21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The best OK book I've read in a while, January 14, 2009
I sort of liked this book. Orphans are always good. So are flying ships. Robots. Underground cities. Ancient civilizations. War. Guns and swords and exploding tree sap. Magic mind bullets (or something like that). Crab people. Communism. Mutants. Evil insects from another dimension. From the outset I thought it was going to be a twisted Dickensian romp through filthy streets and cloudy skies. What I got was a book so full of good ideas that it didn't have the time to develop anything before rushing off to the next good idea. It was sadly lacking in character growth (which was unfortunate, considering it was about 2 kids growing into their destinies) and the conclusion was fairly predictable. Not a lot in the way of suspense or emotion or comedy. If you like those old Edgar Rice Burroughs books where every story is the same, just set in a new locale(be it Barsoom, a jungle, Pellucidar or Venus), and you never have to worry about what anyone is thinking or if the protagonist is going to survive, you'll probably like this book. A sweeping, sophisticated epic it most surely is not. I enjoyed parts of it, but I think I read it mostly because I needed something to do on my lunch breaks.
It's not bad. Just don't pay full price.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fresh and original Victorian-inspired fantasy, July 7, 2008
Among his many literary contributions, Charles Dickens may also go down as the man who made it hip to be an orphan. Or at least, hip to write about orphans as main characters. It's become so overused that it's now a Victorian cliché. (That is good heroic orphans are cliché; evil orphans are still an underrepresented minority.) So if you are reading a fantasy novel with strong Victorian overtones, you'd expect to see at least one orphan. If not: shame on you, Victorian-inspired fantasist.
Not to disappoint, Stephen Hunt gives us two orphans, Oliver and Molly, as main characters in "The Court of the Air". Hunt also gives us a well-imagined and innovative Victorian-inspired fantasy world populated by a menagerie of stunningly developed characters. The novel mixes together disparate elements like living machines, Loas, dirigibles, parliamentarianism, underground cities, Big-brother inspired eyes in the sky, insect gods and mysticism. Slow to start and get into mainly due to its wide focus, the novel really hits it stride about halfway through as everything comes together beautifully.
Molly Templar lives at the Sun Gate workhouse, a poorhouse that apprentices its residents to local merchants. Far from a conscientious or good worker, Molly finds herself fired from a variety of jobs until she finally is apprenticed to a brothel. On meeting her first client, Molly finds herself inexplicably attacked by the man, and witnesses the murder of another prostitute by her assailant. Only her resourcefulness saves her, but on her return to the workhouse, tragic events make her realize that something dark and sinister may be afoot. Molly flees, only steps ahead of her assailant, an assassin named Count Vauxtion. This starts Molly off on an adventure that will take her to a rebel city deep in the bowels of the earth, and then back above ground, as she continuously struggles to understand the mystery surrounding her.
Oliver Brooks lives with his uncle, who has cared for him since the death of his parents. In surviving the accident that killed his parents, Oliver suffered a prolonged exposure to feymist, an experience that usually transforms the individual into a superpower-enhanced being. However, Oliver remains surprisingly normal. Quite suddenly, Oliver finds his uncle has been murdered and he is being framed with the deed. Only with the timely assistance of Harry Stave, an agent of the mysterious Court of the Air, does Oliver escape imprisonment. Harry and Oliver flee to evade capture, seeking help from a variety of Harry's friends along the way. But when Oliver is given an unusual gift, his whole world changes, thrusting him headlong into a battle not only for his life, but also for his homeland.
Hunt crafts a story rich in detail and complexity. At times, the complexity of the story distracts from the flow of the narrative, overcomplicating the book with unnecessary additions. One example of this is the muddied presentation of the various political philosophies of the major factions. These political systems are less black and white and more varying shades of gray which gives the overall effect that all forms of government are imperfect and susceptible to abuse. While it's a realistic vision of government, it isn't the clearest. The characters and setting are the real strength of "The Court of the Air". An innovative mixture of diverse elements successfully accomplishes the world building, creating a setting that is original and fresh. The characterizations are extremely well done as all the characters, human or otherwise, are quite intriguing.
Last Word:
"The Court of the Air" is a well-crafted, original and fresh story that I found more enjoyable the further I read. Though uneven overall, the amazing conclusion definitely makes up for the slow start, and Hunt definitely left me wanting more. And it is this tantalizing promise of more to come that makes Stephen Hunt an author to watch for in the future and "The Court of the Air" a worthwhile read.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Riveting fantasy, April 14, 2011
This review is from: The Court of the Air (Mass Market Paperback)
Where to start with The Court of the Air? Perhaps by saying that I stayed up most of the night reading this fantasy novel straight through. It's written at an epic scale, and reminds me a little of George RR Martin when he was starting out with the Game of Thrones series, sharing some of the writer's errors in the early stages - Martin's gentle over-reach and cramming too many ideas into the pages. This also shares many of the same strengths, though, with a world that's as real and fully developed as Middle Earth, albeit a strange twisted Victorian-level society with many of the trappings of the fantasy. The author does a fantastic job of presenting a large set of well-developed and convincing characters. Let me finish by saying I am really looking forward now to reading the next novel in the Jackelian series. A gripping novel for fans of the fantasy genre.
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