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jenthefictioner's review against another edition
4.0
On the blog: The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent
maidmarianlib's review against another edition
5.0
Love the combination of steam punk and magic, with references to real people. Interesting switch between characters point of view
mercyblue's review against another edition
1.0
I don't even like marking this as read since technically it was a DNF for me. Not only is the main character incredibly annoyed but absolutely nothing is explained! What is a Pendant or myth? What does it mean when something is 'nevered'? I can sort of guess the implications but I would much rather have the author spelling it out for me, then for me to assume anything. Overall, not a good novel by any stretch of the imagination.
sarahneil's review against another edition
2.0
I made it through a third of this book before I had to call it quits. The story seemed to creep by, which ultimately led to a lack of interest. The world building in this book was absolutely amazing (and one I would loved to have explored more), but the two main characters, Vespa and Syrus, just came off as flat to me. In relation to world building, the background stories and myths were fantastic. For example, I would loved to have had an entire book based on the life of the Emperor's daughter, Athena, instead of simply a few sentences here and there. In the end, the slow pace and not-so-exciting characters were what failed to hold my interest and desire to finish the book.
emesskay's review against another edition
4.0
In an alternate dimension, New London exists, created when St. Tesla conducted one of his experiments, opened a portal, and sucked people, building and technology through. It is a world of magic, fairies and elemental beings, which the humans consider "unnatural." To counter the magic, the humans start to see science as a religion (hence you have St. Darwin, St. Pasteur, etc.). Much of the technology is powered by "myth powder", which people believe is mined somewhere else. There are two groups of people - the city folk who believe in science and power their machines with myth powder, and the tinkers, who live outside the city, without much technology, and in cooperation with the elementals. The town folk periodically raid the tinker encampments to press gang tinkers into working in the refineries of New London.
Vespa Nix lives in New London, the daughter of a scientist, and all she wants to do is spend her time in the museum cataloging the unnatural creatures. However a chain of events leads her to discover that she is actually a witch, a wielder of magic, which is heresy, punishable by death. As she confronts this new reality she has to decide who to trust and what to do to not only save herself, but this world.
Really enjoyed this book. I felt the world was well-developed, and the story's pace was good. There were no lulls, with plenty of twists and turns.
Vespa Nix lives in New London, the daughter of a scientist, and all she wants to do is spend her time in the museum cataloging the unnatural creatures. However a chain of events leads her to discover that she is actually a witch, a wielder of magic, which is heresy, punishable by death. As she confronts this new reality she has to decide who to trust and what to do to not only save herself, but this world.
Really enjoyed this book. I felt the world was well-developed, and the story's pace was good. There were no lulls, with plenty of twists and turns.
shannak's review against another edition
5.0
This book ticked all my fave genre boxes for me. Part sci-fi, part fantasy, part romance, part history, this book had it all! The only complaint that I had was that I found it too short. I didn’t want it to end! Thankfully, it is a series and I can’t wait to start reading the next installment.
jpv0's review against another edition
3.0
Right on the heels of Year Zero, I have another book that got itself on my list based on the potential in its world building: The Unnaturalists. I mean, how can you not be intrigued by a world where London seems to have been yanked into another world, where Science[1] has grown into a religion.
You have things like people cursing with "by Saint Darwin and all his apes". A world where you hear someone say (with a straight face) "I turn my attention to another window, the one in which Saint Pasteur smites the Demon Byron for his licentious poetry."
Therein lies the problem with the world though. It never quite gelled for me. There is quite a lot of world there, just waiting to be tapped, but it seemed too busy. It seemed to be a steampunk London torn from our world some time in the past, sent into a world where magic still holds sway--which is particularly odd. How do you have Science grow to the point it has in this story in a world where there are literal living fairies and sphinxes hanging around?
