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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexism
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Arabella of Mars takes place on a colonized Mars in the 1800s and in London, England, on Earth. After her mother forces her to leave her father and brother on Mars and move back to London, Arabella finds herself on an urgent journey back to Mars to save her brother. Since she must get there as soon as possible, she finds herself disguised as a boy and brought aboard a ship as the Captain's boy to help him with the navigation automation and do lowly ship duties.
I found the beginning and middle of the book quite difficult to get immersed in. I felt like the story was being forced along rather than willingly being told. Once the ship makes it back to Mars it is a wonderful story, but unfortunately that is only less than the final 20% of the book. In the middle part where they are on the ship traveling to Mars many things were not clear to me, such as how did they breathe in space on an open ship? Helpful questions in the world were not answered or even acknowledged.
Despite this, the world building is really fun. I love the idea of colonized Mars with Martians that resemble crabs or lobsters and we get to see a bit of their customs. Khema, who was Arabella's nanny and tutor growing up, is an interesting character and I would have liked to see more of her.
This book honestly felt more like a draft than a finished book. It didn't flow, the dialogue could be stronger, and Arabella's characteristics were not consistent. On one hand she had absolutely no problem assuming the identity of a lower-class boy, and on the other she absolutely could not deviate from proper customs when acting or replying in a crisis once back as a female. I also would have also liked to see a bit of humor in the book; I think that could have taken it a lot farther than what it is right now. The ending felt rushed and cut off. A bit more of a resolution would have made it more complete, even if it was just a quick summary or epilogue.
I was given a free copy of this book from Tor in exchange for an honest review.
I found the beginning and middle of the book quite difficult to get immersed in. I felt like the story was being forced along rather than willingly being told. Once the ship makes it back to Mars it is a wonderful story, but unfortunately that is only less than the final 20% of the book. In the middle part where they are on the ship traveling to Mars many things were not clear to me, such as how did they breathe in space on an open ship? Helpful questions in the world were not answered or even acknowledged.
Despite this, the world building is really fun. I love the idea of colonized Mars with Martians that resemble crabs or lobsters and we get to see a bit of their customs. Khema, who was Arabella's nanny and tutor growing up, is an interesting character and I would have liked to see more of her.
This book honestly felt more like a draft than a finished book. It didn't flow, the dialogue could be stronger, and Arabella's characteristics were not consistent. On one hand she had absolutely no problem assuming the identity of a lower-class boy, and on the other she absolutely could not deviate from proper customs when acting or replying in a crisis once back as a female. I also would have also liked to see a bit of humor in the book; I think that could have taken it a lot farther than what it is right now. The ending felt rushed and cut off. A bit more of a resolution would have made it more complete, even if it was just a quick summary or epilogue.
I was given a free copy of this book from Tor in exchange for an honest review.
It had its good points, but it was riddled with issues. The first couple chapters almost made me abandoned the book because they were so bad. I think what was detrimental in the first few chapters and then continued, to a lesser extent, throughout the book was the author's lack of ability to write realistic human interactions and even more so a 16-year-old girl. Instead of writing a character who was a person, he wrote a character who was his estimation of a girl of that age which was really difficult to read without annoyance. At some points dialogue and interactions were passably believable, but most of the time they really detracted from the story which in an of itself was pretty weak and distracting.
These pretty important problems were really strange in comparison to the clear detail and knowledge put into the ship, automaton, and other details. I really didn't believe this as an adult sci-fi novel. Although even as a YA novel it would have had issues.
These pretty important problems were really strange in comparison to the clear detail and knowledge put into the ship, automaton, and other details. I really didn't believe this as an adult sci-fi novel. Although even as a YA novel it would have had issues.
3.5 stars
Like if PERSUASION and the John Carter books had a baby that got Burroughs' plotting and Austen's characters, humanism, and lack of gross xenophobia/racism. Fun but slight.
Like if PERSUASION and the John Carter books had a baby that got Burroughs' plotting and Austen's characters, humanism, and lack of gross xenophobia/racism. Fun but slight.
This book was good up until the end where it just crashed and burned.
My only question is how did they breathe? The descriptions made me feel like people were outside of the actual ship, for repairs and such, while in space. There is talking of floating but no one wears an oxygen tank or is enclosed in an air-tight ship. I needed one line to address that and I could have let it go.
That aside, I enjoyed the heroine, her adventure, her spunk and her choice in men.
That aside, I enjoyed the heroine, her adventure, her spunk and her choice in men.
Excellent fusion of genres
This was a very interesting and intriguing story with a wonderful female lead. The naval history aspect was a very strange and compelling element to a science fiction novel. I'm hopeful that the author will continue in this vein, as I think it was done very well!
This was a very interesting and intriguing story with a wonderful female lead. The naval history aspect was a very strange and compelling element to a science fiction novel. I'm hopeful that the author will continue in this vein, as I think it was done very well!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A very entertaining adventure story that imagines space travel by sailing ships in the early 1800's (breezily allows that there is atmosphere in space, but still acknowledges gravity :). The hero is quite plucky, and the story, quite dramatic.