Rob St. Martin

I met this author at Polaris (formerly Toronto Trek Convention) last July, and purchased this book as a gesture to support small-press Canadian authors... plus, I was buying a steampunk pocket watch from his wife's vendor table, and she gave me a great deal on the watch + book (it was my last bit of cash for the weekend, and she was very sweet about it!). So, I admit that may color my perceptions of the book, though I don't think so. Either way, I thought I'd give a small disclaimer before talking about the book.

The book itself is, I think, Young Adult, though you wouldn't know it from the cover. Unfortunately, the cover is dull and uninspiring, which I don't think does the content justice, but rather has the risk of coloring the reader's perceptions before the first page. I wasn't expecting a whole lot, admittedly. Once I began reading, I still wasn't impressed, and some of the verb tense choices bothered me... and I wondered who the actual target audience was. The writing reminded me of Middle Grade books, but the main character (and content of the novel) is Young Adult (the heroine is 17-years-old). I almost put the book down around page 30, but I'm glad I didn't -- the story picked up, and I found myself enjoying what ended up being a fun, girl-power story with plenty of action and adventure.

It's steampunk-lite -- mostly airships and corsets -- with the added element of the main character, Val, having been transported to an alternate reality by a mad scientist. Turns out she's quickly captured by airship pirate slavers who capture and sell women, and treat them poorly. Val quickly makes friends with other "outsiders", and together they inspire the other women to take on the pirates, free the slaves, and take revenge on her enemies.

I can't say I'm aching to read the next book, but it was worth the time spent… (mehr)