Also, it was never entirely clear what the rules were in the world. I don't strictly speaking have to know what the worlds are for magic systems, but I do prefer that there are rules. I never get the impression that is the case here. We have the last Witch in the world; Architects which can do... something; Tinkers with the ability to commune with Elemantals (essentially animstic spirits); and all manner of magical beasties. Don't get me wrong, there were some particularly cool visuals, it just didn't quite get beyond that.
Beyond the world building, the writing style was odd. There were two story lines: a rich girl rebelling against Victorian gender roles and a Tinker boy from the outskirts with the only remaining Tinker magic among his people. The former was written in first person present tense[2], the latter in third person. I can see where the two characters tie together, but for the most part, there seem to almost be two stories going on in parallel.
Finally, the love story just felt strange. Pedant Lumin/Hal/Bayne/The Architect is referred to four different ways at different points in the book; it took me a while to figure out they were all the same person. As a result, I couldn't figure out who he was and what in the world Vespa saw in him. It felt like the author was trying to make him adequately interesting, but it felt forced.
Overall, it took me a while to get finish this book. It never quite got to the point where I just wanted to put it down, but at the same point, it didn't keep me turning pages. So it goes. I'm sure there are many people who would enjoy this style of book. I'm just not one of them. So it goes.
[1] This book realy likes proper nouns
[2] Which already has to fight an uphill battle in my mind
[3] Although I was at 7 before this book...
You have things like people cursing with "by Saint Darwin and all his apes". A world where you hear someone say (with a straight face) "I turn my attention to another window, the one in which Saint Pasteur smites the Demon Byron for his licentious poetry."
Therein lies the problem with the world though. It never quite gelled for me. There is quite a lot of world there, just waiting to be tapped, but it seemed too busy. It seemed to be a steampunk London torn from our world some time in the past, sent into a world where magic still holds sway--which is particularly odd. How do you have Science grow to the point it has in this story in a world where there are literal living fairies and sphinxes hanging around?
Also, it was never entirely clear what the rules were in the world. I don't strictly speaking have to know what the worlds are for magic systems, but I do prefer that there are rules. I never get the impression that is the case here. We have the last Witch in the world; Architects which can do... something; Tinkers with the ability to commune with Elemantals (essentially animstic spirits); and all manner of magical beasties. Don't get me wrong, there were some particularly cool visuals, it just didn't quite get beyond that.
Beyond the world building, the writing style was odd. There were two story lines: a rich girl rebelling against Victorian gender roles and a Tinker boy from the outskirts with the only remaining Tinker magic among his people. The former was written in first person present tense[2], the latter in third person. I can see where the two characters tie together, but for the most part, there seem to almost be two stories going on in parallel.
Finally, the love story just felt strange. Pedant Lumin/Hal/Bayne/The Architect is referred to four different ways at different points in the book; it took me a while to figure out they were all the same person. As a result, I couldn't figure out who he was and what in the world Vespa saw in him. It felt like the author was trying to make him adequately interesting, but it felt forced.
Overall, it took me a while to get finish this book. It never quite got to the point where I just wanted to put it down, but at the same point, it didn't keep me turning pages. So it goes. I'm sure there are many people who would enjoy this style of book. I'm just not one of them. So it goes.
[1] This book realy likes proper nouns
[2] Which already has to fight an uphill battle in my mind
[3] Although I was at 7 before this book...
avagrace0526's review against another edition
5.0
This book was exceptional. In the beginning, Trent did not wait to get into the plot like many other authors in first books. The sci-fi fantasy blend worked very well, and the plot was refreshingly unique. I also enjoyed the shift in point of view. Vespa told the story in first person, but Syrus's part of the story is told in third person limited. I was quite happy with Syrus and Vespa's relationship. All in all, a fabulous book.
kcoyner's review against another edition
2.0
This book was just ok. It was lacking in the chemistry department. The main character and her love interest are hardly inspiring and the ending was anticlimactic. However, the world building and the lore were fascinating and surprisingly, I am very interested in reading the sequel.