Customer Reviews

Fly By Night

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As I write this review, it is February 2006. The year, such as it is, is about a sixth over. There is plenty of time for original stories to be published, new works of fiction to pop-up overnight, and fabulous samples of writing to catch the eye. On some level, I know this. I accept it. But then I look down on my review copy of "Fly By Night" and my eyes practically fill with tears. I am looking, you see, at my favorite book of 2006. I already know this. Oh sure, back in January I was sure that my favorite book of 2006 was going to be Karen Cushman's, "The Loud Silence of Francine Green". But while my love for "Francine" is just as clear and concise as ever, Frances Hardinge's whopper of a first novel has truly stolen my heart away. Not since Philip Pullman has a book created such a finely wrought and delicately planned out alternative world. But unlike Pullman (who has his charms BUT) Hardinge's book has a distinct advantage over its competitors. It's brilliant, yes. Well-plotted, well-paced, and well-characterized, yes. But it is also drop dead funny. We're talking about a book in which a girl named after a housefly with a pipe in her teeth goes prancing across the country with her homicidal goose in tow. I haven't a clue if children will actually like this book. Quite frankly, I do not care. I love it as deeply as I have ever loved any title and you can put THAT in your own pipe and smoke it.

Mosca Mye didn't quite intend to burn up her aunt and uncle's mill while escaping from the overly sodden town of Chough. This much we know. She did, however, have every intention of freeing a rapscallion caught in the stocks that very night. The man's name is Eponymous Clent and he's a con man of the most florid degree. Mosca grew up learning how to read from her bookworm father and now, orphaned and trapped in a life she does not like, she sees Clent and his beautiful way with words as a means of getting out of town. They won't be skipping out alone, of course. Clasped firmly under her arm is Mosca's faithful and deadly goose Saracen. On their travels the two run afoul of a ship's captain, rescue a lady from a highwayman, and then dig themselves deeper and deeper into the political intrigue and schemes of the town of Mandelion's rulers, guildsmen, and potential oppressors. Who could know that the very fate of a nation rests on a single eyebrowless girl's slim shoulders and the wingtips of a particularly snarky bird.

What my little description here doesn't do is give you an idea of where this book takes place. Hardinge has created what she calls a Fractured Realm. This world bears some similarities to England at the beginning of the eighteenth century, but with definite differences. In this land, Parliament has dispossessed all royalty and has been trying to figure out which potential ruler should have the crown for several decades now. In their stead, Guilds of skilled working men have grown strong and powerful. The top three, for the purposes of this book, are The Company of Locksmiths (who can enter any domicile with their keys), The Company of Stationers (who have every right to burn and ban the books they deem heresy), and The Company of Watermen (who guard and police the rivers). Got all that? Cause I haven't even gotten into the religious aspects. In this world every day and hour has a different saint or Beloved. People worship different ones. Mosca, in this case, was born under Palpitattle, better known as He Who Keeps Flies out of Jams and Butter Churns. Hence her name. At one point during the height of the political problems a sect known as The Birdcatchers caused unparalleled destruction and chaos all in the name of destroying the religion of The Beloved. They were put down eventually but the country is still reeling from their ascent.

Does this sound like a children's book to you? No? Well bear with me then. There are children out there who read voraciously. For whom a little Tolkein and a little Pullman are nothing but a walk in the park. To these children, I offer up, "Fly By Night". It hasn't any literary equivalent, of course. There's the obvious ode to Dickens here and there (Clent is just a modified dandified Fagan with a pretty tongue) but an even stronger connection to Leon Garfield's old books. If you happen to know anyone who enjoyed "Smith" or "Black Jack" or "The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris", then this book is an obvious follow-up. If you have never read these books yourself, go and do so immediately and don't come back to me until you've safely devoured them. They are brilliant, but Hardinge is more intelligent and well-written by far. Partly this is due to her language. She writes descriptions that are lovely in their simplicity. Sentences like, "How strange it was to look down the barrel of a pistol! It was not exactly fear, more a soft shock, like being hit in the stomach with a snowball". And best of all you like the characters. You like the villains who become heroes and the heroes who become villains. You revel in never knowing whom to trust, just as Mosca never does. You do know one thing though. Whatever storm happens to blow, you can always trust Mosca and Saracen. There's a wonderful certainty in that.

