Mechanique

Mechanique: A Tale Of The Circus Tresaulti, A Penny Dreadful Review

            A boy with brass legs walks into a crumbling town after the end of the modern world and plasters posters for a circus on a ruined wall. A strongman with a spine of steel lifts four women at once over his head. Airialists with hollow copper bones fly from trapeze to trapeze while a man that is more musical instrument than human being plays a mesmerizing tune. That is the Circus Tresaulti. That is the ephemeral masterpiece Mechanique, by Genevieve Valentine.

            Mechanique is like reading someone’s dream. The narrative weaves in and out of time, stitching together a picture of the circus. It is as if Ms. Valentine is a spotlight operator lighting up different bits of the performers’ histories. It’s a highly unusual style. It took me a few chapters to understand what was going on, but once I got it, I was hooked.

            I highly recommend Mechanique. I give it four and a half gears out of five. It is a literary spectacle of a show, and you need to buy a ticket. Find this book. It is a treasure.

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather

The City Of Ember

The City of Ember Series: A Penny Dreadful Review

            The world ended in bombs and disease. Survivors struggled to rebuild society from scratch in a deadly game of trial and error. Meanwhile, a secret city thrives underground, a failsafe or a backup plan, if you will, built by scientists and engineers who feared looming disaster. Hundreds of years ago, the city was stocked with everything the population could need and sealed away from the world. This is the city of Ember.

            But Ember’s supplies can’t last forever. As their generator falters and the food vanishes, something must be done. Two brave children, Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow, embark on a quest to save their city.

            And that’s only the first book.

            The author, Jeanne DuPrau, is a master of human nature. She explores all the things fear can do, how wars start, and all the permutations of human kindness. The child heroes of this city do more than save their families: they save themselves and they save the future. I love the humanity of her characters – they dream and grow, make mistakes, learn, and seem even more human than most humans I know.

            There’s a graphic novel series of these books, opening up access to those who can’t yet read chapterbooks. The art is expressive and lovely, and the story is at bottom the same, but certain things get left out. And yes, someone’s made a movie. I have yet to see it, however, and I cannot tell you if it is a good adaptation.

The unmistakable Steampunk optimism runs throughout the City of Ember series. There’s the sense that yes, the world is broken, but if we put our minds to it, we can fix everything. Ingenuity answers our questions and solves our problems.

            Jeanne DuPrau’s City of Ember series might just restore your faith in humanity. It’s a wonderful series, appropriate for even those Steampunks that are just starting to read longer books. I give it a four and a half gears out of five. Pick this up for your young ones today. Tomorrow may be too late!

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather

The Peshawar Lancers

The Peshawar Lancers, by S. M. Sterling: A Penny Dreadful Review

            Steampunk happens all over the world. S. M. Sterling presents a future with its progress mangled by asteroids slamming the Earth in the late Victorian Era. The British Empire is still a world power, but its seat is now in India, the British Isles rendered uninhabitable by the impacts. Technology and social mores have in some ways out-developed our own, but in many ways lag far behind where we are today. I shan’t spoil it for your reading, but I will say that I love what they’ve done with airships. Just wait until you see the royal yacht!

            Something was lacking. It wasn’t the story – that was exciting, with all sorts of mysteries to be solved and betrayals to be uncovered. It wasn’t the world – that was fascinating and brilliant. I think it must have been the main character. Athelstane King seemed a little generic somehow. For all his magnificent surroundings, his character simply wasn’t as captivating as it ought to have been. He is a dashing, gallant hero, but not an interesting one.

            S.M. Sterling is clearly a talented and brilliant writer. The world he creates is nothing short of amazing. Many of the characters that people his fantastic world seem real and fascinating, but not all. Sometimes they seem like puppets at the mercy of the storyteller. It isn’t bad – it could just be better.

            I give this book four gears out of five, simply because the world is so unique and fascinating. Give it a read for a completely different flavor of Steampunk.

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather