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A review by mackle13
The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent
4.0
3.5
What can I say about this book? Despite it's flaws, it kept me up past my bedtime reading until I finally had to force myself to put it down. But I almost feel guilty for liking it how much I did, because at least part of it has to do with stomach fluttering romance.
So -
Nikola Tesla, steampunk's* god of wacky science, ends up transporting random bits of London to another place - a place of Elementals and magic, and the Rational minded Londoners take over in that Empire building way, call the natives 'Unnaturals', and basically set about destroying the world, outlawing magic - except for that approved/hoarded by the Empress.
In this world resides Vespa (and, seriously, I kept thinking of Spaceballs), a young girl who wants to become a Pedant, which is a scientist who studies Unnaturals. Her bits are told in first person.
Also in this world resides Syrus, a Tinker, gypsy-like people who live in harmony with the magical world and its creatures. His bits are told in third person.
And, the third of our main players, Hal, an Architect who fights to preserve the magical world, knowing that the more that the 'Unnaturals' are destroyed, the more of the world goes with them.
And there's other stuff, too, but then it starts getting into spoilers.
Suffice it to say, I really liked the world, though it's not what I was expecting. I was expecting something more techie type Steampunk, wheras this is more magi-tech, and just barely Steampunky at all. But, as I am a fantasy buff, and I do love me some fae, after I readjusted my expectations, I was taken along for the ride.
And it is a bit of a ride, as these three try to save the world, their lives, and their hearts - not necessarily in that order - while going about it in the most annoying way possible.
Here's the downside.
Usually I would really dig a character like Vespa - a girl unhappy with the gender roles of the time. Spunky, independent minded, and a bit wild... but, often, she comes across as more petulant and whiney than anything.
I preferred Syrus, though I wished his character was a bit more fleshed out.
(I also wish the author would've just written everything in third person, instead of alternating between first and third. And, along those lines, the narration styles weren't different enough, really, to allow for two different narrators.)
Hal is one of my favorite characters in the story, though I was vexed with him often, too.
See, this is one of those books where people don't seem to like to actually talk to each other, except in short bursts of, mostly, argumentative banter. No one ever listens to the other, and so much misunderstanding could've been avoided.
And usually that shit drives me to distraction, to the point where I end up not liking the book, but something about this book - maybe the adventurey-suspense bits, or just the world, or something - allowed me to look past even that faux pas to enjoy the larger story.
And enjoy it I did - though I did feel the ending was a bit rushed and unsettled. It's not a cliffhanger, and it does wrap up enough to read it as a stand-alone, assuming you don't get too invested in the characters, 'cause there's some character-related stuff which is left open which left me a bit unsatisfied.
I will definitely be looking for the next in the series - though I do hope that the characters get fleshed out a bit more, and are, overall, a bit less irksome.
What can I say about this book? Despite it's flaws, it kept me up past my bedtime reading until I finally had to force myself to put it down. But I almost feel guilty for liking it how much I did, because at least part of it has to do with stomach fluttering romance.
So -
Nikola Tesla, steampunk's* god of wacky science, ends up transporting random bits of London to another place - a place of Elementals and magic, and the Rational minded Londoners take over in that Empire building way, call the natives 'Unnaturals', and basically set about destroying the world, outlawing magic - except for that approved/hoarded by the Empress.
In this world resides Vespa (and, seriously, I kept thinking of Spaceballs), a young girl who wants to become a Pedant, which is a scientist who studies Unnaturals. Her bits are told in first person.
Also in this world resides Syrus, a Tinker, gypsy-like people who live in harmony with the magical world and its creatures. His bits are told in third person.
And, the third of our main players, Hal, an Architect who fights to preserve the magical world, knowing that the more that the 'Unnaturals' are destroyed, the more of the world goes with them.
And there's other stuff, too, but then it starts getting into spoilers.
Suffice it to say, I really liked the world, though it's not what I was expecting. I was expecting something more techie type Steampunk, wheras this is more magi-tech, and just barely Steampunky at all. But, as I am a fantasy buff, and I do love me some fae, after I readjusted my expectations, I was taken along for the ride.
And it is a bit of a ride, as these three try to save the world, their lives, and their hearts - not necessarily in that order - while going about it in the most annoying way possible.
Here's the downside.
Usually I would really dig a character like Vespa - a girl unhappy with the gender roles of the time. Spunky, independent minded, and a bit wild... but, often, she comes across as more petulant and whiney than anything.
I preferred Syrus, though I wished his character was a bit more fleshed out.
(I also wish the author would've just written everything in third person, instead of alternating between first and third. And, along those lines, the narration styles weren't different enough, really, to allow for two different narrators.)
Hal is one of my favorite characters in the story, though I was vexed with him often, too.
See, this is one of those books where people don't seem to like to actually talk to each other, except in short bursts of, mostly, argumentative banter. No one ever listens to the other, and so much misunderstanding could've been avoided.
And usually that shit drives me to distraction, to the point where I end up not liking the book, but something about this book - maybe the adventurey-suspense bits, or just the world, or something - allowed me to look past even that faux pas to enjoy the larger story.
And enjoy it I did - though I did feel the ending was a bit rushed and unsettled. It's not a cliffhanger, and it does wrap up enough to read it as a stand-alone, assuming you don't get too invested in the characters, 'cause there's some character-related stuff which is left open which left me a bit unsatisfied.
I will definitely be looking for the next in the series - though I do hope that the characters get fleshed out a bit more, and are, overall, a bit less irksome.