I loved the scene where Alec found out that Deryn was a girl.

Tropes: secret royal, girl disguised as boy, friends to more

Content: battle, kissing, d*mn a couple of times

4 Stars ( )

I don't use the word "heteronormative" lightly, but.....

(Ugh.)

Apart from the increasingly annoying Certified 100% Heterosexual Relationship that Westerfeld made central to the story, this was pretty good. It really didn't need the romance driving it; "romance" mostly just tosses a hat over gaping ridiculous plot developments like Alek literally throwing away his royalty (very punny; I'm still wincing), and Alek having an actual consistent political position (if that's too much to expect from a teenager, then how does Dylan have such freedom of action in her relatively low-on-the-totem-pole military rank?). Story itself was a little disjointed and strung-together, but it worked, and overall I really like Westerfeld's warping of history. I am still confused about Dylan's rank; the first two books make it seem like she was more of a cabin boy, but she always had a lot more latitude than I expected, even accounting for the "bell captain" effect (where the people who carry out the orders have a kind of power that the people giving the orders do not).

I liked the characterization of Tesla, although maybe it helps that I find his adoring present-day fan club annoying.

The social barriers Dylan ran up against, even with Dr. Barlow, were really painful to read. Maybe I took it too personally. I kept having flashes to [b:Monstrous Regiment|386371|Monstrous Regiment (Discworld, #31)|Terry Pratchett|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347894977s/386371.jpg|25787074]; I would have loved to see how Dylan was going to keep living her dream, or how other women were dealing with things-as-they-were. Which begs the question, is Dylan going to keep living as a man? Some hints are certainly dropped in that direction. Isn't that going to create some sticky social issues if she and Alek pursue their romantic relationship?

If so, Westerfeld isn't going to be the one to tell us about it. I've liked his work for a long time, his books are generally thoughtful and don't talk down to his young readers, but right now I am incredibly disappointed in him. Either he knew what he was doing with his queer subtext and was too cowardly to make it text/caved to the editors, or it was all just a joke to him. ( )

A very pleasant read. All three books. ( )

Being the daft person that I am, it took me until halfway through the second book of the series to realize that this was a Steampunk take on World War 1. Well written series, beautiful illustrations, and a fitting and great ending. ( )

Adorably started, these children stole my heart right from the very start. Because I read all three of these novels in one week, they all kind of blur in my head. So I'm going to write them all one big review pretty much.


This series is promising to become one of top ten my favorite mini-series I would read in the early part of this year/all of 2012 (so far, as we area only 1/3 of the way in). I was captivated with how things happened, the slow reveal, how our characters learned things, how they handled ending up places, what was more important morality among people or loyalty to a cause.

The illustrations made my heart sore every time. I like that the children aren't super-people by the end, but still feeling their way through the world. I adore madly the Lady Boffin and The Count. I want to know ssssoo much more about the gifted pets, because you know they go, continuing to be awesome.


If you have not read this series (and I was already one of the late, late comers, with the series already completely when I found it), You Should Be Now. Go, go. Get copies. Giggle and love it. ( )