The Gangster by C.S. Poe

Narrated by Declan Winters

I read The Gangster, book two in C.S Poe’s Magic & Steam series earlier this year and really enjoyed it, so I decided to experience it again in audio format. I’d already listened to the first book – The Engineer – and enjoyed the narration by Declan Winters, so I was pretty sure of a good listen.

Because The Gangster is a direct sequel, I’d strongly recommend starting the series with The Engineer; it’s novella-length (just over two-and-a-half hours) and provides an excellent introduction to the alternate vision of 1880s New York the author has created, and the central characters of the series, Special Agent Gillian Hamilton of the Federal Bureau of Magic and Steam, and Gunner the Deadly, the legendary outlaw Gillian meets while on assignment in Arizona. The story is fast-paced and exciting with plenty of sizzling chemistry between Gillian and Gunner – who agree to a temporary truce and join forces in order to defeat a bonkers mad-scientist type. The Engineer ends on a strong HFN, with the promise of more to come, and C.S. Poe certainly delivers on that promise in The Gangster, with a full- length story that continues to develop the romance between these two very unlikely men while also telling an action-packed, well-paced story and keeping listeners guessing about… nope, not telling. But be prepared – the book ends on one helluva cliffhanger. I believe book three is due later this year, but at time of writing, there’s no date set.

When The Gangster opens, it’s New Year’s Eve of 1881, and we find Gillian on his home turf of New York City. At the end of The Engineer, he’d received a promise from Gunner that they’d see each other again on New Year’s Eve, and he’s alternately hopeful and anxious, desperate to see Gunner again but also trying to talk himself into not being too disappointed when he doesn’t show. After all, what could a super-confident, handsome gun-slinging cowboy possibly see in an insecure, repressed and completely ordinary-looking man like Gillian?

But before Gillian has to face happiness or despondency, he’s got work to do, and when we meet him again, he’s arresting Fishback, a low-life cop-killer with links to a most of the city’s big crime syndicates. Fishback is involved in the trade of weapons that use illegal elemental magic –arranging for the items (which originate somewhere “out West”) to be shipped to New York City and into the hands of the crime boss/gangster Tick Tock, who has recently arrived in the city and quickly established a reputation for ruthless brutality. But nobody has ever seen him or knows what he looks like – not even Fishback, who says the deliveries are collected by a “magical mechanical man”.

After that frustrating interview and a meeting with his boss, Gillian is late getting to Grand Central to meet Gunner’s airship – and at first, it seems he’s missed him… or worse, maybe Gunner hasn’t come at all. But he has, and Gillian is overjoyed to see the man who has occupied so many of his waking thoughts (and quite a few of his dreams) for the past couple of months – and it seems Gunner is happy to see Gillian, too.

Unfortunately however, Gillian and Gunner don’t have much time to savour their reunion before their peace is shattered when Gillian is attacked in his apartment by the same mechanical man that Fishback spoke of, sent by Tick Tock to kill him. If the threat posed by Tick Tock and his illegal magic is to be countered, Gillian will have to act fast, while at the same time making sure that Gunner – the FBMS’s most wanted man – isn’t arrested.

I enjoyed this story every bit as much in audio as I did in print. C.S. Poe does a fabulous job with the world-building in this series, creating a wonderfully vivid alternate but recognisable version of 1880s New York and a clearly defined system of magic. The action scenes are fast-paced and well-conceived, putting the listener in the middle of the action amid the dark and gloomy streets of the city’s underbelly, and they make a nice counterpoint to the quieter, more intimate scenes between Gillian and Gunner which are by turns sweet and sexy, and serve to deepen their emotional connection.

Both leads are likeable, well-drawn, three-dimensional characters, and although the story is told completely from Gillian’s PoV, I didn’t really miss Gunner’s perspective as the author so skilfully presents him to us through Gillian’s eyes. It was clear in The Engineer that there was more to Gillian than met the eye, that his magical abilities were far stronger and varied than he allowed anyone to know, and that becomes even more obvious here; as does the fact that he’s hiding something big he’s both ashamed and afraid of – and that it’s something that he feels makes him unworthy of love or affection. In Gunner, he’s met his perfect match; the man may be a notorious criminal, but underneath the tough exterior he’s kind and sweet and extremely perceptive, seeing Gillian in a way nobody else ever has. Gunner grounds him, providing the care and affection Gillian has longed for and helping Gillian to start to come into his own on a personal level, to find confidence and happiness he’s never really felt outside of his magical abilities. They’re a great couple whose affinity comes across really strongly and who are clearly good for each other.

Declan Winters has only a few titles to his credit at Audible, but he clearly knows what he’s doing, so I suspect he’s not a complete newbie to the world of audiobook narration and that perhaps he works under another name as well. Whatever the case, he delivers an excellent performance here – well-paced, clearly enunciated and differentiated, with a good variety of character voices and strong portrayals of the two leads. The deep, gravelly tone he gives Gunner is perfect, his measured delivery conveying just the right degree of self-confidence, wry humour and affection. Mr. Winters’ portrayal of Gillian is really good as well, and he expertly conveys the various aspects of his personality, his loneliness, his defensiveness and his insecurities. The story is narrated by Gillian in the first person, so his dialogue and narrative sound similar but there’s a definite difference in the delivery so there’s never any confusion between the two. The action sequences are injected with just the right amount of urgency, the love scenes are performed confidently and the emotional connection between Gillian and Gunner comes across strongly. I enjoyed Mr. Winters’ performance in The Engineer previously, but he’s upped his game here and I hope other authors of m/m romance will sit up and take note. I’d certainly be happy to listen to him narrate more of it.

The Gangster is a terrific mixture of tender, sexy romance and thrilling, action-packed adventure yarn, and earns a strong recommendation for both story and performance. I can’t wait to find out what fate – and the author! – has in store for Gillian and Gunner next.

Caz

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