Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Harper Voyager (2009), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 464 pages
Description
Born into captivity as a product of the Royal Breeding House, friendless orphan Purity Drake suddenly finds herself on the run with a foreign vagrant from the North after accidentally killing one of her guards. But there's more to Purity than meets the eye--for it soon becomes clear that the kingdom of Jackals' only hope against an ancient evil are this strange little royalist girl and the last, desperate plan of an escaped slave.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Rubbah
Stephen Hunt has once more thrown us into a world of intrigue, science and war. This time, The Kindom of Jackals is under threat from a new alien enemy and must travel to the planet Kaliban in order to find help, difficult when it is so hard to tell who are enemies and who are allies against the
The action never stops and whilst sometimes details are confusing, this never really matters because the reader is so swept away by the events of the book and desire to know if the characters will survive.
Overall a fantastic book filled with space journeys, time travel and long lost heirs.
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'masters'.The action never stops and whilst sometimes details are confusing, this never really matters because the reader is so swept away by the events of the book and desire to know if the characters will survive.
Overall a fantastic book filled with space journeys, time travel and long lost heirs.
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LibraryThing member gsmattingly
Very enjoyable and interesting book. Many interesting characters and plot threads.
LibraryThing member epersonae
Somewhat slow to start, but an entertaining adventure book in the same vein as the previous. Brings back a lot of characters from the earlier books, which actually is a bit frustrating having been so long since I read them. (Especially the first one, and there's lots of characters and plot
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references from the first one.) All the dust-jacket descriptions focus on Purity Drake, but I actually identified with Molly as the central character. (Maybe because I vaguely remembered her role in the first book?) Great weird imagery. Show Less
LibraryThing member keeba
I've now read three of Stephen Hunt's steampunk Jackelian series. The first, The Court of the Air, is mainly a political intrigue story with two young protagonists on the run from forces bent on their destruction. The second, The Kingdom Beyond the Waves, is an Indiana Jones style adventure
Hunt's genius is taking every trope in the pulp fiction handbook and mixing them in a blender. You'll find here aspects of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series as well as H.P. Lovecraft, Charles Dickens, Jules Verne and Camelot legend. Throw in Victorian era England (Jackals) and Reign of Terror era France (Quatérshift). Does it blend? Well, yes, I think it does. Rather well, if you don't get too hung up on the recycling of earlier authors' works. Don't get too hung up on plausible physics either. There is magic as well as machines in Hunt's universe, so I think he can get away with waving his hands over little details like interstellar travel and a breathable atmosphere on other planets. Not to mention the absurd denouement that gets our heroes out of a seemingly inescapable jam.
In spite of all the homage to the pulp writers of the 30s, there are still plenty of original ideas at play in Hunt's universe. Like the Kingdom of Jackals practice of keeping a few members of the royal family in captivity for breeding purposes, just to trot them out on special occasions and throw rotten fruit at them to glorify their democratic government (not to mention the practice of amputating the king's arms as a symbolic gesture).
Rise of the Iron Moon brings back Molly and Oliver from Court of the Air. Also, the steamman Coppertracks and Commodore Jared Black. The latter apparently appears in all the books. New characters include Purity Drake (a runaway royal), Kyorin (a mysterious escaped slave from a far off land), Duncan (the man carrying something dubious in his travel case), Rooksby (the officious government bureaucrat) and Keyspierre (the 'shifty' whose loyalties are questionable).
Just when you think the stakes can't get any higher, Hunt ratchets things up to 11. The evil plot this time is even worse than Kingdom Beyond the Waves. The entire planet is at risk, not just the people on it.
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featuring a female archeologist. The Rise of the Iron Moon is the pulpiest in the series so far. Hunt's genius is taking every trope in the pulp fiction handbook and mixing them in a blender. You'll find here aspects of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series as well as H.P. Lovecraft, Charles Dickens, Jules Verne and Camelot legend. Throw in Victorian era England (Jackals) and Reign of Terror era France (Quatérshift). Does it blend? Well, yes, I think it does. Rather well, if you don't get too hung up on the recycling of earlier authors' works. Don't get too hung up on plausible physics either. There is magic as well as machines in Hunt's universe, so I think he can get away with waving his hands over little details like interstellar travel and a breathable atmosphere on other planets. Not to mention the absurd denouement that gets our heroes out of a seemingly inescapable jam.
