Quantcast

Friday, August 29, 2014

Short Fiction Friday: The Mysterious Madam Morpho by Delilah S. Dawson

I've decided I'm going to devote free Fridays to short fiction of some kind! I have a massive list of bookmarked Tor shorts as well as piles of collections and anthologies to get to - and lots of e shorts saved up on the e reader as well. So here goes - kicking it off with Delilah S. Dawson!

Madam Morpho arrived at Criminy Stain's Clockwork Caravan with little to her name, but she promised an act unlike any other. Even without Tish's help, Stain knows the woman is hiding something, but then who with the caravan isn't? With one touch, Tish can tell that Madam Morpho will be a fine addition and Stain agrees to take her on. 

Madam Morpho's act requires props, though, and for this Stain sends her to Mr. Murdoch, the caravan's clockwork master. No one in the caravan save Stain and Murdoch's assistant, Vil, have ever set eyes on the man - Madam Morpho is to be the first and the meeting unsettles them both. Before long they find that they share a passion as well as secrets that could endanger them both. 

Dawson's Blud series is seriously fun! The world - filled with bloodsucking creatures and people - is deliciously intriguing and I am enjoying every taste! The Mysterious Madam Morpho is the first of the Blud novellas and takes place post Wicked as They Come, but instead of focusing on Criminy and Letitia, we meet Madam Morpho (and her butterflies) and Mr. Murdoch. Dawson nicely paces the story, enticing the reader with teases and hints as to the truth behind both their secrets along the way. The romance develops somewhat quickly, but overall their story is still quite enjoyable.

Sang is such a rich world to play with that it's nice to return to it with extras like these. I wouldn't really consider the shorts and novellas so far to be necessary to the series as a whole but they are all nice in-between tales and a fun bonus to series fans.

No comments: