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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
A good read, mixing up Regency and interplanetary adventure in the nicest way. When Arabella Ashby is forced back to Earth from her colonial plantation home on Mars, she discovers the plan of her cousin to murder her brother so that he can inherit. She pretends to be a boy so she can work her passage home to Mars on a ship. Having plenty of space adventures, she arrives at Mars to find the place in open rebellion. Using her skills as an English gentlewoman and Mars breeding, she overcomes all obstacles to find win hearts and minds. Fun.
It was alright. The premise of the book is what drew me in - steampunk (ish) alternate history, space travel and a female protagonist. It's also that very nice brand of pulpy but not too trashy, so it's easy and fun to read, without making you feel you've wasted your time.
It also has a wonderfully diverse cast - it's not often you have a main character be Indian! (Sci-fi only likes Caucasians and aliens right?) And black people and aliens too - there are some undertones of colonial occupation and what that means. As well as some general racism but given the time period it's set in, I'm willing to let that go.
However, there are a few things that really don't sit well with me - mainly related to Arabella disguising herself as a boy - few questions:
1. How does her voice not give her away (or is it a Mulan type situation?)
2. Levine mentions that she gets her period for a couple of days a month WTF?! How is she dealing with that in close quarters with a predominantly male crew?
3. How does she get dressed? What does she wear? When/how does she wash her clothes?
I know these questions sound pedantic, but I guess by glossing over these things, or rather with Arabella only showing concern if anyone gets near her chest (which is also odd, because much is made of her being basically flat-chested (straight up and down). Also there's more than hint of the Mary Sue about her - learning how to work the automaton, being able to learn how to do sailor's type tasks in only a few weeks, talking down the Martians blah blah blah.
I guess I've become used to really nuanced characters (forget if they're male or female) and the somewhat one dimensionality of the characters in this was rather disappointing, i.e. all the English people have delicate sensibilities, everyone is sexist, but Arabella is wonderful etc etc.
Pretty sure I won't be reading the next one. It's bit Honor Harrington lite tbh.
It also has a wonderfully diverse cast - it's not often you have a main character be Indian! (Sci-fi only likes Caucasians and aliens right?) And black people and aliens too - there are some undertones of colonial occupation and what that means. As well as some general racism but given the time period it's set in, I'm willing to let that go.
However, there are a few things that really don't sit well with me - mainly related to Arabella disguising herself as a boy - few questions:
1. How does her voice not give her away (or is it a Mulan type situation?)
2. Levine mentions that she gets her period for a couple of days a month WTF?! How is she dealing with that in close quarters with a predominantly male crew?
3. How does she get dressed? What does she wear? When/how does she wash her clothes?
I know these questions sound pedantic, but I guess by glossing over these things, or rather with Arabella only showing concern if anyone gets near her chest (which is also odd, because much is made of her being basically flat-chested (straight up and down). Also there's more than hint of the Mary Sue about her - learning how to work the automaton, being able to learn how to do sailor's type tasks in only a few weeks, talking down the Martians blah blah blah.
I guess I've become used to really nuanced characters (forget if they're male or female) and the somewhat one dimensionality of the characters in this was rather disappointing, i.e. all the English people have delicate sensibilities, everyone is sexist, but Arabella is wonderful etc etc.
Pretty sure I won't be reading the next one. It's bit Honor Harrington lite tbh.
Great premise, but the execution didn't work for me.
This was such a fun book. The adventure was exciting, the old tropes seemed fresh, and the writing was excellent.
I really enjoyed Arabella and her character, the plot and her journey, and the setting. The time period and setting was super cool, I enjoyed the ships and how they space travelled. It was definitely a cool concept and something I haven't seen/ read before. The descriptions were vivid, and really helped paint a picture in my head of what Arabella was looking at and her surroundings. This book was so easy to read and I really enjoyed the writing - it was fast paced, and the writing flowed quite well to tell the story.
The plot was definitely not entirely original, but I did enjoy Levine's take on it and how he worked in the Martians, the ship voyage, and the time period.
The characters were quite well developed. I'm hoping to see more from the side characters in the next instalment, but I definitely felt like they had substance. Arabella felt very realistic, and I enjoyed how she took charge and made it to Mars, and how she used her knowledge to the best of her abilities.
I am excited to read more in this world with these characters!
