Ripper by Stefan Petrucha

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Philomel

Publishing year: 2012

Rating: 5/5

 Synopsis:

Panic grips the city!
There is a killer loose in New York City, and Carver Young is the only one who sees the startling connection between the recent string of murders and the most famous serial killer in history: Jack the Ripper. Time is winding down until the killer claims another victim, but Carver soon sees that, to The Ripper, this is all a game that he may be destined to lose.
 

Review:

There are so many words to describe this book: steam punk, science fiction, historical fiction...awesome. Most historical fiction I read takes fictional characters and places them in true historical event or time period. Well Ripper does that and more. If I had to name something similar I would point to Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. Why? Because real historical figures are present such as Teddy Roosevelt and Jack the Ripper and the book doesn't take too many liberties with history. Sure it's unlikely that Old Jack had a son, and there were no ripper murders in New York but neither did Lincoln hunt vampires.

What I found amazing about this novel, besides the way the mystery unravels which for lack of a better term is epic, is that Petrucha shows a human side of the ripper. If this story has a moral, it would br that no one is wholly good or evil. Jack for example started off as a good man but circumstances and his reactions slowly changes him. But even after that we can still see he cares for Carver. In his own way.

And what a name for his son, Carver. Considering that Jack is best known for carving people up. Punny!

I didn't catch it when reading after all I was so tangled up in the plot that I didn't take the time to analyze the details but this novel definitely falls into the science fiction sub-genre steampunk and historical and science fiction all in one? I am in heaven.

I don't think this will have a sequel. There's room to work with the characters, no doubt and I'd love to read more of their adventures but I don't see that as possible unless Carver catches Jack.

Question time: Is having a father a big influence in a boy's life? Do you think Carver would be a different kind of person if his father raised him?