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Thomas Riley
For more than twenty years West Canvia and Lemuria have battled one another in a constant war.
From the safety of his laboratory, weapons designer Thomas Riley has cleverly and proudly empowered the West Canvian forces with his brilliant designs. But when a risky alchemy experiment goes horribly wrong, Thomas and his wily assistant, Cynthia Bassett, are thrust onto the front lines of battle.
Forced into shaky alliances with murderous sky pirates in a deadly race to kidnap the only man who can undo the damage—the mad genius behind Lemuria's cunning armaments—Thomas' own genius is put to the ultimate test.
From the safety of his laboratory, weapons designer Thomas Riley has cleverly and proudly empowered the West Canvian forces with his brilliant designs. But when a risky alchemy experiment goes horribly wrong, Thomas and his wily assistant, Cynthia Bassett, are thrust onto the front lines of battle.
Forced into shaky alliances with murderous sky pirates in a deadly race to kidnap the only man who can undo the damage—the mad genius behind Lemuria's cunning armaments—Thomas' own genius is put to the ultimate test.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2009
7 people are currently reading
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
August 18, 2010
I’m worried that this review is going to sound negative and over critical because I enjoyed this story, and I adore its Steampunk characteristics, but I have many concerns with how it was written and subsequently edited. It has been said that the devil is in the details, and this story, which is interesting and action packed, suffers because of the many little problems that plague it. I am well aware that this is a work of young adult fiction meant for the 13+ crowd, but I find this group to be intelligent and capable, and they are worth a text written with the same degree of polish and sophistication as those written for adults. That being said, I also get the impression that this author is early in his career and developing his writing style, and I am anxiously awaiting any future works he may write because I feel he has great potential to produce fantastic Steampunk stories. If he should ever read my humble review I would encourage him to engage a group of teen and adult beta readers to help him refine plot elements and spot the grammatical errors we all make when we write (I know I would volunteer for this task, and there are many others would gladly do so as well.)
The story revolves around master inventor Thomas Riley and his apprentice Cynthia Bassett. The pair lives and works in West Canvia, a nation that has been at war with neighboring Lemuria for so long that no one can remember how it all got started in the first place. Thomas and Cynthia are working in their workshop one fateful day when a West Canvian soldier arrives with the fatally wounded daughter of their ruler, and Thomas is ordered to extract the young woman’s soul so that it can be placed in a new body later. The ethics of soul extraction is never discussed, or how a “suitable body” for the soul will be acquired, but Thomas doesn’t have any choice: either he performs the procedure, or the girl’s father will have him jailed for treason (18). The procedure carries great risk, and of course it goes terrifically wrong with the young woman’s soul becoming trapped inside of Cynthia after the chemical solution used in the process explodes, and the only other person who knows how to safely extract the soul is Isaac Maier, Thomas’ counterpart in Lemuria. The pair sets off to locate Maier and return with him to West Canvia, and adventure ensues.
This book’s problems begin with its structure and I feel it desperately needed a competent copy editor. For example, at various points in the text punctuation was missing or incorrectly used. My favorite scene that illustrates this takes place on page 207: “Die,” she screamed on every swing. The character is screaming! There should be an exclamation point after the word “die” to convey to the reader emotion and excitement! In a further example of sloppy copy editing, on pages 226 and 227 the word “descent” is used three times, and misspelled “decent” twice. In other places words are used twice; in some sentences words are omitted altogether. My list of grammatical errors is fairly lengthy and I could devote a great deal of space to this topic. I realize I’m more aware of these kinds of mistakes because I’m a graduate student in English and an educator, but seeing these types of errors repeatedly as I read made me mentally reach for my red correction pen and interfered with my ability to enjoy watching the story unfold.
And since I’m on the topic of editing, I’d like to devote a moment to word choice throughout the novel. There were times when I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at some of the descriptive language used! In one scene a young man is holding an “out of date gun,” as though guns expire like milk or medication. How about ancient, antique, or old/old fashioned? In another scene he describes some of the members of a rescue party he is leading as “typical pirate thugs with unshaven faces full of scars, wild eyes, and a facial twitch most commonly associated with maniacs” (229). I’m so glad to know that maniacs have facial twitches, as this will now help me identify them if I should run across them in the future. In a final example, the book makes a single reference to an individual with a British accent (208). This wouldn’t be so odd except that nowhere, at any point, does the story make reference to Britain, only to the fictional countries of West Canvia, Lemuria, and the (real island chain) Republic of the Seychelles (I had to look it up; it’s located east of the southern tip of Africa). This confused me as a reader: Is this story placed in the world we know, or in a fictional one? The problems I have listed above should have been dealt with by an editor who asked these questions so that I could spend more time thinking about the plot and the character development.
