All Men of Genius by Lev AC Rosen
Release Date : 09/27/2011
Publisher : Doherty
Edition : Hardcover
Pages : 416
SYNOPSISInspired by two of the most beloved works by literary masters, All Men of Genius takes place in an alternate Steampunk Victorian London, where science makes the impossible possible.
Violet Adams wants to attend Illyria College, a widely renowned school for the most brilliant up-and-coming scientific minds, founded by the late Duke Illyria, the greatest scientist of the Victorian Age. The school is run by his son, Ernest, who has held to his father’s policy that the small, exclusive college remain male-only. Violet sees her opportunity when her father departs for America. She disguises herself as her twin brother, Ashton, and gains entry.
But keeping the secret of her sex won’t be easy, not with her friend Jack’s constant habit of pulling pranks, and especially not when the duke’s young ward, Cecily, starts to develop feelings for Violet’s alter ego, “Ashton.” Not to mention blackmail, mysterious killer automata, and the way Violet’s pulse quickens whenever the young duke, Ernest (who has a secret past of his own), speaks to her. She soon realizes that it’s not just keeping her secret until the end of the year faire she has to worry about: it’s surviving that long.
MY THOUGHTS
I’d heartily recommended this book for young adults, fans of steampunk, or anyone who enjoys a humorous mystery with a dash of Regency romance mixed in. This one definitely squeezes in a lot of genres, but it does so beautifully. The world that Rosen has built for his characters is engaging and believable, and it’s one I hope to return to in the future.
Violet is the very image of your typical, distracted genius – she pays very little heed to her appearance, favoring utility and simplicity over aesthetics, she stays up well into the night working on experiments and inventions, and is misunderstood by and therefore frightening to the household staff. She is quick-witted and yet sometimes endearingly naive. In fact, all of the characters are endearing in their own ways (save, perhaps, for Malcolm). You’ll likely find yourself grinning throughout many parts of the book, and even laughing out loud on occasion.
If the characters aren’t enough for you, the plot ought to be. There are surgically altered animals, killer automata (Terminator, anyone?), forays into a labyrinthine basement, secrets galore, and even a rudimentary mecha. I would be hard-pressed to find anything about this novel that I didn’t like.
Rating: 
