There are times in my life when I wanted to set sail across the Pacific and then ride a train across Asia and Europe. These things have not happened yet, but reading a novel like The Violins Played before Junstan by Lou Kemp is a great alternative from the safety of my home. Set in the mid-1800s, this novel starts us off in San Francisco with a bang and doesn't let up until the final page.

What I enjoy most about a story is its ability to draw me into its world through description and the right amount of characterization. The Violins Played before Junstan does just that. I feel I have been at sea, in Singapore, on a train through Asia, up mountains and across valleys, eventually arriving in Prague. Along the way, we collect a variety of characters, starting with our protagonist, the magician Jonas Celwyn and his companion Xiau Kang. All of the characters in the novel have their unique traits, even those that are secondary to the main. It is the relationships these characters form and the backstories we learn throughout that provides meat to the story.

I would definitely describe the novel as steampunk with elements of both Victorian-era novels (especially in terms of language) and a comfortable level of magical realism (vampires, daemons, witches and well, magicians). This was a pleasant surprise as I tend to gravitate toward these types of novels. The language of the era is one that has been butchered by many an author (and screenwriter) of late, but here Kemp's grasp of the nuance is impressive and appreciated. You really can feel as if you are peering into a past world.

Overall, The Violins Played before Junstan is an excellent read, a true pleasure and one that engrossed me from beginning to end. But it is not the end, and I look forward to the second installment. ( )