Smoke

Smoke #1

by Dan Vyleta

'The laws of Smoke are complex. Not every lie will trigger it. A fleeting thought of evil may pass unseen. Next thing you know its smell is in your nose. There is no more hateful smell in the world than the smell of Smoke . . .'

If sin were visible and you could see people's anger, their lust and cravings, what would the world be like?

Smoke opens in a private boarding school near Oxford, but history has not followed the path known to us. In this other past, sin appears as smoke on the body and soot on the clothes. Children are born carrying the seeds of evil within them. The ruling elite have learned to control their desires and contain their sin. They are spotless.

It is within the closeted world of this school that the sons of the wealthy and well-connected are trained as future leaders. Among their number are two boys, Thomas and Charlie. On a trip to London, a forbidden city shrouded in smoke and darkness, the boys will witness an event that will make them question everything they have been told about the past. For there is more to the world of smoke, soot and ash than meets the eye and there are those who will stop at nothing to protect it . . .

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Adult

450 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 24, 2016

About the author

Born to Czech emigre parents, Dan Vyleta is an inveterate migrant who has lived in Germany, Canada, the USA and the UK. Dan’s debut novel Pavel & I gathered immediate international acclaim and was translated into eight languages. His second novel, The Quiet Twin, was shortlisted for the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize; his third, The Crooked Maid, was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and winner of the J.I. Segal Award. His writing has been compared to works by Greene, Kafka, Dostoevsky, Hitchcock, Nabokov, Murnau and Grass, giving him some modicum of hope that he has found a voice all his own. When not reading or writing novels, Dan Vyleta watches cop shows, or listens to CDs from his embarrassingly large collection of Jazz albums.

Reviews

[Emily May · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF - 50%

This book has a fascinating premise. Part historical fiction, part paranormal dystopia, it imagines a Victorian world where sin is visible in the form of an ugly smoke that leaks directly from a person's body. Imagine it: your anger, lust and shame displayed for the world to see.

The beginning opens in a rich, upper-class boys' boarding school near Oxford. And, at first, it is compelling. Thomas and Charlie are the protagonists; each likable and sympathetic enough to capture our interest. The narration is mostly third person, but slips into many first person accounts, and the writing style is dense and descriptive, but this suits the setting and atmosphere of the novel.

There's a darkness and fear to this world that keeps the pages turning for the first few chapters. Crazy religious zealots and "innocent" teenage boys are a combination that draws us in.

Unfortunately, though, somewhere towards the end of the first 25%, this book becomes unspeakably dull. It loses its compelling rhythm surrounding the way the smoke is used to punish the boys and the hint at mysteries and lies behind it. Instead, we get pages and pages of description about country life, fancy manors, and characters far less interesting than Thomas and Charlie.

The denseness of the narrative works when paired with a plot that intrigues, but it felt like wading through thick mud when the plot slowed down and nothing was happening. The more time we spent in this slow section (which I'm sure eventually gives way to interesting things again), the less I cared about the story and the fate of the characters.

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[Paromjit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a dark atmospheric and imaginative dystopian novel that feels intensely like a world that is Victorian and Dickensian. This is society divided by Smoke which marks the poor, whose clothes and bodies are clearly marked by soot and smoke. The rich and powerful use it as an instrument of power and control. The well off do not smoke either through discipline or through underhand subversion of smoke with the use of specific sweets and cigarettes available to those in power. We become acquainted with Thomas and Charlie, pupils at a boarding school in Oxford and erstwhile friends.

Thomas has a dark soul, quick to anger, his father was a murderer, a fate he is certain that he will share. Charlie, by comparison, is level headed, compassionate, and loyal in character. We become aware of Julius/Caesar, an odd, sinister and dark character who loathes Thomas. A visit to London introduces the boys to the heavily smoke filled city where Charlie sights an Angel, a man who seems to be completely free of smoke and Thomas observes an old man collecting the darkest of soot from a woman that has just been hung.

Charles and Thomas are invited to Baron Naylor's estate where they meet Lady Naylor and become privy to secrets, plans to revolutionise society, experimentation, special cigarettes and sweets. They are startled to discover Julius is Lady Naylor's son from a previous marriage and experience further unsettling and malevolant behaviour from him. Livia is Lady Naylor's daughter, who disapproves of her mother, but her and Charlie become close. Thomas, Charlie and Livia go on the run as attempts to kill them spook them. Thomas is badly injured when he is shot. Charlie attempts to secure further information from Renfrew, one of the teachers but barely escapes after enduring a harrowing experience in Oxford. The three eventually reunite to continue their investigations in London at the home of the smokeless angel that is Tobias Grendel, a man who feels cursed to a half life.

Livia becomes romantically entangled with Thomas and Charlie which binds the three of them ever closer together. A murderous Julius in the meantime has become consumed by the darkest of soot partaken through a special mask. A trail of death follows in his wake. He is determined to catch up with Thomas. Becoming more aware of the plans of Lady Raynor and Sebastian, an engineer, and the connection with the London sewer system and their need to save a young child, the three friends enter the dark sewers. Thomas, Charlie and Livia come to contemplate the nature of Smoke and where they hope the answers might lie. This leads them to make a momentous decision to enter a brave new world.

This was a compelling and gripping read that entices and beguiles the reader. I found the story tense, suspenseful and entrancing. The three young characters are beautifully drawn and developed throughout the novel. The plotting and world building is superb. I hope the author continues to write another book about this world. Highly recommended and wonderful read. Thanks to Rebecca Gray and Orion for an ARC.

[Maxine (Booklover Catlady) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across my review of this again, I read it years ago but it’s unforgettable. I just want to say…read this book!

Smoke is stunning and sublime. A piece of fiction like this does not come along very often. This is a firm favourite of mine now forever. Totally adored it. I'm stunned by so many low reviews. Truly.

This book has the most fascinating plot. Quite simply your sin shows to the world as soot, smoke, grime on your body and clothes. Thinking something bad about the person you are with? Careful your white shirt doesn't start to spoil with smoke and soot.

There are seekers who are determined to find a way for Smoking to stop and then those that believe all need to. The lengths gone to in the novel will take your breath away.

It's incredibly atmospheric and addictive, I felt the book pulled me in and entangled me in the prose. I'm stunned that some did not like this and gave it bad reviews. Truly I am. It's not a fast paced book and there are many characters that I won't go into but each one has a distinct presence and place that makes them easy to walk with, to see, to know. I felt I was IN the book at times.

Set in England, from London central to small mining villages - the setting is just perfect. It's one of those fiction books that had me thinking "what if this were true" and pondering the impact of it.

It's a unique read for me, something out of the ordinary and I read it steadily without putting the book away. Each word had me mesmerised. Sophisticated story telling. I felt a lot of emotions reading this too from horror and disgust to happiness and wonder. Fiction rabbit-hole here I come! See you when I come back up for air.

A beautiful book with a dark edge and moments that will keep the book twisting and turning. Subtle scenes that whack you across the head once you digest what is really being presented to you.

So much to say really. So many great elements. Great overall concept and an absolute winner for me. If you like some degree of complexity with your books you will enjoy this, it's not one you can skim read at all. Lock yourself away with food and water and ensure you wear black - should you smoke and show whilst reading it.

5 magical stars for the journey this book is. I would love to see this as a mini-series, it's ripe for it. Even if you don't step out of your comfort zone of genres, try this one and see. Obviously not for everyone but I can't fathom actual bad reviews of this.

Huge thanks to the publisher for a copy of this novel to read and review.

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Smoke", by Dan Vyleta was "bloody marvelous"!

From the first line in the book..."Thomas, Thomas! Wake up,"....( which 'did' grab my attention)...to the very last sentence of the book....( I'm still smiling ear to ear,
but I'm not dishing out this line),...I had a BLAST OF FUN hanging out with the teenagers, Charlie, Thomas, and Livia ...(all of noble birth).

