Shanghai Sparrow by Gaie Sebold
Jun. 8th, 2015 10:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
One girl against an empire.
Eveline Duchen is a thief and con-artist, surviving day by day on the streets of London, where the glittering spires of progress rise on the straining backs of the poor and disenfranchised. Where the Folk the otherworldly children of fairy tales and legends, have all but withdrawn from the smoke of the furnaces and the clamour of iron.
Caught in an act of deception by the implacable Mr Holmforth, Evvie is offered a stark choice: transportation to the colonies, or an education – and utter commitment to Her Majesty’s Service – at Miss Caingrim’s harsh school for female spies.
But on the decadent streets of Shanghai, where the corruption of the Empire is laid bare, Holmforth is about to make a devil’s bargain, and Eveline’s choices could change the future of two worlds …
15-year-old Evvie Duchen is a survivor. She has to be. An orphan who escaped the house of an uncaring uncle who wished to marry her off to a paedophile, she’s been forced to fend for herself. Fortunately, her pick-pocketing and con skills drew the attention and protection of Ma Pether, who sets her to work scouting out houses for burglary. But Evvie’s luck runs out when she meets Mr Holmforth, a dedicated servant of Her Majesty’s Empire who thinks that Evvie has what it takes to preserve the Empire and, coincidentally, further his own career aspirations.
Evvie’s sent to a school for spies run by the cold and unforgiving Miss Caingrim. Competition is stiff and Evvie’s low status makes it difficult to make friends but Holmforth has prescribed a vigorous curriculum for her, including Cantonese lessons and scientific research that will take Evvie to the darkest corners of Shanghai where her actions will change the world and beyond …
Gaie Sebold’s third novel is a delightful steampunk adventure (the first of a new series) that explores the Empire’s dark underbelly both in London and through its territories in China. What I particularly enjoyed about this book is that it’s a romance free zone – Evvie has a tough life and while it touches at times on melodrama, Sebold leaves you in no doubt as to the emotional impact it has on her. Holmforth is also an interesting antagonist – acting in what he sees as the best interests of the Empire and yet also torn by the fact that as a bi-racial man he will never be accepted by those he serves. Sebold marries her industrial steampunk world with a parallel tale of faerie that has a lot of potential and which I would have enjoyed seeing more of here. My main criticism though goes to pacing – the book is very uneven in places with some events being rushed and others happening off-page. This is actually one of those books that could easily be twice as long without losing any quality or dragging and it would have made the world even more absorbing than it is. I would have particularly liked to have had more scenes set in Shanghai and more showing Holmforth’s character (especially his family background which is skated over in broad terms). That said, there’s a lot of promise here and I really look forward to reading the sequel.
The Verdict:
Gaie Sebold’s third novel is a delightful steampunk adventure (the first of a new series) that explores the Empire’s dark underbelly both in London and through its territories in China. What I particularly enjoyed about this book is that it’s a romance free zone – Evvie has a tough life and while it touches at times on melodrama, Sebold leaves you in no doubt as to the emotional impact it has on her. Holmforth is also an interesting antagonist – acting in what he sees as the best interests of the Empire and yet also torn by the fact that as a bi-racial man he will never be accepted by those he serves. Sebold marries her industrial steampunk world with a parallel tale of faerie that has a lot of potential and which I would have enjoyed seeing more of here. My main criticism though goes to pacing – the book is very uneven in places with some events being rushed and others happening off-page. This is actually one of those books that could easily be twice as long without losing any quality or dragging and it would have made the world even more absorbing than it is. I would have particularly liked to have had more scenes set in Shanghai and more showing Holmforth’s character (especially his family background which is skated over in broad terms). That said, there’s a lot of promise here and I really look forward to reading the sequel.
Eveline Duchen is a thief and con-artist, surviving day by day on the streets of London, where the glittering spires of progress rise on the straining backs of the poor and disenfranchised. Where the Folk the otherworldly children of fairy tales and legends, have all but withdrawn from the smoke of the furnaces and the clamour of iron.
Caught in an act of deception by the implacable Mr Holmforth, Evvie is offered a stark choice: transportation to the colonies, or an education – and utter commitment to Her Majesty’s Service – at Miss Caingrim’s harsh school for female spies.
But on the decadent streets of Shanghai, where the corruption of the Empire is laid bare, Holmforth is about to make a devil’s bargain, and Eveline’s choices could change the future of two worlds …
15-year-old Evvie Duchen is a survivor. She has to be. An orphan who escaped the house of an uncaring uncle who wished to marry her off to a paedophile, she’s been forced to fend for herself. Fortunately, her pick-pocketing and con skills drew the attention and protection of Ma Pether, who sets her to work scouting out houses for burglary. But Evvie’s luck runs out when she meets Mr Holmforth, a dedicated servant of Her Majesty’s Empire who thinks that Evvie has what it takes to preserve the Empire and, coincidentally, further his own career aspirations.
Evvie’s sent to a school for spies run by the cold and unforgiving Miss Caingrim. Competition is stiff and Evvie’s low status makes it difficult to make friends but Holmforth has prescribed a vigorous curriculum for her, including Cantonese lessons and scientific research that will take Evvie to the darkest corners of Shanghai where her actions will change the world and beyond …
Gaie Sebold’s third novel is a delightful steampunk adventure (the first of a new series) that explores the Empire’s dark underbelly both in London and through its territories in China. What I particularly enjoyed about this book is that it’s a romance free zone – Evvie has a tough life and while it touches at times on melodrama, Sebold leaves you in no doubt as to the emotional impact it has on her. Holmforth is also an interesting antagonist – acting in what he sees as the best interests of the Empire and yet also torn by the fact that as a bi-racial man he will never be accepted by those he serves. Sebold marries her industrial steampunk world with a parallel tale of faerie that has a lot of potential and which I would have enjoyed seeing more of here. My main criticism though goes to pacing – the book is very uneven in places with some events being rushed and others happening off-page. This is actually one of those books that could easily be twice as long without losing any quality or dragging and it would have made the world even more absorbing than it is. I would have particularly liked to have had more scenes set in Shanghai and more showing Holmforth’s character (especially his family background which is skated over in broad terms). That said, there’s a lot of promise here and I really look forward to reading the sequel.
The Verdict:
Gaie Sebold’s third novel is a delightful steampunk adventure (the first of a new series) that explores the Empire’s dark underbelly both in London and through its territories in China. What I particularly enjoyed about this book is that it’s a romance free zone – Evvie has a tough life and while it touches at times on melodrama, Sebold leaves you in no doubt as to the emotional impact it has on her. Holmforth is also an interesting antagonist – acting in what he sees as the best interests of the Empire and yet also torn by the fact that as a bi-racial man he will never be accepted by those he serves. Sebold marries her industrial steampunk world with a parallel tale of faerie that has a lot of potential and which I would have enjoyed seeing more of here. My main criticism though goes to pacing – the book is very uneven in places with some events being rushed and others happening off-page. This is actually one of those books that could easily be twice as long without losing any quality or dragging and it would have made the world even more absorbing than it is. I would have particularly liked to have had more scenes set in Shanghai and more showing Holmforth’s character (especially his family background which is skated over in broad terms). That said, there’s a lot of promise here and I really look forward to reading the sequel.
