Customer Reviews

The Explosionist

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In a world where Europe is split into two competing factions on the brink of war, the 1930s are dominated by the Enlightenment principles of science and reason. The basis of this parallel universe is that Napoleon defeated Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Jenny Davidson skillfully incorporates elements of historical research, science-fiction, and the paranormal to create a world utterly unrecognizable to readers in the twenty-first century. With her clever plot and vivid descriptions, Davidson prevents readers from becoming confused and overwhelmed by the drastic differences of her imaginary world.

Fifteen-year-old Sophie Hunter is living in Scotland, a member of the New Hanseatic League, and attending an all-girls preparatory school with hopes of a university education. However, her future hangs in jeopardy due to the threat of war between the New Hanseatic League and Europe. Terrorist attacks by the Brother of the Northern Liberties are all too common, and the mood throughout the country is tense. In the event of war, all of Scotland's young women would be called upon to serve the country in various national agencies, dashing Sophie's dreams of becoming a scientist.

Sophie's already turbulent life becomes even more confusing after she attends one of her great-aunt Tabitha's seances. The medium delivers a shocking anonymous message to Sophie, insinuating that she will encounter great danger. When the medium is murdered shortly thereafter, Sophie knows that the prophecy is not to be taken lightly. She vows to uncover the mysteries behind the tangle of Scotland's political web, to save herself and her friends from a disastrous fate.

As fate would have it, war might soon be upon them. Sophie plans on joining IRLYNS, serving her country as is her duty if the unthinkable should occur. Short for the Institute for the Recruitment of Young Ladies for National Security and pronounced "irons," IRLYNS aims to train intelligent young women to be personal assistants to Scotland's most powerful government officials. Great-aunt Tabitha, Sophie's guardian since the death of her parents many years ago, is actually one of the founders of IRLYNS, and Sophie expects her to be proud of her noble intentions. However, great-aunt Tabitha strongly discourages her niece from joining IRLYNS, and Sophie's curiosity is piqued. Could the secrets behind IRLYNS be in any way connected to the precarious state of the country?

Although she lives in a bizarre world, readers will surely be able to relate to Sophie's idealism and youthful exuberance. A loyal friend with strong morals, readers will find Sophie very likable. Her crush on her chemistry teacher, Mr. Peterson, is reminiscent of Hermione's infatuation with Gilderoy Lockhart. Thankfully, Mr. Peterson is infinitely more worthy of admiration. Then there is Sophie's amusing relationship with Mikael, her best guy friend from Sweden. Slowly, Sophie discovers what readers will see all along, that Sophie harbors more than feelings of friendship for Mikael.

Davidson skillfully tempers suspense and danger with laughter and good times, creating a magical world that defies genre stereotypes. Deeper than a typical adventure story, THE EXPLOSIONIST challenges readers with questions of ethics and the rightful boundaries of the government. Insightful readers will explore their own political beliefs, and even draw parallels from Sophie's world to current events of today. Davidson's abrupt ending will surely leave readers hoping for a sequel!

Reviewed by: Amber Gibson

The Explosionist is set in a parallel world. Napoleon defeated Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. This caused many other event to conspire and create a very interesting world that you want to learn about.
Sophie Hunter lives in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1938. She goes to an all-girls school and hopes to be a scientist. Currently, bombs are going off all around the city and all young women might be forced to be drafted in to some sort of public service. Will this stop her dreams? After receiving a message from a medium, and soon after the mediums murder, Sophie finds that she might be in more danger. With the help of her friend Mikael, she uncovers the truth and it effects not only her, but all of Europe.
This book was amazingly well written and very interesting. The characters are amazingly real and loving. Once you start this book, you will be glued to the story. The story starts off slowly, but then you are put into this pit of amazing mystery and intrigue. There are some complicated plot twist, but it keeps you mind full of thoughts. This dystopia of a parallel world will keep you until the last word and then it will stay you for long after. The ending will make you want more, because it is such a wonderful book.

