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A review by simply_sam
Arabella of Mars by David D. Levine
3.0
This book should really be titled: Arabella, The Hero of Everything.
****Spoilerish****
Maneuver through zero gravity on the ship better than the seasoned airmen? Yep.
Take down the big bully almost unscathed? No biggee.
Talk down a mutiny? On my afternoon break.
Save the ship from crash landing? Please. Amateur hour over here.
END A WAR ON MARS??? Well, what do you think? I am basically THE best.
It was pretty ridiculous how Arabella single-handedly overcame all obstacles and was the best at all the things (and incidentally, she was a little bit of a snob.) I just ended up laughing at the absurdity of it all.
With that being said, I didn't hate it. I think a good balance was achieved between the science fiction, steampunk, and regency era components of the story. The author took a lot of liberties with space travel, seeing as how you can breathe in space, asteroids are like little planets complete with wildlife and trees, and apparently it can rain. Who knew? The whole idea is like Mars is an island that you can sail to, which, once you wrap your head around it, is kind of cool.
Anyway, this is actually a fun little book. I liked the martians, with their female warriors and sense of honor. I liked Aadim, the automaton navigator, who almost seems aware. And I always enjoy the girl disguised as a boy trope. I don't know why, it just works for me.
So as long as you go in to this with the expectation of Arabella to be the most intelligent, creative, inventive 17 year old on 2 planets, it should all be good.
****Spoilerish****
Maneuver through zero gravity on the ship better than the seasoned airmen? Yep.
Take down the big bully almost unscathed? No biggee.
Talk down a mutiny? On my afternoon break.
Save the ship from crash landing? Please. Amateur hour over here.
END A WAR ON MARS??? Well, what do you think? I am basically THE best.
It was pretty ridiculous how Arabella single-handedly overcame all obstacles and was the best at all the things (and incidentally, she was a little bit of a snob.) I just ended up laughing at the absurdity of it all.
With that being said, I didn't hate it. I think a good balance was achieved between the science fiction, steampunk, and regency era components of the story. The author took a lot of liberties with space travel, seeing as how you can breathe in space, asteroids are like little planets complete with wildlife and trees, and apparently it can rain. Who knew? The whole idea is like Mars is an island that you can sail to, which, once you wrap your head around it, is kind of cool.
Anyway, this is actually a fun little book. I liked the martians, with their female warriors and sense of honor. I liked Aadim, the automaton navigator, who almost seems aware. And I always enjoy the girl disguised as a boy trope. I don't know why, it just works for me.
So as long as you go in to this with the expectation of Arabella to be the most intelligent, creative, inventive 17 year old on 2 planets, it should all be good.