A review by ergative
Infernal Devices by Philip Reeve

5.0

 Damn, these books are so good! Reeve is really moving out of the YA genre, despite the playfulness of the language and world-building, and the focus on a teenage main character (sort of). Hester and Tom's relationship is being treated with a real attention to how the events of their past and the mismatched personalities in their present idyllic life in Vineland might actually play out. What, realistically speaking, would happen when two thirty-somethings, who are each other's first and only love interests, discover that there are fundamental differences of temperament that come to the fore when danger comes to their haven and forces them to take action? Hester discovers that she would rather be out having adventures and is quite good at killing people, and has been plagued by a growing resentment and boredom at the peace and contentment that surrounds her adult life, including, heartbreakingly, her daughter. But this leads her to act with appalling callousness towards other people, even when she's not outright murdering them, which horrifies Tom. And Tom is sweet and gentle and nurturing, but he has, as Hester sees it, lost the spark and adventurousness that she found so exciting in him when they were young. This growing friction between Tom and Hester, combined with their very real love and devotion to each other, and the creaking strain that results from it, adds a depth to the book that really lifts it well out of the domain of YA, despite the bits with Wren, which are entertaining romps about a teenage girl being extremely dumb and impulsive, as teenage girls are.

But despite this undercurrent of darkness, which is quite a bit darker, I think, than the earlier books, or at least more adult, Reeve's delightful attention to detail in the narrative, the characters, the names (Nimrod Pennyroyal and Nabisco Shkin are two excellent ones) and the running motif of aspiring artists being not terribly popular or successful in Brighton, make this an utter joy.

Be warned: It does end on a cliffhanger, so be prepared to dive right into Book IV!