The Fifth, Timeless: The Parasol Protectorate

In London, the parents, friends, clan and servants of Prudence suffer from the wrath of the terrible two's. Making matters more difficult for others the toddler can "borrow" the supernatural powers of people by touching them until her soulless mom releases the stolen skills. That is why her parents, Alpha of the Woolsey werewolf clan Lord Conall and Lady Alexia, use mostly drones as servants as well as their friend vampire Lord Akeldama, who actually adopted the baby to help. Still the doting mama and papa relish their domestic lunacy.

The Queen of the Alexandria Hive orders Alexia to come to her city. Knowing you never refuse a royal summons, Alexia, Conall, Prudence and actress Ivy Tunstell head to Egypt by steamer. However, in Egypt the God-Breaker Plague has erupted. The mysteries of the summons and the plague pale compared to how the world's worst actress Ivy is an overnight sensation as the most popular actress in the British Empire.

The Parasol Protectorate Victorian fantasy ends with a great globetrotting fast-paced thriller. Once again, Gail Carriger combines humor with tense action while tying up the major threads from the previous entries in the series (see Soulless, Changeless, Blameless and Heartless). The females are superb while Conall looks foolish as he remains doubting Thomas (after all that has occurred including three years of marital bliss, you would think he would trust his wife). Still Alexia and her troupe provide a strong final curtain performance.

Harriet Klausner

Everything is brought to resolution (except dear Felicity) either predictablly or surprisingly.
Sometimes I laughed out loud (in a good way). I knew we would get to Egypt eventually. I am looking forward to the adventures of Miss Prudence.

Very much enjoyed all of The Parasol Protectorate books. Super storyline and interesting characters throughout. Highly recommend to those folks who enjoy a little steampunk and the fashions and rules of this time period.

As witty and fast moving as previous installments in the series - although not a wholly satisfying conclusion. Multiple story threads get resolved in this final volume, yet I wish more time had been spent delving further into those threads.

It is a wonderfull series and I would happily recomend it to anyone looking for a fun read, but this particular distributer sent me the wrong book, I got something called 'Comrads of War' once again, love the book, but I'll try to get it from somewhere else.

I agree with others who think this series wrapped up too soon buit I'm thrilled to hear that our little puggle will be dashing out on her own. Props to the author for a satisfying, if premature ending.

The "Parasol Protectorate" series has become one of my favorite steampunk series of all time. It's a fantastic blend of Victorian comedy of manners, urban/paranormal fantasy, and steampunk sensibilities that's at once absurd and delightfully appealing, and is made all the stronger by a delightful cast of characters and a kick-butt, no-nonsense female protagonist who's nicely developed (as a character, NOT in the physical sense!). The final book in the series proper (though not the final book in this literary universe) served to tie up quite a few loose ends, and while there are a few elements in this book that raised some eyebrows and a few loose ends that will hopefully be resolved in the sequel series, it was still, in my mind, a satisfying conclusion to a delightful series of books.

"Timeless" has Alexia Maccon once again tangled up in multiple tasks -- helping her werewolf husband's pack get settled in London, serving as patron for best-friend-turned-actress Ivy, and raising a precocious toddler with the ability to steal the abilities of vampires and werewolves. But just when she thinks her life can't get any crazier, she receives a summons from Egypt -- one of the oldest vampire queens in existence seeks an audience with her. So with husband, daughter, an enigmatic French inventor, and Ivy's acting troupe in tow, Alexia makes the journey to Alexandria. There she faces danger from both the supernatural and the anti-supernatural, the God-Breaker Plague that threatens to turn supernaturals everywhere mortal, and threats from very close to home that could threaten everything Alexia holds most dear...

As always, Carriger has a knack for blending wit and humor with fascinating action and worldbuilding, giving us an extremely plausible alternate Victorian England (and Egypt in this case) and blending historical fact with elements of the fantastic. Steampunk elements and the presence of vampires, werewolves, and people with unusual abilities spice things up, and all these disparate elements manage to meld well without clashing with one another. And as the story forks, following events in both England and Egypt, the author is able to carefully balance both stories so that both get the attention they need.

The characters have always been a delight to get to know, and I'm glad to have seen them grow and develop over the course of the novel. Carriger has managed to give even minor characters real development and weight, and it gladdens my heart to see most of them get appropriate conclusions to their story arcs in this book. It would have been all too easy to make characters like Biffy and Ivy one-note comic relief, but I'm glad that there's far more to their characters than what we see on the surface.

SPOILERS BELOW

There are a few elements of this book that I feel weren't properly explained or resolved, however. Biffy coming out as an Alpha werewolf without any foreshadowing felt somewhat tacked-on, and I'm still not sure as to Floote's true loyalties or mission. Perhaps both these elements will be further explained in future books? Ivy becoming a vampire queen was also sudden, but somehow I enjoy that twist, even if I'm one of the few who does...

END SPOILERS

A good conclusion to a favorite series, "Timeless" helps to wrap up the adventures of Alexia and her friends and acquaintances nicely, even if it leaves plot threads open to explore in sequels and spinoffs later. I plan on continuing the sequel series, "The Custard Protocol," and hope that Prudence can fill her mother's footsteps...