I only *review* books I love, and I loved The Explosionist by Jenny Davidson. I'll describe it as "an alternate history supernatural mystery" set in 1938 Scotland. With terrorists, dynamite, seances, and creepy government secrets. Intrigued? You don't know the half of it yet.

You don't see that much alternate history. I loved Jo Walton's Farthing, an English country-house murder mystery that just happened to take place in a world in which the English had made a truce with the Nazis and changed the course of history. In The Explosionist the turning point wasn't World War II but the battle of Waterloo in 1815 -- in which, instead of losing, Napoleon won, consolidated his power in Europe, and later conquered England as well. Scotland is now allied with the "Hanseatic States" -- the Scandinavian countries and Russia -- and maintains an uneasy autonomy through manufacture of the weapons with which Europe fights its wars. So, that's the backdrop, but the author never overwhelms with exposition; the history comes in just how I like it, in small, fascinating doses where relevant, and it never slows the story.

The fun of the alternate history is in the little references to how the world is different. Small things, historical personages turned upside-down. We learn in passing that Oscar Wilde is the famous Irish obstetrician who invented the incubator; Freud is a crackpot radio-show host nicknamed "Thanatos"! Alternative energy sources have been developed, because Scotland didn't have access to oil reserves -- "You'll find a few fuel cell enthusiasts in the Americas, of course, but most of their motorcars are powered by a filthy and wasteful method called internal combustion. All very well if you're American and sitting on top of huge petroleum reserves, but that kind of reckless comsumption doesn't suggest a very sensible attitude toward the future!" And how! There's also a chilling reference to the unnamed European chancellor having a "toothbrush mustache." And aside from the historical differences, there is one major way that the world of the book differs from our own: spirits commune freely with the living in all manner of ways, notably through radio waves and photography! Spiritualism is a respected scientific field, and when 15-year-old Sophie is warned in a seance that she is in danger, she has good reason to be afraid.

But. . . what nature of danger? The city has been rocked by a series of terrorist bombings, and she can't help but suspect the teacher she has a crush on might be involved. The medium who delivered the warning turns up murdered, spirits are sending Sophie messages, and as if that's not enough, a new and sinister threat emerges from a source much closer to home: her own aunt. To tell what that is would be to spoil a very creepy revelation, but I'll say this: it raises the question of what sacrifices a country can, in good conscience, demand of its citizens, and it takes the role of woman-as-selfless-helpmeet-to-male-power to the most devastating extreme.

Only as I try to convey in some simplicity what this book is "about" do I really realize how complex the story is, and I mean that in a good way -- while reading, all the threads are woven so well that you don't feel like you're in the midst of a labyrinth of plot. To be extremely simplistic, here's what the book is about: it's the story of Sophie and her Danish friend Mikael trying to unravel the mystery of who murdered the medium, and while they're at it, who's behind the bombings in Edinburgh, and what are the political stakes. With the help of dead people, and sort-of dead people. While the country ramps up for war. Whew.

Okay. I can't do it justice. Just read it. It's a great book-group book. Much to discuss about power and resistance, armed deterrance, government abuse of power in the shadow of war, and more. I liked the way the author showed Sophie's perspective on her own country slowly shifting as she begins to see familiar things through the eyes of her foreign friend, and questions them for the first time. Like here, in response to the "suicide machines" in the public library:

"I don't see why you're getting so worked up about it," Sophie said, uneasily conscious that it had taken Mikael's reaction to reveal what was troubling about the familiar practice. She suddenly wondered whether she might be blind to other things about Scotland as well.

I think about that a lot -- the way people are blinded by their indoctrination, whatever it might be, religious, political, whatever; it is terribly difficult to see beyond one's own indoctrination, particularly if one doesn't travel or meet a wide variety of people. It is through connection with people of different experience that we have a chance of broadening our own vision. But first, you have to open yourself up to it, and not cling to the things you've always blindly believed.

I knew The Explosionist would be good after reading the first chapter that was all about dynamite and explosions. Stupid reason, I know, but what can I say? Dynamite is exciting.

