Scan barcode
rjdenney's review against another edition
2.0
2 STARS!!
I'll be talking about my thoughts on this in my June Wrap Up at the end of this month. :)
- Richard
badseedgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Read April 2017
Last week I was feeling pretty burned out by the YA the storylines were getting so stale and predictable, but then I read Steeplejack and some of my faith in the YA genre has been restored. Here is a YA novel I would be proud to say I read. The young female protagonist is a strong character in her own right. She makes mistakes, but does not lean on her male cohort, in fact this book has a astonishing lack of leading males. There are male characters but they tend to be secondary characters.
It is hard to categorize this book. It is not steampunk, and is not gaslight, but it sort of feels like both. It is set in an alternative land that feels very much like apartheid South Africa. There are water buffalo and grasslands, gazelle type animals. More importantly it is set up socially much like South Africa. A white minority who control the economy and the government over a black ethnic majority. The reality this was a darn good mystery set in an alternative urban fantasy environment.
I highly recommend this book for readers of YA who are tired of the same old, same old and are looking for a fresh new take on the genre.
Last week I was feeling pretty burned out by the YA the storylines were getting so stale and predictable, but then I read Steeplejack and some of my faith in the YA genre has been restored. Here is a YA novel I would be proud to say I read. The young female protagonist is a strong character in her own right. She makes mistakes, but does not lean on her male cohort, in fact this book has a astonishing lack of leading males. There are male characters but they tend to be secondary characters.
It is hard to categorize this book. It is not steampunk, and is not gaslight, but it sort of feels like both. It is set in an alternative land that feels very much like apartheid South Africa. There are water buffalo and grasslands, gazelle type animals. More importantly it is set up socially much like South Africa. A white minority who control the economy and the government over a black ethnic majority. The reality this was a darn good mystery set in an alternative urban fantasy environment.
I highly recommend this book for readers of YA who are tired of the same old, same old and are looking for a fresh new take on the genre.
oddrid's review against another edition
3.0
This book had some very good things about it, particularly the handling of race and creating a fantasy South Africa, but I didn't much care for the author's style, and the mystery aspect (particularly the end) was rather flawed.
pantsreads's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5
Interesting premise, for sure. I wasn't as engrossed in the story as I would have liked, but the world—and main character Ang—intrigues me.
Check out my full review on FYA.
Interesting premise, for sure. I wasn't as engrossed in the story as I would have liked, but the world—and main character Ang—intrigues me.
Check out my full review on FYA.
jolierice99's review against another edition
4.0
It was actually way better than I expected. There are 14 different storylines going on at the same time and it still manages to weave all together at the end and everything is connected! Really staffing but also a super good mystery, and you'll never figure out every little piece that fits into the puzzle until the end.
booksnorkel's review against another edition
5.0
I’m going to have to read more South African Steampunk mysteries. It’s just what I’m going to have to start doing. Thanks Steeplejack for introducing me to a whole genre of books I didn’t know that I needed. Who has any recommendations of books that are similar to this because with how much I have read and worked around books I can’t really pin point any books that comes close. Yes, I’ve read mystery, and steampunk, and mystery steampunk, and books with characters who like to climb, and kick-ass female characters, and so many different amazing things come together to make this book a stand out. Anglet is a climber she makes her living climbing the outside of chimneys and towers to repair them. She is to train a new apprentice but when she finally finds him he’s dead. And it’s not from a fall as the police are trying to say it is. When she starts looking for answers to his death she keeps turning up more questions and getting deeper into danger. I really don’t want to spoil anything in this book. If you have a passing thought as to whether or not you should read this do. Please read this it is fresh and unique perhaps the only book I can somewhat compare it to is Rebel Mechanics, but that is a very thin thread of a connection. This book is for girls and boys who are looking for something different ages 13 on up there is a hairy situation or two that isn’t graphic and nothing happens but knowing that someone wants to/ tried to do that to Anglet really makes for a tense novel.
annebennett1957's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent and complicated murder mystery set in an exotic but not completely unknown land. I didn't guess the ending and now want to reread it looking for detailed clues.
kimreadsthings's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
This is a mystery novel wrapped in historical fiction wrapped in a fantasy world. With a good heaping of social justice themes thrown into the mix. A country’s national treasure goes missing, and a young boy is murdered on the same day. Finding how the two events are related is our heroine, Ang’s, mission. The story sets out to solve a murder and uncover a political conspiracy, but it is also a vehicle for exploration of the social, race, and class differences in this tense melting pot of a country. There is a palpable sense throughout that time is running out, not only for Ang to solve the mystery, but to do so before the pot boils over and into war.
Find my review at The Midnight Garden.
This is a mystery novel wrapped in historical fiction wrapped in a fantasy world. With a good heaping of social justice themes thrown into the mix. A country’s national treasure goes missing, and a young boy is murdered on the same day. Finding how the two events are related is our heroine, Ang’s, mission. The story sets out to solve a murder and uncover a political conspiracy, but it is also a vehicle for exploration of the social, race, and class differences in this tense melting pot of a country. There is a palpable sense throughout that time is running out, not only for Ang to solve the mystery, but to do so before the pot boils over and into war.
Find my review at The Midnight Garden.
kketelaar's review against another edition
4.0
The cover didn't appeal to me and I was going to give it a pass, but it was recommended by a friend and I am so glad I gave it a chance! It was well-written, with a strong plot AND great character development. One of the best YA I've read in a while.