I will end with a small passage from the book in which Clent starts using his tongue to its truest advantage. It is a description of a man. In it Clent says, "Mabwick Toke is the head of the Stationers' chapter in Mandelion. He can quote the whole of Pessimese's `Endeavors,' from Amblebirth to Aftermath, in the original Acrylic. He can speak twenty languages, half of them living, including two from the Aragash Heights, and one that can only be spoken with a coin under the tongue. When he travels, his carriage is lined with shelves so snug with books that the very breeze must squeeze for entry. He once uncovered a league of subversives by identifying a single silken thread in the paper weave of an opera ticket. If wits were pins, the man would be a veritable hedgehog". If you are a person hoping to write a children's book someday, I strongly urge you NOT to read "Fly By Night". Such passages like the one quoted above can only bring you to tears. This was written as Hardinge's FIRST novel for children. It's enough to make you weep and crow with joy all at once. Let us hope that many many more will be in the works soon.

This is a sophisticated tale, full of atmosphere and adventure. The language is as rich as a fruitcake, so it won't appeal to reluctant readers. Kids with reading ages ahead of their years will find it a delight, however. There are too few books that cater for the other end of the spectrum - challenging language and complicated concepts,whilst remaining emotionally appropriate.

This is the story of a young girl born in The Fractured Realm, a fictional place vaguely resembling eighteenth century England. Citizens of the Realm worship a multitude of gods, named “The Beloved”, individual “beloveds” being determined by the day and time of the person’s birth. The girl is born at dusk on the sacred day of Goodman Palpitattle, He Who Keeps Flies out of Jams and Butter Churns, and because of this, she is named Mosca (The Fly) by her widowed father. Due to the lack of a son, her father teaches her the forbidden art of reading, thereby making the girl unique in this ability, and an endangered species later on in the story.

After the death of her father, Mosca goes to live in a watery town named Chough, doing the accounts and generally being a slave to her uncle. For company she keeps an aggressive goose named Saracen who doubles as a guard goose and body guard.
When she crosses paths with a man of many words but of dubious character named Eponymous Clent, she immediately feels a sort of kinship to him, and while saving him from the long arm of the law, she accidentally becomes an arsonist and fugitive.

The story follows this unlikely pair through a series of dangerous adventures, including the search for an illegal printing press, a secret subversive school, and interacting with various groups of influential people who are looking to increase their power by fair means or foul. On the subject of “fowl”, Saracen also plays a vital role throughout the story.

The characterization in this book is superb, and the plot brilliantly imaginative, but it is a bit lengthy at 483 pages and complicated in its political intrigue for the average young reader. Never-the-less, for older readers and well-read children, this book stands out as being different to anything you’ve read before.

Rated 4.5 stars


Amanda Richards, June 11, 2006

Twelve-year-old Mosca Mye, orphaned by her exiled intellectual father, runs off in search of books and adventure. The books are hard to come by since most of them have been burnt in great bonfires (unapproved books are thought of as nasty things whose words crawl about in the brain until they drive one mad). Adventure, however, is found around every corner in this twisty, surprising story, which follows Mosca, her ferocious and heroic goose companion, and the questionable wordsmith Eponymous Clent on a quest for survival in the city of Mandelion. Unfortunately, Mandelion is a tinderbox of madness, corruption, plotting Guilds, and a kindling war just waiting for Mosca's unwitting spark to set it off. Mosca reminds me of a Philip Pullman's Lyra in that feisty "I'll do what I think is right even though everyone says no" sort of way--though she's not heroic in the ordinary sense. Frances Hardinge's writing style is a feast of vivid description, dead-on dialogue and the occasional portrait of human gestures that are both accurate and hilarious. In a world where religious intolerance and censorship are the norm, Mosca yearns for the chance to choose for herself what is right and discovers that maybe books aren't as dangerous as she's been told. An absolute joy to read, Fly By Night is the best intermediate fantasy novel I've read since Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy.