But the dynamite wasn't the only good thing about the book. Sophie, the main character, dealt with the many, many, events in a good way. I've read some books where the main character doesn't want help solving his/her problems or doesn't want to do any work at all or stand up for themselves so he/she just goes along with everyone else says, but such was not the case with Sophie. She actually had people help her but still managed do some work and have input too.

I think what really made the book work was the setting. I loved the setting. How could one not love a book set in alternate universe 1930s Scotland where the country is on the brink of war all because of politics and a single day's events? And where technology and psychics are put into play? (Not like computers technology and telling the future psychic, but electric cookers technology and talking to spirits psychics.) I don't think the book would have been as great if it was set in another place or time, or even in the real universe. Jenny Davidson really did a good job making the alternate universe and incorporating it in the story.

But I have a couple complaints. One being that it seemed as though there was too much going on. There was the talking to spirits stuff, Sophie's crush on her teacher, the explosions, the murder of a medium (the murder was one of the high points of the book. Adds a whole lot of mystery to the overall story), the "school" place that turns girls into zombies, the country being near war, and so much more. It was all exciting and interesting, but there was just a little too much of it. It hurt my brain slightly.

The other the complaint would be: WHERE IS THE SEQUEL? Seriously. One of the characters dropped a bomb (no pun intended) 30-40 pages before the end, and then the book stopped a really really good part. I want a sequel. Now.

This is a fast-paced, exciting, intelligent book, highly recommended to all adult readers of fantasy literature, as well as to actual teenagers or ten-year-olds. It has certain things in common with Diana Wynne Jones (it's set in an alternate universe, in which the Battle of Waterloo went the other way; like Jones, Davidson is at times very funny); with Philip Pullman (obsession with the idea of the north, though there are no polar bears; it's a novel-of-ideas, though rather less pompous about it than Pullman); and J. K. Rowling (it is, among many other things, a classic school story, about friendship and growing up; Davidson acknowledges her debt to Muriel Spark). There is also an element of feminist dystopia about this world, a little Atwood-ish: our heroine discovers the horrible truth that girls in her city are being subjected to a procedure to eliminate their capacity to have feelings of their own, in order to make them more useful helpmeets for men in times of war. The novel is a meditation both on gender relationships, but more fundamentally, on the need for emotions, and the part played by feelings in personal identity. Despite her obvious learning and allusiveness, Davidson has succeeded brilliantly in creating a world of her own, which is convincingly like and unlike our own. Sophie is an appealingly opinionated heroine (who has strong views about, for instance, the superiority of icing to cake, as well as an excellent working knowledge of chemistry). This a very readable novel, whose characters and ideas will linger in the mind. Highly recommended. Buy it for any child/ teenager who has an interest in history, Scotland, Scandanavia, murder stories, spiritualism, science, terrorism, or ethics. But also buy a copy for yourself!

Sophie's life at her boarding school and great-aunt's home in 1938 Edinburgh is a satisfactory one. Never one for athletics or too much excitement, Sophie occupies her time studying, and plans to go to University, or become a trained assistant to the country's business leaders. But a frightening series of terrorist bombs soon disrupts her quiet life, and after a unsettling encounter with a medium at a séance, Sophie begins to unravel a deadly plot that will not only affect her future, but the fate of her schoolmates, family, Scotland, and even the rest of Europe.

What would have happened if things had transpired differently? This age-old question is answered in this chilling and fast-paced novel that weaves a tale of what might have happened had one day in 1815 turned out differently. Set in a world that is at the same time technologically advanced and backward, The Explosionist is a thrilling journey full of mystery and suspense, with a careful balance of politics, science, and supernatural intrigue. Though the story starts off slightly confusing, Davidson's characters are perfectly crafted and her plot cleverly constructed, resulting in a haunting, tremendous novel that will attract readers of all ages.

Sophie lives in an alternate Scotland around 1935, in a world where Napoleon won at Waterloo, and Scotland and the Scandinavian countries have established a new Hanseatic League to resist being forcibly joined to the rest of Europe. Terrorist bombings are increasing, and the Scottish minister of public safety is calling for war. Spiritualism is very real, and consultations with the dead through mediums are common.

