The main problem is, it all relies on massive amounts of idiot ball and increasingly contrived twists. He finds himself tangled with princess Sibylla, his ex-lover, whose half of the book is…basically some fairly standard court intrigue. There is a serial killer targeting women, as well as a mysterious disease, and now Roger has to race against time to clear his name and find who really did it. While on one of his expeditions, he ends up being framed for murders he definitely did not commit. Roger Weathersby is a corpse thief who steals fresh cadavers from the graveyard and sells them to medical schools. The story is split between two perspectives. Note: the word “resurrectionist” is simply an euphemism for a person who digs up corpses and sells them to doctors to learn from, it’s not related to necromancy (alas). The characters were either bland or assholes and what’s worse, the worldbuilding and plot had more holes than swiss cheese and the ending…did not do it any favours. Initially, I was hopeful it would be one of those books that manage to pull it off despite its many flaws, but the nearer to the end I was, the more clear it became that this is sadly not the case. Dark Victorian fantasy with a murder mystery plot and at least of a bit of a focus on medicine? Plus that gorgeous cover? Unfortunately, The Resurrectionist of Caligo was a letdown. (Sept.ARC received from the publisher (Angry Robot) in exchange for an honest review. This is far from the top echelons of steampunk, but its unusual concepts (fungus magic, blood magic) will be of interest to genre aficionados. Readers who persevere through the extensive details of the unpleasantries and challenges of Victorian-era life will eventually be rewarded by the development of political intrigues that enliven the last section of the book. Roger’s odd friendship with an impoverished nine-year-old girl somewhat redeems his generally unappealing character, but there’s little insight into what draws Sibylla to him and vice versa. Nonetheless, the story supposedly pivots on their connection. Roger and Divine Maiden Sibylla, the returned-from-exile granddaughter of the reigning queen, shared a childhood romance but are only in occasional communication via Roger’s half-brother, Sibylla’s warden, Capt. Resurrectionist (which is to say, corpse robber), aspiring physician, and ex-convict Roger Weathersby suspects a connection between peculiar manifestations in recent corpses and the notorious Greyanchor Strangler, who’s been terrorizing Caligo, the capital of Myrcnia.

Myrcnia’s royal family rules by divine right, tied to their magical blood, but science is beginning to challenge magic’s supremacy.

Tremboli and Zaloga’s cumbersome quasi-Victorian debut has the bones of an intriguing fantasy, but is bogged down by excessive worldbuilding minutia.

The resurrectionist of caligo