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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
This book has one of the most bizarre blurbs ever. London circa 1862 + space battle + Roman centurions + squid?!?!? How does all that come together in a book? Via time travel, of course. :)
Millicent, a prim and proper but rather unconventional young lady, would rather carry on intellectual discourses with her scientist brother Hubert and other solitary pursuits, than join the London social set of her day. Hubert, on the other hand is a tinkerer, inventor and all-around eccentric, who just happens to cobble together from old furniture and bits and pieces pilfered from Millicent's most treasured things, a contraption thats capable of sending someone to another time (and apparently to random places as well). And of course, Millicent just has to 'accidentally' activate said machine, setting up an incredible chain of events with reverberations thousands of years into the future, the past as well as the present.
Now before readers get turned off, the book is not a nerdy sci-fi yarn. Yes, it opens with a desperate space battle, has some icky Roman gladiator fights, and there's some bewildering time travel in between. But...at its heart, its a comedy... of sorts. Think campy, Victorian era, lesbian 'Back to the Future'... then cross it with 'Xena Warrior Princess'! :) Actually, it straddles a lot of sub-genres: steampunk, sci-fi, historical, thriller, mystery, character study, you name it. And there's even a romance there somewhere, or two, although you never know when it actually happens... lol Was it in the past? future?
The basic premise of Tea Machine is this (well, aside from the time travelling bit) : What if the mighty ancient Roman Empire never fell, but continued its domination of the world thousands of years into the future. What kind of civilization would we have today? Probably the same as if the Nazis had won. ;) Anyway, the author takes us to three different times in this alternate reality (past, present, future). The mystery there is, what or who caused this to happen? And how do they fix it? And even worse, if they do manage to fix it, will our main characters lose each other forever, since they've only ever met in this f-ed up reality?
Now one would think such a dire, gloomy world of death and destruction would result in a terribly depressing book, but except for a few chapters, I found myself laughing out loud through most of it. The author had a lot of fun playing up various character stereotypes. Great writing plus the overall campy tone the author chose made the book a very entertaining read.
My review won't be complete if I don't poke holes at the plot. And this one will probably leak like a sieve if you think too hard. The book doesn't take itself too seriously, so I didn't either. But here's a few big ones I couldn't help noticing: Despite my nitpicks, the overall plot (including all the time travelling and its ramifications) is well thought out and logical. I'm hoping things will be cleared up some more in the next book. Which hopefully comes soon, because I can't wait!
ARC received from Netgalley
Millicent, a prim and proper but rather unconventional young lady, would rather carry on intellectual discourses with her scientist brother Hubert and other solitary pursuits, than join the London social set of her day. Hubert, on the other hand is a tinkerer, inventor and all-around eccentric, who just happens to cobble together from old furniture and bits and pieces pilfered from Millicent's most treasured things, a contraption thats capable of sending someone to another time (and apparently to random places as well). And of course, Millicent just has to 'accidentally' activate said machine, setting up an incredible chain of events with reverberations thousands of years into the future, the past as well as the present.
Now before readers get turned off, the book is not a nerdy sci-fi yarn. Yes, it opens with a desperate space battle, has some icky Roman gladiator fights, and there's some bewildering time travel in between. But...at its heart, its a comedy... of sorts. Think campy, Victorian era, lesbian 'Back to the Future'... then cross it with 'Xena Warrior Princess'! :) Actually, it straddles a lot of sub-genres: steampunk, sci-fi, historical, thriller, mystery, character study, you name it. And there's even a romance there somewhere, or two, although you never know when it actually happens... lol Was it in the past? future?
Spoiler
Maybe in the next book? There's a tasty teaser at the end of the book.The basic premise of Tea Machine is this (well, aside from the time travelling bit) : What if the mighty ancient Roman Empire never fell, but continued its domination of the world thousands of years into the future. What kind of civilization would we have today? Probably the same as if the Nazis had won. ;) Anyway, the author takes us to three different times in this alternate reality (past, present, future). The mystery there is, what or who caused this to happen? And how do they fix it? And even worse, if they do manage to fix it, will our main characters lose each other forever, since they've only ever met in this f-ed up reality?
