(no subject)
A few months ago villanny emailed me to flail about Francis Hardinge's Fly By Night. And once again Nny earns her place in the annals of the wise, because, having now finally read Fly By Night, I can safely say THIS BOOK IS AMAZING. In my head it goes into the same category of "deceptively complex books about revolution" as the Dalemark Quartet and the Westmark books, which right there should tell you how much I liked it.
Fly By Night is the following awesome things:
- a book about a revolution that is neither hopelessly idealistic nor hopelessly depressing
- a book set in a fantasy-country with a number of serious issues that does not actually set out to solve all those issues by the end of the story
- a book about the all-important power of words
- a book starring a homicidal goose
For the most part the story follows Mosca Mye, a twelve-year-old plucky orphan who is absolutely not an adorable moppet - she's more like what would happen if you cross-bred Lyra in The Golden Compass with Mitt in Drowned Ammett. (Yes, you should be afraid.) Mosca is cocky, self-absorbed and bitter, with few morals, a high opinion of her own cleverness and a very low level of trust in other human beings. She also has a passionate hunger for words, so when Eponymous Clent, a con artist who uses more and fancier words than she's ever heard in her life, gets thrown into the stocks in her town, she formulates a plan: she'll break him out if he promises to take her with him when he leaves. Burning down her aunt and uncle's barn and stealing Saracen the extremely violent goose was not initially part of the plan, but these things do happen, you know?
Eventually Mosca and Clent's Bickering and Double-Crossing Road Trip takes them to a town run by a mad duke . . . which is when things start to get complicated, as Mosca finds herself navigating among several scheming guilds and factions, none of which could really be called moral or trustworthy. (One of the things I love most is that the conflicts involve politics and religion and trade all wound up together, because that's how things actually work.) The pace of double- and triple-crosses speeds up, the city starts to careen towards chaos, Mosca starts to grow something vaguely resembling a conscience, and Saracen the Goose Beats Up Everyone On a Floating Coffeehouse. (It is glorious and must be seen to be believed.)
Also, the characters are amazing and fully realized, the writing is clever and funny and gorgeous, and this is getting long so basically I will just say that Frances Hardinge has just shot up to a prized spot on my list of Authors Whose Works I Must Acquire In Their Entirety And Read ASAP.
- oh, one more thing I want to say actually, though: this book is awesome for the ladies! From Lady Tamarind, the Duke's glamorous, hardcore and morally ambiguous sister, to The Cakes, the silly and weepy girl next door who becomes one of Mosca's most important allies, there is a wide range of important female characters and it makes me happy. Go Bechdel Test!
Fly By Night is the following awesome things:
- a book about a revolution that is neither hopelessly idealistic nor hopelessly depressing
- a book set in a fantasy-country with a number of serious issues that does not actually set out to solve all those issues by the end of the story
- a book about the all-important power of words
- a book starring a homicidal goose
For the most part the story follows Mosca Mye, a twelve-year-old plucky orphan who is absolutely not an adorable moppet - she's more like what would happen if you cross-bred Lyra in The Golden Compass with Mitt in Drowned Ammett. (Yes, you should be afraid.) Mosca is cocky, self-absorbed and bitter, with few morals, a high opinion of her own cleverness and a very low level of trust in other human beings. She also has a passionate hunger for words, so when Eponymous Clent, a con artist who uses more and fancier words than she's ever heard in her life, gets thrown into the stocks in her town, she formulates a plan: she'll break him out if he promises to take her with him when he leaves. Burning down her aunt and uncle's barn and stealing Saracen the extremely violent goose was not initially part of the plan, but these things do happen, you know?
Eventually Mosca and Clent's Bickering and Double-Crossing Road Trip takes them to a town run by a mad duke . . . which is when things start to get complicated, as Mosca finds herself navigating among several scheming guilds and factions, none of which could really be called moral or trustworthy. (One of the things I love most is that the conflicts involve politics and religion and trade all wound up together, because that's how things actually work.) The pace of double- and triple-crosses speeds up, the city starts to careen towards chaos, Mosca starts to grow something vaguely resembling a conscience, and Saracen the Goose Beats Up Everyone On a Floating Coffeehouse. (It is glorious and must be seen to be believed.)
Also, the characters are amazing and fully realized, the writing is clever and funny and gorgeous, and this is getting long so basically I will just say that Frances Hardinge has just shot up to a prized spot on my list of Authors Whose Works I Must Acquire In Their Entirety And Read ASAP.
- oh, one more thing I want to say actually, though: this book is awesome for the ladies! From Lady Tamarind, the Duke's glamorous, hardcore and morally ambiguous sister, to The Cakes, the silly and weepy girl next door who becomes one of Mosca's most important allies, there is a wide range of important female characters and it makes me happy. Go Bechdel Test!