The Trove

by Tobias S. Buckell

A new, science fiction adventure based on Treasure Island! Jane Hawkins lives on a floating space port where she tries to help her mothers run a failing inn. Every day she watches starships land from far-off places, bound for exotic adventures. But a new occupant under their roof is about to change everything. His name is Villem Osteonides. More machine than man, he's crewed aboard ships that sail through the universe faster than light. And he has a secret that will change Jane's life forever.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Adventure, Fantasy, Pirates, Steampunk

189 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 16, 2017

About the author

Born in the Caribbean, Tobias S. Buckell is a New York Times Bestselling author. His novels and over 50 short stories have been translated into 17 languages and he has been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, Prometheus and John W. Campbell Award for Best New Science Fiction Author. He currently lives in Ohio.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cool and cute and quite clever riff on Treasure Island, with some neat augmented-human ideas and a touch of steampunk and a female protagonist, Jane Hawkins. It's a quick read, true to the spirit of the original (the original original, that is, as the introduction explains), and appropriate for all ages. It could've used another copy-edit pass, but nothing was so bad that it stopped the narrative flow. Lots of fun; I enjoyed it.

[KJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounding up from 3.5. Fun retelling of Treasure Island in space, with a female protagonist and other interesting changes from the original. My only real complaint is that it needed a good copy-edit; I noticed a number of errors that distracted me from the story.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tobias Buckell is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and I'm excited to know he has a bunch of books I haven't yet read.

The Trove was fantastic. A futuristic take on Treasure Island, the story is creepy good fun from page one. Jane Hawkins is a wonderful character, full of personality and wishes but light on support and technology. When she meets a dangerous ruffian at her inn, her whole life begins to change. The detail in the story was superb, especially when you look at the integration of man and technology.

I particularly loved one of the bad guys - Argyros, a 'man who walks as three.' During a tragic accident, he spliced his consciousness into two mechs and now the three integrate fully as one human. It's pretty cool. All in all, a great read.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Treasure Island - in deep space no less! Author Tobias Buckell may have been inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale but the wonderful description of the cyborg riggers and the FTL stardrive (and the worldbuilding) are all Buckell!

The main protagonist is young Jane Hawkins (Stevenson's book starred the boy Jim Hawkins). Her two mothers run the inn that the rigger (later revealed as the pirate captain) walks into one day to take a room for the night.

Starships in this world are called "sparships" and use spars which function as masts would on an eighteenth-century sailing ship. Invisible interstellar winds carry sparships faster than light through space. Riggers must incorporate tech into their bodies and literally "speed up" their thinking processes to be able to have delicate control over the spar to which they are assigned. I really love an imaginative approach to FTL and this stardrive is certainly unique!

Instead of Jane finding the pirate captain's treasure map in a sea chest, the captain "infects" Jane using the Black Spot, instantly giving her rigger implants. Jane literally becomes the treasure map!

Fortunately, I was able to get in on the December 15, 2017 Kickstarter campaign which funded this labor of love by Buckell. I received a copy of the ebook at that time but I had too many other books to read just then. Trove was released in the Kindle store July 24, 2018. The paperback had been released Dec. 31, 2017.

The paperback had only garnered 7 reviews (as of today). I'm glad that author Tobias Buckell emailed all of his Kickstarter backers to ask, if we had read the book yet, would we consider writing a review.

I'm happy to say that this was a really fun read (which I just finished last night) and I highly recommend it for people who enjoy swashbuckling space pirate tales!

[Christopher Gerrib · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure - I was a Kickstarter backer for this book. Having said that, I love it dearly. It's a re-telling of "Treasure Island," now in space. Yes Jim Hawkins is now Jane, but that's by far the least of the differences. Buckell goes full-bore on this one, with people more machine than human, an interesting twist on sailing and high adventure. More importantly, pay attention to the ships - there's more to them then meets the eye. Even the treasure isn't what you'd expect. This is a really good book.

[Alan McLintock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent but different take on Treasure Island

I was a bit put off by the fact it was a Treasure Island theme but I looked at the authors other work which is all highly rated and took a punt on this being equally good. It has some really intersting and unique Sci fi elements that really work and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Can be a bit dark at times but is thoroughly enjoyable.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Treasure Island in seventh grade, and while I don't remember the plot I know I was a little confused by the various factions and their relationships. Sometime deadly enemies, sometimes united against external hazards.

This is a science fiction retelling of that story, and honestly I still had that problem. I mean, I could follow it but the changes can be whiplash inducing and for what I think of as basically a YA story it's fairly complicated.

Which is not to say I don't recommend it. Buckell's a good writer ad this is an entertaining read.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Trove was clearly a passion project; the author's enthusiasm shines through the prose. The world-building is outstanding: the uses of nanotechnology and AI are clever and make sense. It's not "Sword & Singularity," but it's a close swashbuckling cousin. The character development is also solid and believable, especially in the protagonist. And the plot is propulsively fast-moving.

I would quibble with a few aspects of the story -- most, the pace and length, which in the original Treasure Island were more leisurely -- but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.

[Jimbo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting take on Treasure Island. I liked th world Buckell creates and I enjoyed the adventure of the story. Like Treasure Island and the animated Treasure Planet, the story is a one adventure tale with promises of more to come.

[Catyj · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this clever and delightful retelling of Treasure Island. Brilliant and fun.

[Craig Russo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Format: audio

Good story. The narrator, Jennette Selig, is terrific.

[Stardust Priestess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting take on treasure planet.

[Helen Burkett · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea was interesting but it was too technical for me.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would listen any day to the legend that the Sparkflint itself was inhabited by an experimental artificial mind gone insane.
Anything but stories about people stuck in castles.
Boring.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short novel does exactly what it sets out to do, a sci-fi riff on Treasure Island. Probably perfect for a YA reader, with enough goodness going on to keep anyone engaged. I backed this on kickstarter.

[AMD · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Trove is a fun Sci-Fi Steampunk adaptation of Treasure Island loaded with biotech, data-streams, artificial intelligence, space travel and of course, pirates and treasure. I had a blast following Jane Hawkins in meeting strange steampunk pirates, flying ships via space wind streams and exploring massive asteroid islands. It was great to see a classic character refreshed as a female lead and written for a new generation. I suspect at least a few young women might be inspired by this into a technology career. If you like a good modern adventure to romp around in, give The Trove a read! Definitely a story guaranteed to exercise the imagination in both young and old alike.