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As a standing fan of the Parasol Protectorate series, I knew I was going to love this one.

My favorite thing about this book was Prudence. As a toddler, she has become quite the precocious character. Her powers were also interesting, allowing her to take over the supernatural state of anyone she touches, with Alexia being the only known antidote to it. The author explores other limitations to her abilities and limitations to Alexia's abilities as well.

I also enjoyed learning more about Alexia's father and her domestic help, Floote. There was a relationship there that the author explores a bit more in this book than in previous books, but I would still like to learn more about those characters. Floote is extremely intriguing. Professor Lyall also got a bit more exploration in this novel, which I thoroughly enjoyed as well.

In the end of the book, certain characters are going through major changes. Ivy embarks on a great new adventure, and Biffy's role in the pack is altered as well. I would love to read more about these things and see how the future develops for these characters.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It made a great addition to the series, and I'm sad that it's the end! I am planning to continue with this series by reading Carriger's spin-off that includes Prudence as the main character. If you are already a fan of Carriger's, obviously you'll want to pick this one up! If you aren't already a fan, you should become one!

This review will be spoiler free for Timeless but will contain major spoilers for previous books so please don't continue reading unless you've already read as far as Heartless.

I absolutely loved the earlier books in this series but for me it kind of started losing it's way in the last few books. I still enjoy the humour and I'm invested in the characters so I've kept reading but it just lost the little something that made it special. It started going wrong when Conall acted so badly when Alexia found out she was pregnant, I felt that she forgave his behaviour far too easily and I wanted to see him make more effort to apologise. I was glad that they got their relationship back on track though and I do enjoy the banter and bickering between them.

What really threw me for a loop was their willingness to let Lord Akeldama adopt their daughter, I couldn't for the life of me understand why an alpha werewolf would let his daughter be raised by another man - especially a vampire! I would have expected Conall to be horrified by even the suggestion and I didn't think it really fitted Alexia's character either, no matter how pragmatic she usually is. For the pair of them to literally end up living secretly in Akeldama's closet to be close to their daughter just didn't sit well with me. It kind of felt like the vampires were constantly getting one over on the wolves, especially when Akeldama effectively tricked Alexia into giving Queen Nadasdy the Woolsey Manor! Once again Conall just kind of shrugged his shoulders and went along with it not even particularly angry that the vampires had effectively stolen his home and conned them out of lord only knows how much money it was worth.

From that point on it's always been the vampires shouting orders while Alexia and Conall rush around doing their bidding and that continues into Timeless where they receive orders to visit one of the vampire queens in Egypt. I have to admit I enjoyed the journey to Alexandria, I loved little Prudence (who is now 2 years old) and I enjoyed the family interactions but I was so angry about the pack just going along with whatever the vampires wanted that it put me in a bad mood. This does tie up the series nicely though and I'm actually glad that it was the end of the series. I already have a copy of the first book in the spin off and I'm really hoping that Prudence's story won't have the issues that irritated me with this book. I'm sad that the final books in this series didn't live up to my expectations but I do enjoy this author's writing style so I'm willing to give her another chance.

As the last book in the Parasol Protectorate series, Timeless concludes wonderfully. Gail Carriger does a great job closing the world and allowing a satisfying end, while also leaving the setting open for further adventures in other series. Which I believe she has in the book Prudence.
As always the wit in Carriger's writing, and the turns of phrase, keep the story moving with little to no drag.
I have loved the growth of the characters. Including the ancillary ones from earlier books like Ivy and Biffy. With their own push into the spot light these character shine and grow, and you can tell their story isn't done yet either.
As a whole I recommend the series; as a stand alone this is a great book, though you would be missing some of the context if you hadn't read the others.
I look forward to the other series Gail Carriger puts forth.

At a recent Gail Carriger book signing I attended, "I believe in leaving a party before it's over," was her response to the question, why is Timeless the last book. She explained that if she walked out and got run over she'd known she'd left behind a finished series. She likes the package wrapped up with a big bow on top. The author also mentioned that Clueless had a cliffhanger ending because she didn't have a contract at that time. With Blameless she knew they'd be five books in the series.

Now that the Parasol Protectorate series is finished with Timeless, what we can expect next is a young adult series, The Finishing School, which takes place in what really isn't a finishing school at all. Also she will soon begin the first book in a series about Alexis and Conall's daughter, who is also Lord Akeldama's adopted daughter, the Parasol Protectorate Abroad series. The first book will be called Prudence and the second Imprudence. We have something else to look forward to, we will see familiar faces in both series.

