Stefan Bachmann

Several years ago, the city of Bath and all its residents were completely destroyed when a gigantic door between Faerie and our world opened up in the center of the city, releasing thousands of faeries of all sorts and then closing tightly up again. Since then, fairies have been incorporated into everyday English life, and even into the government. Humans are still wary of faerie magic, but they have learned to suppress magic through the use of tolling bells, iron, and general steampunkness. show more The only beings who are truly ostracized are Changelings, or Peculiars - half-human, half-faerie children who live mostly in the partially-rebuilt slums of Bath. No one notices or cares when Changelings start disappearing from the slums except a little boy named Bartholomew Kettle, a changeling himself. When Bartholomew's sister Hettie is kidnapped, he has to find out what is happening to the rest of the Changelings, too. Thankfully a reluctant, lazy MP named Mr. Jelliby is begrudgingly on the case as well.

This!! This is what a faerie/steampunk story should be like! The world-building is complex, but makes total sense. There is a prologue that explains the destruction of Bath in a simple but emotional way before the plot commences. The characters are nuanced and unique but have distinct motivations so the reader is never left wondering why they are acting a particular way. Bartholomew is ostracized and abused but loves his sister. Mr. Jelliby is good-hearted but lazy and non-confrontational. The faerie chancellor Mr. Lickerish wants to open another door to Faerie, and he doesn't care what or who gets in his way. I wasn't expecting greatness from this free audiobook, but I am very pleasantly surprised. Watch out for the cliffhanger, though. show less

Audiobook from the library - In this sequel to The Peculiar, Hettie Kettle is stuck in Faerie, trying to survive while waiting for her brother Barty to rescue her. She passively goes along with whatever the various pompous faeries tell her to do, almost to the point of slavery. However, after long years pass with no sign of Barty, Hettie begins to realize that maybe she will have to grow up and rescue herself. Meanwhile in the now anti-faery city of London, an orphan boy named Pikey is show more ostracized due to having a wonky eye that sees only things that aren't really there. After evading a group of particularly nasty bullies, Pikey is recruited by Barty Kettle and Mr. Jelliby to help them find a way to rescue Hettie. They believe there is more to Pikey than meets the eye (pun intended).

What I expected to be a straightforward sequel ended up being something much more interesting. Barty and Mr. Jelliby, the heroes of the first book, are relatively minor characters in this one. The plot and perspectives center around Hettie and Pikey, who are much more interesting at this point. In the previous book, Hettie was a (rather annoying) helpless little sister, but in the sequel we get to see her grow up before our very eyes. By contrast, Barty is self-assured but a bit incompetent, since it takes him years to rescue Hettie. The weirdness and surrealness of Faerie is excellent, especially the inconsistent sense of time between it and our world. Once again, I'm blown away by a book written by an author so young. show less

Great world-building, well-written and true-to-life characters (even while being magical, felt realistic), and remarkably creepy tone- never cheesy or flat. However, not very emotionally resonant or engaging, which became especially apparent at the end. I should have been moved; I wasn't. An altogether enjoyable read.

Some years ago, a faerie door opened in the city of Bath, nearly obliterating the city and releasing a wave of the Fae into the mundane world before closing again. There were skirmishes and struggles, but now the faeries are assimilating into human culture, kept in check by iron and tolling bells. The mixing of the two races has, however, created a despised sub-class of changelings, or Peculiars. Bartholomew Kettle is one such child. He and his sister Hettie live with their human mother in show more the slums of Bath, having been long since abandoned by their faerie father. When changelings start disappearing, nobody is particularly concerned, but when Hettie is taken, Bartholomew will do anything to rescue her. Along the way, he will find himself tangled up in political schemes far beyond anything he could have imagined.

I really enjoyed this book. I listened to the audio version, and found it difficult to tear myself away. The premise is interesting, the worldbuilding strong, and I loved the characters -- plucky Bartholomew, wistful Hettie, lackadaisical Mr. Jelliby -- and the Sidhe always make such convincing villains! The book does end on a cliffhanger, so I'll be reading the next book in the series soon. show less