Now one would think such a dire, gloomy world of death and destruction would result in a terribly depressing book, but except for a few chapters, I found myself laughing out loud through most of it. The author had a lot of fun playing up various character stereotypes. Great writing plus the overall campy tone the author chose made the book a very entertaining read.
My review won't be complete if I don't poke holes at the plot. And this one will probably leak like a sieve if you think too hard. The book doesn't take itself too seriously, so I didn't either. But here's a few big ones I couldn't help noticing:
Spoiler
Why does the machine send people to random places not only on earth, but also in space? So it's also a teleporter but this fact is kinda glossed over in the book. Also, what's with this fascination with steam power? This isn't a reflection on the author but on the unusual popularity of this genre in general and the over-reliance of the book on it. Of all the technologies that could have been inadvertently introduced by someone going back to the past, steam power would be one of the clunkiest and most inefficient. And for flighty, know-nothing Sophie to be the one to initiate it seemed too much of a stretch. The Sophie who can't tell a man from a woman, Latvia from Rome? Granted it was Heron who made everything work, but bionic animals in only a few hundred years?? Advanced deep space travel (e.g. faster-than-light travel) and conquest in our lifetime? Not without something better than steam power :) Also, Cat's Paw Nebula may look like a lovely baby squid nursery, but it actually births stars rather than squid. :) That was entirely too much thinking--which will just spoil the fun, so I'll stop here. :)ARC received from Netgalley
I mentioned in my review of another fantasy novel what a wild and ridiculous–sounding synopsis it had. (It really did.) So does The Tea Machine...maybe moreso. Amazons and giant killer squid. Time travel and steampunk and a tea cult.
And it is a weird and kind of wild ride. Victorian spinster Millicent cossets her scientist brother, who has been working on a mysterious machine, which she accidentally activates and finds herself in … was it an alternate Victorian era in which the Roman Empire never fell, or was it a future in which the Roman Empire never fell? (Sorry – it's been a minute since I read it.) And there follows a complex weave of storylines in which people end up in the wrong timelines, past and present and future, and that Still Roman timeline has to be fixed because it was the result of accidental tampering, and both Millicent and her brother find true love. Sort of.
I'll be blunt: the writing was rather weak. I wish I could check a published edition to see if some of the errors (like apostrophe abuse, comma chaos, comma splices, and things like "prizing Sangfroid’s fingers" and "board shouldered" (that's another one for the collection)) and "nevermind" and "she entered the empty dining room un–phased" and "populous" in place of "populace" and so very many more have been fixed. This was one of those ARCs that was a little hard to read simply because of my constant cringing at what I hope were typos.
There were also just so many things I questioned throughout. It's something else I say often: if your writing wins me over, you can tell me just about anything and I will buy it. Tolkien mentions that the fireworks dragon passed like an express train, in a book whose setting is long, long before express trains were remotely possible? I have no problem with that. But if you don't win me over, if you don't capture me, I will absolutely question every single thing that catches my attention.
Like the fact that the futuristic woman soldier, Sangfroid, keeps complaining that Victorian people think she's a man. "Well, you’re very tall. … And board shouldered. [sic; it also needs a hyphen] And your short hair doesn’t help." And … she's wearing trousers in a sea of gowned women. So … yeah.
I complained about Sangfroid knowing what Friday is. If Sangfroid is from a future in which Latin never became a dead language, then how is the fifth (or sixth, depending) day of the week named after Freya/Frigga?
And I really just wish that when it's even remotely questionable writers would avoid using the word "okay". Okay? Please?
I'm not going to even touch on the love interest that the scientist/inventor/brother develops. I ... no, I think I'm just going to try to forget about it. To try very hard.
It wasn't all bad – I also saved at least one kind of fun thing in my notes. ("…He was waving and smiling so as not to alarm us." "Well, it didn’t work," Gallo said. "I was very alarmed.")
