The Peculiars
by Maureen Doyle McQuerry
ebook
354 pages
Published May 1st 2012
Published May 1st 2012
by Amulet Books
ARC from Netgalley
Thoughts:
I started liking steampunk books quite recently and was so excited when I got the chance to read this. The cover looks amazing and after reading the summary, I was so intrigued by the story. However, sad to say the story is kind of disappointing for me.
Lena; the main character, received a small inheritance and a letter on her eighteenth birthday from her mysterious father who had abandoned her when she was little. Being told all her life that she is half-goblin since she has abnormal small feet and hands, Lena decided to look for her father in a territory known as Scree which was declared as a land belonging to no one. Scree is a home for the Peculiars whom are reviled upon by the masses.
Unfortunately, the journey to Scree is not exciting at all. I was so expecting a grand adventurous journey where Lena will come to embrace her goblin traits while encountering various challenges along the way. But really, everything just seems too dull for words. Lena is obsessed with hiding her hands and feet by wearing gloves and uncomfortable shoes to the point that even when she's in a dangerous situation, she's worried that someone will noticed her peculiar traits. I don't know whether to laugh or cry at the absurdity of it all.
Her life is at stake and she's worried about her hands? Oh, come on! Thankfully, the book gets much better towards the end when Lena finally arrived in Scree and she become the champion of her own kind. But really it was very slow moving most of the time and there's not enough gadgets to satisfy my initial love of all things steampunk.
Recommended for: fans of steampunk
Verdict: 3 stars.
Available on: Amazon
Summary from Goodreads:
On her 18th birthday, Lena Mattacascar decides to search for her father, who disappeared into the northern wilderness of Scree when Lena was young. Scree is inhabited by Peculiars, people whose unusual characteristics make them unacceptable to modern society. Lena wonders if her father is the source of her own extraordinary characteristics and if she, too, is Peculiar. On the train she meets a young librarian, Jimson Quiggley, who is traveling to a town on the edge of Scree to work in the home and library of the inventor Mr. Beasley. The train is stopped by men being chased by the handsome young marshal Thomas Saltre. When Saltre learns who Lena’s father is, he convinces her to spy on Mr. Beasley and the strange folk who disappear into his home, Zephyr House. A daring escape in an aerocopter leads Lena into the wilds of Scree to confront her deepest fears.
Thoughts:
I started liking steampunk books quite recently and was so excited when I got the chance to read this. The cover looks amazing and after reading the summary, I was so intrigued by the story. However, sad to say the story is kind of disappointing for me.
Lena; the main character, received a small inheritance and a letter on her eighteenth birthday from her mysterious father who had abandoned her when she was little. Being told all her life that she is half-goblin since she has abnormal small feet and hands, Lena decided to look for her father in a territory known as Scree which was declared as a land belonging to no one. Scree is a home for the Peculiars whom are reviled upon by the masses.
Unfortunately, the journey to Scree is not exciting at all. I was so expecting a grand adventurous journey where Lena will come to embrace her goblin traits while encountering various challenges along the way. But really, everything just seems too dull for words. Lena is obsessed with hiding her hands and feet by wearing gloves and uncomfortable shoes to the point that even when she's in a dangerous situation, she's worried that someone will noticed her peculiar traits. I don't know whether to laugh or cry at the absurdity of it all.
Her life is at stake and she's worried about her hands? Oh, come on! Thankfully, the book gets much better towards the end when Lena finally arrived in Scree and she become the champion of her own kind. But really it was very slow moving most of the time and there's not enough gadgets to satisfy my initial love of all things steampunk.
Recommended for: fans of steampunk
Verdict: 3 stars.
Available on: Amazon
THE PECULIARS looks promising, but I'm sorry to hear it does not quite deliver. I do love the cover.
ReplyDeleteEvery review I read of this, I'm more and more glad that I passed on it. Sounds like this one was a swing and a miss.
ReplyDelete