Terra Nova, by Shane Arbuthnott

I opened my review of Dominion, by Shane Arbuthnott, with this teaser: "Are you in need of a steampunk fantasy set in an alternate New World where air ships powered by aetherial spirits travel through the skies in search of other spirits to capture and sell?"  It was a very enjoyable and interesting book, with a great heroine, and I was very happy to curl up yesterday with the sequel, Terra Nova (Orca, March 2018).  I will tease again with the following question:  Are you in need of a book that tackles with steampunk flair and fantasy elements the systematic enslavement of sentient beings and the economic exploitation of human workers as well, forced to labor for the enrichment of oppressors?  If that doesn't convince you, can I throw in the teaser that Molly, the young heroine, is passionate fighter for justice, wracked by guilt when there are casualties, but never giving up because she cannot turn her back on the problems of her society?

Molly has made it her life's work to free the enslaved aetheric beings that power her world.  Most of the other inhabitants of Terra Nova still believe the spirits are fundamentally hostile, but Molly knows better.  With spirits both great and small, her family, and a handful of allies working with her, she sets herself to overthrow the corporation that tortures the spirits for their own profit.   But freeing handfuls of spirits, and liberating as well the human workers who toil in the factories, is like scooping water with a sieve.  How can she change the mindset of Terra Nova, and bend its arc toward justice once and for all?

Answer--with lots of hair-raising adventures, brave and desperate battles, the courage of her convictions, aetherial beings of tremendous power, and a new ally with lots of p.r. experience, who used to work for the bad guys, who knows the power of the printed word.  The fact that Molly isn't doing it alone is what makes this work; although she special in having a strong bond with two powerful spirits, it's their power, and the power of other spirits and human persons, that allow Molly to be as effective as she is.

In my review of the first book, I said:

"Molly's a great heroine and the whole set up with the spirits is fascinating.  I wish we'd been given more of a look at this alternate world--we only see the sliver of sky traversed by Molly and her Family, and the one city where they dock, though there are hints of the bigger world.  And likewise it seems like the author knew more backstory about Molly's family than is given in any detail.   I'm hoping Molly's world will be broader in future installments, because she's a great heroine who really deserves a great world to adventure in! "

And it is broadened somewhat here.   The mainland, where the colonizers of Terra Nova never travel, is introduced, and its alternate First Nation people, are represented by a man who, like Molly, has a bond with aetherial spirits (not uncommon in his people, though happily not uncomfortably in any "spirit animal" sort of sense).   I would like even more of the wider world in future books, though this book wraps up all the obvious plot threads, so a new antagonist would be needed....

Short answer:  this is a tremendously solid and exciting series, that I highly recommend to those who enjoy fantasy/steampunk adventures that come with considerable action (there's lots of fighting, and some fatalities to give it gravitas), more than a smidge of parkour (Molly learned lots of good climbing and jumping tricks in her childhood on a flying ship),  really cool spirit beings, and lots and lots of thoughtful social justice.  It straddles the space between middle grade and YA, being one I'd recommend to 11-14 years if pressed to draw lines.

Kirkus gave this one a star, saying "This spectacular sequel takes steampunk into new territory."

moral of the story--realize your ancestors did bad things, and work to undo them!

The Tombs, by Deborah Schaumberg

The Tombs, by Deborah Schaumberg (Harper Teen, Feb 20 2018), is a tense and atmospheric story set in an alternate 19th-century New York, where zepplins are common-place, but conditions for workers in the factories are much as they were in real life (which is to say, bad).  Avery is one of those workers; she's a welder, a skill picked up from her mechanical genius father, and despite the fact that she's a girl, her skill has gotten her a job (with miserable hours and working conditions, but still desperately needed).  Her father came back from the Civil War pretty broken, and though he found love, set up a shop selling clocks and mechanicals, and things went while for a bit, he was broken once more when his wife was taken from him.  The crow-masked goons working for the insane asylum in the basement of the Tombs, the city's notorious prison, came for her a few years before the story begins, and Avery hasn't seen her since.