There is adventure, ( dystopia adventure), mystery, rich vs. the poor, and young love. There are political and moral overtones with the Tories, liberals, and Radicals...turning this novel into a thriller with villains and heroes --- but as to being fully certain who is evil and who is not...well, that's questionable -- depending on whose perspective you might be looking from.

In this world...there is a physical manifestation of 'Smoke' from your body and clothes
if you tell a lie..are sinful..and withhold secrets. Yet there are degrees of 'sin'. Depending on which social class one belongs to. The wealthy kids - such as Thomas - Charlie - and Livia have been trained to control their emotions ...so their clothes look cleaner than people who come from poverty...where they are covered in soot.

It was fun that the candy sweets, "Beasley & Son" was a character in this novel...
.....( the yummy irresistible treats). These sweets are a part of the mystery - they just might give Charlie and Thomas answers if they eat one. Then again.. more questions may arise. Is Smoke a disease...or a cure?

Lots of symbolism in this novel. "When the mind is enlightened, the spirt is free and the body matters not.".....(Oma Desala, from Stargate)

....Smoke represents the release of the soul, or spirit, from its visible and physical form and it's sublime ascent back to the invisible.

GREAT novel ....maybe??? A sequel is coming? It looks like it's possible!

Thank you Doubleday's - first reads giveaway!

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a novel in which I admired what the author was trying to do — I appreciated his vision and cleverness of story — but ultimately, this is a flawed book and it didn't completely work for me.

Smoke is set in Victorian England, but it's a revised version. Characters in this world show their sin by smoke. So if you have sinful thoughts or deeds, different colors of smoke will rise from you, and everyone can see it.

The story opens at a prestigious boys boarding school, and we see the bullying that happens when people's sins are obvious and open to judgment, thanks to the smoke. ("We thank the smoke," is a chilling phrase the boys are taught to say en masse.) We meet our two heroes, Thomas and Charlie, and we meet our villain, Julius. One of my favorite scenes was the opening one, in which the boys hold a secret meeting in the middle of the night. Julius holds court over the boys, asking them probing questions and testing to see if they'll show smoke.

Then the boys take a trip to London, where they see how extensive the smoke is among the lower classes, and they witness a public execution. The events that day set the second part of the story in motion, in which Thomas and Charlie get invited to a wealthy relative's house in the country, and they learn some dangerous secrets about the origins of the smoke. (And if you're wondering where the hell are the women in this story, we'll finally meet two of them out in the country.)

In the third act of the novel, the boys are on the run for their lives, and Julius has become even more terrifying. This is where the book took a turn toward horror, with Julius like a demon walking the earth. This was my least favorite part, and I was ready for the story to end.

My complaints about Smoke involve both its structure and some writing quirks. Some of the parts really dragged, and there were sections with too much exposition and infodumping. (I don't need an encyclopedia of details about the different colors of smoke, thank you.) While reading, I really struggled with how I was going to rate this book, because there are aspects to admire here, but I was also frustrated with the pacing and story development.

Other reviewers liked this novel more than I did, and perhaps you will love it, too. In the end, I can say I'm glad I read it, and I was intrigued enough by its cleverness that I will look up more of the author's work.

Finally, I have to praise the design of the book cover, which features the gorgeous Monet painting "Houses of Parliament." It's a beautifully haunting image, and it's perfect for this story. I was also tickled by the choice, since I got to see another painting in that Monet series earlier this summer at the National Gallery in London. Even though I didn't love this book, I enjoyed seeing that book cover on my nightstand every day.

Favorite Quotes
Dan Vyleta chose some amazing passages from famous writers to include between the different sections of his book, and those quotes really helped set the tone and gave some historical context for the rest of the story. Here were some of my favorites:

"When one remembers under what conditions the working-people live, when one thinks how crowded their dwellings are, how every nook and corner swarms with human beings, how sick and well sleep in the same room, in the same bed, the only wonder is that a contagious disease like this fever does not spread yet farther."
— Friedrich Engels, The Condition of the Working Class in England (1845)

"I asked him whether there was a great fire anywhere? For the street were so full of dense brown smoke that scarcely anything was to be seen.
'Oh, dear no, miss' he said. 'This is a London particular.'
I had never heard of such a thing.
'A fog, miss,' said the young gentleman.
'Oh, indeed!' said I."
— Charles Dickens, Bleak House (1853)

"Imagine that you yourself are building the edifice of human destiny with the object of making people happy ... of giving them peace and rest at last, but for that you must inevitably and unavoidably torture just one tiny creature ... and raise your edifice on the foundation of her unrequited tears — would you agree to be the architect on such conditions? Tell me the truth."
— Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov (1880)

[Dannii Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this on a read to review basis from NetGalley. Thank you to the author, Dan Vyleta, and the publisher,Harper Collins, for this opportunity.

Smoke is the name for the physical transmutation that appears on a person's body and clothing as a physical sign of their internal sin. Whether in thought or deed, the sinners are marked for society to judge by the severity of the smoke that marks their physiognomy. This leads to an almost religiously fanatic feel to permeate the book and often reads like a religious or moralistic parable in the depiction of society's treatment and judgement of the 'sinners'. What is counted as sin can often be something as human as lust or something as immoral as murder. Bad thoughts and bad deeds alike are visible and this leads to a society of restrained individuals that appear Victorian in their abstemiousness. The obviousness of the satirical approach of the novel only served to heighten the absurdity of the lengths individuals would go to to disprove their 'sin' and to prevent its occurrence.

The ambiguities I encountered whilst reading this I could completely forgive as the world-building and the creation of the magic system (of sorts) was on such a phenomenal scale, especially given the length of the book, that any attempt at a further justification would have only furthered muddied the already complex descriptions given. This book is clever, no denying that, and reading this is like attempting to view the world through layers of smoke: there are layers upon layers to both narrative and plot, shadowed corners that are only to be revealed when the author allows and a dark and brooding atmosphere that permeates the entire text. I was enraptured with this world and the characters therein and cannot wait to dive into the next installment.

[Helene Jeppesen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept of this book was very intriguing: It deals with a world in which you literally start smoking when you sin. In other words, sin is very visible, and at school you are taught to try and hide your sins.
It's exactly at a school that we meet our two main characters, Thomas and Charlie. Circumstances, however, lead them away from school one Christmas, and that's where the story really takes off.
I really liked the two boys as well as this mysterious, yet fascinating world. I think that's why the beginning of the novel came off the strongest to me because it introduced me to both the world and the characters. I also really liked how the story is predominantly told from the protagonists' points of view, but every second chapter is from the point of view of an outside person. That really brought depth to the narrative, and I was constantly looking forward to these short in-between chapters.
However much I found this world fascinating, though, I started losing interest in the story towards the middle, and it only got worse. There wasn't any point where I was eager to get back to the book and continue reading; especially when it started becoming more of a middlegrade/YA story. That's why my rating ends at 3 stars, because while I loved parts of this book, I was also disappointed in some of it.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the benefits of a cross-country airline flight is a lot of sitting without other distractions competing for your time. Without a back and forth trip this weekend, I'm not sure how long it would have taken me to finish this book.

I should start by saying that upon reflection, I'm not sure this is really the book for me; however, I think a lot of people will love it.

"Smoke" tells the alternate-history version of Victorian England where people emit a smoke whenever they do something bad like tell a lie, lose their temper, think a bad thought, steal, etc. And yet some people (namely those in the church, government, the rich, and those in authority), don't seem to smoke. The poor, uneducated, powerless, smoke all the time.

The premise of the book is fascinating. The first chapter (actually the first third) of the book is so well-written I was completely engaged. Then the book starts to get a bit convoluted and I lost interest. Its 448 pages seemed to drag on eternally. I attribute this partially to the story losing focus and partially to me just not being the right audience for this alternate reality/science fiction/dystopian sort of book.

In spite of my issues with the book I am always amazed at how closely fiction mirrors reality (even wildly creative fiction, like this). Characters in this book want to remove all foreigners from England, "build walls", and the divide between rich and poor is startling. Vyleta had to have written this book long before the U.S. Presidential campaign but the themes sounded eerily similar.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3 for creativity and originality.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Chocolategoddess · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm simply astounded at the comparisons this book is getting. Harry Potter? Perhaps, in so much as it contains a school (can we please get over "fantasy with a school in it"=Harry Potter? It's ridiculous). His Dark Materials? Well, there's some talk of sin, religion, and Oxford I suppose ...

This book has a fantastic premise, but ultimately I found it pretentious, misogynistic, and poorly-written.

Let's tackle pretentiousness shall we? It oozed out of every word. The author tries to make incredible metaphors, similes, and all that jazz, but mostly it just reads pretentious and makes it difficult to slog through. Even ignoring the style of the writing, there are so many minor (uninteresting, unoriginal) digressions on the nature of humanity and stuff that at times I wanted to just crawl away and read something sensible like the back of a packet of noodles. I can handle a little pretentiousness if it's done well, but this was just average.

Misogyny ... well ... this took a long time to surface. I was 86% of the way through before it smacked me around the face. I would've stopped reading then if this hadn't been a NetGalley book, and I didn't need to review it. If I hadn't been 86% of the way through, I might have put it down anyway because of all the rage. Fortunately I didn't, so now I get to tear it apart in a review. Little consolation for the belittling of my gender, but we take what we can get.

There are four female characters in this book who get more than a passing mention. There will be spoilers as I discuss them, but as I generally don't support people reading nonsense like this, don't worry about them.

The women are: Livia, a stuck-up nun turned seductress. Lady Naylor, a smart scientist who's actually just carrying on the work of her husband. Mrs Grendel, who largely exists to do the bidding of other people. Some girl who nurses one of the boys and kisses him.

If you can't see the problem with those descriptions, then please go read some feminist material and come back to me later.

I was initially very excited to see Livia and Lady Naylor. They're both strong people, smart people, a little flawed. I was so looking forward to exploring Smoke with an aristocratic lady scientist! But oh wait ... she's actually one of the villains ... and she's only doing it because of her husband ... and she kind of goes mad there at the end because she's clearly just a hysterical woman. We don't need more fiction about how fragile and insane women are. We really, really don't.

Livia is far more of a problem than Lady Naylor. She starts off as an ascetic nun type, who's scornful of the boys, but has a certain amount of hidden depth. When she starts developing a connection with one of the boys, Charlie, I sighed but understood it. Charlie is a sweet boy with many valuable qualities, and would be a smart choice for Livia, assuming she can get over her hang ups with Smoke. They're hiding down a mine at some point and against most of her morals, she kisses him. That was fine.

A while later, she's been separated from Charlie for a couple of days. A chance encounter with an amorous couple and some Smoke, however, and now all of a sudden Livia has the hots for the other boy, Thomas. There was no indication of this beforehand, no undertones of any kind of feeling--in fact Livia is pretty disgusted by this boy and doesn't even like him looking at her.

I thought the sudden feelings would die off fast and remain as a strong reminder of the power of Smoke, but instead the author pushes this ludicrous love triangle on us that doesn't actually serve any purpose in the story. It adds in small amount of excruciatingly awkward "tension" in terms of "ooooh who will she pick????" and "will the boys have to fight each other over this girl who has no chemistry at all with one of them????". It was seriously cringe worthy.

It got worse right at the end, when, spoiler alert, Livia is totally ok with initiating some kind of polyamory situation with both of them. Which ... I mean ... there's a certain amount of power and freedom in this, sure, but ... her whole being is mostly reduced down to this. She loses all her morals, everything that makes her who she is, and at the end she just gets two guys. She's made entirely into a sex object and it's not even remotely ok.

The bit that made me want to put the book down naturally concerns Livia. She's just put on a nice dress after a while wearing working men's clothing. She's walking through London with the boys and (the ARC I had said please don't quote things from that version unless I've checked with the final version, but there's no way I'm buying a copy of this book, and there's no way this is an accident) "Her fine dress elicits comments, catcalls, caps doffed in mock homage ... There is ... her own thrill at being noticed". WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL??????

No. The author is a man. Chances of him ever being catcalled are virtually nil. Being catcalled is NOT OK. Being catcalled usually results in a feeling of being slightly dirty, of feeling used, objectified, and otherwise made to feel like you're worth less than the abusers doing the catcalling. Thrill at being noticed? Hell. No. I'm disgusted that this male author can just casually throw stuff out there like this. Catcalling is not a cute way of making girls feel noticed, it's sexual harassment. I also don't buy for one minute that Livia, only a week or two out from being utterly nun-like, and a sheltered member of the aristocracy to boot, is flattered by it.

A few pages later we get "...Charlie. Trusting her. Treating her as his equal. She is grateful and disgruntled all at once." Again, what the actual hell is going on here? Charlie's been treating Livia very well the whole time, for a start, but seriously ... girls are supposed to be grateful when men treat them as equals? Sod that. Worse, she's disgruntled to be treated as his equal? In this author's male privileged little world, I suppose girls are supposed to secretly want to be lesser.

On the same page we get Livia acting "coquettish. And wonders did she learn it from Mother, or from one of the girls in school; or is it simply in her blood?" Because being a little flirty tease is for sure written into women's blood.

If these things were exploring something, showing facets of the society, or deepening the character so we could really understand her, then sure, it could have worked. But they're just casual comments. They don't indicate a change. They just indicate that the author is ignorant about the experiences of women (if I give him a lot of leeway).

Moving on, I'll get into why it's poorly-written.

POV issues. Right from the off this book was shaky. Before I hit 86% I was mostly going to comment on the POV issues, but I guess I'll keep this part short now.

The author jumps around from third person limited-ish to third person omniscient, to first person. It's really jarring. The first person bits just crop up out of nowhere and don't really add anything to the story. Some of them feel like self-indulgent explorations so the author could understand what was happening away from the main events. The kind of stuff that's usually in a separate backstory document and shouldn't really make it into the novel itself. This hopping around is not only distracting, it made developing a close relationship with any of the actual main characters fairly challenging because I kept getting dragged into these random uninteresting side stories. Really weird choice, in my opinion, and I was surprised to learn this isn't the author's first book, because it really read like a new writer who isn't sure what POV is for and how to use it.

The plot is average, slightly dull, even. Most of my interest throughout the book was in finding out about the Smoke, and why it suddenly appeared in the 17th century. That question is never answered (so I guess we're waiting for a sequel?) and I've already stopped caring. Like the POV usage, the plot seemed amateurish. The answers are all spilled out at the end, monologue-style, as if the author needed to tick off some boxes as the draft neared its end but only had a few pages in which to do it.

All in all, the premise of this book sounds incredible, and I'm pretty sure that's the only reason it sold because the rest of it is super weak, and y'know, offensive to women. I won't be buying the sequel, and I definitely won't be checking out any more of the author's books because I don’t need to invite any more misogyny into my life, thank you very much.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Dan Vyleta’s previous novels, particularly, “The Quiet Twin,” a dark, historical mystery, and so was thrilled to have the chance to review his latest offering. “Smoke,” is a very different novel to his previous work, but will hopefully bring him a whole new audience, which has to be a good thing.

The novel begins at a prestigious boys boarding school in an alternate England. It has a sort of Victorian, steam-punk, feel to it – from gas lamps and carriages to public executions – this is a dark and almost pre-industrial version of the country. However, the greatest difference is Smoke itself; rather than pouring forth from chimneys, it is something that emanates from people. Smoke is, indeed, a visible manifestation of vice and sin. As always, there is a class difference here; the aristocracy (including the boys we meet at the beginning of the book, friends Thomas and Charlie, and the Alpha Male, violent and bullying Julius) are taught to control their Smoke. The working class pour Smoke freely and their vice and sin are shown openly and often revelled in. A school trip to London opens the boys eyes and changes how they think about Smoke.

