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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
Fantastic world building and a great main character, even if the story tied up just a touch too neatly. Also, NO romance, yay!
Emilie & the Hollow World is yet another great book from Strange Chemistry, a YA imprint which seems to be offering a varied selection of books and authors. Martha Wells is an established Fantasy writer, who has now started a YA series.
Whilst attempting to run away from home, Emilie finds herself on a ship – with a very unusual destination. As a protective bubble appears over the ship, it goes underwater, and then enters the ‘Hollow World’.. ie the world inside our own earth. She learns more about the machinery and magic which makes this possible, as well as the fight to control it and publish the knowledge.
Although we see very little of Emilie’s world, it has a Victorian feel when she talks about it, and it has a sense of Journey to the Centre of the Earth about it. The Hollow World obviously has a long history, with empty half-submerged cities, and I would have liked a little more of this history told. However, the focus is on Emilie’s adventures, as they discover a race of people who are divided and close to war, encounter strange and dangerous foes, all whilst trying to sort out their own differences, and return home.
Emilie herself is a great character, who develops and grows, whilst finding she’s stronger then she thought. She has a knack of getting on with everyone, and she makes some interesting new friends. I was pleased to see that she will be returning for a second adventure, in Emilie and the Sky World.
Emilie and the Hollow World is at it’s heart an adventure story, with a fast pace, and very readable. I was also pleasantly surprised to find there was no romantic twist, something which seems mandatory in YA. Due to its style, this would suit confident younger readers, as well as older teenagers. There’s also nothing stopping older readers enjoying it too, especially if you enjoy books to get lost in.
Whilst attempting to run away from home, Emilie finds herself on a ship – with a very unusual destination. As a protective bubble appears over the ship, it goes underwater, and then enters the ‘Hollow World’.. ie the world inside our own earth. She learns more about the machinery and magic which makes this possible, as well as the fight to control it and publish the knowledge.
Although we see very little of Emilie’s world, it has a Victorian feel when she talks about it, and it has a sense of Journey to the Centre of the Earth about it. The Hollow World obviously has a long history, with empty half-submerged cities, and I would have liked a little more of this history told. However, the focus is on Emilie’s adventures, as they discover a race of people who are divided and close to war, encounter strange and dangerous foes, all whilst trying to sort out their own differences, and return home.
Emilie herself is a great character, who develops and grows, whilst finding she’s stronger then she thought. She has a knack of getting on with everyone, and she makes some interesting new friends. I was pleased to see that she will be returning for a second adventure, in Emilie and the Sky World.
Emilie and the Hollow World is at it’s heart an adventure story, with a fast pace, and very readable. I was also pleasantly surprised to find there was no romantic twist, something which seems mandatory in YA. Due to its style, this would suit confident younger readers, as well as older teenagers. There’s also nothing stopping older readers enjoying it too, especially if you enjoy books to get lost in.
Not bad, not great. It started out better than it ended. Tons of potential to explore a new world with new sights and people, and that is when it thrived. It became just an adventure novel at the last 1/2, and although not bad, it was better when it was world exploration. I don't think I will bother with the sequel.
An adventure with a fast and entertaining pace, from the hand of a heroine who does not fail in her role.
This world and its magic sound promising and although I didn't love this book as much as I thought I would, I think I'll go for the second part.
This world and its magic sound promising and although I didn't love this book as much as I thought I would, I think I'll go for the second part.
This review and others can be found on Cozy Up With A Good Read
I was really surprised when this book arrived, it seemed so small for such an adventurous story, but what Martha Wells was able to fit into 287 pages was full of intrigue and I had so much fun reading this book. The cover is what first drew me in to the story, it's so colourful and different from many books out there, it really stands out on a bookshelf. And honestly, the story stands out as well (in my opinion), Martha Wells really engages her readers in The Hollow World.
This book was an adventure of a lifetime for me, I fell in love with Emilie very early on in the story. She is an adorable character in a crappy family situation, so she decides to run away and do something for herself. One little issue for me was that you don't really get to know Emilie and her situation until a little while into the book, she doesn't want to look bad so tries to keep it a secret why she has left. I wanted a little more from Emilie's past, but for this story it really worked. Her character is absolutely adorable, first I will talk about how she is an avid reader of adventure novels, this continually comes up in the book when things start happening. Everytime Emilie dealt with something new she would go back to thinking about things in the books she had read, this also helps her at times when she is in danger (I wonder if I can use some of the tactics I've read about in a dangerous situation...)
