Monday, November 29, 2010

Twilight Robbery (or Fly Trap in America) by Frances Hardinge (sequel to the heavily acclaimed Fly by Night)

Please note, although I'm sure you can hardly wait Twilight Robbery is not coming out until the 4th of March 2011.


The story:


Trouble follows Mosca wherever she goes, and it doesn't much help that she hangs out with a lying, cheating, fraudster of no account, and a goose best described as homicidal.

Got that?  Good.  Because now you've got to hold on tight, through kidnapping, half a bizarre country, more gods than I could possibly name, and into a town that is in terrible peril, from itself. 

Will Mosca save the day?  Will she be able to help more than just herself, but all the people who are relying on her?  Hold on tight and get ready for to discover a world of danger and not so much enchantment.  It's not magic that has everyone enthralled so much as the brazen daring of Mosca, her companions - and of course the evil forces they are pitted against.  Men and women who are too self centred to care about the plight of their fellows.

Twilight Robbery is everything you'd expect from children's book.  It's gorgeous, loveable, dangerous, enchanting (without the magic), and there's lots of running both into and out of danger, as well as fast talking, and a fun, loveable and dangerous -- goose.  Now while I didn't much care for Gullstruck Island, and Verdigris Deep is so brilliant that I don't think any other fiction will ever compare -- this strikes a happy middle note that makes me wonder why on earth I didn't read Fly by Night earlier.  A mistake I will soon be fixing.

My advice is (and I did exactly this) lay your hands on a copy as soon as you can. And if you're a good reader and can cope with intricately wrought writing with big words, read Verdigris Deep and marvel about how it failed to win the awards it deserved.  My reveiw is here.


Fly by Night won the Branford Boase Award in 2006,and was listed in the School Library Journal's Best Books of 2006.  Review here.



Frances Hardinge's website is here  - fair warning though -as of this moment her sequel hasn't been posted yet.

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