But for every thing I liked, there were a slew of things I didn't. Like "There was a great steam slave uprising once, led by a semi–automate called Sparkitous." That's the sort of thing which makes me say blistering things under my breath. I was pretty generous, giving this three stars. I… think that was overly generous.
The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.
And it is a weird and kind of wild ride. Victorian spinster Millicent cossets her scientist brother, who has been working on a mysterious machine, which she accidentally activates and finds herself in … was it an alternate Victorian era in which the Roman Empire never fell, or was it a future in which the Roman Empire never fell? (Sorry – it's been a minute since I read it.) And there follows a complex weave of storylines in which people end up in the wrong timelines, past and present and future, and that Still Roman timeline has to be fixed because it was the result of accidental tampering, and both Millicent and her brother find true love. Sort of.
I'll be blunt: the writing was rather weak. I wish I could check a published edition to see if some of the errors (like apostrophe abuse, comma chaos, comma splices, and things like "prizing Sangfroid’s fingers" and "board shouldered" (that's another one for the collection)) and "nevermind" and "she entered the empty dining room un–phased" and "populous" in place of "populace" and so very many more have been fixed. This was one of those ARCs that was a little hard to read simply because of my constant cringing at what I hope were typos.
There were also just so many things I questioned throughout. It's something else I say often: if your writing wins me over, you can tell me just about anything and I will buy it. Tolkien mentions that the fireworks dragon passed like an express train, in a book whose setting is long, long before express trains were remotely possible? I have no problem with that. But if you don't win me over, if you don't capture me, I will absolutely question every single thing that catches my attention.
Like the fact that the futuristic woman soldier, Sangfroid, keeps complaining that Victorian people think she's a man. "Well, you’re very tall. … And board shouldered. [sic; it also needs a hyphen] And your short hair doesn’t help." And … she's wearing trousers in a sea of gowned women. So … yeah.
I complained about Sangfroid knowing what Friday is. If Sangfroid is from a future in which Latin never became a dead language, then how is the fifth (or sixth, depending) day of the week named after Freya/Frigga?
And I really just wish that when it's even remotely questionable writers would avoid using the word "okay". Okay? Please?
I'm not going to even touch on the love interest that the scientist/inventor/brother develops. I ... no, I think I'm just going to try to forget about it. To try very hard.
It wasn't all bad – I also saved at least one kind of fun thing in my notes. ("…He was waving and smiling so as not to alarm us." "Well, it didn’t work," Gallo said. "I was very alarmed.")
But for every thing I liked, there were a slew of things I didn't. Like "There was a great steam slave uprising once, led by a semi–automate called Sparkitous." That's the sort of thing which makes me say blistering things under my breath. I was pretty generous, giving this three stars. I… think that was overly generous.
The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.
A very interesting take on timetravel with multiple timelines, giant space squid, false gods, and giant women.
Story left with plenty more to come in its sequel, with so much more time to explore and mysterious to solve.
Story left with plenty more to come in its sequel, with so much more time to explore and mysterious to solve.
I don't know how to feel about this book, I quite liked the whole time travel bit but the romance was very meh. It was a insta love explained by them feeling like they knew each other for forever but it was never explained. Since there's another book it might get explained but still. Also the fact that Hubert falls in love with an Infant squid is... weird. I'm all for aliens and all but why she had to be an infant?
Millicent Aberly accidentally activates her genius brother Hubert’s new time machine, which throws her into a future where the Roman Empire did not fall, but expanded, even colonizing space. The Romans now fight the space squid for control of…space. Millicent is saved from death-by-space-squid by the dashing lady centurion Sangfroid, who she develops a crush on. As they make their way through the ship, Sangfroid dies, and Millicent returns to her original time and place. Intrigued by Sangfroid and wracked with guilt, Millicent uses the time machine again to try to prevent Sangfroid’s death. Many tries later, Sangfroid accidentally comes back to London and Millicent’s time. Then other strange phenomena begin, starting with giant squid and another Roman soldier from Sangfroid’s time showing up in the Aberly house. Matters get further muddled when there’s another time machine accident; and Millicent has to decide whether to save the version of London she knows, or keep her beloved Sangfroid in existence.