In these turbulent times, Sophie wants nothing more than to go to university and study science after leaving her girls' boarding school. Instead, she fears she'll be forced to join IRYLNS, a governmental agency which trains young women as personal assistants to male government officials, and perhaps does more than simply train them, as Sophie finds out when she visits with her aunt. And when a medium at her aunt's house delivers a frightening prophecy to her and then is murdered, Sophie and her friend Mikael must unpick a tangled web of lies, violence, and political intrigue.

I liked Davidson's taking-off point for her alternate history and the idea of the New Hanseatic League, and I thought she created a believable political world. She's rather too prone to drop famous names into the narrative, arbitrarily changing their professions and lives -- for example, there's a reference to "the theology of Count Tolstoy, the novels of Richard Wagner, the verse of Albert Einstein, or the operas of James Joyce" -- which I found distracting at first and then just annoying. I can see how this might be hard to resist, but I would much rather have read more about how the political history of the world had developed.

I quite liked clever, scientifically-minded Sophie herself, and I liked her complex relationship with her aunt (and how her aunt, who feels that emotion is bad, tries to deal with her love for Sophie) and with her friends at school. The understated romance is handled nicely, and also Sophie's schoolgirl crush on her chemistry teacher, with its attendant awkwardness and misery.

Davidson does a good job in adding detail and complexity to the plot slowly, so that Sophie's race to solve the mysteries becomes more and more tense. I wish I had known in advance that a sequel is in the works, as I found the ending overly abrupt. Still, I'll definitely be reading the sequel.

I have to depart from the consensus -- I did not like this book. (However, I remain very interested in any possible sequels. Go fig.)

[MILD SPOILERS FOLLOW]

The premise is delicious. I hadn't heard of the real-life Hanseatic League before, which is sad, and makes me somewhat resentful of my high school, heh. Plus, it's fascinating to suddenly mentally associate nations and cultures in a way that I hadn't before, but which, in retrospect, makes complete sense. Further, I love alternate history. So in this book, Scotland, Scandinavia, and bits of the Slavic nations, including Russia, Latvia, and Estonia, form a political entity in opposition to Napoleon's United Europe. I wish the author told us more about *that*. I never felt like I got a complete picture of who was allied with whom -- and she has the American Confederate South succeeding in their secession from the Union (Delaware was the lynchpin -- they went Confederate), but continues to have characters discuss "America" (as a nation, not a continent) without explaining what "America" now comprises. I also find the complete non-mention of the slavery issue a glaring omission.

She gives such interesting factual hints into this world -- how the Hansa relied on arms trade and innovation to maintain their independence; how they developed fun stuff like battery-powered cars that emit water, since they lacked natural resources (unlike those gas guzzling Yanks, of course *sigh*). The merits and detriments of deliberately pursuing Mutually-Assured Destruction. How Alfred Nobel is a (very articulate) brain in a jar. More of this please!

The best part, a brilliant example of complex characterization, is the creepy great-aunt who doesn't seem to have a moral problem with people lobotomizing her niece for the war effort, is sincerely *surprised* by the objections raised. A fascinating display of excessive patriotism, of excessive reliance on flawed/unproven "reason," and of psycho-logic -- emphasis on freakin' psycho -- in a character who manages to remain oddly sympathetic.

(However, it remains unconvincingly explained what this lobotomization is supposed to accomplish. That is to say, the rationale is meticulously given, I just don't quite see how it would achieve the desired effects.)

So, premise: brilliant. The execution remains -- I was going to say "curiously unaffecting," because that's what people say, but you know, it's not curious at all, it's quite blatant, straightforward and easy to explain: "Show, don't tell." The writer manages to make a 15-year-old having a gun to her head sound like a recounting of a semi-difficult midterm. A sensory adjective or two might help? And the baddie really and truly has a "I would have gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for you meddling kids!" moment. Oh dear. Hopefully the heroine's *extreme* lack of agency (having the explanation of everything just handed to her in a big reveal, for one thing) will be resolved in a sequel, if the abrupt cliffhanger conclusion is anything to go by.