I thought the plot of the book was interesting and fun to read, but there were some plot twists that are never resolved. One chapter is entitled “Phantoms” and involves the main character and a large stone placed in his pocket; later in the chapter this stone is hit with a shot from the villain, shattering it and releasing a large group of zombie-like people of all ages into the room. This event deeply scares the villain, who flees in terror, and leaves Thomas confused and with only a vague idea of what might have happened. He tells his partner Cynthia that he will try to explain what he thinks they are later, but he never returns to this point and the story concludes without any resolution of this point (and great unlikelihood that it will be if there is a sequel). Yes, the villain Isaac Maier is, well, villainous, but why was he scared when he fled the room to escape the zombies? The zombie people never do anything to warrant the implementation of a zombie plan or fear on the part of those who have to move through them! I assume that these entities are souls that have been extracted and stored by the villain, but this is never established and there is no purpose to the number of pages and time spent on this development, which doesn’t further the story to any useful degree.
Along a similar vein is the capture of Cynthia Bassett by the Lemurians. This twist would be an excellent opportunity to expand on her history, strength, and intelligence, as well as for the reader to learn about the Lemurians through her observations. After she is taken, however, the story remains with Thomas and the reader gains little additional information until the final chapters. There is no real reason to have any antipathy towards the villain outside of a couple of pages of posturing in dialogue and, as a result, it is difficult to develop any degree of panic, fear, or concern for Cynthia. Author Nick Valentino would have greatly enriched this novel if he had spent more time on character development, and a little less time on describing the guns, clothing, and vessels they were on; this character development is especially important for young adult readers, who have a greater tendency to see things in terms of absolutes and are developing a sense of justice. I enjoyed the action of the story, but I didn’t develop feelings for the characters, and this is disappointing.
Despite the faults I found with this book, there were elements that were well done and are worth mentioning. For one, the science of the book made sense, and many of the devices described sounded plausible. Author Nick Valentino works a little too earnestly to establish this text in the Steampunk genre--if I were motivated I would count exactly how many times the word “goggles” appears, but it is enough to say it does so very frequently—but the machinery described feels real and logical in construction. There is also significant variety of weaponry to please adventurous teens: acid shooting guns, an improvised non-lethal weapon using pepper, and a variety of steam-powered devices to name a few. Additionally, the relationship between Thomas and Cynthia is sweet, if underdeveloped, and I am left hoping that there will be future installments that continue the story and add more to the universe Valentino has created. I would encourage others to enter this world, and to ask for more…I have a feeling there are some fantastic stories coming!
The story revolves around master inventor Thomas Riley and his apprentice Cynthia Bassett. The pair lives and works in West Canvia, a nation that has been at war with neighboring Lemuria for so long that no one can remember how it all got started in the first place. Thomas and Cynthia are working in their workshop one fateful day when a West Canvian soldier arrives with the fatally wounded daughter of their ruler, and Thomas is ordered to extract the young woman’s soul so that it can be placed in a new body later. The ethics of soul extraction is never discussed, or how a “suitable body” for the soul will be acquired, but Thomas doesn’t have any choice: either he performs the procedure, or the girl’s father will have him jailed for treason (18). The procedure carries great risk, and of course it goes terrifically wrong with the young woman’s soul becoming trapped inside of Cynthia after the chemical solution used in the process explodes, and the only other person who knows how to safely extract the soul is Isaac Maier, Thomas’ counterpart in Lemuria. The pair sets off to locate Maier and return with him to West Canvia, and adventure ensues.
This book’s problems begin with its structure and I feel it desperately needed a competent copy editor. For example, at various points in the text punctuation was missing or incorrectly used. My favorite scene that illustrates this takes place on page 207: “Die,” she screamed on every swing. The character is screaming! There should be an exclamation point after the word “die” to convey to the reader emotion and excitement! In a further example of sloppy copy editing, on pages 226 and 227 the word “descent” is used three times, and misspelled “decent” twice. In other places words are used twice; in some sentences words are omitted altogether. My list of grammatical errors is fairly lengthy and I could devote a great deal of space to this topic. I realize I’m more aware of these kinds of mistakes because I’m a graduate student in English and an educator, but seeing these types of errors repeatedly as I read made me mentally reach for my red correction pen and interfered with my ability to enjoy watching the story unfold.