I have long found the work of HP Lovecraft interesting and hysterical: I went to the university that is Miskatonic’s closest analog (we have a library with books bound in human skin!), and while there I connected with many science fiction fans who loved the Victorian era and all things steampunk. Some of them impressed upon me that linear time is inherently straight and that subversion of it would be queer. This was before same-sex marriage was legalized anywhere in the US, and my friends bitterly joked that their so-called gay marriage agenda was to destroy linear time. So this book tied together some of my fondest memories of my college friends together: a bunch more of them were Classics geeks who could name the five worst Roman emperors. I’ll be recommending this book or loaning it out to as many of them as I can.
The story blends steampunk, science fiction, alternate history, romance, and a tea cult. I love McKnight’s imagination: strange creatures and technology are everywhere, causing mayhem. I wasn’t sure where the plot would go and got surprised several times. Nothing seemed out of place, though. Most of the “hey what about…” questions I had got resolved, although I think some mysteries are still there to explore in further books.
The characters and dialogue are strong, somehow remaining grounded as their reality gets wackier. Watching proper Victorians deal with the fantastical made me smile: they rationalize and hold on to their realities in believable fashion. Millicent worries about her ruined dress when there are far more dire concerns because it’s what she’s used to caring about. Hubert and his fiancée Sophia are gloriously neurotic. If you enjoy witty British banter, this is your cup of tea. Oh, that was awful, but I stand by my words. The romance between Millicent and Sangfroid is very sweet, and there is a hilarious secondary love story and yet another serious crush. There’s a happy-for-now at the end of The Tea Machine that asks more questions than it answers, so their story shall continue.
I’m not surprised that the Victorian ladies misgender Sangfroid, but I did raise a brow at the Romans who do so, when they recognize that centurion Gallo is female. Perhaps there’s a reason for that I missed. Sangfroid says she's obviously female, but her idea of obvious may not be in line with the others she meets.
The narrative is very twisty: there are several timelines to keep track of, and we’re dumped in the middle of the action. I liked how we start with Sangfroid’s getting the background information after the fact, but the flashbacks and explanations later in the story felt less potent in how they were conveyed.
In the copy I got, there were enough typos that I felt it needed another proofreading pass from the editor(s) at Ylva.
I received a free copy for review, but bought one to use as a loaner once I finished it. If you’re not sure if it’s for you, use sample chapters to see if you like the humor and vivid setting. It’s an original screwball premise with unpredictable twists, and I look forward to the sequel.
I have long found the work of HP Lovecraft interesting and hysterical: I went to the university that is Miskatonic’s closest analog (we have a library with books bound in human skin!), and while there I connected with many science fiction fans who loved the Victorian era and all things steampunk. Some of them impressed upon me that linear time is inherently straight and that subversion of it would be queer. This was before same-sex marriage was legalized anywhere in the US, and my friends bitterly joked that their so-called gay marriage agenda was to destroy linear time. So this book tied together some of my fondest memories of my college friends together: a bunch more of them were Classics geeks who could name the five worst Roman emperors. I’ll be recommending this book or loaning it out to as many of them as I can.
The story blends steampunk, science fiction, alternate history, romance, and a tea cult. I love McKnight’s imagination: strange creatures and technology are everywhere, causing mayhem. I wasn’t sure where the plot would go and got surprised several times. Nothing seemed out of place, though. Most of the “hey what about…” questions I had got resolved, although I think some mysteries are still there to explore in further books.