Thomas’s father committed a crime, and, it is believed, that he carries this inherited sin within him. When he goes to visit his uncle, with Charlie, he meets Lady Naylor and her daughter, Livia. Thomas discovers his uncle has descended into madness, while Lady Naylor has secret laboratories and is involved in investigating the origins of Smoke. Charlie, Thomas and Livia team up and end up on the run – dealing with the evil Julius, controlling school masters and lowly coal miners – as they fulfil their destiny to uncover the secrets of Smoke. This is an interesting and well fleshed out world, with good characters and an original background. At times, it read a little like a YA novel, but has more adult themes. I enjoyed the ideas behind this novel and, while I hope it increases Dan Vyleta’s readership, I hope it will not see him changing style completely. He writes such excellent historical mysteries that I would be saddened if he did not continue this new style of writing alongside his previous types of books.

[Althea Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm quite certain that reviews of this book will make much of its 'Dickensian' atmosphere and setting. The author is clearly aiming for such, with quotes from Dickens included... However, something kept poking at me, saying, "Dickens? Hmm... that's not quite it." And suddenly it sprang at me: Joan Aiken. (Yes, Aiken has more than a touch of the Dickensian herself.) But that's the feel of this book exactly. If you loved Joan Aiken's books as a kid, you will LOVE this book now. It's aimed at a slightly older audience: I'd say that this is YA for young adults who don't mind their stories dark. Like Aiken, Vyleta's story features an England of yesteryear, a plot that's essentially an adventure tale, with much romping around the countryside - but with truly creepy villains and the real potential of bad things happening to our young characters.

Those main characters are Thomas Argyle (whom I kept picturing as Thomas from Downton Abbey) and his friend Charlie, students at an elite boys' boarding school in the classic fashion of a certain genre of literature. We soon learn, through a brutal incident of hazing, how this world differs from ours: This Britain is affected on every level by Smoke. Smoke is just that: a sooty discharge that emanates from people, particularly when people are overtaken by their passions, by emotion, especially by guilt. Smoke is seen as sin, and an indication of sin. It is also seen as an indicator of class: of course, the peasantry is rife with smoke, but a gentleman should never be seen to show a stain of such - he should always be self-controlled and pristine.

Thomas has an unshakable belief in his own state of sin, due to a hidden incident in his family history. He looks up to his friend Charlie as far more virtuous than he. His main concern is the state of his soul - until he is invited, nay summoned, for the holidays to the home of an uncle who's a stranger to him. Charlie accompanies him, and there the boys discover a bizarre situation. The uncle is confined to his room, unwell, and his aunt is running the show. She seems to be engaged in mad-scientist type experiments involving Smoke - which are also probably highly illegal. Also in the house is her daughter, the rigidly repressed Livia - and then, Thomas' worst bully from school turns up, with an unexpected reason for being present. Outside of school, his dastardly acts may be even less restrained than they were before, and the boys believe that they may be in serious danger, from multiple directions.

Have they stumbled onto clues to knowledge that they were never intended to see? It seems they're over their heads, and in the midst of some very adult plots involving both the highest and the lowest echelons of their society.

Many thanks to Doubleday and NetGalley for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinions are solely my own.

[Meredith (Trying to catch up!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smoke takes place in what feels like Victorian England, except the soot and grime is not a product of factories, but rather it comes from people. Smoke is a representation of sin. As there are different types of sin, there are different types of smoke. Everyone emits smoke from their bodies; however, those who come from wealth and nobility are taught how to control their smoke. Thus, those from wealth and class are often white and clean, while the poor are covered in soot and grime. Smoke not only works to distinguish social class, but also those who are "good" vs. "evil." The wealthy profit off of smoke, and political parties fight for control over smoke in order to execute their agendas.

The novel focuses on two teenage boys at a boarding school, Charlie Cooper and Thomas Argyle. Circumstances cause them to begin to investigate the origins of smoke, and eventually they come to understand that smoke doesn't determine the true nature of one's soul.

I absolutely loved this book--it's fast-paced and full of action. I couldn't put it down and I am still thinking about it. I highly recommend.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[The Captain · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ahoy there me mateys! I really wanted to like this book. I really did. The book is an alternate history of Victorian England where sin is marked in a person by Smoke that pours out of their skin. The rich rule in absolute authority because they be clean and seemingly free of Smoke. The poor live with an abundance of Smoke and are covered in soot. Their dirtiness literally signifies their status in life and their inability to govern. At least that is what everyone has been taught.

Thomas and Charlie are two boarding school elite who have two basic aims: 1) to learn to better control their smoke and graduate and 2) to avoid the headboy and his vendetta against all costs until they do graduate. However these best friends unwittingly become pawns in a high stakes political divide which has them running for their lives and trying to figure out who they can trust.

I absolutely loved the Victorian setting. I absolutely loved the concept of the Smoke and how it has permeated every facet of society. I like how the aristocracy has tricks and training that help maintain the status quo. The world building was really fun. I immensely enjoyed both Charlie and Thomas as characters. The problems were found in the execution of the novel.

The book is split into six parts. The first part was in the boarding school and was stellar. Not only was the boarding school itself wonderfully portrayed but the social complexities of the world were intense and fascinating. I particularly loved the students’ trip to London and how they first encounter the harsh realities of the poor and Smoke. In addition, the larger political problems of England are nicely encountered through relationships between the students and teachers. Seriously I was hooked.

Then the holidays come and part two begins. In this section politics have decreed that both Thomas and Charlie will spend the winter break with relations of Thomas. Thomas has had little contact with them and is confused by the summons. Neither boy wants to be there but has been forced by the adults and societal expectations. This section was overall fine. The boys begin to really discover the lies and secrets behind Smoke. I was intrigued by the mystery and wanted to know more. I was interested in the machinations of the Lady of the manor and her daughter. The headboy also entered the larger picture. Unfortunately upon the boys leaving the manor house, the plot began to die.

The remainder of the novel takes place with the boys on the run and not in school. There be a love triangle. Characters appear once to pontificate and never be seen again. The action stalls in many sections with the characters waiting around and doing nothing. Both Charlie and Thomas make arbitrary decisions to move things along. The gang be in situations where the downtrodden adults of London should have murdered, stabbed, or harmed them in some fashion. Nothing of the sort happens. The plot rambles and makes very little sense.

I kept reading because I needed to know the great reveal and point of it all. I kept expecting the disparate parts to coalesce into a brilliant scheme with the grueling tension of part one. Turns out when the reveal came it was confusing and silly and lackluster. The novel failed to make sense. The politics, emotions, and rationale were just absurd. I was highly disappointed and felt like me time and the lovely concept had been wasted. So this one walks the plank! Arrrr!

Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp...

[Bam cooks the books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smoke is a scifi-fantasy set in an alternate past of Victorian England, in which peoples' sins are revealed by the Smoke that they exude, staining their clothes and even the air around them. The story begins in a very Harry-Potterish way--in a school for wealthy upper-class boys who are learning to control their Smoke. The first scene pits the two main characters, Thomas and his friend Charlie, against their arch enemy Julius, the prefect, who delights in tormenting the other boys and driving them to Smoke, much to their shame.

A field trip to London reveals just how bad things are for the working class people in the city which is filled with dense Smoke and an oily black Soot that is pouring off people. It is impossible not to be contaminated by it. The boys see all sorts of degradation going on and witness the public hanging of a murderess. But Charlie also sees a man he thinks of as an angel because he sees no signs of Soot on him while Thomas thinks he sees a devil scraping Soot from the hanged woman's body. Who are these people?

At Christmas break, Thomas is invited to the home of his patron, Baron Naylor, and Charlie goes with him. There they learn some interesting things about Smoke--that it has only been in existence for some 250 years and that there has been a systematic plot to rewrite history, even the Bible, to include Smoke from the beginning of time. They also learn that the wealthy have ways of controlling their Smoke through the use of treated candies and cigarettes so they might not be as 'pure' as they want everyone to think.