And since I’m on the topic of editing, I’d like to devote a moment to word choice throughout the novel. There were times when I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at some of the descriptive language used! In one scene a young man is holding an “out of date gun,” as though guns expire like milk or medication. How about ancient, antique, or old/old fashioned? In another scene he describes some of the members of a rescue party he is leading as “typical pirate thugs with unshaven faces full of scars, wild eyes, and a facial twitch most commonly associated with maniacs” (229). I’m so glad to know that maniacs have facial twitches, as this will now help me identify them if I should run across them in the future. In a final example, the book makes a single reference to an individual with a British accent (208). This wouldn’t be so odd except that nowhere, at any point, does the story make reference to Britain, only to the fictional countries of West Canvia, Lemuria, and the (real island chain) Republic of the Seychelles (I had to look it up; it’s located east of the southern tip of Africa). This confused me as a reader: Is this story placed in the world we know, or in a fictional one? The problems I have listed above should have been dealt with by an editor who asked these questions so that I could spend more time thinking about the plot and the character development.
I thought the plot of the book was interesting and fun to read, but there were some plot twists that are never resolved. One chapter is entitled “Phantoms” and involves the main character and a large stone placed in his pocket; later in the chapter this stone is hit with a shot from the villain, shattering it and releasing a large group of zombie-like people of all ages into the room. This event deeply scares the villain, who flees in terror, and leaves Thomas confused and with only a vague idea of what might have happened. He tells his partner Cynthia that he will try to explain what he thinks they are later, but he never returns to this point and the story concludes without any resolution of this point (and great unlikelihood that it will be if there is a sequel). Yes, the villain Isaac Maier is, well, villainous, but why was he scared when he fled the room to escape the zombies? The zombie people never do anything to warrant the implementation of a zombie plan or fear on the part of those who have to move through them! I assume that these entities are souls that have been extracted and stored by the villain, but this is never established and there is no purpose to the number of pages and time spent on this development, which doesn’t further the story to any useful degree.
Along a similar vein is the capture of Cynthia Bassett by the Lemurians. This twist would be an excellent opportunity to expand on her history, strength, and intelligence, as well as for the reader to learn about the Lemurians through her observations. After she is taken, however, the story remains with Thomas and the reader gains little additional information until the final chapters. There is no real reason to have any antipathy towards the villain outside of a couple of pages of posturing in dialogue and, as a result, it is difficult to develop any degree of panic, fear, or concern for Cynthia. Author Nick Valentino would have greatly enriched this novel if he had spent more time on character development, and a little less time on describing the guns, clothing, and vessels they were on; this character development is especially important for young adult readers, who have a greater tendency to see things in terms of absolutes and are developing a sense of justice. I enjoyed the action of the story, but I didn’t develop feelings for the characters, and this is disappointing.
Despite the faults I found with this book, there were elements that were well done and are worth mentioning. For one, the science of the book made sense, and many of the devices described sounded plausible. Author Nick Valentino works a little too earnestly to establish this text in the Steampunk genre--if I were motivated I would count exactly how many times the word “goggles” appears, but it is enough to say it does so very frequently—but the machinery described feels real and logical in construction. There is also significant variety of weaponry to please adventurous teens: acid shooting guns, an improvised non-lethal weapon using pepper, and a variety of steam-powered devices to name a few. Additionally, the relationship between Thomas and Cynthia is sweet, if underdeveloped, and I am left hoping that there will be future installments that continue the story and add more to the universe Valentino has created. I would encourage others to enter this world, and to ask for more…I have a feeling there are some fantastic stories coming!
January 27, 2014
I met the Author and he seems very nice. I bought my book from him. He has a wonderful SteamPunk persona he wears to Cons. That being said, this was not a very good novel. The editing errors happened frequently enough where I kept falling out of the story line. The characters never really had much depth to them. The characters had unbelievably high levels of fighting prowess for inventors. The female seemed like she may have more than passing fondness for the main male, but then that never gets explored. The main male and supporting male both act like they may have feelings for the female, but it's never really explored. The author at one point attempts to explore the female's feelings for the secondary male, and says something along the lines of "she'd never been sure of her feelings for him, but she had wanted her attraction to him to be real".
