777 pages

Children’s Steampunk/Fantasy and Magic for Children

As this is a children’s book, I read it to find out how the author dealt with such a readership, having read other works of his written for adults. This is definitely written for a younger readership.

There are elements some adults will find difficult to follow; imagination is the key to this work, and at times it batters the reader with so much action it becomes almost too fast-paced. But I can see kids thoroughly enjoying this complex and simple tale as the fun-packed, challenging, enlightening, humorous, adventure it is.

The characters are drawn with great empathy and understanding, even the adults! There’s a lot of detailed and credible interaction going on, complex relationships, and those doubts and anxieties that most plague the developing mind are dealt with very well.

As is so often the case with books these days, there are a few editing errors, but that is now the norm, it seems. And they don’t get in the way of enjoyment here.

It’s a long book, so takes some time to read. But the pages turn easily as the novel is fast-paced.

Imaginative, employing a well-developed imaginary world, it combines adventure with fantasy and some science fiction to bring about a tale that will enthral young readers from beginning to end.