As for Timeless, "The werewolves have a saying. It takes a pack to raise a child." A pack, a vampire hive, a thespian troupe, and more if that child is a metanatural toddler, who walks at a young age. Young Prudence turns life tipsy every time she changes from human form to a toddler vampire, complete with fangs, when she touches any vampire, including her adopted father. She also transforms into a wolf cub, complete with fuzzy tail, when she touches any werewolf, including her own father. This makes life quite challenging for her preternatural mother, Lady Maccon, and her supernatural werewolf father, Lord Maccon, as they venture forth from their odd home, in Lord Akeldama's third closet, to an ocean liner for a voyage to Egypt at the command of a Vampire Queen, and to search for information about the God-Breaker Plague, also to find out what Alexis's father was really up to at the time of his death, and for Ivy and her husband and their acting troupe to perform their rendition of The Death Rains of Swansea for the Egyptian Vampire court . As I read Timeless, I wondered if all four were tied together, and if so how. I was pleased at the revelations and the conclusion Gail Carriger came up with.

Timeless is a great finish to an incredible series. Witty, funny and creative, Timeless also prepares us for the Parasol Protectorate Abroad series with a new Vampire Queen and a glimpse of a new Werewolf Alpha in the future I laughed out loud as I always do when reading Gail Carriger's books. I will miss Alexia and I hope to see some of her in the coming series with Prudence. Timeless is a fun read, a great escape, and I highly recommend it.

Alexia Tarabotti has not always had an easy life. Of course she used to be a spinster... but then she fell in love with London's infamous Alpha werewolf, Conall Maccon, and since then it has been nothing but mechanized ladybugs, cursed mummies and exploding parasols. But nothing, absolutely nothing, could have prepared Lord and Lady Maccon for the whirlwind terror that is ... their daughter, Prudence.

Though they share responsibility for the little soulless ragamuffin with her vampiric stepfather, Lord Akeldama, Prudence is still a handful (particularly come bath time).

But it appears as though Prudence's notoriety has spread. One of the oldest vampire queens has requested the presence of Alexia and Conall's soulless offspring - in Egypt, no less!

So, along with Ivy Tunstell's acting troupe as cover, and with Madame Lefoux representing the London vampire hive, the Maccon family are off to Alexandria, for an audience with a very different sort of queen...

`Timeless' is the fifth and, sadly, last novel in Gail Carriger's miraculously wonderful `Parasol Protectorate' series.

I have been with Carriger's series from the very beginning, and while I was sad to read it's end, I was delighted (but not in the least bit surprised!) to read Alexia & Co going out on a bang! `Timeless' involves hot air balloon escapes, Nile river cruises and a cute-as-a-button soulless werewolf pup. Secrets are unearthed, fences mended and the romance we've all been waiting for comes to fruition.

`Timeless' is set a while after `Heartless'. Prudence is a toddler, running amok, and causing extreme havoc when she accidentally makes skin-to-skin contact with one of her many supernatural babysitters. Lord Akeldama is her stepfather, but a secret plank between Akeldama and the Maccon's houses means that Alexia and Conall are an equally constant presence in her life. When Alexia and Prudence are summoned to Alexandria, Egypt, because the oldest vampire Queen known to man has taken an interest in her, they are wary but know the visit must go ahead.

While Alexia and her family, along with Ivy Tunstell's acting acting troupe (and her family) go traipsing all over Egypt, equally fascinating happenings are occurring in London.

The dark-eyed drone came closer. She looked to Conall first.
"Lord Maccon, you are welcome to Alexandria. It has been many centuries since a werewolf visited this hive. We hope it will not be so long before the next one graces us with his presence."
Lord Maccon bowed. "I suspect," he said, because he had no tact, "that will rather depend on the course of this evening's events."
The drone inclined her head and turned dark eyes to Alexia. "Lady Maccon, soul-sucker. You, too, are welcome. We do not judge the daughter by the father's actions."
"Well, thank you I'm sure. Especially as I never knew him."

Biffy, one of the newest and most reluctant new werewolves of the Woolsey pack, runs Madame Lefoux's old hat shop, but has been asked by Alexia to keep an eye on things while she's away. Biffy's instructions has him keeping a particularly close eye on Alexia's cagey butler, Floote, and crossing paths with Conall's Beta, Professor Lyall as secrets about Conall's Alpha history are revealed, with devastating consequences....

`Timeless' is a spectacular swan song. I loved Alexia's time in Egypt, if only because we get to read about a very different steampunked country and how Gail Carriger's warped history appears overseas. But I was surprised to find that, while I did enjoy reading about Alexia, Prudence and Conall meeting the oldest and scariest vampire Queen alive... my interest was mostly drawn to Biffy and Lyall back in London.

Aside from the scrumptious sugar drop that is Lord Akeldama, Biffy and Lyall are probably my other two favourite characters in the `Parasol Protectorate'. So I was beyond delighted when these two started making puppy-dog eyes (literally) at one another in `Timeless'. They are so darn cute together, and I will have my fingers firmly crossed for a short story, novella or (pretty please!) spin-off series with these two. Their love affair absolutely steals the show and I hope we have not read the last of this power couple...

`Timeless' is an absolutely scrumptious read. There were moments and revelations that had my jaw dropping. The still steamy romance between Alexia and Conall is as sweet (and bumpy) as ever, while Biffy and Lyall's canoodling is deserving of fan-girl squeals of delight. Prudence is a toddler du-jour and the trip to Egypt is ingenious. `Timeless' is a most befitting conclusion to an epic steampunk paranormal series.

