#steampunkchronicles

I came across an excellent author while browsing in Barnes & Noble. I looked through shelf after shelf for hours, before I settled on God Save The Queen by Kate Locke. It was a fantastic read, keeping me awake into the early morning since I didn't want to put it down. It became a series, a trilogy, known as The Immortal Empire.

While the series was still in the release process, I did some research about the author and found out that she has several pen names and has collectively written quite a few novels spanning three genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy (Immortal Empire; Kate Locke), Young Adult (The Steampunk Chronicles; Kady Cross), and Romance (I forget the name of this series; Kate Cross).

This new finding had me eagerly searching for her other books in the store (with the exception of the Romance novels, whose genre I wholeheartedly detest). I took an interest in The Strange Case of Finley Jayne, which is the first book in The Steampunk Chronicles. Now this series is interesting and some of the characters are very well written, but I have some qualms, which leads to the purpose of my post! (Yes, wise as, there’s a purpose!)

Apparently I have a Thing for underdogs. Now the underdog in The Steampunk Chronicles, is Jack Dandy. My reasoning is: ---> Kady sets the reader up for a strange-yet-strong attraction between Jack and Finley --> Until Griffin even comes into the picture (and a few times after) Jack tells Finley how interested he is in her --> Jack’s protectiveness of her and similar actions prove that he has some emotional investment in her, which by his character, is saying a lot!

Through the series, Kady hints that there’s a really dark and sad story behind Jack’s criminal vaneer and we even get some depth to that backstory (albeit a tiny bit) in the last story of the series, The Girl with the Windup Heart.

From a novella titled, The Dark Discovery of Jack Dandy, we find that: Jack loathes his noble father, has a vendetta against his father, was sent to a prestigious school for noble young men (and outcast because of his bastard status), has increasing crises of consciousness after meeting Finley, has the ability to switch between a noble persona he was brought up with or the Cockney he taught himself to fit into Whitechapel and re-create himself with the ultimate goal of getting back at his father, LOVES Finley Jayne, enjoys making Griffin jealous,my as a brass set of balls he's not afraid to use, stands up for himself, has severe insecurities who shape the persona he has created in Jack Dandy, and has a very vulnerable skin beneath all his confidence and propriety. We learned a shitload from that novella!! That alone interests me.

I’d like to read a fanfic that explores what the series may have been if Finley had chosen Jack Dandy (and perhaps her Dark half, but it wouldn’t be mandatory to stay cannon) instead of Griffin. While Griffin isn’t a terrible character and pulled heavily at my sympathy, especially in the last book, I truly rooted for Jack Dandy to be the winner of Finley Jayne’s heart. I feel like they were kindred spirits and that she was already (unknowingly) causing him to change himself. I am DESPERATE for some Finley/Jack and will soon be re-reading the Dandy e-book again to start my own piece of Fic.

There is a maddening and depressing lack of Fanfiction for the Steampunk Chronicles series, and an even more minuscule offering of Jack/Finley Fic out there. I found, literally, ONE! And it has a whopping 2 chapters update in 2014.

So, if you’re a fan of the series, or a fan of Jack, let’s try to get some fiction out there to feed our fellow underdog lovers :)

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