The boys are attacked on their way back to London and they don't know whom to trust as they find themselves entangled in webs of lies and political maneuverings. Someone claims to want to eliminate the hypocrisy of power and create a new world of virtue and justice. But will the end justify the means?

When we meet the 'angel' with no Smoke, we learn that without Smoke there is no passion...so is Smoke really just emotion in all its forms, some good, some bad, here made visible? It is also interesting that greed doesn't generate Smoke, some lies do, some don't, and often sin seems to align with pluck. Would you want to live in a world with visible markers for sin? Intriguing and thought-provoking...where would that leave the concept of 'free will?'

I thought this book was very original, well-thought out, and well-executed and I disagree with some who thought parts were dull. The ending leaves the reader wondering what will happen afterward--perhaps with an eye to a sequel?

BTW, the cover of this edition features the beautiful painting by Claude Monet entitled "Houses of Parliament." The impressionistic feeling of that work is perfect and fitting for this story.

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smoke had an absolutely brilliant premise - an imagined alternate world where peoples sins show up in the form of smoke, to simplify matters - there is more to it than that, but that is the basics. The world is Victorian in feel and setting and quite beautifully drawn, imaginative and intelligently described. Thats the good part.

The first 3rd of this novel is intriguing, addictive and full of flavour. Sadly from then on it dips, for me into boring exposition and the story kind of drifts along. I will absolutely hold my hands up to the fact that I skim read almost a third of Smoke, there was nothing happening really. During this part of the reading I put it down often and didn't feel terribly inclined to pick it up again - EXCEPT in the hope that eventually it would get back on track. Which it did...

The final part was very good and I got hooked in again, still I felt that the novel as a whole lacked cohesion in its plot development, could really have done with only being about half the length and possibly could have been more specific in its reasoning and given back more to the reader, if that makes sense.

Overall it was good - banging premise, fascinating characters but for my personal taste not executed to the degree that it could have been to take it out of good and into brilliant territory.

[Jean Menzies · Rating 2 out of 5]

It brings me a little sadness to review this book because despite an exciting beginning I had unfortunately fallen completely out of love with it by the end.

The premise of this book is undeniably unique and undoubtedly what peaked my interest when I was offered a copy to review from the publisher. The story takes place in an England unlike that that exists now; potentially a future version of the country but one that feels although it is set a couple of hundred years in the past. That is, with one major difference: smoke. In the world that Vyleta has created smoke is an inescapable phenomenon. It is seen as a physical manifestation of sin amongst humans. When individuals lie, act through aggression or lust or even just think uncouth thoughts they begin to smoke. The reason for smoke it is not, however, as clear cut as it might seem. In fact were really created smoke was one of the fascinating mysteries that had me engaged in the story from the beginning; I wanted answers.

Read the rest of the review here: https://morejeansthoughts.wordpress.c...

[Ariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

In an embargoed, Victorian era-esque England, the smoke is rising. Not only is it belched from chimneys in plumes that hurtle themselves straight into the miasma of your average London 'pea-souper,' an amalgamation of roiling fog, smoke, soot, sulfurous acid, and the like but also from the mouths of babes. A somatic symptom of a greater illness to a few, a tangible representation of 'sin' to the weighty and wealthy religious aristocracy, smoke fans from lips and slips from pores. More importantly, to the latter, it divides. Commoners can't control their smoke, of course. It is for those of a better class to discipline their natures and rise to the occasions of white collars and hypocrisy.

In a Dickensian tone, Dan Vyleta builds an alternative historical narrative that is woven with multiple points of view. Through the discoveries and experiences of three young protagonists, isolated and divided England is painted in hues of ash grey. What is the nature of the smoke, the nature of those who bear it?

At the beginning of Vyleta's Afterword he says that, "like most texts purporting to be about the past, this is a book about the present. The past is to it both canvas and foil: a shadow-thing that makes thinking about ourselves more interesting, less fettered to good sense." With a talent for concision, Vyleta outlines one of the principle reasons I gravitate towards historical fiction. Though I've read fantasy and historical fiction hybrids before, I haven't had much experience with straightforward alt historical fiction. This novel has convinced me that I might want to keep my eyes open for more, or at least more from Dan Vyleta.

My interest first galvanized with the mention of a Victorian-like setting and was further stoked by simple curiosity. The premise of 'sin' showing itself as smoke or as sooty remnants seemed like it might err to the side of cheesiness. Instead, the world was painted in a way that made the Smoke seem as commonplace to the story and era as coal smoke, carriages, and the muddy streets of London. Vyleta's character exploration of human nature, the origin and spectrum of virtue and wickedness, brought both Dickens and George Eliot to mind; he manages to do so in a tone that emulates the Victorian voice without copying it.

I rate Smoke at a rounded up 3.5 stars. The major drawbacks to the novel included that I felt the ending dragged on quite a bit. When our protagonist triumvirate arrive on the scene of the novel's denouement, things get murky. I believe that the scene could have held much more strength and resonance. I was also disappointed that a love triangle reared its head. However, this disappointment is firmly based in my own association of love triangles with poorly written young adult books. I'm not a big fan of the 'will they or won't they' Gossip Girl relationships though I know that some gobble it up as quickly and enjoyably as I gobble up 18-19th century themed novels. To each their own. I was intrigued when the love triangle resolved itself by hinting at an attraction and possible future relationship between all three characters rather than playing out the typical tug of war. Thank you for the nontraditional relationship representation, Mr Vyleta. It highlighted the maturity and knowledge of themselves our three young protagonists garnered in their adventures and made that firmly based association shift a bit. However, I think I would have enjoyed more balance being struck between the characters; an organic growth of their attraction rather than a deluge making itself apparent in the end.

A few foibles aside, I was satisfied with this novel and would recommend it to those interested in historical fiction/alt histories. While I felt most pulled in by its eye to the varied infinities and affinities of human nature, Smoke does offer a good dose of historical time and place. A dose that I feel adds to the story as a supporting character rather than simply a backdrop.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the Orion Publishing Group for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Image: Culture Spanning Idiom, "Where There is Fire, Ashes Remain." [source, personal pinterest]

Image: Welcome to the "Smoke" [source, Dr. Richard Fusch/Ohio Wesleyan University]

[Aleshanee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ziemlich düster und abgefahren - aber großartig umgesetzt!

Das ganze war völlig anders als erwartet, denn ich hatte nach dem Klappentext ein Abenteuer erwartet, ein unterhaltsames, viktorianisches Abenteuer mit einem Hauch Mystik. Doch es ist so viel mehr!

Schon der Anfang hat sehr gut die Atmosphäre eingefangen, die zurzeit der Geschichte in England herrscht, bzw. vom Rauch beherrscht wird. Jeder böse Gedanke, jede böse Tat wird durch den Rauch offenbar, der den Menschen aus den Poren strömt und so für jeden sichtbar gemacht wird. Doch es gibt Ausnahmen, wie immer und vor allem gibt es die Adeligen, die Reichen: die Reinen. Anhand ihrer Kleidung schnell zu erkennen, denn sie ist nicht rußgeschwärzt vom Rauch der Sünde, sondern blütenweiß.

Thomas und Charlie sind beide auf einem Eliteinternat, denn auch ihre Eltern zählen zur Oberschicht. Dort geht es aber auch eher zu wie in einem Gefängnis, denn es gibt strikte Regeln und harte Konsequenzen. Ihr Leben dreht sich einzig um Kontrolle und Disziplin - was natürlich auch unter den jungen Männern selbst zu Rivalitäten führt. Aber die Angst sitzt viel zu tief und so folgen sie den Doktrinen, die ihnen von Geburt an aufgezwungen wurden.