Now, I should say that while `Timeless' is the last we'll hear of Alexia for the time being, Ms Carriger has said on her website that she'd like to write more books and short stories within her steampunk world (past or future?). And a novel about Alexia's mysterious absentee father is not out of the question... And the `Parasol Protectorate' world lives on, with a manga adaptation of Gail Carriger's toe-curlingly good series now available. `Timeless' is not, technically, the last we will see of Alexia Tarabotti and friends. And it's certainly not the last chance fans will have to get lost in Carriger's marvellously imagined steampunk world. But `Timeless' is the end of Alexia and Conall's story. And what a grand adventure it has been!

Parasol Protectorate 5

Queen Matakara of Egypt, the oldest known vampire, has demanded a visit from both Alexia Tarabotti and her daughter. In order to encourage cooperation, Matakara offers to give information regarding Alexia's father. Naturally Lord Conall Maccon, Alexia's husband, comes along as does Ivy and her husband, Tunstell, with an abbreviated troup of their actors. Meanwhile Professor Randolph Lyall must deal with the revelation of secrets he had hoped would stay that way, but it does encourage his relationship with Biffy.

This last in the direct series (there are prequels and sequels surrounding other characters available) is quite possibly one of the most gut wrenching of the five. Alexia will find herself in the deepest and heartbreaking situations. Biffy's story is expanding nicely, I hope to see something of him and Lyall in the future series about Prudence. If Carriger ever decides to visit this time period again, I will definitely be there. I am definitely putting the prequels and sequels on my TBR list. 5 out of 5.

Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series comes to a close in it's final volume, Timeless. The series makes it exit with more of a soft poof rather than a loud bang.

The entire story of Timeless centers around an invitation from the oldest vampire of all time, Matakara and the God Breaker Plague. Matakara, having gotten wind of Alexia's skin stealer daughter essentially demands that Alexia come to Egypt for tea. The main driving force of this particular novel is etiquette and proper form. While it's always influenced events in the previous books in the series, in Timeless it drags the plot though the path. It's not that I hated it, I just didn't care for it as a driving force. Alexia lost some of her biting wit in this book too. In fact, she kind of fades into the background while her daughter take center stage (which makes sense given the main character of PPA).

Anyway, of course all three Maccons, plus four Tunstells, and a variety of actors make their way to Egypt. After about 100 pages of, for the most part mundane travel by ship they finely arrive in Egypt and the focus of the story actually starts...or does it? After a plot mystery is introduced the story takes a bit of a detour...well an obvious mystery really. 75 pages of what ends up being pretty much pointless. Then the story goes fast forward for the last 30 pages. A lot of important things happen in quick succession and left me wanting a little more.

The book wraps up nicely and despite the way this review may look I did like it. Carriger ties up most of the loose ends, yet leaves enough unsaid to create a nice path to PPA. My only real complaint is that there wasn't enough Akeldama. I don't think this was a bad final volume at all, it was overall nicely written and I have read far worse final books.

Fifth and last in the Parasol Protectorate urban fantasy series set in a steampunk London in the Victorian age.

My Take
I am so going to miss this series! Carriger constantly cracks me up with her comments and asides on Victorian high society as well as her observations on, well, everyone.

I love her description of the bathing chamber Lord Akeldama has created for Prudence. Then there's all the endearments Dama drops from "buttercup" to "dewdrop", "darling toggle button" to "puggle". I will so miss the giggles..!

Alexia is quite intellectual and looks forward to "subject[ing] her daughter to some controlled analytical tests". In some ways, she reminds me of Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody with her matter-of-fact approach and her belief that she is always right.
The toddler couldn't be less interested in the importance of scientific discoveries, for all her mother tried to explain them. It was, Alexia felt, a troubling character flaw."

Poor Biffy! "It looked--Biffy shuddered in utter horror--like an...umbrella!"

I rather liked how Carriger wrapped this up. A tidy end for the Maccons with a promise of ongoing life for everyone.

The Story
We open on bath night...Prudence's. A tragi-comedy Lord and Lady Maccon sort of escape in time for the performance of The Death Rains of Swansea. And, here Conall didn't think he'd get to enjoy himself...

It even becomes a very useful cover when the Maccons are forced to Egypt with their daughter for an audience with that ancient Vampire Queen which is itself cover for a much-needed investigation of the God-Breaker Plague out in the desert. And there's a suspicion that Alexia's father had his hand in this somehow!

It's an adventure of Prudence-catching and scientific discoveries for the Maccons. Biffy has his own life-changing [yes, more...] discoveries, but he does discover a new love. Just as Alexia learns that she must pay better attention to Prudence's words.

The Characters
Lady Alexia Tarabotti Maccon is a, in the crudest sense, a soul sucker, a preternatural. One touch and any vampire or shifter becomes mortal, vulnerable. Lord Conall Maccon is the alpha of the now-London Pack and very much in love with his wife. Prudence is their daughter and a metanatural. One touch from her and the abilities shift; the one Prudence touches becomes mortal while Prudence becomes a baby vamp or wolf pup. It's an adventure as they discover her limitations and powers. Professor Randolph Lyall is Conall's Beta. Floote was Alexia's father's valet and he has faithfully followed Alexia from childhood home to married one. However, he has his own agenda.

