Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: The Doctor
SERIES: Magic & Steam, Book 3
AUTHOR: C.S. Poe
NARRATOR: Declan Winters
PUBLISHER: Emporium Press
LENGTH: 7 hours and 16 minutes
RELEASE DATE: July 27, 2022
BLURB:
1882—Gillian Hamilton, magic caster and special agent with the Federal Bureau of Magic and Steam, has been stripped of his title, badge, and freedom. Gillian’s true name and powers have been exposed, so now he’s kept under lock and key. To make a tragedy worse, Gunner the Deadly has returned to his life out in the Wild West and has not been heard from since.
Rumors of a doctor, known only as Sawbones, with access to illegal magic have persisted into the new year. Gillian believes that violence, chaos, and certain death will befall New York City if this criminal isn’t apprehended. And despite having lost his sense of purpose, Gillian knows he’s the only one capable of confronting this new madman—with or without the backing of the FBMS.
But such dangers should never be undertaken alone. Gillian will need both Gunner’s deadeye marksmanship, as well as his love, if he’s to detain Sawbones before irreparable damage is done to the magic of his world.
REVIEW:
C.S. Poe begins The Doctor, the third, riveting entry in her Magic & Steam steampunk series, with the following dedication:
“For Declan.
Thank you for lending your voice to this world.”
Declan is, of course, Declan Winters, the narrator of the three audiobooks in this series – The Engineer, The Gangster, and The Doctor – and I wholeheartedly agree with Poe’s sentiment. Winters is a boon to this series, bringing Poe’s vivid imagery and detailed worldbuilding to life in a wholly consuming way. He paints the picture of the world of an advanced Industrial Revolution-type late-1880s New York society that is full of innovation, magic, and exploration – pushing the limits beyond what exists.
The manic, mad scientists, crazed engineers and architects, dangerous power-hungry gangsters, and magical, mechanical Frankenstein-esque monstrosities our protagonists, Gillian Hamiton and Gunner the Deadly, have confronted are an exemplification of this attitude towards pushing beyond the known to accomplish the seemingly impossible. The Tinkerer aka Milo Ferguson, Tick Tock, and Sawbones are all connected to an overarching pursuit of exceeding expectations but in all the worst ways, by advancing progress for nefarious purposes out of sadistic pleasure or to become the best, the greatest – the one in control. Gillian, the most powerful caster in the United States and possibly alive, is right in their crosshairs either because he stands in their way or because he is a valuable resource they want to exploit.
Winters breathes life into Poe’s anachronistic, crazy, intricate world, immerses us in it, and then fully inhabits the characters in the story. Each entry in this series has gotten better and better and Winters performances have done the same. Coming out of The Gangster audiobook, Winters is already at the top of his game, yet he elevates his craft and the story in The Doctor even further.
The Doctor features the most romance so far in the series, although the implicit love, loyalty and understanding between Gillian and Gunnar has thrummed beneath the surface since the beginning, bubbling up in spots in The Gangster in pithy, yet swoony, crisp dialogue. In The Doctor, Gillian and Gunner finally, unequivocally, state their feelings for each other, and we feel them lock into place as one unit – two opposites like yin and yang, perfectly compatible and lethal in their combined capabilities and power.
Where The Gangster – an audiobook I could not put down – starts to peel away some of the layers of the onion that is Gillian, the end of the book dropped a bombshell. The Doctor provides answers to questions previously posed, and they are horrific and heartbreaking, which makes Gillian’s relationship with Gunner all the more important. Poe adeptly mixes complicated character exploration and relationship development with continued mystery, action, and suspense. There’s a strong element of “who can be trusted” running through this story, and there’s only one thing the reader can be sure of: Gillian can trust Gunner, and he does with every part of his being.
If you think Gillian’s the only one with secrets to reveal, though, you’d be wrong. It’s clear that there’s more to Gunner than meets the eye. If this were a fantasy novel, I’d think Gunner was fae because while he doesn’t lie, he finds a way to recraft questions, redirect the dialogue, and parse out only the information he wants to provide. He has reasons, and all will be revealed by Poe, who is sitting at the helm, directing the flow of the story and masterfully orchestrating when the reveals come.
From word one out of Winters’ mouth on the audiobook of The Doctor, you know you are in for a truly special vocal performance. His performance here surpasses that of The Gangster, which is a high bar. You can tell that Winters now intuitively understands his two very complicated leading men and is able to convey the conflicting aspects of their personalities with aplomb.
In particular, his portrayal of Gunner is outstanding. I love his thoughtful projection of Gunner’s taciturn yet confident demeanor, exceptional physical skill and mental acuity –“Criminal.” “The best you’ve ever seen.” – while still conveying Gunner’s soft-hearted, overwhelming love for Gillian. Winters’ portrayal – the gruffness, deep timbre, gravelly undertones in Gunner’s voice, Gunner’s pithy, insightful, often wryly witty comments, terrifyingly icy attitude when his ruthlessness rears its head, and the completely unexpected romantic swooniness and carnal sexy lust for Gillian – well, there’s just a LOT going on there, and Winters is spot-on perfection with his performance, and I can’t get enough of it.
As for Winters’ portrayal of Gillian, he has gotten Gillian right since the very beginning of the series. His nuanced interpretation of Gillian’s character – which is really two people rolled into one – shows more depth, texture, and insightfulness here in The Doctor than we’ve seen before. Winters then uses his serious vocal chops to translate that into a living, breathing man who we love even when we don’t understand him. We root for him, cry for him, are afraid for him, respect him, and applaud him as his confidence and determination grow with Gunner’s loving support:
“I wasn’t alone anymore. It was Constantine Gunner and Gillian Hamilton against the world. C + G.”
Winters delivers Gillian and Gunner’s undeniable chemistry and emotional connection with impact, and it takes Poe’s already outstanding story to the next level.
The Doctor is a phenomenal audiobook in a top-notch series. The pairing of Poe’s superb writing and Winter’s impressive vocal performance put this atop my list of best audiobooks of 2022.
P.S. Ironically, the other audiobook that currently sits atop my best of 2022 list is Poe’s Madison Square Murders narrated by Kale Williams. Clearly, she knows how to write and pick exceptional narrators. Her audiobooks will be one-clicks for me from now on.
RATING: 
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