Another great aspect of this book was the steampunkiness of it. There was a great amount of explanation about how the contraptions run and the world was definitely interesting, though I was hoping for a little more explanation to it and the creatures from there. I think that some of the secondary characters needed a little bit more of a background, and that this story was just a little to short to get everything in. But I do think I overlooked that for such an action packed story. Right from the beginning Emilie is thrown into a war between two Lord's and from there we are just brought into more battle, I really loved everything that happened because there were so many twists that I did not see coming.
I did feel like a little more could have been added to the book to explain a few more things, but this action filled book was so much fun that you get taken with the world and everything that is happening. I also really liked that there wasn't a romance featured in this book, it was all about the characters. I do hope that Martha plans to write a sequel, I would love to see more of these characters!
I was really surprised when this book arrived, it seemed so small for such an adventurous story, but what Martha Wells was able to fit into 287 pages was full of intrigue and I had so much fun reading this book. The cover is what first drew me in to the story, it's so colourful and different from many books out there, it really stands out on a bookshelf. And honestly, the story stands out as well (in my opinion), Martha Wells really engages her readers in The Hollow World.
This book was an adventure of a lifetime for me, I fell in love with Emilie very early on in the story. She is an adorable character in a crappy family situation, so she decides to run away and do something for herself. One little issue for me was that you don't really get to know Emilie and her situation until a little while into the book, she doesn't want to look bad so tries to keep it a secret why she has left. I wanted a little more from Emilie's past, but for this story it really worked. Her character is absolutely adorable, first I will talk about how she is an avid reader of adventure novels, this continually comes up in the book when things start happening. Everytime Emilie dealt with something new she would go back to thinking about things in the books she had read, this also helps her at times when she is in danger (I wonder if I can use some of the tactics I've read about in a dangerous situation...)
Another great aspect of this book was the steampunkiness of it. There was a great amount of explanation about how the contraptions run and the world was definitely interesting, though I was hoping for a little more explanation to it and the creatures from there. I think that some of the secondary characters needed a little bit more of a background, and that this story was just a little to short to get everything in. But I do think I overlooked that for such an action packed story. Right from the beginning Emilie is thrown into a war between two Lord's and from there we are just brought into more battle, I really loved everything that happened because there were so many twists that I did not see coming.
I did feel like a little more could have been added to the book to explain a few more things, but this action filled book was so much fun that you get taken with the world and everything that is happening. I also really liked that there wasn't a romance featured in this book, it was all about the characters. I do hope that Martha plans to write a sequel, I would love to see more of these characters!
I did like this book. As all of Well's books I've read so far it got great characters, great world building and great writing. But I've been in a big reading slump this last month and books have taken time being finished because i just couldn't feel it. If it wasnt for slumping I would probably have giving this book 4 stars. I will also wait with the second book, Emilie & the Sky World until i get out of the slump.
Sixteen-year-old Emilie has run away from home. As an orphan, her aunt and uncle had taken in Emilie, as well as her three brothers; it has not been a happy experience for Emilie. Emilie receives constant verbal abuse from her aunt and uncle, who believe that she will turn out just like her mother – a runaway turned actress. Despite the fact that her mother married respectably, Emilie’s aunt and uncle believe that Emilie is destined to become a whore and punish her for what she has not nor has any intention of doing. Emilie gets no protection from her brothers, her eldest having joined the navy as soon as he could, and her youngest brothers believing her uncle’s lies. When the novel opens, Emilie has decided to runaway to a cousin to escape the continued abuse; however, she doesn’t stowaway on the right ship and lands herself in a bigger adventure that she ever imagined.
When Emilie boards the Sovereign to escape the harbour authorities, she becomes involved in greater mystery that will take her to the Hollow World. Emilie takes her changed circumstances in stride and embraces the adventure and her new found companions. The Sovereign is on route to rescue the noted scientist and sorcerer, Dr. Marlende, who has been trapped in the Hollow World; however, the rescue mission becomes complicated by the dastardly Lord Ivers, who wants to steal the discovery of the Hollow World for himself.