Thomas aber ist anders. Und mit ihm sein bester Freund Charlie, die auf ihrer Suche nach der Wahrheit hinter dem Rauch auf ungeahnte Geheimnisse stoßen, die ihre Sichtweise auf die Welt völlig verändern.
Dabei setzt der Autor geschickt Perspektivenwechsel ein, aber nicht nur von den beiden Jungen, sondern auch andere relevante Figuren kommen zu Wort - und so erfährt man ihre Gedanken und Gefühle, die nach außen hin alle im Verborgenen bleiben. Die Atmosphäre ist sehr düster, das Tempo eher ruhig und der Schreibstil großartig mit vielen anschaulichen Details und stilgerechten Metaphern. Mir hat er jedenfalls sehr gefallen, aber dieses langsame Anschleichen und Erzählen muss man mögen. Es wird jedenfalls nie langweilig, weil immer wieder etwas passiert oder neue Entdeckungen über den Rauch gemacht werden, die einen zum Nachdenken bringen. Denn ist es wirklich das Böse, das der Rauch so offen zeigt? Und für welches Leben entscheiden sich diejenigen wirklich, die dem Rauch vollkommen abgeschworen haben?

Das Böse, die Sünde, alles Schlechte offenbart sich hier in den rußgeschwärzten Atemzügen der Menschheit - aber wie tugendhaft kann man sein, während man gleichzeitig noch ein lebenswertes Leben lebt. Ein stetes Rinnsal nichtssagender Momente wäre es doch ohne die Leidenschaft, egal aus welchem Anlaß sie geboren wird. Denn was macht den Menschen, was macht das Leben denn aus, wenn man nichts erlebt, was tiefer geht. Was die Gefühle aufleben lässt, wenn sie uns überrollen und eintauchen lassen in eine Welle der Unvernunft; ein berauschendes Gefühl ohne Scham und Schuld, ein Moment, der ein einfaches Verlangen stillt und uns mit Glück erfüllt.
Geht das? Oder haben wir es verlernt, im Laufe der Jahre, die wir uns anpassen und uns in einer Welt aus Korruption und Macht einer Scheinheiligkeit unterwerfen, die uns glauben machen soll, dass andere immer besser sein werden als wir selbst?

In jedem von uns steckt Menschlichkeit, stecken Gefühle, die ein wahres Kaleidoskop von der Vielfältigkeit zum Besten geben, die unser Leben so erfüllt und ja, faszinierend macht.

Ich denke, ich habe verstanden worauf Dan Vyleta hinauswollte, was ihn bewegt hat zu zeigen, dass das leidenschaftliche Gefühl nichts schlechtes ist, die Unbefangenheit, mit der wir noch als Kinder in den Tag hinein lebten, und die wir immer mehr unterdrücken, je älter wir werden.
Wir leben nur einmal und da sollte doch eins unserer ersten Ziele sein, glückliche und erfüllte Tage zu leben und sie nicht mit Einschränkungen und Dogmen zu beschneiden.

© Aleshanee
Weltenwanderer

[Bandit · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a book I thought I'd enjoy for sure. The concept of it just seemed so magical. I was even wiling to overlook the fact that it may be a YA, at least if going by ages and not context. Alas, the YAness of it is the least of the detractors, the most being that it just somehow didn't work. Despite the audacity of premise and the atmospheric setting of recognizably Edwardian England it just didn't grab the reader by the (in this particular case of an audiobook) ears and commanded undivided attention. I even thought the blame might be partially allocated to my busted earbuds, but no...whatever sound did come though just wasn't that engaging. Let's talk about the Smoke itself, the sooty star of the show as it were. Conceptually fascinating, it is essentially the class divide made visible. Strong emotions, passions, desires, all that a repressed puritanical society may consider a sin, causes one to smoke. The upper echelons of society have all sorts of tricks to control it, the lower ones smoke away. England has become increasingly isolated and conservative and Smoke politics rule the land with all its concomitant sociopolitical implications. Now doesn't that sound awesome? Doesn't that make you want to read the book immediately? Well, the thing with a great concept is it can only take one so far, unless accompanied by a great execution and here the latter got terribly muddled. The author has a talent for unpleasant imagery, but not so much for pacing or intrigue. The constantly shifting perspectives did nothing to improve the story either, in fact they mostly contributed to the disjointed questionably edited vibe of it all. It's a story that really ought to be exciting and somehow isn't, coming across as something where writing skills appear unable to do the plot's potential justice. Made for a very frustrating experience, actually, always expecting more and ultimately leaving unsatisfied. Didn't love the audio narration either, for that matter, a very staid elderly choice for a youth driven story. Outside of the concept, this one doesn't have much to recommend itself. And much too long of a listen for all that. Beats commuting in silence, but just marginally. Pass.

[Kitty G Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

* I was sent this for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review *

This book sets up with an interesting premise, a world where sin is visible in the form of Smoke tendrils and Soot, and where the rich can control their Smoke, but the poor can not. I think as far as ideas go, it's an interesting one with a hell of a lot of potential. I do think that the originality of this alone could have been a driving force for the story, but actually I felt as though this really wasn't pushed as far as it could have been.

We follow three main characters within this story, Thomas, Charlie and Livia. The three of them are young, and they don't know everything about the Smoke and how it works, becuase no one in this world really does. It's an ever on-going mystery, and yet there are some who are working on finding out where it stems from.

Thomas is a young man who is afraid of his own soul and Smoke becuase of the events of his past and the secrets of his family. He is unsure how to control himself, and sometimes this makes him even more of an outcast at school than he already is.

Charlie is a young gentleman and a good friend to Thomas, despite sensing something a little dark about his friend. He aims to be honest and true and not Smoke so that he will be regarded as a gentleman by society when he grows up.

Livia is a young lady who looks down on the sinners who serve her. She's a lady of noble birth and she tries to show her status by being true and honest and frowning on those who cannot help but to Smoke.

One thing I do think has to be said about this is that it's a book which seemed to change direction a few times. At first I thought it would be largely set within the school the boys attended, then we shift to London, them a manor house and so on. Each shift in place made the plot thicken, and yet didn't reveal too many answers, to the point where I feel like been though I've read the whole book my biggest question about Smoke still hasn't been answered. I do believe this might be a trilogy (rather than the standalone I had thought it was) so maybe the answer will eventually be given, but I felt that the lack was quite distinct and irritating.

The philosophical and political debates within this book make it feel a bit more 'grown-up' than a 'typical' YA story, but then later we do have a romance storyline which complicates things a bit and which I didn't particularly like.

On the whole I think this book is an interesting one and it did keep me reading, but ultimately I don't feel like I came away from it with a lot. It's a fun read and one which has some cool ideas, but without the development of these ideas it falls a little short of the mark, and the comparison to Harry Potter and His Dark Materials definitely doesn't do this book any favours. 2.5*s overall

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually 3.75 stars (hey if people can do half stars, why not the occasional quarter star?)

What a delightfully strange book! Picture an England on the cusp of the industrial revolution but held back by a quasi-religious fear of emotion and technology (Hold on a minute, I thought the Brits did avoid emotion and new-fangled things...). In this world people emit, imbibe, and carry around Smoke. An ethereal thing that makes their passions visible and tangible and fungible to the world around them.

So what happens when you know people are lying? Are lusting for you? Have a dark secret? What happens when there is no filter? Well, people do mad things, angels walk the earth, revolutionaries plot an apocalyptic future, and the powers-that-be seek oppressively, with their secret forces, to keep things the way they are. And, of course, it all starts in that peculiar British institution - a boarding school of plucky boys.

[Melanie Schneider · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wisst ihr, was ich nach 160 Seiten feststelle? Es interessiert mich einfach nicht.
All this male perspective and surpressed sexuality. Ich widme mich jetzt anderen Büchern!

[Zippergirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thinking about your auntie's knickers? Smoke.

Sneaking a nip of the communion wine? Smoke.

"If the moral pestilence that rises with [the corrupt] could be made discernible . . . how terrible the revelation," Charles Dickens once wrote. In this evocative novel of Olde England, smoke is the visible manifestation of vice. London lies beneath a blanket of smut, the sun a dim orange glow at noon. Smoke envelops the city, soot blackens the faces of the lower classes and the crumbling architecture and hovels in which they eke out a living. Black snow falls.

