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eoghann's review
4.0
For those wondering (as I was, because I knew there was a reference I should be getting) Full Fathom Five is from Shakespeare's The Tempest. And there are some correlations you can make with this story, so long as you're not inclined to be too literal.
This is the second novella (I didn't count the words, but longer than a short story, shorter than a novel I'd say) I've read by the author Peter A. Smalley and the two are both similar and very different. In both cases we're dealing with an period of alternate US history. And in both cases there seems to be a slight magical/scifi element. But it's primarily background, not the focus of the story.
In this particular he deftly sets the scene of a Civil War that has dragged on an a Union army that has an unmatchable navy in it's Ironclads. At no point does he feel the need to sit us down and explain this to us. Rather we discover it as the protagonist engages in his own life. This is how it should be done.
The tone of the story reminds me somewhat of a Jules Verne story. It has many similar elements and styles to it, though it is not a pastiche. There's a distinct steam punk feel to this story although some references to the Art leave it (deliberately?) unclear whether we are dealing with science or magic in some cases.
There's an odd section in the middle of the book where the story is narrated by means of journals. It's a rather passive method of storytelling because it distances the reader from the action but does suit the time and tone of the story itself.
The central theme of the story is the protagonists slowly changing views of the endeavor he is engaged in. Each of the small number of characters is carefully and distinctly drawn with their own strengths and flaws and their parts in the story as it plays out seem to fit without being forced.
There's really only one exception to that, the professor's assistant whose strange behavior was never really explained to my satisfaction and whose threat against the protagonist sort of dangled without real resolution. That character, like the threat just seems to be forgotten when the story wraps up.
That element aside I really enjoyed the story and am left wondering what would happen when the ship finally reached France.
The setting is not as much to my personal taste as the noir of Emerald City Blues, but it gets an unreserved 4 star rating from me.
This is the second novella (I didn't count the words, but longer than a short story, shorter than a novel I'd say) I've read by the author Peter A. Smalley and the two are both similar and very different. In both cases we're dealing with an period of alternate US history. And in both cases there seems to be a slight magical/scifi element. But it's primarily background, not the focus of the story.
In this particular he deftly sets the scene of a Civil War that has dragged on an a Union army that has an unmatchable navy in it's Ironclads. At no point does he feel the need to sit us down and explain this to us. Rather we discover it as the protagonist engages in his own life. This is how it should be done.
The tone of the story reminds me somewhat of a Jules Verne story. It has many similar elements and styles to it, though it is not a pastiche. There's a distinct steam punk feel to this story although some references to the Art leave it (deliberately?) unclear whether we are dealing with science or magic in some cases.
There's an odd section in the middle of the book where the story is narrated by means of journals. It's a rather passive method of storytelling because it distances the reader from the action but does suit the time and tone of the story itself.
The central theme of the story is the protagonists slowly changing views of the endeavor he is engaged in. Each of the small number of characters is carefully and distinctly drawn with their own strengths and flaws and their parts in the story as it plays out seem to fit without being forced.
There's really only one exception to that, the professor's assistant whose strange behavior was never really explained to my satisfaction and whose threat against the protagonist sort of dangled without real resolution. That character, like the threat just seems to be forgotten when the story wraps up.
That element aside I really enjoyed the story and am left wondering what would happen when the ship finally reached France.
The setting is not as much to my personal taste as the noir of Emerald City Blues, but it gets an unreserved 4 star rating from me.
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