My son, age 10, absolutely loved this book--he said it was "even better than the Harry Potter books" which are his favorite of all time. But I can see how many younger readers of his age or close could be confused.

I read Fly By Night on my son's glowing recommendation and thought it was absolutely fantastic--one of the most colorful and most beautifully written books I've read in years--and I've given it to many other adults to read. Frankly I think despite the heroine's young age I could see this book appealing to highly literate teens to adults more than the younger kids, simply because of the book's verbal and plot complexity. But it's a very rewarding read, and Frances Hardinge has an amazing way with language.

Somewhere in `Fly By Night', the debut novel from Frances Hardinge, there is a diamond in the rough waiting to be discovered amidst this mixed bag of a novel. Frances Hardinge is a great original talent, and this book has a lot of potential to develop into a very enjoyable series.

Hardinge creates a solid world in `Fly By Night' called the Realm; a place loosely based on Eighteenth Century England. The realm is ruled by three warring guilds, the Stationers who control all written words, the Locksmiths who control all the keys and locked doors, and the Watermen who control the sea and rivers. There is a great amount of history to the realm, but the main story revolves around Mosca Mye, a twelve year old orphan whose author-father taught her the banned art of reading before he died. Mosca, together with a smooth-talking con-man named Eponymous Clent and her homicidal goose, Saracen, travel to the great city of Mandelion where the guilds rule supreme in an uneasy alliance with the Duke and his sister, Lady Tamarind. Soon, Mosca and Clent are involved in a radical conspiracy plot involving an illegal printing press that could shake the very foundations of Mandelion, and end the uneasy truce between the guilds and the Duke. Mosca soon learns that no one is what they first appear to be in Mandelion and that her one true love, words, might just lead her to her own demise.

Sound confusing? Hardinge's world is very complex, as is her plot. It moves sometimes successfully and unsuccessfully from place to place and person to person that it is hard to follow at times. I actually found myself bored for the first two hundred pages, even questioning whether or not to put down the book altogether, when finally the story started to pick up some pace. Even more challenging than the plot is the copious amounts of back story included in the novel, political intrigue, and mature themes such as freedom of speech, religious tension, censorship, and murder that only the most precocious of children would venture into Mosca's dangerous world. As an older reader, I can appreciate these themes, but the age group the novel is intended for I'm sure would struggle not only with the themes, but with the complex seventeenth century English dialogue. Many times through the story, I found myself confused at the wording of a particular passage or description. Hardinge is a great descriptive writer, but sometimes, her descriptions are lacking the vivid wording that makes scenes come to life and come off as a struggle to understand.

But despite its weaknesses `Fly By Night' is still a good read. Not an amazing work, such as Cornelia Funke's `Inkheart Trilogy' which the book has drawn many comparisons to, but a good read in general. Frances Hardinge does posses an amazing and original talent for writing. Her characters are three-dimensional and enjoyable, her writing is often humorous and elegant, and she interweaves suspense and mystery well into her narrative. "Fly By Night' is a diamond in the rough, a book that could only have used a little bit more polishing. Hardinge hints at a sequel in the end, and one wishes that she realizes her potential and improves on some of her weaknesses, mainly keeping in mind her intended audience. A complex and mixed bag of a children's book, I only recommend `Fly By Night' to those dedicated and precocious readers who enjoy political intrigue and the love and appreciation of words invoked in the novel.

