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A review by sarah_taleweaver
The Orb and the Airship by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt
5.0
This book was SO GOOD. I received a finished pre-release copy because I backed Jenelle's Kickstarter, and y'all, that was money well spent. The Orb and the Airship blends elements of steampunk and epic fantasy into a magnificent adventure that I had a very hard time putting down.
It should come as a surprise to no one that Marik ended up being my favorite character (as I expected he would be), or that his sections were my favorite parts, especially at the start. Marik is a captain in the fine tradition of Mal Reynolds and Francis Grimm, a hero by nature and an outcast by circumstance, loyal to his crew and his principles. I loved his interactions with his crew and how he really does view them as his family. Plus, his chapters are pretty consistently full of adventure and action and intriguing details.
The other half of the plot follows Grayden and Wynn as they leave home to travel to the Academy, a military school, following in the narrative footsteps of many a previous young fantasy protagonist. They are, somewhat unexpectedly to them, joined by Dalmir, a mysterious old man who lived in a tower near their village and is definitely more than he seems to be — at the very least, he's apparently the guardian against a great evil, sealed away for a time but now beginning to free itself once more (not a spoiler; if you can't figure that much out from the first two chapters, I don't know what you're doing with your life).
I had a harder time getting into Grayden and Dalmir's side of the plot, as it starts off a bit slow, but things picked up once they reached the city and met my second-favorite character in this book, Berengar. I really like Berengar. I can't say a lot about him because of spoilers, but he pretty much took the spot of "Character in this book I most want to be friends with" the moment he appeared on the page. This is also the point where their plotline intersects with Marik's, with excellent results for the readers and, accordingly, somewhat less excellent results for the characters. The rest of the book is full of dramatic heists, thrilling fights, daring rescues, and a healthy dose of character tension, and it's all top-notch reading.
So, yes. I definitely recommend picking up this book — the Kickstarter is over now, but I believe it'll be available for general purchase starting in June 2023, so mark your calendars! As for me, I'll be over here eagerly awaiting the rest of the series.
It should come as a surprise to no one that Marik ended up being my favorite character (as I expected he would be), or that his sections were my favorite parts, especially at the start. Marik is a captain in the fine tradition of Mal Reynolds and Francis Grimm, a hero by nature and an outcast by circumstance, loyal to his crew and his principles. I loved his interactions with his crew and how he really does view them as his family. Plus, his chapters are pretty consistently full of adventure and action and intriguing details.
The other half of the plot follows Grayden and Wynn as they leave home to travel to the Academy, a military school, following in the narrative footsteps of many a previous young fantasy protagonist. They are, somewhat unexpectedly to them, joined by Dalmir, a mysterious old man who lived in a tower near their village and is definitely more than he seems to be — at the very least, he's apparently the guardian against a great evil, sealed away for a time but now beginning to free itself once more (not a spoiler; if you can't figure that much out from the first two chapters, I don't know what you're doing with your life).
I had a harder time getting into Grayden and Dalmir's side of the plot, as it starts off a bit slow, but things picked up once they reached the city and met my second-favorite character in this book, Berengar. I really like Berengar. I can't say a lot about him because of spoilers, but he pretty much took the spot of "Character in this book I most want to be friends with" the moment he appeared on the page. This is also the point where their plotline intersects with Marik's, with excellent results for the readers and, accordingly, somewhat less excellent results for the characters. The rest of the book is full of dramatic heists, thrilling fights, daring rescues, and a healthy dose of character tension, and it's all top-notch reading.
So, yes. I definitely recommend picking up this book — the Kickstarter is over now, but I believe it'll be available for general purchase starting in June 2023, so mark your calendars! As for me, I'll be over here eagerly awaiting the rest of the series.