Cogling

I received in February an eBook edition of this book direct from the author and her publisher (Curiosity Quills) to read and review as I have read and reviewed a couple of her earlier books. I did not get a chance to start it until last month, and finished it in just a couple of sessions.

When I registered this book in my Permanent Collection on Bookcrossing I described it as Science Fiction & Fantasy. It is really a combination of steampunk and fantasy, with touches of romance and horror.

I also must also confess up front that I am considerably older than the intended target market which is probably mid-to-slightly-older teens, and mainly probably female, so I miss out there too. I did, however, find it very enjoyable.

The hard part show more of writing a science fiction, fantasy, steampunk, horror, etc. story is providing enough detail so that the reader understands the rules of that world and is willing to suspend their disbelief and follow the journey the story takes them on. Far too often have readers, or at least this reader, of books in these genres been flummoxed and disappointed when the author breaks the rules of the world they have crafted. For example, describing a world that has telephones but that electricity is unknown to the inhabitants of that world.

In this book (and the other couple of books I have read) by Elizabeth Jordan the author demonstrates great imagination, but also logic, when crafting the alternate world(s) that the story is set in. And once the basic framework has been set up and revealed to the reader, the story and the characters continue to act consistently within that framework. This includes the language and technology used by the participants throughout the story.

Once this is established and the reader is comfortable with it, it then comes down to the question of whether the characters and the storyline are interesting enough to maintain the reader's interest enough so that they are willing to invest the time required to finish the story.

I don't want to discuss the story or the characters in any great depth here - both are adequately described by the book's blurb on the cover of the book/online bookstores. What is more important is that they kept this mid-to-late 50's bloke entertained from start to finish.

That's not to say it is perfect, there are some aspects which could have been handled better, or at least differently bearing in mind the intended audience.

As a small "l" liberal I found a couple of things in the story ringing alarm bells with me.

The first was the main characters' rather casual way they kidnapped a girl off the streets and swap her for their friend Rachel who has been imprisoned and awaiting "a fate worse than death". Is it okay provided the girl they exchange for her is a "ragamuffin" - read "fallen woman" or more accurately an extremely young and poor person who has other options for survival - as she is described in the book.

The other is that the rescue of Harrison and the resolution to the story involves mass retribution against the hags. Does taking such drastic action make you as bad as the people you are fighting against? Does the end always justify the means? Shouldn't you show more remorse for what you have had to do? Does it matter in the context of the story? I don't know, but I'm sure I cheered at Hansel and Gretel shoving the wicked witch into the oven and cooking her when the fairy tale was read to me as a young child.

In summary, interesting characters on a quest to right wrongs in a well-defined world where magic can be used for and against you.

Oh, and there's a cute dragon too! show less

Cogling by Jordan Elizabeth is a steampunk-driven story featuring young servant Edith and street urchin Ike. When Edith’s brother is kidnapped and replaced by a mechanical cogling created by the magical hags, Edith goes on a quest to save him. Ike is her willing companion as they fight to stay alive and end a hag rebellion.

I have now read three books by Jordan Elizabeth. I’ve learned that she is an expert with plotting and setting the scene, but in this book, she has surpassed her previous attempts as character development. Edith and Ike are both remarkably strong individuals with good hearts and secret pasts. The more I read, the more I loved them. Little brother Harrison touched my heart. I ached for the horrific events that such show more a young child had to endure long after I finished reading the book.

I recommend Cogling to anyone who enjoys the steampunk genre or a well-developed dark fantasy. The story offers a wonderful mix of action, adventure, romance and intrigue. While the content is different, The story reminded me in spirit of the False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielson. show less