Emilie and the Hollow World is an adventure story at heart. Wells immerses the reader into a new world, and throws her intrepid heroine into numerous situations where her courage, ingenuity and determination shine. The great fun of this one is in the obvious parallels to Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Wells immerses her characters into a world that is clearly Vernian and it sets the stage for a very entertaining read with a great heroine. I also found the story harkened to Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, another great adventure tale. What was great about Emilie and the Hollow World is that there were characters that are women, both Verne and Conan Doyle don’t include strong female characters, so it was great to see a similar tale from a different perspective.
What I think readers should also be aware of is the fact that there is really no romance in this one. The story is truly an adventure with very little romance, expect for a tiny hint of flirting towards the end of the book. I do not think there is anything wrong with this, it’s just something I would like to know before going into a book since I think that can be a deciding factor for readers depending on their book mood. Also, the lack of romance and the characterization of Emilie lead me to recommend this one a good read for a younger audience. At times Emilie does sound rather young (like a sixteen year old should, in my opinion - no twenty-five-year old hiding in a sixteen-year-old girl here!) and I think her voice will then appeal to a young set of readers.
Overall, a great adventure story that leaves me hoping that we will see more of Emilie!
*Review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
When Emilie boards the Sovereign to escape the harbour authorities, she becomes involved in greater mystery that will take her to the Hollow World. Emilie takes her changed circumstances in stride and embraces the adventure and her new found companions. The Sovereign is on route to rescue the noted scientist and sorcerer, Dr. Marlende, who has been trapped in the Hollow World; however, the rescue mission becomes complicated by the dastardly Lord Ivers, who wants to steal the discovery of the Hollow World for himself.
Emilie and the Hollow World is an adventure story at heart. Wells immerses the reader into a new world, and throws her intrepid heroine into numerous situations where her courage, ingenuity and determination shine. The great fun of this one is in the obvious parallels to Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Wells immerses her characters into a world that is clearly Vernian and it sets the stage for a very entertaining read with a great heroine. I also found the story harkened to Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, another great adventure tale. What was great about Emilie and the Hollow World is that there were characters that are women, both Verne and Conan Doyle don’t include strong female characters, so it was great to see a similar tale from a different perspective.
What I think readers should also be aware of is the fact that there is really no romance in this one. The story is truly an adventure with very little romance, expect for a tiny hint of flirting towards the end of the book. I do not think there is anything wrong with this, it’s just something I would like to know before going into a book since I think that can be a deciding factor for readers depending on their book mood. Also, the lack of romance and the characterization of Emilie lead me to recommend this one a good read for a younger audience. At times Emilie does sound rather young (like a sixteen year old should, in my opinion - no twenty-five-year old hiding in a sixteen-year-old girl here!) and I think her voice will then appeal to a young set of readers.
Overall, a great adventure story that leaves me hoping that we will see more of Emilie!
*Review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
Emilie and the Hollow World is reminiscent of 1800s stories such as Jules Vern’s but with a distinct Girl’s Own Adventure sort of feel. While running away from home, Emilie ends up stowing away on the wrong ship. She soon finds herself embroiled in a rescue expedition to the center of the world, where strange places and creatures lie in wait.
The society Emilie belongs to is reminiscent of Victorian England, giving the novel a steampunk vibe. There’s also magic and wizardry, and it is the currents of magic flowing through the world that propel our cast down to the hollow center and the world within the world. It is here that Martha Wells demonstrates her ample imagination, although the Hollow World does tend to remind me of her Raksura books (without any shapeshifters).
Emilie might have been my favorite thing about the novel. She’s got this intrepid spirit and really grows into her own over the course of the story. I also liked that even though the society she comes from is clearly sexist, she wasn’t the only female character among the main cast.
Emilie and the Hollow World felt clearly middle grade to me. I didn’t notice Emilie’s age ever being given, but she feels younger than a teenager. More like eleven or twelve. Somewhat perplexingly, I see other reviewers mentioning that her age is given as sixteen. Did I miss this somehow? Emilie really didn’t read as that old.