But now the Crows seem to have set their sights on Avery, just as she is beginning to manifest the same psychic gifts that drew their attention to her mother.  Questioning her own sanity, she finds reassurance from the Gypsy community living outside the city.  (NB:  yes, Gypsy is the word used.  The author explains this by saying that this is the word 19th-century New Yorkers would have used.  But since they call themselves Romany, it doesn't seem like it would have taken much effort to have them explain to Avery that Gypsy is offensive, so that she and the author could have quit using it).  With the help of the Romany, Avery begins to understand her gifts, and begins to think that she can rescue her mother from the Tombs.

But the task in front of her gets more monumental when she finds out what the whole sinister purpose of the "mental asylum" actually is.  Horrible experiments are being carried out there, that could jeopardize the hopes of the working classes for a better life.... And when Avery herself is captured, and turned into a lab rat herself, her hope that she can be a rescuer dims even more.

Fortunately, even in dark prisons, there are friends...

So if you enjoy dark urban YA with a generous dollup of romance (two very worthy and helpful young men are present as love interests), a sprinkle of steampunk (incidental mechanicals as well as zeppelins), in which there's lots of atmospheric buildup before thing really get going in the last 200 pages, and if you appreciate a book where the female protagonist is a brilliant welder, has a hawk, and can do cool things with auras and life forces, and most importantly, if you can over look the grating, incessant use of an offensive descriptor, you will enjoy this.  I personally found it very readable, though not exactly my preferred cup of tea (dark and urban isn't my preferred thing), and though it was slow at times, a tad too New Age during the exploration of psychic gifts when Avery is first with the Romeny, and I was grated to the limits of my endurance by the use of "gypsy".  Seriosuly, it wouldn't have been hard to just switch to Romany, or better still, Romani.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

Dominion, by Shane Arbuthnott

Dominion, by Shane Arbuthnott  (Orca Book Publishers, Middle Grade/Tween, February, 2017)

Are you in need of a steampunk fantasy set in an alternate New World where air ships powered by aetherial spirits travel through the skies in search of other spirits to capture and sell?  This is the life that Molly has grown up with, and now she's the engineer on board her family's air ship, the Legerdemain.  But Molly is not behaving as a proper engineer should.  Instead, she's talking to the spirit powering the airship, and feeling it respond.  When she finds herself capturing an extremely powerful spirit, she hears it speak to her.

It is a spirit that knew one of Molly ancestors long ago.  And that starts her down a path that ends up in Molly finding truths she's never thought possible about her world, and challenging the owner of the most powerful company in Terra Nova who is threatening that world with his greed (and who has taken the Legerdemain from Molly's family).

So yeah, Go Molly!  Challenge arrogant corporate greed!  Have the intelligence, sensitivity, and empathy to listen to spirits instead of dismissing or fearing them!  Realize your ancestors did bad things, and work to undo them! Believe in your mechanical abilities and yourself!  And Go Spirits too, from small spirits forced to power little bots, including one who is utterly charming and helpful, to the greater spirits like the one who powered Legerdemain.

In short, Molly's a great heroine and the whole set up with the spirits is fascinating.  I wish we'd been given more of a look at this alternate world--we only see the sliver of sky traversed by Molly and her Family, and the one city where they dock, though there are hints of the bigger world.  And likewise it seems like the author knew more backstory about Molly's family than is given in any detail.   I'm hoping Molly's world will be broader in future installments, because she's a great heroine who really deserves a great world to adventure in! 

Note on age:  It's definitely middle grade; Molly's only 14, and there's no sex, and it feels middle grade.  But it will be enjoyed more by the older end of MG, pushing YA-ward-- so  11-14 year olds. 

Kirkus and I agree on this one-- "Though some of the physics may leave some readers dizzy, feisty young Molly will keep them grounded in this page-turning mystical adventure." (here's the Kirkus review).

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher for Cybils Award consideration.

Mysteries of Cove: Fires of Invention, by J. Scott Savage

Mysteries of Cove: Fires of Invention, by J. Scott Savage (Shadow Mountain Publishing, Sept 29, 2015, middle grade) is a great book to give to any young reader fascinated by making things, particularly steampunkish sorts of things, especially if they like dragons.