Whether you are 12,25, or 75. If you like Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Dictionaries, or Ballads about Highway Men; this book is right up your alley. From when I started reading it, until the very last line, I couldn't put it down. The world that was within these words is so deep and well written that you feel as if you will look up to find that you have only been dreaming about your life up to now. I highly recommend Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge to anyone who want's a little excitment in their lives. Just remember to watch out for the Goose.

I told the children's librarian I was looking for something to read post-HP7 (I'm 33, btw). He recommended Fly By Night as one of his favorite books.

I brought it home on a Monday, and by Wednesday morning, this homeschooling mom of 3 was 157 pages into it. ANY books that is good enough that it compels me to read 157 pages in less than 48 hours while still trying to keep up with the kids, the house, the laundry, and the dog is a good book.

Yes, the plot is a bit complex sometimes. A few times I had to go back and re-read things so that I had a better handle on what was going on with all the guilds and Lady Tamarind. But I was as excited about the book at the end as I was at the beginning, and I'm still thinking about the story a few days after I read it. I give it four stars because the Stationer's Guild/Locksmith Guild thing was a little hard to grasp.

I saw a couple of people comment that they couldn't understand the story and put the book down after one or two chapters. Well, um, you're not supposed to understand the story in two chapters. You're supposed to read the WHOLE BOOK.

In another time
In another land
In defense of liberty
In a city gone mad with civic pride
A land corrupted by rules. . .

It pays to browse the YA shelves with regularity.
Sometimes it's all read, or drivel, and occasionally one finds an inky giant like this Fly by Night.

Setting her story in a land hemmed and hawed about with restrictions & legalities of the most ridiculous nature, illustrates the madness created when men are set up to judge the worthiness & merit of others. Ultimately, truth is surpressed, free will stampeeded on & good sense trampled.

Mosca, an 'inscrutable little animal' begins by setting alight a prison and releasing a rogue. . . Not very likeable, in her dirt, roughness & sharp tounge, when set into a city balancing on the edge of chaos Mosca manages to interfere with every faction.

As the tale unfolds, Mosca develops her own moral compass and realises her father has taught her much more than she realised, as experiences and past lessons fuse together to forge a girl who can cause Revolutions.

Thoroughly absorbing, Hardinge with her first novel has created a world we would like to revisit until all is settled (say 3-7 books?) deserves every award this novel is nominated for.

That truth should not be surpressed is a strong recurrent theme through so many media & again reveals the strength of its message, along with ideas I'd love to probe the author on. (are the birdcatchers hearts reminiscent of the catholic hand of hearts? ie references to the trials of the Inquisition?)

Don't turn down this novel for all adventure is set in a richly imaginative world & delightfully gilded.

A page could not be opened to snore at, so do satisfy your curiosity & demolish this book!

And if all that doesn't convince you, an endorsment by Garth Nix should.
He says;

"A wonderful & Wondrous Novel".

kot 2008

This book was simply the best. It had the best main character, the most entertaining sidekick, the creepiest villians. It involves power, murder, contraband, robbery, civil war, intrigue, betrayal, mad duke, a goose with serious anger management issues, and so much more. And considering that all of these wild elements are laid out in such an artfrul and sensible manner, what else could a reader reasonably expect?

The plot is absolutely gripping from the first page onward. The adventure starts right away with a minimal amount of that boring part in the beginning where everything is explained. What's more, it's also ridiculously funny. Even in the midst of all this back-stabbing and beautifully described fights, I could barely talk for laughter. The plot is absolutely original and magnificent. It lacks so much as pinprick, much less these gaping hole that all young adult fantasy seems to have everywhere.

The summary and cover simply don't give this book the justice it deserves. Don't read the whole thinhg about books being burned and think "Now that's original" in a sarcastic manner. It is so much more than that. Burning books, while a marketable thought, plays a minimal role in anything. Please don't avoid this wonderful and original peace of fiction based off of that.

Overall, this was the best book of the year. It will be loved by those who enjoyed works of Phillip Pullman. It is one of my all-time favorites and I expect it will remain one for a very long time.