The Tinkered Pinkerton

Title: The Tinkered Pinkerton
Author: Helen Louise Caroll
Cover Art: Trace Edward Zaber
Publisher: Amber Allure
Buy Link: Buy Link Amazon, Publisher
Genre: M/M Romance/Steampunk/Action /Adventure
Length: Short Story/74 PDF pages/17,000 words
Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5

A guest review by LadyM

Review summary: Good idea, very good setting, but the format didn’t allow sufficient character development.

Blurb: Pinkerton agent Brom Donker’s arm and legs were taken from him during the American Civil War. Now, ten years later, although he’s adjusted to the metal limbs that replaced his real ones, there are times when he still feels like less than a man. Especially when he’s near Simon Wain, his physician/mechanic.

Simon has cared about Brom for years. As his patient. Lately, though, he’s been seeing the handsome agent as more than that. But how can a lowly physician/mechanic fit in with a man from a powerful and influential family?

As Brom deals with missing gun shipments, rogue Sasquatches, and disaffected Southerners, he and Simon confront their feelings about themselves and for each other.

Review:

Not only is technology far more advanced in the alternate world/history created by Helen Louise Caroll in The Tinkered Pinkerton, but the clans of Sasquatches are roaming the country and, together with defeated Southerners and some Indian tribes, threaten the newly won peace.

The matter of fact way we are introduced to this world appealed to me. The dirigibles, mechanical carriages and horses and automatons (servants – precursors of robots) are everywhere. Sasquatch is not a mythological being, but regular, if frightening occurrence. Brom Donker is a former Union soldier who was captured and experimented on – his limbs were taken and replaced by mechanical ones. It’s not easy for him to overcome people’s prejudices or his own limitations. In this, he is assisted by Simon Wain, physician/mechanic. But, that is also a source of his difficulty since he is interested in Simon and cannot believe that Simon could possibly be interested in an incomplete man. On his part, Simon is awed by Brom’s influential family.

As I said, the setting was the best part of the story. I enjoyed author’s imagination very much. However, there were a few things that prevented me from giving this story the higher rating. The first one is context: it is not clear why are Sasquatches trying to start a war. What is the cause of their conflict with humans? Why do people hate them? At one point, the author claims that they are reasoning beings, but we never see that. They are shown as animals: attacking humans viciously, smelling like skunks, etc. The other reason is character development or lack thereof. While both men are likable and we are told some of their history, there is very little in the story about them as people, about what makes them tick. We know that Brom doesn’t want to participate in another war, but that is pretty much it. I wished to know more about them, because I wanted to know what attracted them to each other in the first place. Both Brom and Simon realize their feelings for the other man suddenly, although it’s clear that is something that has been building for a while. The fact that they were making out in a most inappropriate moment (while chasing a suspect) didn’t sit well with me either. Finally, the mystery of stolen weapons was easily solved, while the situation with rebel Sasquatches was dealt with off page.

It’s my opinion that the format – limited page number – restricted the author from developing the story elements sufficiently. The author has a decent writing style and obviously vivid imagination. I am certain that with enough space she could have given the story the necessary depth. Still, I believe that the story will be interesting to readers, especially steampunk fans. This is the first Caroll’s story I’ve read and The Tinkered Pinkerton interested me in trying her other stories as well.