Lord Akeldama is one of my favorite characters--he just cracks me up. A gay, ancient vampire very concerned with the cut of his coat who surrounds himself with drones who reflect his interests and are the most efficient gatherers of information. Lord Akeldama has the very latest in anything to ensure the most up-to-date gossip! To protect Prudence from assassination, Lord and Lady Maccon had to accept Dama as her official guardian. Biffy, a.k.a., Wingtip Spectator, a.k.a., Sandalio de Rabiffano, is adjusting quite well to his changes in life. It's a brief encounter with Mrs. Colindrikal-Bumbcruncher that ensures we easily see his strengths. And Carriger has new insights on his character further along. Major Channing Channing of the Chesterfield Channings is the London Pack's toffee-nosed Gamma. He and Alexia don't quite get on.

Ivy Tunstell, a.k.a., Agent Puff Bonnet, is one of Alexia's oldest friends and without any taste. Just witness her hats!! After marrying Tunstell, Ivy threw herself into her husband's theatrical world. I do love the sound of Mr. Tuntrinkle who plays the villain for the troupe.

Lady Sidheag Kingair is a rather crude alpha--of the Scottish Kingair Pack--and rather inclined to slash and bash her way in at her slightest whim. Mind you, she does have some good reasons.

Madame Genevieve Lefoux is still an inventor of marvelous gadgets and a member of the Order of the Brass Octopus, but, alas, the life changes forced on her in Heartless (The Parasol Protectorate, #4) have driven a wedge between her and Lady Maccon. Countess Nadasdy is the queen of the now-Woolsey vampire hive. Queen Matakara is the oldest living vampire and she has issued a very commanding demand to the Maccons. Chancellor Neshi is her representative in the outside world. Felicity Loontwill is Alexia's very selfish sister--I do hope Biffy makes good on his "promise"! Zayed is the Drifter who comes to Alexia's rescue at Goldenrod's orders.

The Cover
The cover doesn't blend. It looks more as if Alexia has been posed against a giant poster of ancient Egypt with its sphinx on the left and one of the pyramids on the right. I did like the dirigible hovering over the pyramid's point!

The title sums it all up for it is a Timeless adventure.

This is the final installment of the Parasol Protectorate series by Carriger. Set two years after the end of `Heartless', Lord and Lady Maccon have had a period of relative peace. Living surreptitiously with Lord Akaldama, the adoptive father of their daughter, life is surreal but has involved none of the usual attempts on their lives. This comes to an end with an invitation from the world's oldest vampire- an invitation they cannot turn down- involving a trip to Egypt. Meanwhile, someone has killed the Beta of the Kingair pack just as he was about to impart a new discovery to Alexia...

`Timeless' ties up all (except one, which I cannot mention because it would be a spoiler) of the lose ends from the first four books, but it does it in the manner of a roller coaster. Domestic scenes of Alexia and Conall with young Prudence end with bloody battles NOT of the domestic kind. By the end, almost everyone has had their life turned upside down and changed forever.

I have to say, this is my favorite book of the series. There is more character growth than I would have thought possible in a series this fluffy- from secondary characters as well as primaries- as people grow up and grow into their responsibilities and learn to let go of the past. There are some real surprises- big ones. The end is unexpected, but satisfying.

This is the final book in the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger and it was a satisfying ending to this series. Fans of this series shouldn't be sad it is over though. Carriger has two more series planned in this wonderful universe the first is The Finishing School a four book series with the first book, Etiquette and Espionage, set to release Feb 2013. The second is the Parasol Protectorate Abroad, whose first book Prudence is tenatively scheduled for a 2013 release.

This book starts two years after the end of Heartless. Alexia, Conall, and toddler, Prudence, have a strange but workable set up where Lord Alkedama has Prudence living with him because of her condition. When Alexia receives a summons from Alexandria, Egypt it is a summons that she can't ignore. The Queen of the Alexandria hive wants to speak to Alexia and this is cause enough for Alexia to pack up her family...along with the Tunstells...and make the trip. Hopefully while in Egypt Alexia will find answers to why the God-Breaker Plague is expanding.

This book is different than most others in the series in that a good portion of the story is told, not from Alexia's point of view, but from Biffy's. I don't mind hearing from Biffy, but I didn't find him quite as charming or funny as Alexia. I think some of this was done to set up the world for Carriger's next series.

The best addition to the story was the toddler Prudence. Her toddler antics are hilarious, especially when you add in her ability to steal supernatural abilities from people (something only her mother Alexia can remedy). Nothing like a hyper vamped out toddler to get you laughing. Seriously it was hilarious at times.

Alexia wasn't quite as funny and witty as in previous installments, she seemed content but not as carefree. She goes though quite a lot of heartbreak in this book and I was sorry to see all she had to suffer through. Her and Conall aren't as romantic with each other as they've been in previous installments...but I guess a kid will do that to you :-) The supporting cast was wonderful as always; all of our favorites are back with the addition of some wonderful new characters.

