Book Review - City of the Saints by D. J. Butler.

A couple of weeks ago my dad and I were talking books and City of the Saints by D.J. Butler was one that I borrowed from him. As a historian I have a curious relationship with alternate history, particularly when I'm moderately familiar with it. I loved Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan series and Corriea's Grimnoir Chronicles. But what Butler had was an alternate steam puck history of my own religious history. I loved the idea of it and I enjoyed the book too. What was also entertaining was that it pulled characters of literary history as well - Sam Clements (better known as Mark Twain) and Edgar Allen Poe - as well as a famous British explorer - Sir Richard Burton. Oh, and did I mention that John Moses Browning plays a pretty extensive role as an eight year old? The book was quite extensive on its deviations from history and historical technology. Air ships with giant ray guns and clockwork horses are all rather far fetched, but it made for a fun read.

Plot: The United States is headed towards civil war and both the US Army and the State of Virginia are desperate to get the best help possible. That means heading to their mutual western neighbor the Kingdom of Deseret lead by the incomparable Brigham Young. Armed with futuristic technology developed by Orson "Madman" Pratt, the Kingdom is in a position to lead any side it joins to victory.What's more, the Queen of England has heard of Pratt's airships and wants a piece of the pie. With only one way into the Kingdom Sam Clements of the US army, Edgar Allen Poe of the US army (of Virginia) and Dick Burton of Her Majesty's special service all end up traveling the same road, but with conflicting aims. What they don't know is the Kingdom has its own problems and its own agenda.

My personal favorites: I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in this book, both the historical and the fictional. Poe as a spy, Clements as a diplomat, and Porter Rockwell as himself (he couldn't have been anybody else). They each had their own assistants that were fun to follow as well. I also liked the direct references to historical Salt Lake City, and the culture of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints. While 95% of what was shown was "adjusted" (my word) there were great tidbits - such as the assignment to guard the pass into Salt Lake being rotated through the elder's quorums because the high priests were caught sleeping on the job. The action was well written and compelling without being tedious and I found myself caring for the characters quite a bit. I also found the language to be inventive and creative.

Considerations: This book takes plenty of liberties with some figures in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints that are well loved. Elisa R. Snow, Brigham Young, George Q. Cannon, and Heber C. Kimball all make apperances - Brigham Young and Elisa R. Snow having a lot of focus on them. People may not agree with their portrayals and find the book unpleasant. For me the alternate history was so far out there it wasn't hard to imagine them portrayed in a similar "way out there" fashion. There is plenty of action and some mildly gruesome violence, but graphic descriptions are kept to a minimum and were not over the top. I did mention that Porter Rockwell is an active player but unlike the before mentioned people the portrayal of him is pretty close to truth. Granted, the only thing that wouldn't be true is if he was a calm, mild-mannered, non-violent philanthropist.

City of the Saints was a fun adventure read. If you enjoy speculative fiction and want to experience a rather insane ride through the desert in the back of a steam truck what airships float above you - enjoy the ride. The novel weighed in at right around 450 pages.