Overall just not a good book, Steampunk or otherwise.
Overall just not a good book, Steampunk or otherwise.
April 28, 2010
This was the first Steampunk novel I've ever read. I'm hooked! If you are new to the genre of "Steampunk" this is the novel for you. Valentino's first, of what I hope to be many Steampunk novels. I was caught up in the story of Sir Thomas and his wily assistant Cynthia from the very first page. I don't want to give away the premise of the book, since it's an exciting journey to discover where your loyalties lie in this world, but I was hooked! I'm proud to call myself a member of the flight crew of the Blood Countess!
If you ever have the opportunity to meet Nick Valentino at a book signing, do so. Not only is he very engaging and a talented writer, but he also dresses like Sir Thomas Riley. It's hard not to get caught up in the fervor.
If you ever have the opportunity to meet Nick Valentino at a book signing, do so. Not only is he very engaging and a talented writer, but he also dresses like Sir Thomas Riley. It's hard not to get caught up in the fervor.
June 5, 2012
This novel never really grabbed me. The descriptions of steam punk devices were much too in-your-face; instead of creating a cool steam punk world, the author bashes you over the head with endless descriptions. Also, the plot just wasn't very interesting and the story seemed to pinball from one action scene to another for no good reason.
May 9, 2010
Straight and steamy.
Full review in progress
Full review in progress
August 8, 2023
I was excited to read this one and I must say that I thought the story was a good one, but the writing really needed the hand of a strong editor. Also, I didn't feel like the story had a strong ending but that might have been on purpose since I see that there is a sequel to this one. I'm not sure if I'll get it or not. While I'd like to see what happens with the characters, the editing is enough to make me pause. Not only were there many typos in the story, but more than once I found myself rewriting sentences in my head and imagining notes or queries I'd put in for the author to expand or clarify (or cut) some of the details. It was a good first draft, but just felt unfinished to me. I was surprised to see that this had a publishing house rather than being independently published.
March 20, 2019
Breath-taking
January 23, 2012
2.75
I'm a bit torn on how to rate this one, to be honest.
On one hand, it was a decent story and concept, overall, filled with lots of action and, even better, a lot of fun, steampunky gadgets. The main characters were pretty cool - though they don't really have much in the way of depth to them... but since I've decided to read this as, predominantly, an action story, well, action characters aren't known to have much depth, so I'm being forgiving on that account.
(That said, there was one point where it seemed like some depth would be added to the characters and/or explored within the world, specifically when
On the other hand - the villains had zero depth and were rather annoyingly stereotypical in their cartoonish behavior. Maier, especially, was just kinda crap.
And the action - well, as I said, there was a lot of it. Some of it was handled well, other parts were hard to follow but, overall, while fun it seemed a bit too-much at times. One thing after another after another, and even Thomas and Cynthia were routinely commenting on how lucky they've been being as how they're scientists and never been in combat before and now they're surviving crashes and fights and all sorts of things left, right and center. Not to mention the numerous miraculously lucky saves. (I will say, though, that between the action and the visuals offered by the various flying machines, weaponry, and gadgetry in general, this is a story that would work well as a movie or even in manga or GN format. Also, I think the book would've been much better if it had more humor and didn't seem to take itself so seriously considering how OTT much of it was.)
And the climax seemed a bit, well, anti. Rushed, I suppose, and there were some ideas and things which were introduced and seemed promising and never fully came into fruition. (On the other side of that, I liked that not every gadget worked out the way it was planned.)
And the writing itself - well, it's not horrible, and it does carry you along easily enough (though, as I said, hard to follow in places), but it also needs some tighter editing - not to mention someone looking out for continuity.
There were several instances of just sloppy grammar, additional words (like "Thomas was hadn't been... "), and weird slips. For instance, it seems like this is an entirely fictional universe, but then someone is described as having a British accent. In one paragraph Cynthia is said to be putting on a pair of pants, and in the next it says "Thomas' pants were black, like her skirt". Things like that. Very shoddy and unprofessional with all the typos and things - so that's definitely something that needs to be kept a closer eye on in the future.
And there is suggestion of a future. The story is left open for further installments, and the write-up on Amazon does say "Thomas Riley (Echelon Press/Quake), is the first in a series of alternative history books..." so it's quite possible that the dangling threads will be picked up in those. I may very well come along for the ride - but only time will tell.