The characters and dialogue are strong, somehow remaining grounded as their reality gets wackier. Watching proper Victorians deal with the fantastical made me smile: they rationalize and hold on to their realities in believable fashion. Millicent worries about her ruined dress when there are far more dire concerns because it’s what she’s used to caring about. Hubert and his fiancée Sophia are gloriously neurotic. If you enjoy witty British banter, this is your cup of tea. Oh, that was awful, but I stand by my words. The romance between Millicent and Sangfroid is very sweet, and there is a hilarious secondary love story and yet another serious crush. There’s a happy-for-now at the end of The Tea Machine that asks more questions than it answers, so their story shall continue.
I’m not surprised that the Victorian ladies misgender Sangfroid, but I did raise a brow at the Romans who do so, when they recognize that centurion Gallo is female. Perhaps there’s a reason for that I missed. Sangfroid says she's obviously female, but her idea of obvious may not be in line with the others she meets.
The narrative is very twisty: there are several timelines to keep track of, and we’re dumped in the middle of the action. I liked how we start with Sangfroid’s getting the background information after the fact, but the flashbacks and explanations later in the story felt less potent in how they were conveyed.
In the copy I got, there were enough typos that I felt it needed another proofreading pass from the editor(s) at Ylva.
I received a free copy for review, but bought one to use as a loaner once I finished it. If you’re not sure if it’s for you, use sample chapters to see if you like the humor and vivid setting. It’s an original screwball premise with unpredictable twists, and I look forward to the sequel.
Esse livro foi pura diversão.
Eu li um review que descreve esse livro como um sci-fi absurdo e é pura verdade. Esse livro coloca a aventura e a diversão acima de tudo. Como mega fã de Doctor Who, esse é exatamente o tipo de sci-fi que eu amo. Então não afianta pegar esse livro se não estiver disposto a elevar sua suspensão de descrença ao máximo.
Na história, uma situação é mais louca do que a outra e por muitas vezes te deixa com uma sensação de "isso não vai ter solução", mas tem. O livro foi visivelmente bem pensado e muito bem escrito, de forma que mesmo os personagens que você acredita estar ali apenas para te irritar, apresentam grande relevância.
É um sci-fi absurdo com um pequeno teor de steampunk (criaturas meio autômatos meio seres vivos e um Império Romano que domina o universo com o poder do vapor, por exemplo). Então, não há muito romance entre as duas mulheres. Mas o que tem de romance é tão fofo.
O problema com esse livro é que ele foi planejado para ser uma duologia, mas o livro que estava planejado para 2017 nunca saiu. Apesar de isso fazer com que o livro termine de forma meio abrupta, não atrapalha em lê-lo como um livro único. Só tem que ir preparado para um grande (e adorável) choque no final.
Eu li um review que descreve esse livro como um sci-fi absurdo e é pura verdade. Esse livro coloca a aventura e a diversão acima de tudo. Como mega fã de Doctor Who, esse é exatamente o tipo de sci-fi que eu amo. Então não afianta pegar esse livro se não estiver disposto a elevar sua suspensão de descrença ao máximo.
Na história, uma situação é mais louca do que a outra e por muitas vezes te deixa com uma sensação de "isso não vai ter solução", mas tem. O livro foi visivelmente bem pensado e muito bem escrito, de forma que mesmo os personagens que você acredita estar ali apenas para te irritar, apresentam grande relevância.
É um sci-fi absurdo com um pequeno teor de steampunk (criaturas meio autômatos meio seres vivos e um Império Romano que domina o universo com o poder do vapor, por exemplo). Então, não há muito romance entre as duas mulheres. Mas o que tem de romance é tão fofo.
O problema com esse livro é que ele foi planejado para ser uma duologia, mas o livro que estava planejado para 2017 nunca saiu. Apesar de isso fazer com que o livro termine de forma meio abrupta, não atrapalha em lê-lo como um livro único. Só tem que ir preparado para um grande (e adorável) choque no final.
Original Review Here
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
I have no idea what The Tea Machine is about. I received a copy from Netgalley and that is the only reason why I am writing this review. For the entire length of the book, I was completely confused about what was going on. And not in a good way such as seeing things through the character’s eyes. It was just sheer confusion.
