The Doomsday Machine by Catherine Webb
Jul. 20th, 2009 09:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
London, 1865. There are many mysteries in this world that are yet to be resolved. Some of them, man was not meant to know ...
Scientist, inventor and occasional sleuth, Horatio Lyle is a man of science - a man of reason. As such, he does not care for the mysterious Tseiqin and the strange, mystical enigma they represent. But when news reaches him of a plot to remove them - through the simple expedient of mass murder - well, that presents a problem for a man of moral fortitude. A decent man. A man like Horatio Lyle ...
Leading his young friends, Tess and Thomas, and his faithful hound, Tate, into a series of the most appalling dangers, Lyle leaps to the rescue of his mortal enemies. But when the dust clears and the menace has been confronted, there remains one rather pressing question for occassional Special Constable Horatio Lyle: who's going to rescue him ...?
This is the third in a series of historical fantasy/crime thrillers for children and works as a standalone novel for those who haven't read the other two.
Horatio Lyle is a scientist/occasional detective in 1860s London who's helped in his investigations by Tess, a young thief he's rescued from the streets, and Thomas, the son of a Lord who wants to be a scientist. The book starts with Lyle being hunted through Clerkenwell by a Tseiqin (a mysterious race with hypnotic powers, white blood and an allergy to magneticism) looking for one of Lyle's friends, Andrew Berwick who is building the Machine (designed to annihilate the Tseiqin) but who has disappeared before its completion.
Morally bound to prevent the Tseiqin’s mass murder, Lyle enlists Tess and Thomas to help him find Berwick and persuade him to destroy the Machine. Doing so brings him into contact with the malevolant Mr Havelock, a ruthless enemy of Lyle’s and Lin Zi, a female Tseiqin assigned to protect Lyle and who is dedicated to the emancipation of women. As Lyle and his companions hunt for Berwick, they discover that there are sinister forces at work who view the Tseiqin as the biggest threat to the modern world and will stop at nothing to destroy them, or those who would help them.
Unusual in that it's main protagonist is an adult, Lyle is an interesting character - resourceful, morally upstanding and yet prone to doubts as to the rightness of his cause. Tess and Thomas are drawn in broader terms, but this doesn't detract from the story and Tess's passion for blowing things up and stealing makes for some entertaining scenes. The morally ambivalent Lin Zi who is as amused and entertained by humans as she is mistrustful of them is a good foil for Lyle and the underlying hint of reluctant romance allays some of his stuffiness.
Webb sets Lyle's search against the continuing construction of the Machine, which helps to build the stakes and raise the tension in the story and there are some interesting scene switches to the Tseiqin who may or may not be preparing to double-cross Lyle.
The only nitpick is that some of the writing becomes too convoluted at times (in the sense that descriptions go on for slightly too long and dialogue sometimes continues past the point when the joke has been made) and there’s a fascination with poo that might put some off. Otherwise, this is an entertaining read and I’ll go back to read the first two in the series.
The Verdict:
This is a really enjoyable read with some fascinating characters and a good set up for further adventures and mysteries to be solved. Definitely worth a look if you're looking for something entertaining and well constructed.
Scientist, inventor and occasional sleuth, Horatio Lyle is a man of science - a man of reason. As such, he does not care for the mysterious Tseiqin and the strange, mystical enigma they represent. But when news reaches him of a plot to remove them - through the simple expedient of mass murder - well, that presents a problem for a man of moral fortitude. A decent man. A man like Horatio Lyle ...
Leading his young friends, Tess and Thomas, and his faithful hound, Tate, into a series of the most appalling dangers, Lyle leaps to the rescue of his mortal enemies. But when the dust clears and the menace has been confronted, there remains one rather pressing question for occassional Special Constable Horatio Lyle: who's going to rescue him ...?
This is the third in a series of historical fantasy/crime thrillers for children and works as a standalone novel for those who haven't read the other two.
Horatio Lyle is a scientist/occasional detective in 1860s London who's helped in his investigations by Tess, a young thief he's rescued from the streets, and Thomas, the son of a Lord who wants to be a scientist. The book starts with Lyle being hunted through Clerkenwell by a Tseiqin (a mysterious race with hypnotic powers, white blood and an allergy to magneticism) looking for one of Lyle's friends, Andrew Berwick who is building the Machine (designed to annihilate the Tseiqin) but who has disappeared before its completion.
Morally bound to prevent the Tseiqin’s mass murder, Lyle enlists Tess and Thomas to help him find Berwick and persuade him to destroy the Machine. Doing so brings him into contact with the malevolant Mr Havelock, a ruthless enemy of Lyle’s and Lin Zi, a female Tseiqin assigned to protect Lyle and who is dedicated to the emancipation of women. As Lyle and his companions hunt for Berwick, they discover that there are sinister forces at work who view the Tseiqin as the biggest threat to the modern world and will stop at nothing to destroy them, or those who would help them.
Unusual in that it's main protagonist is an adult, Lyle is an interesting character - resourceful, morally upstanding and yet prone to doubts as to the rightness of his cause. Tess and Thomas are drawn in broader terms, but this doesn't detract from the story and Tess's passion for blowing things up and stealing makes for some entertaining scenes. The morally ambivalent Lin Zi who is as amused and entertained by humans as she is mistrustful of them is a good foil for Lyle and the underlying hint of reluctant romance allays some of his stuffiness.
Webb sets Lyle's search against the continuing construction of the Machine, which helps to build the stakes and raise the tension in the story and there are some interesting scene switches to the Tseiqin who may or may not be preparing to double-cross Lyle.
The only nitpick is that some of the writing becomes too convoluted at times (in the sense that descriptions go on for slightly too long and dialogue sometimes continues past the point when the joke has been made) and there’s a fascination with poo that might put some off. Otherwise, this is an entertaining read and I’ll go back to read the first two in the series.
The Verdict:
This is a really enjoyable read with some fascinating characters and a good set up for further adventures and mysteries to be solved. Definitely worth a look if you're looking for something entertaining and well constructed.