3.5 for overall story and concept
2.25 for execution
***
Additional thoughts (that I'm too lazy to try to work into my earlier review):
This is being marketed as a YA book*, but it doesn't really seem like one to me on the surface. Firstly there's the fact that Thomas Riley is 29 and Cynthia is 25, whereas most YA books are written with young protagonists.
Moreso, though, it just didn't have the overall tone I've come to associate with YA lit. I can't really put my finger on it - it's an undefined quality, one of those 'you know it when you see it' sort of things - but this seemed different.
Also, while I have seen a lot of action and violence and death in some YA stories, both the abundance of it, the description of it, and the sort of blase nature of it in this story would sort of make me not want to recommend this to younger readers - and since a lot of people seem to think 10 and 11 year olds fall under the YA category (even though they don't) - I want to add the caveat that I would not necessarily recommend this for younger YA readers. Of course, it depends on the individual in question, so this is just a general note of caution.
* I read on one blog that this was written as an adult book but then marketed for 13+. I could definitely see a PG-13 movie being adapted from it, minus a few descriptions, so I think that is probably a good marker for age level.
I'm a bit torn on how to rate this one, to be honest.
On one hand, it was a decent story and concept, overall, filled with lots of action and, even better, a lot of fun, steampunky gadgets. The main characters were pretty cool - though they don't really have much in the way of depth to them... but since I've decided to read this as, predominantly, an action story, well, action characters aren't known to have much depth, so I'm being forgiving on that account.
(That said, there was one point where it seemed like some depth would be added to the characters and/or explored within the world, specifically when
On the other hand - the villains had zero depth and were rather annoyingly stereotypical in their cartoonish behavior. Maier, especially, was just kinda crap.
And the action - well, as I said, there was a lot of it. Some of it was handled well, other parts were hard to follow but, overall, while fun it seemed a bit too-much at times. One thing after another after another, and even Thomas and Cynthia were routinely commenting on how lucky they've been being as how they're scientists and never been in combat before and now they're surviving crashes and fights and all sorts of things left, right and center. Not to mention the numerous miraculously lucky saves. (I will say, though, that between the action and the visuals offered by the various flying machines, weaponry, and gadgetry in general, this is a story that would work well as a movie or even in manga or GN format. Also, I think the book would've been much better if it had more humor and didn't seem to take itself so seriously considering how OTT much of it was.)
And the climax seemed a bit, well, anti. Rushed, I suppose, and there were some ideas and things which were introduced and seemed promising and never fully came into fruition. (On the other side of that, I liked that not every gadget worked out the way it was planned.)
And the writing itself - well, it's not horrible, and it does carry you along easily enough (though, as I said, hard to follow in places), but it also needs some tighter editing - not to mention someone looking out for continuity.
There were several instances of just sloppy grammar, additional words (like "Thomas was hadn't been... "), and weird slips. For instance, it seems like this is an entirely fictional universe, but then someone is described as having a British accent. In one paragraph Cynthia is said to be putting on a pair of pants, and in the next it says "Thomas' pants were black, like her skirt". Things like that. Very shoddy and unprofessional with all the typos and things - so that's definitely something that needs to be kept a closer eye on in the future.
And there is suggestion of a future. The story is left open for further installments, and the write-up on Amazon does say "Thomas Riley (Echelon Press/Quake), is the first in a series of alternative history books..." so it's quite possible that the dangling threads will be picked up in those. I may very well come along for the ride - but only time will tell.
3.5 for overall story and concept
2.25 for execution
***
Additional thoughts (that I'm too lazy to try to work into my earlier review):
This is being marketed as a YA book*, but it doesn't really seem like one to me on the surface. Firstly there's the fact that Thomas Riley is 29 and Cynthia is 25, whereas most YA books are written with young protagonists.
Moreso, though, it just didn't have the overall tone I've come to associate with YA lit. I can't really put my finger on it - it's an undefined quality, one of those 'you know it when you see it' sort of things - but this seemed different.
Also, while I have seen a lot of action and violence and death in some YA stories, both the abundance of it, the description of it, and the sort of blase nature of it in this story would sort of make me not want to recommend this to younger readers - and since a lot of people seem to think 10 and 11 year olds fall under the YA category (even though they don't) - I want to add the caveat that I would not necessarily recommend this for younger YA readers. Of course, it depends on the individual in question, so this is just a general note of caution.