Years ago, a mountain was hollowed out to be a refuge for humanity.  The children of Cove are told how pollution caused by unbridled innovation in technology drove their ancestors underground, and are told that creativity could unbalance the precision of their society.  Everyone in Cove is supposed to be a good little cog in the machinery of society, never changing the way things are, because everything works just right.

Trenton is not a good little cog.  He's the sort of kid who looks at machines and gets ideas, creative ones.  And this gets him into trouble; instead of being assigned to a career maintaining the mechanical infrastructure of Cove, he's sent to work in the food production department, with nothing but plankton tanks to entertain him.  But then he meets Kallista, the daughter of one of the worst cogs at all, a genuine inventor whose tinkerings apparently lead to an explosion that caused many deaths, including his own. 

That's not the real story. When Trenton finds the first clue to the truth, one leads him to Kallista, the two set them off on a dangerous path of unbridled creativity and utterly forbidden mechanicals.  For the trail of clues left by Kallista's father include the plans for a coal-powered mechanical dragon, and directions to the upper levels of  Cove where the two of them can assemble it.

Her father wasn't just leaving her a fun project that he knew she'd enjoy.  There were deadly reasons why the mechanical dragon should be built, reasons that threaten to tear Cove apart.  It turns out that only invention and creativity can save the settlement....but it takes near disaster before its leaders, wedded to the status quo, can acknowledge this truth.

There really aren't that many middle grade speculative fiction books set outside of the real world about maker kids, who tinker and invent and weld and solder their inventions together.  This book is perfect for that sort of kid, especially if they also like dragons and solving puzzles!   Trenton and Kallista's journey to the truth is gripping; although the story gets off to a slightly slow start.  It seems somewhat derivative at first, what with its authoritarian government stifling the individual, and the narrative of civilization's collapse due to the fouling of the world through pollution.  But the momentum builds and builds until the last half of the book flies by in a blur of quickly turning pages; I didn't see the main twist coming at all, and found it very exciting. Elements of realistic middle school life, such as tensions from parental expectations, and tension with nascent romantic relationships, ground the more extravagant elements of the story, and make Trenton and Kallista relatable protagonists despite their extraordinary situation. 

What I myself liked best about the book is that it celebrates creativity and the questioning of received wisdom, without being didactic about it.  The ending resolves the immediate problem, but sets the stage for a sequel that will take Trenton and Kallista off on another hunt, beyond the questionable safety of Cove.  I'm looking forward to it!

And I have to say that the cover of the book, with its magnificent steampunk dragon, does just a tremendous job of appealing to young readers who would like it.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher at BEA.

The Incredible Charlotte Sycamore, by Kate Maddison

The Incredible Charlotte Sycamore, by Kate Maddison (Holiday House, 2013, mg/ya) is a lightly romantic steampunk mystery for tweens (which is not something I get to type every day).  And I love the cover.   It's one I might well hand to the upper middle school girl (7th grade, or so), who isn't quite ready to plunge into the deeper waters of YA speculative fiction/romance, who wants something different and undemanding. That being said, I myself found it somewhat lacking.  It ticked along nicely at a surface level, but never deeply engaged me. 

Charlotte Sycamore, narrator of the story, is certainly not your run-of-the mill alternate-Victorian teenager.  For one thing, her father is Queen Victoria's own physician, elevating her to a social status that may be below that of the nobility but which is very comfortable indeed.   For another, she likes to sneak out of Buckingham Palace at night and practice swordfighting with her friends, Peter and Jillian.  They may be far, far below her socially, but she's happy to defy convention to enjoy their company.

But one night, right as the story opens, the threesome are attacked by savage dogs who appear rabid.  Though their skill at weapons saves their lives, all three are bitten, Jillian gravelly so.  And to add to the horror, the dogs are not normal creatures--they are mechanical monsters.

Charlotte makes it home after summoning help for her friends, but they are placed under guard, presumed victims of rabies.  And indeed, Charlotte herself begins feeling ill.  Snatched perusals of her father's mechanical tomes suggest the worse--that she's going to die.   But even as her symptoms worsen, Charlotte cannot just let the mystery of the mechanical dogs lie. 

