The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences doesn’t do anything small.
The series, which began with 2011’s fantastic steampunk adventure, “Phoenix Rising“, has only escalated the adventures of the ministry’s agents in scale and speed. “The Ghost Rebellion“, the fifth book in the series, continues that trend and provides it to readers in a near perfect presentation.
What is the MOPO?
The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences (hereafter referred to as MOPO) is a secret organization working in the service of the Queen of England. There’s the military for all things tactical and strategic. The Ministry exists for all of the supernatural and unexplained. The primary characters in the novels are a pair of strange bedfellows. Wellington Books is the archivist who runs the analytical engine and organizes all the strange and wonderful things found in the field. Eliza Braun is the New Zealander field agent, with an uncanny penchant for blowing things up (and, boy, does she get several chances in The Ghost Rebellion.)
The series has covered multiple continents, with adventures from Antarctica to late 19th century America. The villains have come right out of the pages of history books and horror novels alike, and the dashing duo still manage to escape. More importantly, they evolve, both together and separately.
(No Spoilers in this review, so if you haven’t read, you’d better get cracking.)
What is The Ghost Rebellion?
The Ghost Rebellion follows the duo as they travel to India, on the trail of one “atypical mad scientist.” They find, instead, an entirely different antagonist in the form of a rebellion to free India from Her Majesty’s Empire. That would be dangerous enough, but the introduction of several experimental pieces of technology (and their side effects) completely change the mission for Books and Braun. They are enlisted in an unusual fashion to both confront the enemy and continue their investigation.
Meanwhile, Agents Bruce Campbell (Australia) and Brandon Hill (Canada) have their own separate excursion in Russia, where they are joined by a spirited guide, face off against one really evil boss, and are exposed to some technological marvels the Ministry has never seen.
“The Ghost Rebellion” starts like a Bond film with rampant action before the readers can blink. It continues at a breakneck pace, providing complex characters (both good and bad), outrageous scenarios, a fitting conclusion to several character arcs, and more explosions than Agent Braun could savor (almost).
Authors Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine knocked it out of the park with the Kickstarter-led fifth book in the MOPO series. This is a wonderful adventure sure to please readers everywhere.
The Ghost Rebellion is available for pre-order HERE.
One Love,
nK
PS: Readers don’t have to be fans of the series to enjoy the book, but those familiar with the archivist and pepperpot in question will love the arc of both characters.