You know what you just don’t see enough in speculative fiction? (Or, indeed, in any kind of fiction?) Carriage chases. Especially carriage chases coming on the backs of grisly, world-domination-y plots to rule Victorian England by a sinister secret society, and two plucky Defenders of the Realms’ desire to thwart them. And the carriage chase isn’t even close the best part of this, the new, astoundingly original and highly entertaining first outing of Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris, Phoenix Rising.

What is the best part? It is very hard to say. Certainly, a major highlight -- not to mention enduring delight -- lies in the creation of our main protagonists, staid and sardonic archivist Wellington Books and feisty New Zealand renegade Eliza Braun. The two meet under trying circumstances (in Antarctica!) and strike sparks off each other immediately; “Welly” -- as Eliza soon dubs her new acquaintance, much to his prissy distaste -- is all logical problem-solving aristocratic Lord Peter Wimsey, whereas as she is all where-does-she-get-those-wonderful-toys Batman. Their chemistry? It positively leaps from the page; they are equal parts Mulder and Scully, Steed and Peel and Stargate SG-1’s Daniel and Sam, with more than a little Jane and Lisbon from The Mentalist thrown in. Oh, plus Pete and Myka from Warehouse 13, of course (except that neither character even comes close to being as annoying as Myka. Also, one of them has a bullet-proof corset.)

The Mulder and Scully/Pete and Myka-ness really kicks into high gear when Eliza is punished for some transgression or other (just general mayhem, really; if she were an American cop they’d be demanding her gun and her badge) and is sent to work with a most reluctant Wellington. Ordered, rational and yet devastatingly inventive, he keeps records for The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences -- of which Eliza has long been a top, if volatile, field agent. There, she uncovers a mystery that needs solving and the two agents put their conflicting personalities aside in order to tackle the ever-growing enigma that is the Phoenix Society.

It is So. Much. Fun.

Right from the get-go, we’re off on a breathless thrill-ride, and even the perhaps overly-descriptive chapter titles (Chapter One: “Wherein Our Intrepid Heroes Meet for the First Time and Start Off with a Bang!”) little prepare one for what is to come. The witty, at times salacious, banter between our two heroes is enchanting and delicious; the inscrutability of their superior at the Ministry, Doctor Sound, only adds to the aura of looming danger that surrounds the pair; and the moments of blood-soaked intensity that arise as Books and Braun throw themselves into their investigation are so exquisitely interwoven with humorous character moments (I’ll not soon forget Eliza in the bath!) that the book zips by in a flurry of marvelous steampowered tech, battles of will, devastating quips, puzzles unraveled -- and, much to a certain agent’s apparent satisfaction, just the right number of explosions.

As an addition to the ever-growing steampunk tradition, Phoenix Rising (and its larger universe, the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences) is a breath of fresh air. Of course, the shadowy organized body whose brief is to deal with the unexplained is nothing new in fiction, and steampunk has more than its share. But what Phoenix Rising does beautifully, uniquely and with tremendous skill is blend the at-times dour tone of its medium -- think Charles Stross’s The Laundry -- with a Regency-esque sensibility; if Jane Austen had written Fantasy (and been just a little less ladylike; the Victorians may be considered prudish by today’s morality, but they had nothing on the early nineteenth century), this could well be what she’d have produced: a book brimming with elegant prose, crackling dialogue, a disdainful, but honorable, hero and a singularly ass-kicking heroine to cheer for.

Throw in some carriage chases, a cabal with baleful intent and a perplexing plot twist or two, and can you imagine anything better?

   -- Rachel Hyland