Then Jillian and Peter escape from their virtual prison, but are wanted by the law.  Matters get progressively worse, as Jillian nears death, and Peter and Charlotte sicken further.  The rabid mechanical dogs are joined by mechanical bats of death, and Queen Victoria herself is in grave danger....unless Charlotte and her friends can stop the power-hungry twisted genius behind the murderous mechanicals.

So it's a fine story qua story, nicely paced and quite gripping.  The alternate, steampunk Victorian setting was different enough to have zest, without being so different as to overwhelm the story.  I especially like Queen Victoria's magical game pieces! The mystery, however, ends up solving itself--there isn't much actual detection being done by the characters.

There is a romantic triangle, of a mild sort, that is not desperately necessary to the plot. As well as the handsome Peter, Charlotte is good friends with an equally attractive young groom Benjamin; both are attracted to her.  To add to her romantic difficulties, she's been engaged to a naturalist she's never met--he's out of the picture, naturalizing.  For the younger reader, the somewhat unsubtle romantic intrusions may well be appealing; for readers who prefer meaningful build-up to young love, they may not:

"Take care of yourselves," Peter whispered, more to me than Benjamin.  I thought I detected a look of longing in Peter's smoldering eyes, but then he turned away from me to bravely lead his sister out of danger, his shoulders squared and his long stride resolute.  (pp 179-180).

It was hard to see Peter as a real person. 

And indeed, the book never delivers any convincing depths for its central protagonist, let alone the supporting characters.  Charlotte's interest in the mechanical and natural sciences, for instance, were all well and good--but this is presented at a surficial level, and not as a moving, intrinsically essential, part of her character (and she isn't at all convincing as a methodical, thoughtful, scientist).  Charlotte makes friends with people well-below her social class, but this does not present more than an occasional awkwardness, and without contemplating any big, difficult questions, she's happy to help and be friends with poor people.  For instance, she sends one of the Queen's own surplus baby blankets to a very impoverished barmaid, who cherishes it--I think in real life she'd pawn it quick as a wink.

In short, this isn't real life--it's an fairly entertaining mystery that doesn't ask hard questions of its reimagined historical setting,  or expect too much in the way of characterization from its cast.  

Note on age of reader:  My 10 year old agreed heartily with me that the cover and premise were appealing, but I don't think that besotted teens are really his thing so I'm just going to pass this on to the library.  Charlotte's a teenager, there are lots of romantic intrusions--not 10 year old boy stuff.   The 11 to 12 year old girl, however, who hasn't yet read any fictional smolders, is the perfect target audience (the smoldering only goes as far as a passionate kiss).

The Friday Society, by Adrienne Kress

Sometimes even picky readers of historical fiction (ie, me) are allowed to just enjoy the ride, especially when the ride in question is to a steampunk 19th-century London that never was.  The Friday Society, by Adrienne Kress (Dial, YA, Dec. 2012), is a playful mystery/thriller in which three teenage girls--an inventor's assistant, a magician's assistant, and a would-be samurai warrior from Japan find their paths (littered with dead bodies) crossing....and they end up working together, in a sisterhood of mad talent, to foil your basic megalomaniac evil genius plot to destroy London.

(Yay!  A one sentence summary!)

So sure, it isn't historical fiction at its most un-anachronistic, but a lot of the fun comes from the author's relaxed and playful use of modern turns of phrase.  As in the first two sentences, which made me feel all happy to read the book:

"And then there was an explosion.
It was loud.  It was bright.  It was very explosion-y."

I liked all three girls--Cora, the serious inventor, Nellie, the beautiful girl who's an ace escape artist, and Michiko, formidable swordswoman confronted by barriers of language and culture.  They were each strongly individual, with nicely doled out back-story and motivations and opinions.  The point of view shifts between the three girls, which was good, in large part because it gave the reader a chance to get to know Michiko, and hear her thoughts.  I liked how Cora and Nellie, even though they couldn't exactly have complicated conversations with Michiko, never treated her as an exotic other--she was a person and an equal.  The one real reservation I had, regarding Cora being swept off her feet by feelings of physical attraction to a jerk, proved to be a reservation that the author shared, and not something she thought was ok, which was a relief.  

