Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley: A Review

Stiletto is the second in Daniel O'Malley's (hopefully long lived) Checquy series. The Checquy is reeling from Rook Myfanwy Thomas's announcement that an alliance had been made with the agency's long-time enemies, the Grafters. A delegation of Grafters, or the Wetenschappelijk Broederschap van Natuurkundigen as they prefer to be called, arrived for negotiations, bringing with them the two youngest of their group and a whole heap of trouble. 

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I know that O'Malley struggled with this book - having technical issues, rewriting the draft several times, and so on and so forth. Stiletto does suffer a smidge from sophomore slump; it's not the tightly plotted, but rambly hysterical fun fest that The Rook was, but it retains the lighthearted center, all the while introducing new wonders from both the Checquy and the Broederschap. O'Malley's tone and turn of phrase are magical, turning what could be a taking-itself-way-too-seriously type of book into a fun romp through sci-fi and fantasy. That being said, the story drags a bit at the beginning and middle, and I'm still not quite sure I care enough about Odette or Felicity. They were both interesting, but not quite interesting enough to take the reins completely. I do hope that the series continues though because this world is so interesting and fun. Maybe the Americans can come to visit? Or Australia!

My copy courtesy of Edelweiss and Little, Brown, and Co.