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The Rocks of Aserol is an entertaining read for lovers of steampunk, general adventures and conspiracy stories. The good guys are likeable; the bad guys detestable, a damsel is in distress and the white knight is on his way to save her. What else could a reader want? While The Rocks of Aserol is undoubtedly an old-fashioned adventure in the tradition of HG Wells and Jules Verne, it is also clearly and quietly subversive. At every step along the way, the rulers and leaders of society are shown with their feet of clay, just as their religion of science is exposed for both its miraculous advances and its deadly costs. The Rocks of Aserol goes for the heroic adventure, romanticism of gorgeous artisan build machines, and nostalgia for a manners-driven bygone era. But author Richard Dee just as cleverly deconstructs all of that as he exposes and makes no apologies for the deadly costs of such progress. The characters begin as stock genre cutouts, but soon develop into well-rounded three dimensional people that you find yourself caring about, while the pace of the story is well-suited to the ups and downs of an old-fashioned adventure thriller. I wouldn't hesitate to give it four stars and to look forward to the sequel. Richard Dee has created a world that has everything I have come to expect from a steam-punk setting, with villains of questionable morality, intentions hidden behind a mask of politeness, and subtle intrigue and plots to keep you entertained. If you read in this genre and appreciate these qualities then you will find yourself satisfied by the dialogue, the attitudes, and the morality that is rich in these stories. The individual steam-punk elements that the author has created fit so perfectly into the world around them that I cannot help but be impressed. I took some time to think about this as I have read many stories in this genre full of fantastic devices. The reason which presented itself to me was that all of these devices, including steam-powered walking exo-suits, all had a purpose to be fulfilled in the world. These weren't fantastic for the sake of the rule of cool, they also had purpose, and you could see that they'd evolved mechanically alongside the world around them, which offers a depth to the setting that is sometimes missing in other novels in the same genre. The Rocks of Aserol is an entertaining read, full of intrigue, action, and a liberal dose of steampunk. It is well-written and immersive, with a love story full of romance and rescue. Five Stars.

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