* I read on one blog that this was written as an adult book but then marketed for 13+. I could definitely see a PG-13 movie being adapted from it, minus a few descriptions, so I think that is probably a good marker for age level.
June 15, 2010
I quite liked this book. The first few pages didn't quite grip me but I liked how the story developed from there, and the plot is a simple, straightforward romp which makes for good, lighthearted reading.
I really loved the attention to details and the inclusion of nice scenes like the mechanical bear or the ghost people - background touches that work both as world building and possible hooks for sequels, without burdening the story with dangling subplots.
Thomas and Cynthia also work very well as a duo, and you can easily believe they have been working together for some time. Cynthia in particular, while being absent for a good while in the second part of the novel, leaves a remarkable impression as a strong-willed capable woman with distinct shades of Emma Peel - especially in her attention to a comfortable yet stylish wardrobe!
There are however a few things that didn't work for me: the obsession on describing characters and their clothing bring to the occasional halt in the narration, and there are also some typos ('decent' for 'descent' over all, since it was a repeated offense) and some things that look like leftovers from a rewriting, which a stronger editing before publication could have taken care of.
I was also confused by the use of some terms, like 'Gatling', which hint back to our real world, since there wasn't any clear hint in the story about how much the world in the book differs from our own (or if there were any, I missed them). To use an example: Girl Genius, while using fictional countries like Thomas Riley, also uses real ones like England and states several times that the background for the action is the European continent.
Overall a very nice YA book, good for young and not-so-young readers. Here's to hoping for a sequel!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2012
The author of this book was down the same hall as my table at Fan Expo a couple years ago, and truth be told, I mostly picked it up because I was intrigued by his own steampunk gear and table setup more than out of any particular interest in the book itself. It's the story of the title character and his assistant, weapons designers in a country in the midst of a long war, who embark on a grand adventure after an alchemy spell goes wrong.
Honestly, it was not easy even getting through the first few pages. The writing style was clunky and difficult to get into and it was mainly hope that it would improve that kept me reading. While it did improve somewhat, the rest of the book was... mixed. If I took the story strictly as it was, suspending any and all disbelief, it was an entertaining enough read and I was curious what happened next.
The moment I started thinking about anything, however, a fair bit of the technology, setting and history fell apart and the main characters instantly became incredibly unlikable. They design weapons that in any civilization in history would be considered a war crime and use them without any remorse or guilt. I also found smaller, but still significant issues rise up as soon as I put any thought into them at all, plot points or characters that didn't really make sense or the fact that everything seemed to go smoothly for the main characters.
Overall, while I'm not begrudging the time I spent reading this book - I did finish it, after all - it did have a lot of issues that were hard to look past, including some poor typesetting choices, and I certainly wouldn't have paid full price for it after the fact. However, if you're looking for a purely escapist story, then this could suit your purposes.
Honestly, it was not easy even getting through the first few pages. The writing style was clunky and difficult to get into and it was mainly hope that it would improve that kept me reading. While it did improve somewhat, the rest of the book was... mixed. If I took the story strictly as it was, suspending any and all disbelief, it was an entertaining enough read and I was curious what happened next.
The moment I started thinking about anything, however, a fair bit of the technology, setting and history fell apart and the main characters instantly became incredibly unlikable. They design weapons that in any civilization in history would be considered a war crime and use them without any remorse or guilt. I also found smaller, but still significant issues rise up as soon as I put any thought into them at all, plot points or characters that didn't really make sense or the fact that everything seemed to go smoothly for the main characters.
Overall, while I'm not begrudging the time I spent reading this book - I did finish it, after all - it did have a lot of issues that were hard to look past, including some poor typesetting choices, and I certainly wouldn't have paid full price for it after the fact. However, if you're looking for a purely escapist story, then this could suit your purposes.
July 13, 2010
I just finished Nick Valentino's "Thomas Riley". A friend and I met the author at a Book Fair in April. My friend purchased the book because Valentino did such a wonderful job of creating interest! Neither of us are typical fans of science fiction--so that is saying something that we both wanted to read his novel.
The story tells the high adventure of Thomas Riley and Cynthia Basset; weapons designers for the country of West Canvia. When an alchemy experiment goes awry, both are caught up in a mission that threatens their lives and the lives of all with whom they come in contact.