I liked the story--it was enough of a steampunk thriller to be interesting, without the thriller-ness using up too many pages with violent chases etc, which I often find tedious.  (nb--people who actually like tightly plotted thrillers that exercise their brains might find it untightly plotted, and might put in some critical thinking type comments here, but I am not that reader).

In short, I liked reading the book! It was just the sort of escapist fun that makes for excellent bus ride reading.  This came as a very pleasant surprise, because I did not much care for the author's two middle grade fantasy books.  I think her writing has improved lots--I felt here that she was in control of her story, which was not quite the feeling I had gotten in the past.

The Dead Gentleman, by Matthew Cody, for Timeslip Tuesday

The Dead Gentleman, by Matthew Cody (Knopf, 2011, mg, 288 pages)

In 1901, an eleven year old New York street urchin named Tommy Learner steals an unexpected prize--a mechanical bird. The bird was about to fall in the hands of the Dead Gentleman, an undying villain bent of the destruction of all living beings...but when Tommy makes off with it, the Gentleman's plans are (for the moment) foiled. And Tommy attracts the attention of the Explorers Guild, a secret society dedicated to the explorations of portals between a myriad of worlds, and begins a life of monster hunting, steampunk-esque submarine excursions, and mystery.

But one day, in the basement of an old hotel, a simple monster hunting mission goes horribly wrong. And Tommy is trapped....until, over a hundred years later, Jezebel, a bored and lonely modern-day girl living in the hotel, decides to explore the basement of the hotel, and sets in motion a chain of events that frees him. Now the two children, traveling through time and space, must keep the bird from the Dead Gentleman and his minions of Grave Walkers. No members of the Explorers Guild survive to help them. Fortunately, time is on their side (along with some nifty gadgets!).

I was sold on the premise--steampunk science-fiction time-travel adventure with kids! And I was not disappointed.

At first Tommy and Jezebel have separate stories (they are, after all, in different time periods), and it's not at all clear how Tommy's life as street urchin turned explorer's apprentice, and Jezebel's life as vaguely unhappy modern child, made infinitely more unhappy when her closet becomes a portal that disgorges monsters, are going to intersect. But I had no objection to this separation--I enjoyed getting to know each of them individually before the Big Adventure really got going. And Cody does a nice job with them--their personalities are nicely developed, and their struggles with friendship, loyalty, and escaping terrible death are convincing!

The science fiction elements (cool gadgets, travel to other worlds, supernatural undead villains) are certainly front and center, but not in a pushy way; not so much as to put off the kids who think they like their adventure stories science fiction free (edited to add: although certainly the ideal reader has to have a tolerance for the wildy fantastical!). The villain is, perhaps, a tad too utterly horrible to be swallowed without a pinch of salt, but he's not out of place in a book that clearly sets out to enjoy the impossible (although I must say legions of undead minions aren't really my thing).

The cover does a really nice job of capturing this spirit--note in particular the skulls in the goggles. If the cover appeals, you'll probably enjoy this lots. I'd give it to fans of Artemis Fowl, and Matthew Kirby's The Clockwork Three, but am not entirely satisfied that those are the best read-alikes--strangely (sarcasm font) I am not coming up with anything else in the way of middle grade steampunk sci fi adventure involving travel through both time and space!

It's a satisfactory stand-alone, but there's an opening left for a sequel, absolute evil being tricky to defeat absolutely. Although this isn't my own personal favorite type of book (what with aforementioned legions of undead minions), I myself wouldn't say no to more adventures for Tommy and Jez!

The Bloomswell Diaries, by Louis L. Buitendag (a slightly steampunkish adventure for the young reader)

The Bloomswell Diaries, by Louis L. Buitendag (Kane Miller, 2011, middle grade, 272 pages)

Young Ben Bloomswell is used to his parents going off on business of their own; they always come back. But this time is different. This time, they've taken him from England to stay with his uncle in New York, while his sister is sent to a boarding school in Switzerland, part of his parents' plan to keep them safe.

And this time, his parents might not be coming back for him. A newspaper article claims they're dead. His uncle warns him that his parents have made powerful and ruthless enemies--men who would love to have young Ben as a hostage. But his uncle proves powerless to keep him safe, and disappears under mysterious circumstances.