On the downside, it is a very light story. There’s not enough complexities to it to get me excited about it or emotionally invested. I’m not planning on reading the sequel. Still, it was enjoyable enough that I don’t regret reading it. Emilie and the Hollow World is certainly not Wells’s best, but if it’s her worse, it’s a testament to the general quality of her work rather than the failings of this novel.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
The society Emilie belongs to is reminiscent of Victorian England, giving the novel a steampunk vibe. There’s also magic and wizardry, and it is the currents of magic flowing through the world that propel our cast down to the hollow center and the world within the world. It is here that Martha Wells demonstrates her ample imagination, although the Hollow World does tend to remind me of her Raksura books (without any shapeshifters).
Emilie might have been my favorite thing about the novel. She’s got this intrepid spirit and really grows into her own over the course of the story. I also liked that even though the society she comes from is clearly sexist, she wasn’t the only female character among the main cast.
Emilie and the Hollow World felt clearly middle grade to me. I didn’t notice Emilie’s age ever being given, but she feels younger than a teenager. More like eleven or twelve. Somewhat perplexingly, I see other reviewers mentioning that her age is given as sixteen. Did I miss this somehow? Emilie really didn’t read as that old.
On the downside, it is a very light story. There’s not enough complexities to it to get me excited about it or emotionally invested. I’m not planning on reading the sequel. Still, it was enjoyable enough that I don’t regret reading it. Emilie and the Hollow World is certainly not Wells’s best, but if it’s her worse, it’s a testament to the general quality of her work rather than the failings of this novel.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
This review and others can be found on my review blog.
This is a book I would be happy to give a teenager of any gender, with plenty of action and wonderful characters.
Review copy provided for free by Strange Chemistry through Netgalley
I liked this one a lot. It’s a pretty simple adventure story with a lot of action, but it really gets the high score for me from the characters. So often, YA has either very sarcastic, miserable main characters or main characters who are insipid and bland, but Emilie is neither of those things. She is a plucky young woman who opts to remove herself from a situation that is no longer tolerable for her (and she has fairly good reasons to leave, too, that are not completely over the top monstrousness) and who acts with bravery and loyalty throughout an adventure not of her own choosing. However, she isn’t unrealistically hard, she has moments of doubt and fear and grief, but she gets on and does the right thing regardless. I like her a lot.
The writing is pretty simple, but that’s fine. It tells the story well with no confusion, which is the minimum I require from prose. Yet again, this is a book where I’d have liked a little more flair in the writing, but I have no real complaints.
Something I did really enjoy were some little moments of subtle gender equality messages. Most of the stuff isn’t that subtle (Emilie constantly has to prove herself against those who think of her a certain way because she’s female) but there were a few little details that were more subtle that I loved.
A fun book with a decent bit of depth. I hope there will be more in the series.
4 stars.
Emilie and The Hollow World will be published in April.
This is a book I would be happy to give a teenager of any gender, with plenty of action and wonderful characters.
Review copy provided for free by Strange Chemistry through Netgalley
I liked this one a lot. It’s a pretty simple adventure story with a lot of action, but it really gets the high score for me from the characters. So often, YA has either very sarcastic, miserable main characters or main characters who are insipid and bland, but Emilie is neither of those things. She is a plucky young woman who opts to remove herself from a situation that is no longer tolerable for her (and she has fairly good reasons to leave, too, that are not completely over the top monstrousness) and who acts with bravery and loyalty throughout an adventure not of her own choosing. However, she isn’t unrealistically hard, she has moments of doubt and fear and grief, but she gets on and does the right thing regardless. I like her a lot.
The writing is pretty simple, but that’s fine. It tells the story well with no confusion, which is the minimum I require from prose. Yet again, this is a book where I’d have liked a little more flair in the writing, but I have no real complaints.
Something I did really enjoy were some little moments of subtle gender equality messages. Most of the stuff isn’t that subtle (Emilie constantly has to prove herself against those who think of her a certain way because she’s female) but there were a few little details that were more subtle that I loved.
A fun book with a decent bit of depth. I hope there will be more in the series.
4 stars.
Emilie and The Hollow World will be published in April.
3 1/2 really, most enjoyable book. maybe i was thinking of martha wells and wanting more?