A review by efigg
Infernal Devices by Philip Reeve

3.0

I am disappointed that there was not a whole lot of depth to the characters, but the plot was entertaining. There are a lot of one dimensional female characters in this book. It is all about how the women look, with their men at the center of their universe, and not much beyond that (semi-spoiler details ahead to back my point). Hester always looking ugly and needing Tom to give her validation. Hester has the potential to be a dynamic character with a rough past, mixed emotions, and the ability to be a ruthless fighter AND a loving wife and mom. Freya has gained weight and is waiting around for Caul to settle down. Are we going to talk about how she is a hero when she takes the lead on saving a bunch of children, or was that just an expected minor plot point because she plays the spinster teacher character now? Wasn’t she a margravine? Boo Boo is just a pretty face belonging to Pennyroyal. How about a little backstory or cleaver personality? Even Wren is tied up in Fishcake and Theo instead of taking the lead on her own adventure.