Forging an Art

I heard vague inklings about the coming release of this steampunk novel by Cherie Priest many months ago, then definite excitement from Tor editors along with Tiffany Trent (Hallowmere) during a panel on Victorian lit and steampunk at DragonCon.  And steampunk itself?  Does Alice in Wonderland qualify, and how about A Connecticut Yankee?  Is the historical nature of a story vital to the steampunk definition?  Leaving the beaten path . . .

A boneshaker was actually – IRL – an iron bicycle with a wooden seat, sans springs.  Ouch.  In Priest’s tale, it is a mining machine, doomed to create havoc and destroy life, as it were, in late nineteenth century Seattle, a Seattle not yet part of the States, and the States still in the midst of the Civil War, which has continued for nearly two decades.   This is really a story of a tough woman set on saving her teenage son, and the relationship between the two that has led up to his adventure and how it changes during and because of their discoveries.  Priest is all about a fast pace, which keeps the reader’s eye on the page and wanting more; her descriptions are detailed but not overdone; and the emotional drama is present but not mushy or overpowering. 

My only question – and perhaps not a question, at that – regards a statement by Yaozu, in answer to Zeke’s question about the power behind the lights:  “They are powered by the future.”  Nothing more is mentioned about this ‘future’ aspect, and I was left wondering through the rest of the novel what, if anything, the future had to do with the doctor or the technology.  I thought perhaps the doctor had appeared from the future – a la Connecticut Yankee – or the knowledge/machinery itself had been transported in some manner from the future.

With a 2010 release date, Jane Yolen’s original action-fantasy graphic novel, The Last Dragon, will be worth the wait.  The Nebula and Caldecott award-winning writer covers all ages and genres – nothing seems out of her reach.  I am particularly fond of  her children’s and young adult books (How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? and Girl in a Cage, to name a couple of my favorites), and I have am pleased that she is in agreement with me on the subject of the Harry Potter series; that is, neither of us think they are well written.  It’s nice to have support from a reputable source in libraryland, especially when most librarians in my system are Rowling fans.

Ridley Pearson‘s latest was a quick read for the LC.  He offered his usual “it was good” when asked for his thoughts, but also noted that the back cover said it was fast paced, and in his opinion, it wasn’t.  Back cover blurbs include comments from Eoin Colfer of Artemis Fowl fame, and Stephenie Meyer of I-don’t-really-have-to-say-do-I? fame.  Pearson is responsible for the Kingdom Keepers series and Peter and the Starcatchers (prequel to Peter Pan) with Dave Barry. He also writes adult crime thrillers, and was the first American to be awarded the Chandler/Fulbright Fellowship in detective fiction at Oxford.