The Albion Initiative (Newbury and Hobbes #6)
Published July 26th 2022 by Tor Books, Hardcover 352 pages
George Mann's Newbury & Hobbes steampunk mystery series concludes in this thrilling final volume as our Victorian special agent heroes discover a grand plot to that threatens the state of the world.
The time has finally come.
Queen Victoria has given the order for her agents to move against the Secret Service -- to eliminate the fledgling organisation with extreme prejudice. Caught in the middle of the conflict, Newbury, Veronica and Bainbridge are forced to face up to the truth: that the Queen no longer represents the best interests of the Empire. Now rogue and in league with the Queen's enemies, they must enact the "Albion Initiative" a desperate plan to break Prince Edward out of Bedlam and install him on the throne in the Queen's stead. But with the Queen's executioner and his army on their trail, as well as a possible traitor in their midst, can they do enough to stop the malign tyrant from destroying everything they once swore to protect?
With everything falling apart around them, Newbury and Veronica must uncover the macabre truth behind the crown, and in doing so, unravel the very foundations of the Empire.
Newbury & Hobbes Investigations
#1: The Affinity Bridge
#2: The Osirus Ritual
#3: The Immorality Engine
#4: The Executioner's Heart
#5: The Revenant Express
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Book 6 here we come!
Edit: this looks like the last one. How sad, I really enjoy these books but all good things must come to an end. Hopefully they release a box set soon.
So this book actually isn’t available until July 2022. No idea why goodreads lists it as August 2021.
Rating: really liked it
Sir Maurice, Inspector Bainbridge and Veronica are back. Amelia is given a larger role in this book. Queen Victoria decides that the Secret Service is a threat and uses her personal agents to clean house. Our characters are caught in her paranoia.
Mann does a good job with his plot and characters. Amelia, as an example, is allowed to grow from a minor, physically frail character into a main protagonist.
The amount of carnage would seem to preclude these books getting a young adult categorization.
This was a good story and it is a series I recommend.
Rating: really liked it
Final books in a series are notoriously hard to write. Can all of a story's dangling threads be properly wrapped up, leaving the audience satisfied? Will each of our individual expectations be met?
These are things I was pondering before going into the sixth Newbury & Hobbes Investigation novel by George Mann. Meant as a conclusion to all that has transpired, the main focus of the story is on Queen Victoria, her plans to eliminate all of the Secret Service, an endeavour to depose her, and the extraordinarily demented methods she will use to cling onto power and life.
Surprisingly, the novel doesn't exclusively focus on Newbury & Hobbes as I'd expected it to, and we are, instead, treated to quality time with Amelia Hobbes (who's on a clandestine mission), Bainbridge (as he babysits a somewhat difficult guest), Warlow (an assassin in the queen's employ) and Sergeant Quint (a quick-thinking policeman on the trail of a serial killer who should be dead). All of these different aspects converge in the later stages of the book just perfectly, the pace is an absolute breeze, you're on the edge of your seat, desperate to discover the fates of your favourite characters and, as always, Mann's writing remains fun throughout.
I feel deeply contented after finishing the last page. Fourteen years and six novels have had us taken on one hell of a ride. I hope someday we get to revisit this wonderful world.
Savour this book, it's an absolute joy, and one that should most certainly satisfy all fans.
Rating: really liked it
George Mann https://www.georgemann.net is the author of more than 30 novels. The Albion Initiative was published in 2022 and is the 6th and the final book in the Newbury & Hobbes series.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher with the expectation of delivering a fair and honest review. Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this book/novel as R. The series is set in a steampunk Elizabethan alternative universe.
Newbury & Hobbes, along with their fellow Secret Service agents, find themselves set upon by Queen Victoria’s men. They come to the realization that the Queen is no longer in her right mind. To save the Empire they must enact the ‘Albion Initiative’ to break Prince Edward out of Bedlam.
Their investigation reveals the depths of madness to which the Queen has fallen. Will they be able to put things right? Will the Empire survive?
I enjoyed the 7 hours I spent reading this 244-page steampunk thriller. The novel can be read stand-alone, but it would be best to have read the prior works. I was fortunate to read book 5 of the series _The Revenant Express _ in the summer of 2019. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 4 out of 5.
You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).
Rating: really liked it
George Mann completes his Newbury & Hobbes Sherlockian series of mysteries with The Albion Initiative (hard from Tor). The series takes place in an alternate England in which, using horrific science, Queen Victoria is kept alive long after her natural life span. Our heroes along with the head of Scotland Yard, and the head of the British Secret Service, first rescue the Prince of wales from Bedlam, a place where horrible experiments are prerformed on inmates. Some of the inmates are surgically transformed into boltheads, able to electrocute the Queen’s enemies. Eventually all is revealed with a proper conclusion. Disturbing
Rating: really liked it
The Albion Initiative by George Mann
Sir Maurice, Inspector Bainbridge and Veronica are back. Amelia is given a larger role in this book. Queen Victoria decides that the Secret Service is a threat and uses her personal agents to clean house. Our characters are caught in her paranoia.
Mann does a good job with his plot and characters. Amelia, as an example, is allowed to grow from a minor, physically frail character into a main protagonist.
The amount of carnage would seem to preclude these books getting a young adult categorization.
This was a good story and it is a series I recommend.
Rating: really liked it
The finale is here. This has been a fantastic steampunk series and this is a fitting conclusion. Newbury and Hobbes are wrestling with the final problem - how to remove Queen Victoria from the throne. The queen has become a twisted shadow of her former self, kept alive unnaturally by machines and murder. Can Newbury, Veronica, Amelia and Bainbridge defeat her?
Without giving anything away if you've followed the series then you'll enjoy this. It's action packed throughout and it's a welcome return of familiar characters.
Thank you to Macmillan Publishers for the review copy.
Rating: really liked it
Superb! Excellent end to this hexagy(!). Really rocketed along, flipping from thread to thread with ease and excellent timing. Shame about this bit and that thing happening (that's got you worried, eh?). Loved the character of Quint (reminded me of Stephen Rea in V for Vendetta film) and look forward to more on him. Nothing to say but I do hope George does continue with this universe despite it's major overhaul.
Rating: really liked it
Another great adventure with Newbury and Hobbes. In fact the last adventure ion this great series.
In this final chapter we have the ultimate villian in the form of Queen Victoria.
Plots, counter plots and unsuccessful plots creates a fast paced story.
Highly recommended Author and Series
Rating: really liked it
How can this be the last book!?