With evil men who's motives he doesn't understand at all pursuing him, Ben sets off on his own to try to get back to Europe--first to find his sister, and then to find his parents. But to get there, he'll have to escape from the kidnappers who have imprisoned him in an most unpleasant orphanage, become a stowaway on board a ship (carrying very unusual passengers indeed) and face an army of metal automatons....all the while not knowing who to trust, and desperately seeking the answers to his questions about his parents--what have they been doing, to acquire such fearsome enemies, and more importantly, where are they now?

The Bloomswell Diaries is a very nice take indeed on the Child Fleeing from Mysterious Bad Guys story, and I enjoyed it lots. Here's why.

1. The story moves briskly in a series of swoops from one perilous situation to the next, but not so briskly as to be dizzying, and the relatively peaceful ocean voyage in the middle provided a nice break from the swooping. I like things to be brisk, but I also don't want to be overwhelmed--I thought Buitendag's pacing was just right.

2. The writing pleased me lots (my inner editor was beautifully quiet throughout); it was neither too verbose or too terse, and there was a lightness to it that made the reading of it fun. Lots of the explaining is done with very natural sounding dialogue, and although we are privy to some of Ben's thoughts, we are not overwhelmed by the author spelling them out for us in too great detail.

3. Ben is very much an Every Boy--there's not much to his particular character that made him distinct in my mind--but his normalcy worked well here. He's anxious, uncertain, and not gifted with special gifts--smart enough, and sharp enough, to make it through, but not so much so as to be unrealistic.

My one substantial complaint concerns the metal automatons. I have nothing against them, per se, and, in general, like the added interest they can bring. But I think that they need a bit more historical depth and assorted cultural reverberations than Buitendag gives them. The book would have been essentially the same story if they had been flesh and blood...and so I was jolted from my acceptance of the story when they were on stage.

But perhaps in the sequel (surely there will be one, because although one ending is reached, there's lots more that needs to happen), the world building will become clearer and I'll enjoy the story even more!

Steampunk for kids--was four, now six books from 2010

Originally I had four books in my list, now I'm up to six. It might change again....

Here I am, squeaking in under the wire with a post for Steampunk/Alternate History Week...(the round-up is here at Chasing Ray).

"Steampunk" is a rather loose-fitting term when it comes to middle-grade books. Strictly speaking, it implies steam technology, but in books for younger readers, it becomes more a flavor than a clearly-defined subgenre--a flavor that can include various combinations clockwork devices, steam-powered machines, alternate history, and ingenious folks (possibly using technology) pitting their wits against hostile forces (also possibly using gadgetry). Technology and magic go hand in hand in these stories, and the devices of human making are as wondrous as the (optional) fantastical elements that can't be explained by science.

Over at School Library Journal a little while ago, Heather Campbell complied a brilliant list of steampunk books for kids and teens. In this past year, several more steampunkish books have come out that are worthy of attention, and so, for your clockworkish reading pleasure, here they are.

The Brimstone Key (Grey Griffins--The Clockwork Chronicles, Book 1), by Derek Benz & J.S. Lewis (Little Brown 2010, 384 pages). This new series continues the story of four kids who call themselves the Grey Griffins, whose lives were changed forever when they became involved in dark and dangerous magical adventures.

In this new series, Max and his gang are enrolled in a school run by the Knights Templar (a shadowy order that exists to protect ordinary people from monsters and magical mayhem). All does not go smoothly--a mysterious and legendary figure, the Clockwork King, set in motion a century ago a nefarious plan. He has devised a way to transfer changeling spirits into an army of clockwork automatons...and somehow the Grey Griffins must find a way to stop him...