Then, just as it may appear that answers could emerge, the book cut off with a message to buy it if you wish to know more. There was nothing in the synopsis to indicate this was not the complete book and considering my level of confusion, I really don’t think I will be investing, even if that means finding out what was going on.
Time-travel is always a difficult thing to write, especially if the characters are not aware of the possibilities. Add in spaceships and giant space squids, a woman who looks like a man who has no knowledge of Earth yet curses using Hades name and the result is honestly rather a mess.
To find some positive things, the pace was fast and the tension during the battles high. The characters could have been enigmatic if they were given the chance to develop and there was a few humorous lines inserted. But that is being generous as when you get to the end of the book and realise you can’t describe the plot, there is a problem.
A snippet of a book works if the reader’s attention is grabbed. There should be enough mystery that they are drawn in and desire the answers. It should not leave them so befuddled that they want to forget what they have just read.
I’d be prepared to give Gill McKnight another chance if I knew I had the whole book there, but not like this.
I have read bad books from netgalley before. But this is the first to disappoint me in regards as to how it has been handled such as not making it clear this was not the entire book. Planning to read a book and have it finished in half an hour was not what I was hoping for, nor did I get any enjoyment out of it and I hope it doesn’t happen again.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
I have no idea what The Tea Machine is about. I received a copy from Netgalley and that is the only reason why I am writing this review. For the entire length of the book, I was completely confused about what was going on. And not in a good way such as seeing things through the character’s eyes. It was just sheer confusion.
Then, just as it may appear that answers could emerge, the book cut off with a message to buy it if you wish to know more. There was nothing in the synopsis to indicate this was not the complete book and considering my level of confusion, I really don’t think I will be investing, even if that means finding out what was going on.
Time-travel is always a difficult thing to write, especially if the characters are not aware of the possibilities. Add in spaceships and giant space squids, a woman who looks like a man who has no knowledge of Earth yet curses using Hades name and the result is honestly rather a mess.
To find some positive things, the pace was fast and the tension during the battles high. The characters could have been enigmatic if they were given the chance to develop and there was a few humorous lines inserted. But that is being generous as when you get to the end of the book and realise you can’t describe the plot, there is a problem.
A snippet of a book works if the reader’s attention is grabbed. There should be enough mystery that they are drawn in and desire the answers. It should not leave them so befuddled that they want to forget what they have just read.
I’d be prepared to give Gill McKnight another chance if I knew I had the whole book there, but not like this.
I have read bad books from netgalley before. But this is the first to disappoint me in regards as to how it has been handled such as not making it clear this was not the entire book. Planning to read a book and have it finished in half an hour was not what I was hoping for, nor did I get any enjoyment out of it and I hope it doesn’t happen again.
First of all, why this book has not more 5 star reviews is beyond me because it deserves so much more praise than it is getting now.
It is a crazy ride from start to finish, the end being left wide open for book two that is coming out this year (oh let it be soon!).
There is a lot going on, there is Steam Punk, there are space battles, giant space squid, plenty of humor, ancient Rome but not as you know it, goats... lots of goats, tea, adventure, time travel, a bit of romance, automatons, amazons, a fight to the death in a Roman arena and much more.
Gil McKnight does an excellent job weaving all the timelines together (which is not an easy task!) and you will be on the edge of your seat the whole time. Book Club buddie D. was blown away and so was I and we cannot recommend this book high enough. This is an absolute must read and is firmly in my top 10 of 2017!
It is a crazy ride from start to finish, the end being left wide open for book two that is coming out this year (oh let it be soon!).
There is a lot going on, there is Steam Punk, there are space battles, giant space squid, plenty of humor, ancient Rome but not as you know it, goats... lots of goats, tea, adventure, time travel, a bit of romance, automatons, amazons, a fight to the death in a Roman arena and much more.
Gil McKnight does an excellent job weaving all the timelines together (which is not an easy task!) and you will be on the edge of your seat the whole time. Book Club buddie D. was blown away and so was I and we cannot recommend this book high enough. This is an absolute must read and is firmly in my top 10 of 2017!