Scan barcode
sbones's review against another edition
4.0
A fun book to read. I know I’m not the target market but there is lots to enjoy in this story for adults. A sense of adventure and what life means in family and friendships. I came away feeling uplifted and also wanting a mechanical Fox! Lily is the central character who’s father has gone missing and mysterious men with eyes that are made of mirrors are hunting her. Her friend Robert and Malkin her mechanical fox go on an adventure to out wit them and find out what they want from lily. If your looking for a good old fashioned adventure with a touch of steampunk thrown in then this could be the story for you.
allaboutfrodo's review against another edition
3.0
A predictable middle grade adventure that will find fans among steampunk aficionados.
I found the plot very by the numbers (except for the big reveal about the cogheart). The villains are classic mustache-twirling evil doers with no depth. I liked the mechanical characters the best.
Recommended for fans of A Series of Unfortunate Events. This book may be a little scary for little kids, so I'd stick with middle graders.
Big big
I read an advance reader copy of Cogheart from Netgalley.
I found the plot very by the numbers (except for the big reveal about the cogheart). The villains are classic mustache-twirling evil doers with no depth. I liked the mechanical characters the best.
Recommended for fans of A Series of Unfortunate Events. This book may be a little scary for little kids, so I'd stick with middle graders.
Big big
Spoiler
: I did find it very unfair that Lily regained her father (that was obviously going to happen from the beginning) but Robert lost his.I read an advance reader copy of Cogheart from Netgalley.
diyaxoxox's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This book was so lovely. It spoke of grief and death in such a wonderful manner, in a way so important to children that this book is intended for (I’m only slightly older than that demographic at 19.) I’m glad that this book didn’t shy away from death and touched on the fact that sometimes parents can just be absent, like many were and still are to this day. The portrayal of oppression was represented in such a manner that you don’t usually see, usually its very overt and in your face but this was subtle but still there. I won’t go too much into the plot, because as it’s a children’s book, it can be easy to figure out the story but oh my word… the plot twist!!! Loved this book. I’m taking away a star because I think this would be difficult to follow at some points, especially with a whole manner of complicated terminology being used which could definitely throw readers, especially as it is aimed at ‘middle-graders’ or around 11-14 years of age. I mean it threw me at some points too! Overall, brilliant book and so excited to read the whole series.
helloakosisam's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
chryscurl's review against another edition
4.0
A wonderfully imaginative and exciting story - I loved the positivity of the characters and the strong message of strength through adversity.
The mechanicals were my favourite bit, the descriptions were delightful and the depth of personality was a lovely perspective on artificial intelligence.
Am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
The mechanicals were my favourite bit, the descriptions were delightful and the depth of personality was a lovely perspective on artificial intelligence.
Am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
hippocapybara's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The writing is okay but the content isn’t what I’d expect from a children’s book. The plot is driven by increasingly awful things adults to do the two children: Bullying, neglect, arson, murder, parent death, torture, abuse. I didn’t enjoy reading it and won’t be recommending it.
zoridia's review against another edition
2.0
Honestly, I would rather give it a 2.5 stars, but since it's not possible it will be 3, as it was a quite pleasant book to read. I really liked the universe in which the story is set, it's steampunk and awesome (mechanimals!! mech-fox! balloons! air-pirates! penny dreadfuls! clocks and cogs! Everything I love), and the story flows rather well, in spite of some lengths (it may be me, but I found the descriptions of fights/attacks really hard to read/boring). However, I was quite disappointed by the plot and the characters, which I found hackneyed and without depth. They are "nice" protagonists but I've met them a billion times already. So if it was the first book I've read I would have liked it more (which makes me think that children may enjoy it more than I did).
1) I found the overall plot very predictable. I had guessed about the Professor Silverfish after a third of the book, and about the Cogheart after half of the book and then everything pretty much followed my predictions (Anna was a nice surprise however).
