The Sumage Solution by G.L. Carriger (Gail Carriger)

The Sumage Solution, the first installment in The San Andreas Shifter series, is a funny and very quirky – and as Carrigery as can be – romance. It features all kinds of shifters, Mages and also some very explicit M/M shenanigans. It’s simply delightful.

The story is about Max, a failed Mage, who is a miserably unhappy and paper-pushing civil servant, and it’s about Bryan, the Beta of a Wolf pack that wants to settle down in San Fransisco, far away from their old Pack. When Max and Bryan meet there’s an instant attraction. Despite Bryan being a werewolf, and Max knows they’re nothing but trouble. And despite the fact that Sumages should be utterly incompatible with wolfs. And despite that Bryan haven’t even come out to his Pack yet. Despite all that, there seem to be more than simple physical attraction and they’re both falling fast. Too fast. Max is too damaged to let someone in completely and Bryan’s Pack members won’t accept a mouthy Sumage as their Beta’s boyfriend.

To enjoy this read, open-mindedness is a requisite. There are shifters and gays all over the place. There’s sexual innuendo to the max (often expressed by Max in fact) and lots of nudity. If plenty of dicks and serious tongue action isn’t your thing, I recommend you move along.

But for the rest of us, this is a wonderful, fast-pacing och so funny story. Exactly what I expect from Carriger. She has world-building down to an art and always manages to surprise and delight me with her humour and wit. As anyone who’s familiar with Carriger’s work knows, her books are truly dry humour heaven. That’s true for The Sumage Solution as well.

If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn Carriger was British.

It’s a fast-pacing story, but the character development is still brilliant. Both Max and Bryan grow as individuals (alright, it’s mostly Max since he had some catching up to do) and as a couple. And there are so many lovely characters that I’d like to get to know better. The way Carriger is able to cram so many interesting, quirky and thought-provoking individuals in one story is a true testament to her talent.

You don’t have to have read any other of Carriger’s books before The Sumage Solution, but I did enjoy the fact that it appears to take place in the same world as her steampunk “historical” series; the Parasol Protectorate, the Custard Protocol and the Finishing School series. Only now it’s modern time. In The Sumage Solution, there are several references to historical events which actually sheds new light on happenings in those other series, which is a big plus in my book.

To be honest, I wasn’t really persuaded by the blurb. But since it was a Carriger book I got it anyway. And I’m so glad I did. I’ve already started in on the second installment, The Omega Objection, and I will get the third one as well when it (hopefully) comes out next year. This is an awesome read – for those so inclined. I strongly recommend it!