behind for authors to use as inspiration. Rosen on the other hand was not limited by time or audience attention span. He could afford to develop his characters in a believable manner. Another reviewer pointed out the incongruity of Mrs. Wilkes suddenly being able to invent a useful mechanical device after having shown no such propensities earlier in her life. I agree.

As to a recommendation? I'm torn. It's not an awful book so I wouldn't warn people to stay away. It's also not a great book, so I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I guess I have to say "read at your own risk".

All Men of Genius

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