The way the mystery of the God-Breaker plague is wrapped up is interesting and very well done. The story is nicely wrapped with some plot points left to be resolved in future series. I foresee cameos by Lady and Lord Maccon in the spinoff series.

Overall I really enjoyed this final installment in the Parasol Protectorate series. Alexia isn't quite as witty or carefree as in previous installments and there isn't as much romance between her and her husband. A good part of the story is told from Biffy's perspective, which was fine but not as much fun as having it told by Alexia. Alexia's daughter stole the show for good portions of the book; she was hilarious and endearing. I enjoyed the change in scenery to Egypt and the the many surprising twists that the plot took. Fans of this series won't be disappointed. I love this world and was excited to hear that Carriger is working on more series in it! Recommended to fans of paranormal and steampunk books.

If you prefer not to read gay romances, be warned there is a first-person gay love story part way through. The series has not been about this (meaning *first person* gay love scenes) so I felt the author tricked me into reading something I normally choose to avoid. Otherwise, the book has the same fun, witty dialogue as the other books in the series.

I'm adding this note to my original review:
To those of you commenting that I'm blind for not seeing it coming: I *did* see it coming. And I would have been okay with it if the author had not placed me into Biffy's and Lyall's points of view for the romance. There is a difference between knowing something is happening and being thrust into that character's love scene first person. *That* was what I didn't expect and didn't want. And, since there are other people like me who will read this, I just wanted to forewarn them. Then if they choose to read the book, they can do so knowing they will be placed into B/L's PsOV for their love scenes.

As a fan of Alexia, Connal, Lyall and Akeldama, I have to say that it was a glorious sendoff.

It's been 3 years since the events in Heartless and things have more or less settled down. Or at least, they have settled down as much as they can when you are a preternatural with a very special child who lives with both vampires and werewolves. Then Alexia gets a summons to visit a very old vampire queen in Egypt. What better cover than to follow the Tunstell's acting troupe on a tour?

There is also a side story with Lyall, Biffy, the Scottish pack, and murder. I enjoyed this one as well. It was bittersweet, but I have no doubt that this particular thread is not over. Perhaps we will see more of it in the series set in the future (about 20 years if I recall).

I also love how Biffy handled Felicity. FINALLY.

The wit that I have enjoyed so much in the previous novels is here in full force. I just have so much fun reading this series.

The ending with Conall and Alexia put to rest some thoughts I'd had since book 1. Not going to share how, just that it was beautiful and fitting.

Fans of the series should be very happy with how it all turned out. I know I am.

I totally enjoyed it, especially the time in Egypt, the steampunk world Gail Carriger has build, focusing mostly on transportation. I loved the balloon world, and just everything. Alexia and Conall find out more about Alexia's powers, and those of Prudence. And she finally finds out more about her father. I am glad to say, my suspicions at the start of the book came true as well.
There is also a development in the personal life of Biffy, which I enjoyed. Yes, I can enjoy gay romance done like this. I already know and like the characters, and what else can you expect from Lord Akeldama and his gorgeous male drones who love all the latest fashions?

Gaill Garriger has created a wonderful world, I have read nothing like it. I have tried some other steampunk and did not like it very much, but this series I love. Great characters, great action, and full of twists and surprises. There is also humor, great and awful hats, and some lovescenes. And of course, a parasol.

I am looking forward to reading more books by her

The Parasol Protectorate is up to more than its usual antics in Timeless. The story is split between England and Egypt. The shenanigans and adventures are rollicking.
I started reading Gail Carriger with the Custard Protocol books, so many of my questions were answered in this installment of the Parasol Protectorate.
I adore the characters in this series and the universe of the Parasol Protectorate. I can't recommend these books highly enough

A delightful steam punk series that ends delightfully. Alexia, our independent heroine married to a werewolf - pack leader - and with a daughter that is part vampire and werewolf! Alexia has been summoned to Egypt to see the most ancient vampire queen - whom, it turns out, wants something from Alexia but at first she cannot ascertain what it is. She finally figures it out. All the ends are tied up and it ends happily.

I could not be any happier with the final installment of GailCarriger's Parasol Protectorate series. I've been a fan since I read the opening line of Soulless and read each book in succession with unwavering enthusiasm. Timeless takes our heroine Alexia to Egypt where all sorts of drama unfolds. Secrets long hidden come to light and questions are answered. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough through the last three chapters to get through some of the greatest action I've read in a long time.
I can't say much more without ruining the plot because having the mystery unfold is the greatest part. I can say that I'm sad to end this series and would pick up any other book written by Gail Carriger. She writes a smart, witty, and altogether likable cast if characters that I fell in live with from book one. I highly recommend this series!

A fantastic end to a truly unique series. There was a little taste of everything to be desired by avid fans of the series. There was adventure, romance and horrendous hats by way of Ivy.

