the further adventures of the accidental sorcerer and witches incorporated in a steampunk type re imagined europe

This novel, the fourth in the “Rogue Agent” series, sees Gerald Dunwoody undercover at a royal wedding, trying to discover who is trying to disrupt proceedings, and what has happened to one of Sir Alec’s (his acerbic boss) other agents. Unfortunately, the only way Gerald can attend is in the guise of a secretary to Princess Melissande. And Bibby Markham is also along as Melissande’s maid. Sparks inevitably fly as personal concerns and professional spheres clash and there is considerable bickering between the protagonists. After the traumatic events of “Wizard Squared”, you get the feeling that Karen Miller is trying for something a little lighter, although there is still plenty of danger, suffering and general angst to go round. In some ways, this series reminds me of C. Dale Brittain’s “Magic Kingdom of Yurt” series from a few years back. OK, that was set in a pseudo-medieval environment, rather than the 1920-ish pseudo-British milieu of the “Rogue Agent” books. However, the “feel” of the two series is somewhat similar – an apparently less-than-competent magician who is more than he first seems, in an initially humorous setting which rapidly turns into something a lot darker. Powerful friends who can provide assistance and romantic difficulties are other parallels. However, the “Rogue Agent” books are a much more substantial effort – better imagined and better written. This addition to the series does have some weaknesses. The frankly Ruritanian setting for the main events of the novel does not come over as well as Ottosland (though I sometimes wonder if the OTT at the start was deliberate...) – silly names like Splotz do not help. The geography and physical relationships of the countries involved is unclear, not helpful given that this is key to the background situation driving the entire wedding scenario. I am not a great fan of maps in fantasy books, but in this case a map would definitely improve the reader’s grasp of events. The plethora of characters at the wedding are clearly intended to add complications to the mystery, but few of them are sufficiently well-delineated to be more than wallpaper and I found myself confusing them somewhat to the detriment of my enjoyment of the story (at least on my first reading). Nevertheless, minor gripes aside, this is a welcome addition to an original, well-written and enjoyable series. There are interesting developments, particularly in the case of Bibby Markham, and the romantic entanglements of the main characters appear to be at least some way on the road to being resolved. The alternate Reg is also starting to bed in nicely. I am already looking forward to the next instalment of the adventures of Gerald and friends.