At a boarding school in Oxford, the countryside is green, and the high collars of the schoolmasters are white as new fallen snow. The students from high born families are here to be trained up as proper leaders in Church and Government. Their childish propensity to expel smoke at every shameful thought must be controlled. One. Must. Not. Smoke.

But smoke isn't just proof of sin, it compels sin. In shared smoke one's restraint is challenged, and true aristocracy allows no surrender. The strong characters and gritty ambience support both the suspense and moral implications of the story.

Astonishing is not too strong a word to describe the depth and imagination of 'Smoke.'

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

How do you start a revolution?
You baptise a corpse.

Over the past few years, and based on just two of his books – The Crooked Maid and The Quiet Twin – I have become quite a fan of author Dan Vyleta: his plots have been fascinating and his writing masterful. When I saw that he had a new book, Smoke, coming out, I was delighted; there are so few givens in my reading life, but I knew I would love Vyleta's new book...and I didn't love Vyleta's new book. The setup was really intriguing, and then it got boring, and then it got confusing, and then it ended. Boo.

The setup: the book opens at a Victorian-era British boys boarding school (the usual semi-abusive system with all-seeing professors, prefects, and headboys), and in a secret midnight trial, an upperclassman who refers to himself as Cesar attempts to force a boy to exhibit his Smoke:

The laws of Smoke are complex. Not every lie will trigger it. A fleeting thought of evil may pass unseen; a fib, an excuse, a piece of flattery. Sometimes you can lie quite outrageously and find yourself spared. Everyone knows the feeling, knows it from childhood: of being questioned by your mother, or your governess, by the house tutor; of articulating a lie, pushing it carefully past the threshold of your lips, your palms sweaty, your guts coiled into knots, your chin raised in false confidence; and then, the sweet balm of relief when the Smoke does not come. At other times, the Smoke is conjured by transgressions so trifling you are hardly aware of them at all: you reach for the biscuits before they have been offered; you smirk as a footman slips on the freshly polished stairs. Next thing you know its smell is in your nose. There is no more hateful smell in the world than the smell of Smoke.

As the mysteries of Smoke are revealed to the reader – Is it a sickness or a symptom? A sin or sign of humanity? – it also becomes clear that it is a marker of class: only those from important families are trained to control their Smoke, while the unwashed masses in the mines, factories, and those living downtown London freely spew black clouds into the air, displaying their naked passions, egging one another on:

Who can watch the Smoke and deny it; see one person clean and the other mired in their messy desires; one regal and enjoying God's good favour, rewarded for his goodness by his power and his wealth, and the other toiling and miserable, underfed, poor, his very skin scorched by diseases of bad hygiene – who can see all this and not feel the superiority of the one and the inferiority of the other? It is as though two races walk our land, one blessed, the other cursed.

In the beginning, this works as an alternate history (like Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell), and as it proceeds, as an examination of the hypocrisy of British class divisions (like Howards End), but ultimately, it doesn't really succeed at developing either of these ideas. (Actually, it's very interesting to have read on the heels of A Clockwork Orange because if part of this book's intention was to examine the futility of suppressing man's basest instincts, it didn't much succeed at that either.) The action stalls when the plot leaves the boarding school, and as a subplot involving those who would seek to undermine the system of Smoke comes to the forefront, it felt like this became a different book and I am still not clear about what was supposed to have happened in the end.

I liked the few instances of Victorian medical contraptions and the introduction of Dickensian characters. And while at first I thought I was going to like when Julius/Cesar embraced the Smoke (he is “not mad. He is that thing from which madness is knit.”), in the end, I never understood this character at all:

I'm having trouble with words, with time. I'm different now, transformed. A buzzard climbing the updrafts of Smoke. My bones hollow, my body a husk: reinhabited. I, the dark twin of my former self, flesh of my own liver. I am my own father and mother; Renfrew my midwife; the mask my baptism and last rites. Children cower when I pass them in the streets.

So, I'm left disappointed and confused, but will still happily pick up Vyleta's next book. This is a very low three stars; a rounding up to “like”, which I didn't quite.

[Meg (fairy.bookmother) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan Vyleta's Smoke is what you would get if you crossed Henry James with Philip Pullman and is set it in some post-apocalyptic Victorian-ish England in which Smoke is the manifestation of humanity's emotional existence – the soul, the spirit, some other sublime aspect of ourselves. London itself is a cesspit of Smoke and Soot, running rampant with all sorts of behavior. There is a lot of interplay with levels of class, with the ideas of right and wrong, and with adhering to social expectations of propriety or letting go and running with base emotions.

Smoke is never fully defined with no origin story or full resolution by the end. Readers looking for a solid beginning and end will not find that here. Smoke is something that came into existence a few hundred years before this story began, and society's leaders rewrote history to include the existence of Smoke as if it has always existed. The upper class are allowed to rule and govern because they are pure and restrained, while the lower class must rot in Soot and Smoke. But it's discovered that the upper class, especially the ones who control the power with money and influence, have ways in which to control the Smoke through special candies developed to absorb all release of the body's Smoke. Conversely, the upper class have devised a cigarette in which one can enjoy the pleasures of Smoke without entirely being consumed by it (at great expense, of course).

Three school-aged people – Thomas, Charlie, and Livia – discover the lies in which their society lives and go to great lengths to find some kind of resolution. It might seem a bit anticlimactic to those who are unfamiliar with British literature and/or culture or the Gothic genre, but it is quite liberating if one is on the side of the young ones. Embracing the Smoke, ultimately embracing emotion (passion, anger, yearning, courage, etc.), is where one finds personal freedom.

Vyleta's immensely detailed descriptions evoked that style of Henry James, the social commentary reminded me a bit of Dickens, and the use of the elements and religious tyranny with children discovering the truth reminded me of Pullman. Stir in a pinch of Collins, a dash of Doyle, and a handful of soot, and you've got Smoke. It's one of the best books I've read all year.

Thanks to Edelweiss for a review copy!

[Chantal Lyons · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't want to denigrate Vyleta's feat here - although I've personally only given it three stars, it's quite remarkable. The most original story I've read in a long time.

I just never felt gripped, unfortunately. I suppose that's down to two things - I didn't take to the way the plot unfolded, and Vyleta's fantastical concept of Smoke was too clever and complex for me to ever fully get my head around and understand the rules of. The author clearly lived and breathed his alternative England in writing this book, but as a reader I felt way out of my depth.

Vyleta's prose in turns frustrated and pleased me. His descriptions are often beautiful or clever, but there is SO MUCH description. It made a long book even longer. Towards the end I found myself scanning rather than reading properly, just wanting the story to be over and done with. The nicely rounded-off ending was a satisfaction, but ultimately, I think I would've preferred to read a different book or two instead of this one.

One last thing - Stylist Magazine should hang their heads in shame for their sensationalist claim that this book fills "that gaping hold left by both Harry Potter and Northern Lights". Firstly, this is purely an adult novel. Secondly, I don't think a book can justifiably be compared to Harry Potter simply because it happens to feature a boarding school (which provides the setting for only about 10% of the story). The Northern Lights comparison I can understand a bit more, but seriously...

[Brina · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Smoke" gehört zu den Büchern, die ich ohne Empfehlung wohl niemals gelesen hätte, da ich nicht wirklich wusste, was mich bei dem Buch erwarten wird. Da ich jedoch bereits viele positive Bewertungen gelesen habe, wurde ich dann doch neugierig und habe der Geschichte sehr gerne eine Chance gegeben.

Man muss zwar sagen, dass die Geschichte an sich viele kleinere Schwächen besitzt, ich jedoch über die meisten von ihnen hinwegsehen konnte. Zwar finde ich, dass der Autor sich besonders zum Ende hin etwas zu sehr verloren hat und dadurch viele Fragen noch offen geblieben sind, allerdings fand ich den Schreibstil ansonsten sehr angenehmen und spannend gestaltet. Die Figuren sind gut ausgearbeitet, sämtliche Orte sind detailliert und liebevoll beschrieben, sodass man sich vieles bildlich vorstellen konnte und auch die Dialoge lesen sich gut, ohne holprig zu wirken.