Alexia's arc really wraps up some of the overarching mysteries that had been left unsolved in the previous books. Along the way we find out much about various characters that some of us have been dying to learn. Some aspects of the story were predictable (like Prudence's continued growth and experimentation with her abilities) but there were some new bits that came out of nowhere (at least to me).

Alexia would be very proud of how tidily the end was wrapped up. Yes, there is a part of me that wants to know how certain characters fare with some of the changes that came about in this book, but it didn't feel like the readers had been purposely left without anything to gnaw on. Many hints were dropped that seem to give us just enough to go on until Prudence comes of age (which is where I'm guessing the Parasol Protectorate Series Abroad will start up).

I'm very eager to read more from Gail Carriger, but I'll have to console myself with rereading the series and investing in the Manga until her next book which will not be released for a year.

(First rated on Goodreads) *Small spoilers*

The last in an adventurous and witty Steampunk series, featuring feisty preternatural Alexia. I loved meeting the new characters (like little, toddler Prudence), and reading about recurring characters and their changes (Biffy!). I was thrilled and surprised at the adventure and subterfuge played by the characters here. And of course, I loved the descriptions about the amped-up Victorian inventions. Reading about such whimsical creations like a mechanical gastropod (a snail-mobile), a blood-driven throne, drifter balloon caravans, which all sounded ingenious. I was a tad shocked at the end concerning Ivy's predicament though. But nonetheless, it was a brilliant conclusion to the Parasol Protectorate series. Now I only wonder when the readers will all get to go back and read more on Prudence's own adventures? One can only hope soon.

(Originally published on my LibraryThing page)

I'm not sure where Timeless, by Gail Carriger, missed the mark, but it was quite a miss. The setup is good: an alternative Victorian England where Vampires, Werewolves and other assorted supernatural creatures are, if not exactly accepted, a regular part of society. Mix in a lady with the ability to neutralize supernatural abilities who is married to a Werewolf, an Alpha Werewolf at that, with a toddler daughter that has the ability to not only neutralize any supernatural she comes into contact with, but to take on their supernatural ability. In addition to these main characters, there are a lot of secondary characters with some very mixed allegiances complicated by the rules of Victorian society, their supernatural status and odd quirks of their own.

Sounds like it could be good. The problem is the main characters are as thin and transparent, in a literary sense, not a metaphysical one, as the secondary characters. The author spends more time on the social rules of this society than on any real development of the characters or the plot. The result is a lot of characters and none of them seem worth caring about. In addition to this major flaw, the dialog is absolutely inane, vapid and does little to hold your interest. The moment I took a break from reading the book, I forgot what it was about and when I resumed my reading I had to back up several pages to get back into the flow of the story.

I quit the story about half way through; it just could not hold my interest. Because I stayed with it that long, I'm going just under mediocre for my rating and saying this is worth only two and a half stars. Something compelled me to go as far as I did with my reading, but it was not good enough for me to really care what happened to anyone, so I just gave up on it. I can't find anything in this book to recommend it to anyone. In fact, I'd have to say it might be best to avoid this book altogether. Your time is better spent reading something more worthwhile.

Love love love LOVE this book. I was lucky enough to be able to read the entire Parasol Protectorate series back to back and while I was a bit tentative about reading the last one in the series (I didn't want it to END!), I'm pretty sure this is my favorite out of the bunch. They are all really good, but this was just an amazing culmination of learning about these characters. And oh man, the drama! The intrigue! Not to mention, as a mother a small human, the commiseration!

The fifth adventure in The Parasol Protectorate takes the expanding family to Egypt at the special request of the oldest living vampire queen.
Alexia, a perfect Victorian lady , despite the fact that she is in fact, half Italian, and her werewolf husband Lord Maccon are accompanied by their new daughter Prudence. Prudence is a remarkably talented child and stretches the abilities of both her parents in their attempts to moderate her behaviour (The Terrible two's strike again)
Add in Alexia's rather silly but brave friend Ivy Tunstell, twins, her actor husband and a complete acting troupe and the adventure begins.
Meanwhile back home, Biffy and Lord Lyall also try to unravel the origin of the God Breaker Plague.
I enjoyed reading this book very much indeed. The main characters feel like old friends and the lesser characters develop nicely in this latest installment. I particularly liked the story of Biffy a vampire drone turned werewolf, he becomes so much more than a clothes mad dandy in this book and I'm sad to find out that this is the last book Ms Carriger is going to write in this series, because I would have liked to read many more installments set in this world.
The descriptions are vivid, and the dialogue is witty and frothy enough to cause several 'laugh out loud' moments.
The books joins the very few books that I have read in a single day, not that I am that rapid a reader it is just that it is too good to put down except when absolutely necessary.
PS, I want a parasol like Alexia's .......

I love this last one in the Parasol Protectorate Series so much! It was fun and exciting and heart-wrenching and beautiful. The characters were back being great. The action was perfect. The locations were amazing. I can't wait for the Biffy & Lyall standalone to finish their series!

Timeless exceeded expectations and made me fall in love with the series all over again!! The story unravels from there into a wild, whirlwind adventure of mishaps, supernatural politics, mummies, proper etiquette, and steam powered inventions complete with a spot of proper English tea!