Coglings, gears and gadgets tick . . . tick . . . tick . . . don't sniff it, quietly and silently whisked away to a place hidden. Ashen skin, grey shades slowly overtaking their bodies. Witches more like hags, yes HAGS galore, tomtars with skinny bird legs subservient. A dreary gloomy existence, work they must, no choice in the matter either be a beggar or a harlot or a thief. Edna forced to work at the age of fifteen no time to play or look prissy, need to help the family, the creed of the kingdom one must work at the age of seven brother Harrison worked alongside her. "We're not that poor yet that we have to eat garbage", hmm . . . we have to see about that. Things goes haywire, Coglings appears way too many of them. Replacements for show more whom? What is wrong with him, stares blankly not knowing what to do as if he never been here? Is he sick? Money don't come easy must save for scraps of food, save for the rent, save to survive. Gin joint singer, laying train tracks all Edna knows they're out there working. Edna takes on the responsibilities to look after Harrison. Ike a seventeen year old, a rag tag disheveled young man. His eyes tells something different should I believe him, should I trust him? Trust him with my heart? Hag blood, Ogre blood, Human blood, blood everywhere. Magic intertwine this tale where Soot Demons bite is deadly and hooves of Nix with their quiver and bows, four legged mechanical wolves with razor sharp teeth, mechanical spies hover above scratching and scattering to report to Mother Sambucus, The Dark Mother. "Foul human beasts, they took their charms and potions, begged for blessings, and then shunned you". Odds bobs, I'm not a thief! No, Edna aka Eddie is not a thief far from it, strong willed, devoted, loyal and compassionate but most of all a good sister, no wait something else is waiting. I was truly entertained by her fighting spirit, along the way she discovers her inner demons just maybe. Edna hides within keeping the evil at bay, but evil it might not be. The metal gadgets of objects and metal contraptions of machinery were fascinating. The author detail description made me feel how it looked and how it worked and how dangerous it could be and had become. The characters were exciting, wicked and brutal, full of life. The fighting with just the right action either minor to major gore, perfect. The magic splendidly sizzles to cause such electricity throughout. There were many times I thought okay Edna and Ike will be okay, 'NOT' another round of tense moments, always running, always fighting, always dumped in the most disgusting places, ha . . . ha . . . ha . . . just ask Lady Rachel. Parts unnerved me, some parts exasperated me, at the same time I laughed, made a fist and my heart squeezed so with this I must say I unequivocally enjoyed this magical steampunk read. Thank you to the author for the digital download. This is my honest review. Thank you so much! P.S. The book cover beautiful and perfect for "Cogling." show less

I really enjoyed Elizabeth’s Treasure Chronicles series and was very eager to read another book written by her. This ended up being an interesting YA steampunk story with lots of magic.

Edna notices her younger brother Harrison is acting strangely and when she pulls a strange pocketwatch from around his neck he crumbles into a pile of cogs. A young thief named Ike recognizes the pocket watch as being from the Hags and tells Edna that he will take her into the swamp where the Hags bring kidnapped children to work for them...for a price. What follows is a series a daring rescues, imprisonments, and escapes as Edna and Ike try to outwit the Hags and protect humanity from a Hag take over.

This book was an interesting blend of magic and show more mechanicals. The hags pull magic from children's dreams and use that energy to make magic items and devices. As you can imagine this isn’t great for the children.

I really enjoyed the magic and all the different magical races you meet throughout the books. I also really enjoyed the idea of Coglings replacing human children; it has a very faerie changeling kind of feel to it and lends the story a fairy tale like vibe.

I found the plot to be a bit too straightforward and predictable. Additionally I had some trouble engaging with Edna and Ike as characters. The tone of the story is very middle grade in the beginning but the romance and some of the topics toward the end of the book are very young adult. It almost felt like the first half was a middle grade novel and the second half a young adult novel; it gave the novel a bit of an awkward feel.

My last complaint is that the pacing was a bit off. Edna and Ike fall in love way too abruptly and the story seemed very rushed at the end. I wish everything that happened in the last third of the book had started earlier and given a little more time to play out. About 2/3rds of the way in I was doubtful that the story would be wrapped up at all; but it was...it was just very rushed.

Overall this was an intriguing story and I enjoyed some of the magical steampunk elements to it. However, I had some trouble engaging with the characters and felt like the ending was really rushed. I would tentatively recommend to those who enjoy stories with steampunky goodness, magic, and some YA romance.