It's a really frustrating dichotomy: I'm left really, desperately wanting to buy and read all of this author's nonfiction. I like her author's notes -- but I don't like the book. (Although I would still read a sequel in a heartbeat. Yeah, I don't quite get it either. It's an *ambitious* work, and that sort of thing deserves support? I suspect I'd go easier on it if it were intended as fluffy foolishness.)

The Explosionist is set in 1938 Edinburgh, Scotland. The main character is Sophie, a fifteen year old student at boarding school. Unlike a traditional historical fiction novel, this book is what has been deemed "alternative history" and presents the reader with a parallel universe in which 1938 Scotland has fuel cell automobile technology, an Institute that re-programs the brains of young women so they can serve high ranking officials without any emotions, and other advanced inventions.

Spiritual mediums are commonly used by government, police, and private citizens to speak to the dead and receive messages. Sophie even discovers that she is a medium and uses her insights to uncover a slew of mysteries surrounding recent bombings, a murder, even what goes on behind closed doors to reprogram women as young as sixteen.

Several prominent historical figures are mentioned such as Freud, Pastor, Houdini, Nobel, Kelvin, Bell, and even one mention of the 12 dancing princesses. In this book historical scientists are especially respected and powerful.

Overall, I found the book to be well-written and interesting. Young readers 14-19 fascinated by science, mysteries, and history may particularly enjoy this novel. This is the first novel author Jenny Davidson has written for teens.

What if on 15 June, 1815 Wellington was defeated by Napoleon in the battle of Waterloo? What might have happened to Europe....to England...if the reverse of what we know to be true occurred? Perhaps you might have a world like the one in which Sophie Hunter grows up in. A world in which Scotland is its own nation and England has fallen. A world where cars run on hydrogen and contact the dead is a normal part of life. Such is the world that has been created by Jenny Davidson in her book The Explosionist.

The book starts off with an explosion near Sophie's school. Just one of the many terrorist actions that have been plaguing the city of Edinburgh the last few weeks. Later on that night she is at her Great-Aunt Tabitha's house and has to attend her aunt's regular Friday night seance. At the seance a prophecy is spoken through the medium and directed at Sophie. These makes her feel uneasy.....a feeling which gets worse when she learns that the medium who was at her house was found dead. Murdered. With the help of an old friend, Mikael, Sophie sets out to try to figure out just who killed the medium and why. Along the way the issue of the recent bombings also comes into to play. As well as a mysterious organization called IRYLNS. An organization founded by her aunt as a place to train the perfect secretary but may not be all that it seems.

I really enjoyed this book for the first 3/4 of the novel. Towards the end though it became more and more obvious that this book was going to have a sequel. Events started to get a rushed feeling to them and only a few of the questions raised in the book were answered. But they weren't done is a very satisfactory way. As I said there was a rushed, almost unfinished, quality to them. The mystery itself also wasn't all that hard to figure out as the author pretty much told the answers....rather then trying to lay down clue upon clue until the big reveal. Agatha Christie she is not (but then, who is these days? Can't hold that against the author.)

Overall, I thought that the characters were all well drawn and mostly-believable as people. Though some fine tuning might be needed for them all to become fully real. Great-Aunt Tabitha seemed among the roughest of the lot. At first she had no personality, and then the author tried to give her some feelings and it just came across as false and artificial. Although, maybe that was the intent. This book also relied a lot on coincidence and everything just sort of landed in Sophie's lap at just the right time for her to figure it out. Yes, Sophie was a smart girl and the main character, but she was also a 15 year old girl and it shouldn't have been that easy. I did enjoy the writing and I managed to speed through the book to the end because I was curious to see if my predictions were right or not.

The only thing that I was disappointed in was that I had no warning that this book was going to be part of a series. If I had known I could have prepared myself for loose ends and not have been disappointed when not everything was wrapped up....instead there were just more questions raised and then the book was done. That said though, I will be on the lookout for when the next book does appear on shelves because I am interested in learned what happens to Sophie next. This is also a book that I'd recommend to others......that is if the person likes young adult mystery novels set in an alternate universe.

As originally posted on my blog Ticket to Anywhere