Da die Geschichte im viktorianischen England spielt, war das für mich schon ein klarer Pluspunkt, ebenso die Tatsache, dass es sich hierbei mehr oder weniger um eine Internatsgeschichte handelt, denn solche Geschichten habe ich schon immer gerne gelesen. Hierbei geht es um den Rauch, der die Stadt beherrscht, für die Menschen mittlerweile allerdings vollkommen normal ist. Wer sich nicht an Regeln hält, der muss damit leben, dass ein gewisser Rauch dem Körper entweicht, sodass man auch direkt merkt, wenn jemand etwas angestellt hat. Für die Schüler Thomas und Charlie stellt sich jedoch immer mehr die Frage, wieso manche Menschen mehr Rauch ausstrahlen als andere und schon bald kommt eine weitere Frage auf: Werden wir wirklich alle gleich behandelt oder gibt es doch gewisse Unterschiede zwischen den Menschen? Dass sich Charlie und Thomas dabei das ein oder andere Mal der Gefahr aussetzen, ist für die beiden Jungs jedoch kein Grund, die Suche nach der Wahrheit aufzugeben...

Was mich besonders beeindruckt hat, ist das wunderschöne Cover, das nicht nur ein toller Hingucker ist, sondern auch bestens zur Geschichte und zum Buchtitel passt. Auch die Kurzbeschreibung hat mich direkt angesprochen, sodass ich "Smoke" gerne eine Chance gegeben habe.

Kurz gesagt: "Smoke" ist eine spannende und ereignisreiche Geschichte, die mir trotz vieler kleinerer Schwächen und einem nicht ganz so toll ausgearbeiteten Ende gut gefallen hat, sodass ich die Geschichte sehr gerne gelesen habe. Somit kann ich "Smoke" auch nur empfehlen.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those bizarre books where I can't quite summarise my thoughts and feelings on it.

Set in an alternative Victorian England. The premise being that sin is physically visible through the 'smoke' that everyone emits. The darker the sin, the darker the smoke.

Excellent idea for a novel, and the first third of the book is very engaging. Now, to be honest, I much preferred this when it was set in the boarding school, and I thought this is where the main locale of the novel would be based, so wasn't really expecting the shift to London.

The last two thirds are also excellent, but had a different shift in tone and pace to the first part, which did interrupt the reading flow a little.

The general theme of good versus bad is evident throughout, from smoke to the main characters' temperament. Vyleta also discusses religious backlash to smoke and the more outrageous views, which could well be a commentary of current events, especially in light of the rise of xenophobic attitudes. Not sure whether this was intentional but I thought it was a good touch.

Some very good ideas in this book, but it's not very fast-paced so if you're not a fan of intricate detail and wordy prose, you will probably struggle with enjoying it. There are also a lot of point-of-views, all written in the first person. I quite like multiple POVs in novels, when done well, and I do think Vyleta has achieved this, but again, if you're not a fan of multiple POVs, this may not be the read for you.

An advance reader copy was kindly provided by the publisher via Netgalley

[Yvis Welt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meine Meinung:

Wie immer fange ich mit den Schreibstil an. Dieser war aber bei diesem Buch eben mein Problem. Für meinen Geschmack beschreibt der Autor einfach zu viele Details, dadurch wirkte das Buch oft sehr langatmig. Auch die Schreibweise und Ausdrucksweise wirkte auf mich eher altbacken. Dennoch oder gerade wegen der vielen Details konnte man sich natürlich gleich in die Geschehnisse und die Umgebung hineinversetzten. Auch die Charaktere wurden einen genau beschrieben und man konnte sich ein gutes Bild machen.

Die Geschichte war am Anfang sehr spannend, jedoch lies das im Laufe des Buches immer mehr nach. Ich hatte einfach irgendwann genug von dem „drumrum“ Gerede, den Methapern und den 1000 Beispielen. Dadurch war ich leicht genervt und konnte mich auch auf die eigentliche Geschichte nicht mehr wirklich einlassen.

Die Grundidee mit dem Rauch fand ich wirklich super und sehr kreativ. Aber es war nicht bis zum Ende durchdacht. Zum einen waren manche Sachen einfach unlogisch, nicht nachvollziehbar und am Ende unvollendet. Auch am Ende des Buches hätte ich mir noch eine „Aufklärung“ gewünscht. Ich habe einfach noch ein paar unbeantwortete Fragen in meinen Kopf. Den Genremix fand ich durchaus gelungen.

Was mir auch noch besonders gut gefiel, war die besondere Beziehung der beiden Jungs. Diese Freundschaft war einfach sehr gut nachvollziehbar und greifbar. Die Lovestory hingegen konnte mich mal wieder nur zum „Haare raufen“ bringen. Eine Dreiecksbeziehung hätte das Buch einfach nicht gebraucht. Das macht es für mich wieder so gewollt „mainstream“. Das wirkte auf mich einfach fehl am Platz.

Fazit: Grundidee gut, jedoch nicht bis zum Ende durchdacht.

[Makenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Power is underwritten by morality. Those who rule, rule because they are better people than their subjects. It's written on our linen. It cannot be denied."

Ok, wow. Prior to reading this book, I read a lot of negative / not-so-thrilling reviews, so I spent the majority of the time waiting for the ball to drop. And for me, it never did. I can see where other reviewers are coming from with some weaker parts of the book, which I'll explain later on in this review, but here's the thing: what I loved, I ABSOLUTELY loved. Everything I found so fascinating overshadowed the bad in the end, and this is what made 'Smoke' so memorable.

'Smoke' has one of the most original premises of any book I've ever read - it's set in a sort of alternate Victorian England where those who sin visibly smoke, and there is a huge divide between the aristocracy, whose children go to schools to learn the utmost discipline in order to not smoke, and the apparently 'morally-corrupt' lower classes. The mood is spectacular - it's dark, mysterious, and very much intriguing. It's why I loved the book so much, as curling up and inhabiting this world was such a pleasure and a little bit addicting. The difference between the aristocratic countryside and the trips to London, where everything is described as black and pouring with smoke, was what really hooked me. I loved many elements of the book, such as the hanging scene near the beginning, the later revelations of cruelty, experiments, and how those who were especially vulnerable were taken advantage of to fulfill an agenda. I can't say too much more without spoilers, but I will say that it is a fascinating and fantastical interpretation of morality, and how there can be more than one kind.

One of the things about 'Smoke' that makes it a 4-star instead of a 5-star is the writing. It's not so much that I don't like Dan Vyleta's style, it's more that it made the characters completely inaccessible to me. I don't think they were particularly interesting or well-developed, and frankly, I didn't care about what would happen to them. Despite this, I still really enjoyed the book because of the idea behind it, even if the characters only felt like pawns to execute it. And onto the whole love-triangle-with-the-unconventional-ending between Livia, Thomas, and Charlie. It felt pointless and annoying, as love triangles often are. I always feel that the girl debating between the two guys is overused, and it was extremely unnecessary in the context of this book. Okay, the end result was a surprise, but I found the author's attempt to integrate all their complicated feelings into the idea of the Smoke to be confusing, and I just didn't 'get' it.

I've seen a few readers complain about how they couldn't get through this book, and that it became difficult by about the halfway point. Which I sort of get because I found myself wondering, 'What is the Smoke?! Like what actually is it?" I was anxious to find out what was being covered up and what the real conspiracies were. My advice to anyone reading this book: just wait. Be patient. Because I promise, near the end, once it eventually becomes clear, after all the convolutedness, it is worth it. The way the author wrapped it up made me actually put down the book for a few minutes because I was freaking out. I thought it was so clever how the solution to the Smoke was interpreted. Oh, and semi-ambigous endings? Personally, I love them.