If you are looking for entertaining YA steampunk I would also recommend Gail Carriger’s Custard Protocol series, The Clockwork Key series by Kristen Bailey, and the Baskerville Affair by Emma Jane Halloway. If you are an adult I would also recommend Elizabeth’s Treasure Chronicle series which I enjoyed a lot more than this book. show less

Cogling is a stand alone YA fantasy novel with steampunk elements. It suffers from a number of issues, most notably poor world building and an ill developed lead. The end result is a clumsy story.

When Edna Mather’s tears a pocket watch away from her brother, he crumbles into a pile of clockwork. She soon learns that her brother was replaced by a cogling, a changing left by the hags of the forest who steal children to work in their magic factory. Edna finds Ike, a street thief who knows the way to the hag’s swamp. Together they head off to the swamp to rescue Edna’s brother and stop the hags.

Edna is supposed to be fifteen, but she feels twelve at the oldest. She’s incredibly naive and immature, and her thought process does not show more read as a teenager! I think it was primarily Edna’s immaturity that made this read like a middle grade novel. At least until about half way through when all this weird stuff about virginity and sexual assault popped up, mainly surrounding a character named Rachel. Slight spoilers up ahead – Rachel ends up in a mental hospital where the doctor in charge forcibly kisses her and threatens to rape her. All of this was unnecessary. What’s even more mind boggling is when they get Rachel out by replacing her with some nameless homeless girl they kidnap off the street! Seriously?

All that aside, the world building was probably the biggest problem with the book. It feels like a whole bunch of different elements were thrown in with no regards for how they fit together. The world building feels superficial and clumsy, an effect only heightened by the gratuitous info-dumping at the beginning of the novel. For instance, there’s this race of avian people called tomtars who are all enslaved to humans. Why are they in the book? What do they add? How did they get enslaved? Do they have their own culture? None of these questions are answered. Similar lack of thought is given to the development of other areas of world building. Elizabeth Jordan created a religion for Cogling – Edna worships the Seven Saints. However, we are told nothing about them even though Edna is constantly thinking that they’ll protect her and so on. Unfortunately, a large part of the plot ties directly into the clunky world building, i.e. the conflict between the humans and the hags (and their male equivalent, ogres).

The plot itself felt underdeveloped and stuttery, like it was constantly stopping and starting again. According to Goodreads, Cogling is only 285 pages long. However it took me much longer to read than other books of the same length, mainly due to the abysmal pacing and my continued boredom. One of the ongoing plot threads was the “evil” inside Edna. This one had potential, but it was brought out way to late in the novel and basically felt like a deus ex machina.

I wouldn’t recommend Cogling. It’s possible that it could be fixed up (and might be better served in the middle grade market), but as stands it is not a book I can recommend.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.

I received a free ARC copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

Cogling by Jordan Elizabeth is a young adult steampunk fantasy that even old codgers like me would love! I love steampunk, fantasy, magic, creatures of fae, dragons, trolls, and a touch of romance (not too much), adventure, action, mystery, and this book has all of this and more! Wow, I was so surprised at the depth of each character, the wonderful weaving of the plot, and the vivid fantasy. I can't say enough of about this book. It is made for young adults, I think, but anyone that age and older will love it! I hope there is a Cogling 2! Lots of twists, surprises and fun. Great read. I received this book for a honest review and it in no way effected my review or rating, it is just darn great!

I really enjoyed this story. Edna and her family live in the working class section of town. They are barely making it to the point that Edna and her little brother also work to help make ends meet. One night a hag (witch) sneaks into their room and replaces Harrison with a Cogling. A Cogling looks like the person it is replacing but doesn’t quite act like the person. The Hags are using the children in a factory to build things. As the children work, their dreams are slowly drained from them, which is slowly killing them. Edna quickly discovers the Cogling and sets out to find her brother. She meets Ike who knows where Harrison is and promises to help her rescue Harrison. There is lots of adventures and scary moments on their journey show more as they encounter ogres, Nix, Foxkin and other unusual characters. This is a great young adult fantasy story that kept my attention and had me cheering for Edna and Ike. Well worth the read.

I thank the author for an electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. show less