I really enjoyed Arabella and her character, the plot and her journey, and the setting. The time period and setting was super cool, I enjoyed the ships and how they space travelled. It was definitely a cool concept and something I haven't seen/ read before. The descriptions were vivid, and really helped paint a picture in my head of what Arabella was looking at and her surroundings. This book was so easy to read and I really enjoyed the writing - it was fast paced, and the writing flowed quite well to tell the story.
The plot was definitely not entirely original, but I did enjoy Levine's take on it and how he worked in the Martians, the ship voyage, and the time period.
The characters were quite well developed. I'm hoping to see more from the side characters in the next instalment, but I definitely felt like they had substance. Arabella felt very realistic, and I enjoyed how she took charge and made it to Mars, and how she used her knowledge to the best of her abilities.
I am excited to read more in this world with these characters!
An OK YA steampunk adventure a bit like E.R.Burroughs meets Gilbert and Sullivan sans humor. It's a bit too Victorian for my tastes, the hero Arabella is saved via her status as a women and not by her own actions in a couple of cases and the romance is a bit thin.
I guess I have to wait longer for Jane Carter : Warlord of Mars.
I guess I have to wait longer for Jane Carter : Warlord of Mars.
I really was on the fence between 3 and 4 stars and had to think on it a few days. I've decided on 3 stars. There was a lot about this that was really great, and I definitely recommend reading it, I just had a few personal things I couldn't get over...
The ships in space... great idea, and fun, and I really like the idea of nautical ships instead of space ships.... BUT, the ships weren't enclosed. And the sky would be bright blue during the 'day.' And they had no trouble breathing, but some physics principals were still maintained like there being zero gravity. AAAHHH! I really couldn't deal with it at times. I know he was trying to create a new concept with the nautical ships, and the battle scene certainly wouldn't have been able to take place if they couldn't breathe out in space, and it's fun, I get it. But I couldn't suspend THAT much disbelief. I couldn't. There could have been some kind of mechanically generated air bubble or force-field, something, to get around this (especially with the assumption that they figured out how to get nautical ships to space travel in the first place in the 1600s).
Second, the development of romantic feelings in Arabella toward the captain. I'm going to low-ball his age and say he's in his mid-thirties, while it is well established that she just turned 17 in the beginning of the book. He's AT LEAST twice her age. And while I'm not one to thumb my nose at large age differences in relationships, and I understand too that it takes place during a time in history where this kind of thing is a little more accepted, but he's probably more than twice her age....
There also was a point about 2/3 of the way through that I could just as easily have not continued to read and could have been okay, but I waited a couple days and came back to it and finished it, and the rest was quite good.
All that said, it was really quite fun. And I'll probably read the second book at some point. And now that I've written out all these problems that I had with it, I'm more confident in my 3 stars rating.
The ships in space... great idea, and fun, and I really like the idea of nautical ships instead of space ships.... BUT, the ships weren't enclosed. And the sky would be bright blue during the 'day.' And they had no trouble breathing, but some physics principals were still maintained like there being zero gravity. AAAHHH! I really couldn't deal with it at times. I know he was trying to create a new concept with the nautical ships, and the battle scene certainly wouldn't have been able to take place if they couldn't breathe out in space, and it's fun, I get it. But I couldn't suspend THAT much disbelief. I couldn't. There could have been some kind of mechanically generated air bubble or force-field, something, to get around this (especially with the assumption that they figured out how to get nautical ships to space travel in the first place in the 1600s).
Second, the development of romantic feelings in Arabella toward the captain. I'm going to low-ball his age and say he's in his mid-thirties, while it is well established that she just turned 17 in the beginning of the book. He's AT LEAST twice her age. And while I'm not one to thumb my nose at large age differences in relationships, and I understand too that it takes place during a time in history where this kind of thing is a little more accepted, but he's probably more than twice her age....
There also was a point about 2/3 of the way through that I could just as easily have not continued to read and could have been okay, but I waited a couple days and came back to it and finished it, and the rest was quite good.
All that said, it was really quite fun. And I'll probably read the second book at some point. And now that I've written out all these problems that I had with it, I'm more confident in my 3 stars rating.
I felt like the first couple chapters of Arabella of Mars were a bit clumsy and rushed. There's a major event near the beginning that I had trouble believing, and I almost put the book down.
But I persisted, and I'm glad I did. The book turns into SO MUCH FUN--lighthearted, entertaining, steampunky fun. Great for a relaxing read when you don't need something deep, but you also don't like trashy reads, either.
