This first part of the Tipton Saga is a romp through Victorian England with the first generation of the extraordinary Tipton family. It follows the twin Tipton boys growing up in a Black Country orphanage seeing the industrial revolution taking shape. However it appears an external force is pulling the strings on the boys. Not one force, but two, and this is because of their highly unusual parentage which they are initially unaware of.

In adulthood one brother joins the East India Company, the other a large industrial ironworks. They have a fallout and a near fatal fight in the half-built Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, but they come together for George’s application to the Great Exhibition of 1851. After a brush with royalty it becomes necessary to escape to the new world and lay low for five generations as the enormity of the fantasy and the destiny of their task is revealed. Starting in 2019 it is encumberment on their descendants, two beautiful women, to secretly begin this task.

Birth of the Tiptons I would say is a mixture of genres. It combines sci-fi, fantasy, and historical fiction and has an unusual narrative. The book jumps around in time and each chapter is split into subsections.

The book begins with a man being injured in a park and another offering him help. Whilst waiting for an ambulance the helper tells the man all about twin boys George and Charles Tipton, their birth, upbringing, and adult life. He also tells the man about their descendants and how the destiny of the boys is now coming into play.

The story is quite surreal and strange yet intriguing too. The writing style is certainly different and I had to push through to continue reading past the first couple of chapters as I can’t say I particularly liked it.

However, the book was enjoyable in parts and I loved the historical and magical elements of it. Would I continue the story with the next in the series, doubtful. I am glad that I got the chance to read the book though as I do like stories that are a little out there and weird and Birth of the Tiptons certainly fits that bill.