This should have appeal to fans of steampunk because of the plot's focus on clockwork machines, and because the kids at the school are currently enjoying a phase of retro-steampunky Victorian fashions, but really it's more comfortable in the "magical school trains special kids" genre of fantasy. It's an action-filled adventure of a book, not desperately deep or emotionally compelling, but imaginative and interesting enough to appeal to its intended audience. (review copy received from the publisher for Cybils reading purposes)

Behemoth, by Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse, 2010, 496 pages) This sequel to last year's Leviathan, on the other hand, is just as steampunky as all get out. Alernate history? check. Steam-powered technology? check. Wildly imaginative adventures combining the two? check. In an alternate World War I, the Germanic Clankers (steam technology) face off against the Darwinist Brits (technology through modification of living creatures). Two kids, a boy who's the heir to the Autro-Hungarian Empire and a girl disguised as a boy, serving as a midshipman on a British air-ship, are caught in an adventure of tangled loyalties and great danger, set against a backdrop of utterly magical worldbuilding.

It's thought provoking and exciting, and I highly recommend it, but you should read Leviathan first. Amazon has this as YA, but it's one that's great for the older mg crowd. (review copy received for the Cybils)

The Celestial Globe, by Marie Rutkoski (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010, 304 pages). Lifted from my review, back last spring: "Back in 2008, I enjoyed Marie Rutkoski's first book, The Cabinet of Wonders, very much; so much so that I helped shortlist it for the Cybils that year. So I opened its sequel, The Celestial Globe, with much hopeful anticipation....and was very pleased indeed to find it even more enthralling than the first book. It includes attacking monsters, imprisoned elemental spirits, treachery, nautical adventuring, friendship, fencing lessons, a murder mystery, and my favorite fictional mechanical spider, all in a well-written package.

In The Cabinet of Wonders, Petra and her gypsy friend Neel, with help from a mechanical spider friend, had thwarted the plans of the twisted Prince Rudolfo of Bohemia to take over the world. Neel rejoined his Gypsy kin, Petra returned to her village, and for a brief span it seemed that all was well again.

But as The Celestial Globe begins, the prince has sent monsters to attack Petra and her father. Her father is captured, but Petra escapes, saved by John Dee, the Elizabethan magician with whom she had forged a mind link in the first book. Trying to save her, her village friend Tomick plunges through a hole in space, and finds himself a prisoner of the same gypsies that Neel had joined...

Petra in London chaffs against her virtual imprisonment by the powerful and enigmatic Dee. She is caught up in a web of murder and intrigue, developing her own magical skills under Dee's tutelage. Meanwhile, Tomick's fate hangs in the balance--will he be sold into slavery by the Sea Gypsies, or will he be able to continue his search for Petra? The Gypsies are searching themselves for the Celestial Globe, a magical artifact that would give them the ultimate freedom of travel, and an escape from persecution. And all signs point toward London...where Petra is already at work solving the mystery."

I'm counting this as steampunk because of the mechanical spider and the Celestial Globe are both Devices of the highest order, and because although it's not full-fledged alternate history, it does venture that way. John Dee, the Elizabeth magician, is a central character, using his magical powers in the service of queen and country (at least, that seems to be the case; I'm not sure I trust him) in ways that never happened in real history.

The Clockwork Three, by Matthew J. Kirby (Scholastic Press, 2010, 400 pages). Three children, living in an alternate Victorian era American city, find their lives bound together as each struggles to achieve an impossible dream. For Guiseppe, it's to earn enough money busking to return to Italy, for Hannah it's to earn enough money to support her family now that her father has fallen ill, and for Frederick, it's to create a clockwork automaton and become a full fledged guild member. It's a complicated story, that requires some faith on the part of the reader that all the disparate threads will come together, but they never quite did, for me. However, there's plenty of adventure, plenty of "brave children struggling against impossible odds" and a dash of mystery and wonder. And, just in fairness to this book, Betsy over at Fuse #8 liked it lots.

Edited to add:

The Toymaker, by Jeremy de Quidt (David Fickling, 368 pages). There is no steam involved in this story, but the clockwork creatures are the utterly scariest ones I have encountered to date. From my review--"...the titular toymaker makes automatons come to life by wiring their clockwork to living hearts. Sparrow hearts, to start with...they're easy to come by." Part exciting adventure, part horror story, it's thought provoking and beautifully written...and deeply disturbing.