2) Flat characters: Lily and Robert are likeable but also very empty. She is a tomboy like.... 90% of girl protagonists in adventure books, lost her mother, brave, trouble with authority and beyond that nothing. We don't know how she feels, how she thinks (or very vaguely: she is sad about the loss of her parents.) If I compare with Lyra in The Golden Compass/The Northern Lights, Lyra had such an interesting inner life that the reader got to discover, imagination, lying, plotting, some arrogance, bravery, we knew in detailed ways how she perceived the other characters and her own story. I guess not everybody can be Pullman, but still, I was quite disappointed that Lily did not become more of a "person" and less of an empty protagonist.
3) I may need to think more about it, but gender-wise I was also a bit disappointed, Anna is cool, and initially Lily as well (while Robert had some weaknesses that made him more human), but as the story went by Lily basically became completely passive: she follows Robert, she follows her father, she needs saving again and again, and her main feature, the cogheart, is something that has been done for her. I want her to be able to do stuff! Understand things, or fight, or think. I felt that the book often promised some form of equality between the characters (they are both orphans (sort of) on the same adventure, but that the facts ended up making her quite passive. I hope it will be balanced better in the next volume.
However, I enjoyed reading the book, and absolutely loved Malkin, and would like to know more about whether/how mechs can have a soul or not. There are many good things in the book and I hope they will be developped later on.
Spoiler
To be more specific, here are my issues with the book:1) I found the overall plot very predictable. I had guessed about the Professor Silverfish after a third of the book, and about the Cogheart after half of the book and then everything pretty much followed my predictions (Anna was a nice surprise however).
2) Flat characters: Lily and Robert are likeable but also very empty. She is a tomboy like.... 90% of girl protagonists in adventure books, lost her mother, brave, trouble with authority and beyond that nothing. We don't know how she feels, how she thinks (or very vaguely: she is sad about the loss of her parents.) If I compare with Lyra in The Golden Compass/The Northern Lights, Lyra had such an interesting inner life that the reader got to discover, imagination, lying, plotting, some arrogance, bravery, we knew in detailed ways how she perceived the other characters and her own story. I guess not everybody can be Pullman, but still, I was quite disappointed that Lily did not become more of a "person" and less of an empty protagonist.
3) I may need to think more about it, but gender-wise I was also a bit disappointed, Anna is cool, and initially Lily as well (while Robert had some weaknesses that made him more human), but as the story went by Lily basically became completely passive: she follows Robert, she follows her father, she needs saving again and again, and her main feature, the cogheart, is something that has been done for her. I want her to be able to do stuff! Understand things, or fight, or think. I felt that the book often promised some form of equality between the characters (they are both orphans (sort of) on the same adventure, but that the facts ended up making her quite passive. I hope it will be balanced better in the next volume.
However, I enjoyed reading the book, and absolutely loved Malkin, and would like to know more about whether/how mechs can have a soul or not. There are many good things in the book and I hope they will be developped later on.
aligeorge's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very charming book with some lovely steampunk world building and cinematic set pieces.
necrondicus's review against another edition
3.0
On reflection, given the buzz around this book, I was expecting more. On the other hand, it was the publisher that sought to raise my expectation not the author. Congratulations to him on this his first novel. Steampunk too. Yum.
The plot was packed with action and galloped along. Pretty exciting stuff. On the downside, I found the dialogue a little flat in places and often it didn't seem to reflect the character's age, gender or status within the story. However, having just finished the first three books of the Edge Chronicles, and observed the same thing there, it might be something that is more noticeable to me as an adult reader than to lower MG readers - the target audience of this book.
If you like the steampunk setting, if you like your protagonists young and feisty and if you like your antagonists evil. This could be your book.
The plot was packed with action and galloped along. Pretty exciting stuff. On the downside, I found the dialogue a little flat in places and often it didn't seem to reflect the character's age, gender or status within the story. However, having just finished the first three books of the Edge Chronicles, and observed the same thing there, it might be something that is more noticeable to me as an adult reader than to lower MG readers - the target audience of this book.
If you like the steampunk setting, if you like your protagonists young and feisty and if you like your antagonists evil. This could be your book.
abookwiithoutend's review against another edition
3.0
A really sweet and adventurous story! However, the plot and characters moved in such an overly familiar pattern that I could predict almost every event. But it's a strong 3 stars!