In spite of all the homage to the pulp writers of the 30s, there are still plenty of original ideas at play in Hunt's universe. Like the Kingdom of Jackals practice of keeping a few members of the royal family in captivity for breeding purposes, just to trot them out on special occasions and throw rotten fruit at them to glorify their democratic government (not to mention the practice of amputating the king's arms as a symbolic gesture).
Rise of the Iron Moon brings back Molly and Oliver from Court of the Air. Also, the steamman Coppertracks and Commodore Jared Black. The latter apparently appears in all the books. New characters include Purity Drake (a runaway royal), Kyorin (a mysterious escaped slave from a far off land), Duncan (the man carrying something dubious in his travel case), Rooksby (the officious government bureaucrat) and Keyspierre (the 'shifty' whose loyalties are questionable).
Just when you think the stakes can't get any higher, Hunt ratchets things up to 11. The evil plot this time is even worse than Kingdom Beyond the Waves. The entire planet is at risk, not just the people on it.
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LibraryThing member ragwaine
I LOVE this series, but I'm pretty sure this was my favorite one so far. I was always on the edge of my seat (toilet seat actually, because I read this in the bathroom). I liked the characters a lot, it was brutal and filled with cool ideas, and the "world-building" is awesome.
If you're a China
If you're a China
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Mieville fan, I would definitely recommend these books. Totally non-standard fantasy/sci-fi. Mr. Hunt does a lot less philosophizing and describing than Mieville but I think some people would like that. Show Less
LibraryThing member SassyBrit
When Purity Drake, an orphan and product of the Royal Breeding House, discovers she is next on the breeding list she has to escape. On the run a man saves her life. Turns out he is a slave and running from the Polar Barbarians with news that terrible forces now aim to enslave the Kingdom of
Molly writes celestial fiction novels and is beginning to have strange visions from the Hexmachina. The stars are disappearing and a comet is heading back to Earth to take residence as a new moon - something is going on - and she needs to find Oliver Brookes for answers.
For all its imaginative world bui
lding flair and well-written prose, I couldn't get into this book. For me there was just too much going on, too many fantastical worlds, place names and fractions of which I had the feeling I was not getting the full picture. Usually I love the bizarreness of Steampunk, and I did enjoy learning about some of his characters, especially Coppertracks, the super-intelligent steamman - a nano-mechanical lifeform. But, that wasn't enough. I guess I am the kind of person that needs to read the previous two books in this series to get a true feel of the past happenings of Purity's world. Although, it's clear now it's not going to pass as a standalone story, I do hope to check out the previous books and at a later date, come back better equipped.
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Jackals. The unlikely duo team up in the hope for a better chance of survival in this fantasy/Steampunk world.Molly writes celestial fiction novels and is beginning to have strange visions from the Hexmachina. The stars are disappearing and a comet is heading back to Earth to take residence as a new moon - something is going on - and she needs to find Oliver Brookes for answers.
For all its imaginative world bui
lding flair and well-written prose, I couldn't get into this book. For me there was just too much going on, too many fantastical worlds, place names and fractions of which I had the feeling I was not getting the full picture. Usually I love the bizarreness of Steampunk, and I did enjoy learning about some of his characters, especially Coppertracks, the super-intelligent steamman - a nano-mechanical lifeform. But, that wasn't enough. I guess I am the kind of person that needs to read the previous two books in this series to get a true feel of the past happenings of Purity's world. Although, it's clear now it's not going to pass as a standalone story, I do hope to check out the previous books and at a later date, come back better equipped.
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Language
Original publication date
2009-02-05
Physical description
464 p.; 9.61 inches
ISBN
0007232225 / 9780007232222
Local notes
Born into captivity as a product of the Royal Breeding House, friendless orphan Purity Drake suddenly finds herself on the run with a foreign vagrant after accidentally killing one of her guards. Her strange rescuer claims he is on the run himself from terrible forces who mean to enslave the Kingdom of Jackals as they conquered his own nation. Purity doubts his story, until reports begin to filter through from Jackals' neighbours of the terrible Army of Shadows, marching across the continent and sweeping all before them.