The Dark Deeps, by Arthur Slade (Wendy Lamb, mg/ya, 320 pages). I'd thought this was covered in the SLJ article, but I see that just book 1, The Hunchback Assignments, was included. I haven't read that first one, but apparently it is very steampunky, what with the nefarious doings of the Clockwork Guild. In The Dark Deeps, young Modo, the eponymous hunchback, is sent on another mission--to find out who, or what, has been sinking every ship that passes through a particular piece of the North Atlantic. The Clockwork Guild appears in this book too, there's funky technology combined with funky extraordinary-ness, there are gears on the cover, and there's a noir feel to it, all of which combine to make this one "steampunk" too. (Thanks, Jacquie, for reminding me of this one!)

And just for the 2010 record: other books published (in the US) this year, and included in the School Library Journal article so not discussed here, include Fever Crumb, by Philip Reeve, and Worldshaker, by Richard Harland.

Any other middle grade books of 2010 you think of as Steampunk? Let me know!

Edited (again) to add, from readers' suggestions, Haywired,by Alex Keller, and The Wolf Tree (Book 2 of the Clockwork Dark) by John Claude Bemis. I haven't read either of these yet....

Steampunk Goodness, and Dinosaur Superheros!

Colleen at Chasing Ray is spearheading a week devoted to Steampunk books! Keep checking in at her place for links to posts, and do feel free to write a post or two of your own--all are welcome to take part! (I'll be doing so myself later in the week...d.v.)

And is this not cool--dinosaurs reimagined by David Resto as classic superheros (or possibly superheros reimagined as classic dinosaurs). Here is my favorite, Wolveraptor:

You can see the whole ensemble here at io9.

Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld

Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse, 2009, YA, 448 pages), was that lovely sort of book which exceeds one's expectations. I knew it would be well-written, I expected, in general, that it would be a good book. I didn't, though, expect to enjoy it as much as I did.

I haven't read that much steampunk, mainly because I find complicated machinery and billows of toxic smoke and steam unappealing, and although I know that's a naive view of the genre, but that's what was in my mind. But looking back on Leviathan, the skies were clear, and the machinery unobtrusive, allowing me to enjoy the story...

In a Europe that never was, WW I is beginning. This alternate Europe had split years before into two factions--each taking a different path towards improving the quality of life (and the quality of war as well). The western countries followed the lead of Darwin, mixing and matching bits of life forms to create living technology, and the East went the route of wondrously complex mechanical creations. So in this alternate WWI, Darwinist England's vast living zepplins guarded by bats who poop metal spikes (owie?) are about to face off against Klanker Germany's air craft and huge land machines, great behemoths of steam-driven ingenuity.

As the book begins, two teenagers become caught up in the madness of war. One is Alex, son of the assassinated Archduke Ferdinand, fleeing toward a place of safety where he can ride out the war without being captured by either side. One is Deryn, who disguised herself as a boy to join Britain's air force, and now is a midshipman on the greatest living zepplin of them all--the titular Leviathan.

When the Leviathan crash lands in Switzerland, near where Alex and his guardians have taken refuge, the paths of the two meet, and much excitement ensues. Can the Hapsburg bunch help the British bunch without jeopardizing themselves? Will the Germans come to make sure they finished off the Leviathan? Can the Leviathan be fixed, or are they all stuck in the Alps forever? And what is the mysterious mission the Leviathan was embarked on, carrying Darwin's scientist grand-daughter to the Ottoman empire, with a cargo of precious eggs?

It's great "kids in peril" stuff, with both Alex and Deryn forced to grow-up fast as war becomes a reality for them. Alex, in particular, must cope with an utter re-shuffling of his views of the world and the realities of his life. The technological split between Darwinists and Clankers adds wondrously fascinating detail, the plot is exciting, yet these things never overwhelmed the character arc of the two teenagers and their growing friendship.

Technically this is a YA book, but at this stage of the game (dunno what will happen relationship-wise in the next book--for now Alex and Deryn are still at the just friends but almost certainly about to become more than that) this is a great book for older middle grade kids. The detailed black and white full page illustrations are fascinating in their own right, as well as bringing Westerfield's creations to life. You can see some of them at Westerfield's blog--they are fantastic.

The second book of the series, Behemoth, will be out in October 2010.