But I persisted, and I'm glad I did. The book turns into SO MUCH FUN--lighthearted, entertaining, steampunky fun. Great for a relaxing read when you don't need something deep, but you also don't like trashy reads, either.
When I first heard about this book I knew immediately that I would want to own it. It sounds just like my cup of tea-- a regency era steampunk space traveling adventure with a girl disguising herself as a boy.
I think this novel is very well crafted. There is a lot going on across the entire book, but it is sectioned off nicely by chapters. I was never overwhelmed with the world, the science, the characters, the plot, or any other elements because they're introduced gradually overtime. It was also really refreshing to reach an end point of a chapter and feel satisfied to pause my reading if I wanted to continue later. This also means that the plot itself was laid out well. It had a wonderful flow that causes one event to lead to the next.
I also really enjoy the blend of the sci-fi, fantasy world. It's fantasy because atmosphere exists between Earth and Mars, making it possible to travel between Earth and Mars by airship. The sci-fi, other than the airspaceship and automata technology, comes in at Mars where we find out that Martians do exist and have a well-developed culture and society. Arabella even has a Martian nanny to teach her Martian ways. I definitely would like to learn more about the Martians and possibly any other lifeforms that exist within this universe.
One thing I was not completely sold on by this novel is the romance. I love a good romance as a side-plot of a series, but I do not completely understand where Arabella'sand the Captain's feelings come from. I was not really anticipating/on the edge of my seat waiting for the characters' to admit their feelings like I usually am. The novel has a lot of other great things going for it and this doesn't take much away, but it is the main reason why I didn't give it a 5 star rating.
I think it's a great start to a series and I will definitely pick up a copy of the next book.
I think this novel is very well crafted. There is a lot going on across the entire book, but it is sectioned off nicely by chapters. I was never overwhelmed with the world, the science, the characters, the plot, or any other elements because they're introduced gradually overtime. It was also really refreshing to reach an end point of a chapter and feel satisfied to pause my reading if I wanted to continue later. This also means that the plot itself was laid out well. It had a wonderful flow that causes one event to lead to the next.
I also really enjoy the blend of the sci-fi, fantasy world. It's fantasy because atmosphere exists between Earth and Mars, making it possible to travel between Earth and Mars by airship. The sci-fi, other than the airspaceship and automata technology, comes in at Mars where we find out that Martians do exist and have a well-developed culture and society. Arabella even has a Martian nanny to teach her Martian ways. I definitely would like to learn more about the Martians and possibly any other lifeforms that exist within this universe.
One thing I was not completely sold on by this novel is the romance. I love a good romance as a side-plot of a series, but I do not completely understand where Arabella's
I think it's a great start to a series and I will definitely pick up a copy of the next book.
Arabella was born and raised on a plantation on Mars. Her mother is from England and wants to take her daughters back to have them raised as proper ladies. When Arabella's father dies, she seizes the opportunity and takes them back to England, leaving Arabella's brother in charge of the plantation.
Back on Earth, Arabella doesn't fit in. When a nasty cousin realizes that he will be heir to the plantation if her brother dies, he jumps on an airship to Mars to kill him. Arabella realizes that she needs to get to Mars first to warn her brother.
This book felt a lot more like a sea-going novel like Horatio Hornblower than a space-traveling sci fi book.
The ships that travel to and from Mars are basically British naval vessels of the sailing era fitted with balloons. Arabella disguises herself as a boy and gets a job on a ship. Most of the book takes place on the ship on the way to Mars with aerial battles and possible strandings and mutinies.
I was interested to see how this wooden ship was going to be made able to withstand the rigors of space. Were the balloons going to wrap around it and seal the ship? Nope. In this world science is different.
- There is air in space so you don't need oxygen.
- There is wind in space to move the ship using the sails.
- It isn't cold. You can wander about in normal clothes.
- There's no vacuum so you don't explode.
- The only thing different on Mars is lighter gravity.
Social issues discussed
- The role of women in society
- The captain of the ship Arabella works on is Indian and that doesn't sit well with several of the white crewmembers
- There are native inhabitants of Mars who the English treat as servants as they were wont to do when colonizing places. The Martians are not pleased with this.
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This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story
This was very meh for me. It was action-packed, and the world-building was okay, but maybe too action-packed, and not enough world-building, tbh. I did like the main character, and her love interest (though boy howdy this guy doesn't know how to write about love). The ending was RUSHED times 1,000, too. Still, not a bad first novel.