The Peculiarities

April 19, 2021
Edgar winner Liss (A Conspiracy of Paper) isn’t at his best in this lackluster alternate history set in 1899 London. Thomas Thresher was forced by his father, Samuel, to leave his mathematics studies at Cambridge prematurely. Following Samuel’s death, Thomas’s older brother, Walter, takes over running the family bank and Thomas is compelled to join as a junior clerk. Meanwhile, the city is plagued by paranormal developments dubbed the Peculiarities: sudden, heavy fogs descend on the streets; people’s bodies undergo strange transformations; and women give birth to litters of rabbits. Walter insists Thomas marry Esther Feldstein, the daughter of a businessman Walter hopes to partner with, even as Thomas notices leaves sprouting from his own skin. Then, after Thomas discovers that their bank has been buying up debts of practicing magicians—among them William Butler Yeats—but not seeking to collect money owed, he and Esther investigate. The historical figures Liss employs aren’t treated well, but the biggest drawback here is the absence of suspense or even urgency in the face of a threat to all human life. Gaslamp fantasy fans will be disappointed. Agent: Howard Morhaim, Morhaim Literary.

August 1, 2021
In 1899 London, the scion of a banking family abandons his wastrel life for a lowly job with the firm that draws him deep into supernatural oddities. Busy, busy, busy. First there's Liss, who's known for his historical mysteries but who has also written middle-grade science fiction and Marvel stories--14 full-length novels since 2000, plus short fiction and comic books. Then there's his latest, a historical fantasy that combines the worlds of high finance and occultism, specifically the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and aberrations such as lycanthropes, ghostly slashers called Elegants, and women giving birth to rabbits. The hero is Thomas Thresher, age 23, who has been doing little beyond gambling and whoring when he's forced to take a junior clerk's post with the family bank and get engaged to the daughter of a Jewish businessman (Liss expends an unpleasant amount of ink reflecting period-appropriate antisemitism). With the proposed nuptials and the bank's problems in mind, Thomas stumbles on puzzling purchases of debts and London buildings. His investigations lead him to a Golden Dawn gathering, which includes William Butler Yeats, Bram Stoker, and Arthur Conan Doyle. He also meets Aleister Crowley, who becomes an ally, as well as a woman who has turned wolflike, while Thomas himself has green leaves growing on him. Many such Peculiars have appeared in London recently, along with a thick fog that has nasty tendrils, all of it tied perhaps to real estate and mystical portals. There are signs of haste in the writing, and Thomas' frequent bouts of self-doubt slow the pace, but Liss tells his story well, with some nice Dickensian surprises. What's most fun is when he snaps off a comic line that plays on the absurdities involved: "Yes, he is becoming a plant, but he comes from an excellent family." A colorful read with some rough edges but entertaining throughout.

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September 1, 2021
Thomas Thresher is turning into a tree. Every few hours, he sprouts a leaf, a sign that he has been afflicted by the Peculiarities, which can take many other forms, including rabbit births and lycanthropy. As Thomas learns more about his symptoms, he realizes that the sudden presence of magic in Victorian London has some connection to his family's bank, and his curiosity launches an absurd inquiry into suspicious banking practices, secret occult societies, and supernatural math equations. Despite being a mathematical genius, Thomas is a little obtuse when it comes to the social issues of his era, until he evolves from a privileged clerk to an outlier driven to solve the mystery of the Peculiarities. His newfound friends and fellow investigators include the woman his brother is forcing him to marry, who is referred to as the ""Jewess"" and who doesn't want to marry Thomas, either; a wolf-faced girl; and the influential real-life occultist Aleister Crowley. Liss has penned a strange and, yes, peculiar alternate history of late-nineteenth-century London that creates a mythology of the time through eccentric characters.

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