Title: Circus Escape
Author Name & Publisher: Lilliana Rose — Less Than Three Press
Publication Date & Length: April 2, 2014 — 60 pages
Nessie dreams of escaping her sheltered life to become a mechanical engineer with mechas. But wanting and doing are two very different things, and outer confidence hides inner fears—until she meets Joy.
Joy is tough and self-reliant, used to be looking out for no one but herself. As her job keeps her always on the move, keeping to herself is the best way to survive. The very last person she expects to break her solitude is the prim and proper Nessie.
This is the second short story of Lilliana Rose’s that I’ve read, and I could definitely tell this one was written prior to the last, which is a great thing. It means her writing is vastly improving. This story would have been four and half star rating had the writing been a lot smoother and less choppy.
That said, the plot of this fantastic little short was highly entertaining. The damsel in distress was not so damsely, which I love. On top of that, a woman in overalls with grease is about as sexy as they get! I loved the innovation with the mechas and how each was different, the fighting and how it was “improper” for a woman yet each Operator was a woman.
It’s a contrast within a contrast. The two worlds colliding in one where equality seems to be just out of grasp until the end. Overall a very innovative story, where the hero wins out in a great steampunk world.
~AJ
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