'Creatures Of Will And Temper' Is A Slow-Burn Slide Into Deviltry
Molly Tanzer gives us a seductive, alternate version of Victorian England in her new novel — by turns smoky and smutty, wondrous and louche. And then, embedded carefully in that world, demons.
The biggest problem with most urban fantasy is that, by nature, it becomes alternate history. It's Renaissance Italy, but with vampires. Or Victorian England, but everyone wears cool goggles and has an airship!
And there's nothing wrong with that. There are stories out there that have done wonders with their skewed versions of our shared past. I'm just saying it's rare for a writer to be able to do one (insert a fantasy element into a historical setting) without doing the other (letting the dragons eat, it's worth checking out just to see the restraint and careful worldbuilding gymnastics required.