Book #1 will still be my all time fav in this series-but virtually everything about this series is note worthy and Timeless was the perfect ending to a classic steampunk series!! Alexia is an awesome protagonist, I lover her voice and quirkiness! The series itself is a quirky, witty, engaging series that will charm readers. I loved the mix of steampunk and supernatural elements in the books....it all came together so seamlessly. The steampunk elements made the books for me...it added such a different layer of entertainment and added a surreal, mysterious feeling to the supernatural adventures. See my full review of Timeless here: [...]

This is quite possibly the best in the Parasol Protectorate series.
I read these novels originally because my wife read and enjoyed them and I, in turn, enjoyed having something in common that we read and could talk about. By the time I got to the fourth novel though, I was fairly certain that I didn't want to be bothered with the next. I realize that in the world Ms. Carriger has created a great number of things that would be commonplace to the denizens of that world have to be explained to us ordinary people but it just seemed to get to the point where I couldn't have cared less any longer about the mechanics of long distance communication or private versus public dirigible flight or the antics of a woman and her Octomaton. Octomaton? Really? Didn't I see that in the reboot of the Wild, Wild West?
Fortunately most of that is absent from this book. Sure the technology is there but if you don't know how the communications systems work or why ghosts, vampires and werewolves all have invisible tethers then you're either starting the series with the wrong book or you just weren't paying any attention at all and the author doesn't appear to be so incredibly dedicated to keeping you caught up as she was in the earlier books. Even the incredibly detailed descriptions of what people are wearing, (which usually seemed to have no purpose other than reminding you that these are people who quite often care about things that, in the greater scheme of things, are unimportant), seem to be so greatly trimmed down that I no longer feel the need to skip through them. With all of this out of the way the story proceeds more quickly and more pleasingly.
I will say that, to me, the ultimate fates of some of the characters was fairly predictable, particularly Ivy but I was surprised to find myself liking Biffy, a character who I wished a painful and protracted death upon just one book earlier. He hasn't surpassed the inventor (Octomaton aside) or Alexia's baby as my favorite character but he's moved very close in ranking.
If you were as reluctant to try this novel as I was after the fourth book, I'd suggest you reconsider and give it a try. I think you'll be very pleased with it.

The Parasol Protectorate series is one of the best I’ve read in a long time, and while I’m sorely disappointed that this is the final book I am very grateful Carriger comes right out and says so on the book cover. Nothing worse than a series that just fizzles out midway without warning. She does a splendid job in wrapping up all the odds and ends of her characters’ lives—I just wish it didn’t have to end so soon.

Instead of waiting years to see the Parasol Protectorate series to its conclusion, I've had the pleasure of reading all five books almost back to back within the space of few short weeks. And even in that time, the Tarabotti-Maccon magic has dissipated.

What started out as fairly entertaining, quick paced, whodunnit novel format, ended with this. A slow, dragging, death with few feeble laughs for the characters we used to love and a new author's baby eating up the pages. I could not care less about Prudence and I'm not interested in reading more about her-except maybe in the unlikely event that the so-far unpublished novel named after her is going to be about Biffy and Lyall instead.

The travelling part of the story worked in Blameless, because they advanced in fits and starts. Every stop advanced the overall plot somehow and added another new piece in the puzzle. In Timeless, the boat ride to Egypt is nothing but indulgent antics of the Maccons' daughter Prudence. Contrary to apparent evidence, I don't hate the little flayer; I hate the fact that she ends up devouring the book and making it boring. Running after a puppy can be entertaining only so many times.

I was told that the last hundred pages or so would be better and that was true. I was almost reminded of the old Alexia Tarabotti of Soulless but mostly I was entertained by the betas. And yes, I'm looking for Biffy and Lyall fanfic, so please do send them my way.

Not the best ending for a comedy series, but an ending. Thanks for that.

In previous books, it was explained thoroughly how preternaturals cannot stand to be in close contact with one another. This was the reason why female preternaturals always miscarried, because preternaturals always bred true, and therefore their own bodies were repulsed by the preternatural within them and aborted it.

In this book we find that it's an airborne ability and that water cancels out the preternatural ability. So a preternatural child, encased in what is basically a sack of water and nutrients, inside a womb, would not be sharing air with its mother (which we are told is the main problem), its preternatural abilities would be cancelled out by the fluid suffusing it's every pore, and there would be no miscarriage.

These kind of minor details (you know, the ones that are meant to completely define an entire species) are what can make me completely nuts when an author fails to grasp an obvious flaw in the species they create.

It's really annoying.

There are only a handful of authors in the fantasy/urban fantasy/sci-fi genre who can consistently make me laugh out loud. Terry Pratchett's Disc World series does it as a matter of course, and Jim Butcher has his moments in the Harry Dresden novels. Now Gail Carriger has joined that small group. I hope to continue to be embarrassed on airplanes as much by Gail and her wonderfully whacky characters as I have been by by the denizens of Ankh-Morpork and surrounds, laughing until I cry...