The Emperor of North America

by John McNichol

John McNichol’s The Emperor of North America The Young Chesterton Chronicles Book 2 It’s been over a year since Gilbert Keith Chesterton and his friends defeated the Martian tripod invasion. Since then, he has a new faith, a new job as a reporter for the London Times, and a new love―a beautiful heiress named Frances. Life couldn’t be better. But then things begin to go very wrong. Disturbing questions surface from Gilbert’s murky past. His best friend Herb’s sudden, unexplained wealth has made him distant and evasive. And the mysterious redheaded woman reappears, with trouble surely behind her. When Gilbert learns his life is in jeopardy, he leaves England and returns to his American homeland, where he thinks he’ll be safe. There he meets a powerful man who calls himself the “Emperor of North America.” Why has he taken such a keen interest in Gilbert’s career? Gilbert fights past dogged, airborne assassins and steam-powered cowboys, through the streets of New York and a floating city in the clouds. Along the way he learns that while his adversaries may change, America may not be any safer than England. For it is in America that both Gilbert and Herb will confront their most dangerous opponents yet...themselves. About the Book The Emperor of North America by John McNichol is the sequel to the bestselling novel The Tripods Attack! and the second volume in the Young Chesterton Chronicles―a delightfully inventive fiction series for teens to adults that re-imagines the famous Catholic author as a young man living in an alternative Edwardian age of steam-driven wonders. “The Tripods Attack is a page-turning adventure of Chestertonian proportions, a feast of the imagination for the young and for adults. It rendered this reader ready to read more Chesterton, as well as, this, McNichol’s next volume!” Kevin Vost, Psy.D., bestselling author of Tending the Temple and Memorize the Faith!

Genres: Science Fiction

472 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 2011

About the author

John McNichol was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1970, and spent the first eighteen years of his life there before attending Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he met his wife, Jeanna. Today, they live with their seven children in Vancouver, Washington, where John earned Master's degrees in English Literature and Education, and teaches middle school.

Reviews

[Julie Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Gilbert Chesterton and Herb Wells were best friends in a steampunk universe when they were 17 and had a crazy adventure involving airships, robots, flying cities, Pinkerton men, a mysterious female nemesis, Gil's true love, a couple of courageous young lads who double as inventors, and much more ... then you would have this book.

It grabbed me in a most unexpected way as you may be able to tell from the fact that I picked it up yesterday morning to read something different and early that evening found myself on page 300. I polished it off this morning. It's an adventure a minute but with time here and there to consider a few deeper things in life ... before being whisked off to another phase of the adventure.

Who is it that is after Gil and never quits trying, using all the forces that money can buy, to get their hands on him? And why would anyone be interested in a young journalist?

What a great time this book is ... all those disparate ingredients may make it sound chaotic but the author just keeps sending you further on the adventure and it all makes perfect sense at the time it is happening.

In the final analysis, I really enjoyed this and definitely recommend it. There are strains of Catholic worldview that are shown as part of various characters' moral fiber and others are shown espousing different views that are set in opposition. I didn't find these to be preachy or moralistic, and they were not the main focus of the action, though they definitely motivated actions. As with all things of this nature, your milage may vary.

I would say that although I enjoyed the mash-up of real and fictional characters, toward the end it did become a bit wearying to have every single major character be referential. It would have been nice to have a few main characters be solely of the author's creation. Perhaps in the next adventure he will venture into that new world. He has it in him and must merely be not afraid. I, personally, also did not like the back story for Gilbert's parents. It would have been nice to have something be what it appeared on the surface and see how that affected a character as well. To have those sorts of simpler characters encounter the over-arching conspiracy would have been refreshing.

However, as I say, I really enjoyed the book. It is those few problems above that kept it from being a five-star review for me. But they are small things indeed. It's a fun ride and one that left me interested in the first book of the series which I haven't encountered yet and whatever adventures McNichol sends Gil and Herb on in the future.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

John McNichol has a wonderful imagination and can tell a great story. The Emperor of North America, however, suffers from the lack of a heavy-handed editor. Meant to be a rollicking adventure story, the book, I felt, gets bogged down by unnecessary subplots and metaphorical language. In other words, form does not follow function, and the prose needed to be a bit more streamlined like the brass steampunk machines of McNichol's fictional universe. The story was fun and inventive (it was extremely fun to look up all the peripheral characters and research their roles in fiction and history); I just wish the book had been a bit easier to get through.

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely flew through the last hundred pages! So much awesomeness in one book! I mean: Chesterton. H.G. Wells. Huck Finn. J.R.R. Tolkien. C.S. Lewis. Joshua Norton. Not to mention one of my favorite fictional characters of all time - one who will remain unnamed because it's just that great. And a big reveal as to who the Doctor is from the first book. Still don't know how I feel about him. If you majored in English and are fond of Chesterton, you just have to read it. This is what Christian fiction should be.

[Jeffrey Arrowood · Rating 5 out of 5]

While definitely in need of editing, the Emperor of North America spins a lively tale. I love the juxtaposition of worldviews, though it would be more effective if it were more subtle. There was quite a bit of preaching in this book compared to Tripods Attack. The draw of young Wells toward worldly power and Gilbert's fall into temptation are very believable and quite powerful. I also greatly enjoy the literary allusions, though I hope John McNichol will keep them from getting over the top.

[Maria Therese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like the first book in this series, it was action packed and fun. Lots of fast-thinking moments.

I really enjoyed this book! The only reason I didn't enjoy it more is I figured out that the ending was like a cliffhanger and there is no third book! :( So I tried not to like it too much so that I wouldn't be disappointed when I read the ending.

Beside that though, I really like the story and I recommend it to all teens, especially boys.

[Jennifer Fitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The follow-on to Tripods Attack. Fun, readable Catholic fiction for older kids and teens, but I know a pile of grown-ups who love this stuff. If you like GKC + Steampunk + Catholic, this is great. I love this series.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book with a perfect mix of fantasy, sci-fi, adventure, and humor. A would-recommend for all, but especially Catholics.

Note: Second book in a series; read the Tripods Attack first!
WARNING: Ends with about 5 cliffhangers!