While I remain more a fan of fantasy than sci-fi, I must say there were times when I was completely engrossed in the story. I think those who truly enjoy the more intricate parts of this genre (the extreme detail of weaponry, technological jargon, and futuristic battle sequences) would call this book a success. I would give it 3 stars...but apart from some grammatical mistakes that always lower a book's ranking for me, I realize this book would most likely garner higher praise from a more dedicated sci-fi fan.
If you enjoy action, detailed battle sequences, futuristic drama...with sky pirates and magical alchemy experiments thrown in...then this is the book for you!
Karina Harris; author of "Second Chance"
The story tells the high adventure of Thomas Riley and Cynthia Basset; weapons designers for the country of West Canvia. When an alchemy experiment goes awry, both are caught up in a mission that threatens their lives and the lives of all with whom they come in contact.
While I remain more a fan of fantasy than sci-fi, I must say there were times when I was completely engrossed in the story. I think those who truly enjoy the more intricate parts of this genre (the extreme detail of weaponry, technological jargon, and futuristic battle sequences) would call this book a success. I would give it 3 stars...but apart from some grammatical mistakes that always lower a book's ranking for me, I realize this book would most likely garner higher praise from a more dedicated sci-fi fan.
If you enjoy action, detailed battle sequences, futuristic drama...with sky pirates and magical alchemy experiments thrown in...then this is the book for you!
Karina Harris; author of "Second Chance"
February 25, 2012
When I first met Nick Valentino at the SC Literary Convention, I knew just a little about steampunk. I recognized his connection with the genre by his goggles and became enthralled by the genre after our conversation. I've never read a YA novel and was surprised at how involved Thomas Riley was in plot and steampunk technology. The novel is a fast paced wild ride through varied landscapes and near scrapes for Thomas and Cynthia, who are a likeable pair, with their odd little quirks and dedication to their mission. I was constantly surprised by the cool weaponry and alchemy touches, all the little details that make a story rich and memorable. The interplay between the two characters is fun and lively and adding the third imprisoned character of the princess (I won't say how and ruin the plot) makes for a complexity which challenges the hero and heroine both from within and without. Quite an interesting twist in the steampunk genre. Nick and his story inspired me so much that I've since become very involved in the steampunk community, started my own steampunk novel, and attend regular steampunk meetings and cons. Nick makes a rather confusing and off beat world fun and creative and I learned a lot about the odd technical aspects of steampunk weapons, visual devices, and airships from Thomas Riley.
Posted by ggray at 8:01 AM
Labels: Nick Valentino, Thomas Riley
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Posted by ggray at 8:01 AM
Labels: Nick Valentino, Thomas Riley
0 comments:
March 12, 2010
This was my first foray into steampunk, and I must say that I liked it. This was the author's first book, which is evident in the beginning, but later gets much better. I especially loved the final fight at Lemuria Castle, although Thomas's time as a sky pirate was fun too! Basically this is the story: There are two nations, West Canvia and Lemuria (which the author told me were based on Germany and the Netherlands) who are at war with each other and have been for a long time. They each have a weapons designer/scientist, West Canvia has Thomas Riley and his assistant Cynthia and Lemuria has Isaac Meier. One day the Duke of Canvia's personnel burst in and demand Riley fix the Duke's daughter with Lifeblood, this mysterious alchemic potion, but instead of fixing her, it transfers her soul into that of Riley's assistant. Now they have to remove Lillian, the Duke's daughter from Cynthia, but the only person who can do it is their sworn enemy Meier. So they cross enemy lines to kidnap him but then everything starts to go wrong. Will they find Meier or will they end up in Lemurian prison or worse for crimes against the state? Read to find out. Recommended for ages 13 & up according to book back cover.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 3, 2010
An ok steampunk novel. The characters are good and the world is interesting, but this is a young adult oriented novel and I was unaware of that at the time of starting the story (probably my own fault and I shouldn't hold it against the novel, but the world isn't fair hahaha).
The author spends too much time driving the point home that this is a steampunk story with heavy handedly pointing out their clothing and that they are riding in a zeppelin again and they are wearing goggles and the zeppelin is in a fight and they have their goggles on and their dress is natty. With goggles. In the zeppelin. Goggles.
I also felt like the characters were just sort of going through the motions tra lala lala with very little danger to them.
The author spends too much time driving the point home that this is a steampunk story with heavy handedly pointing out their clothing and that they are riding in a zeppelin again and they are wearing goggles and the zeppelin is in a fight and they have their goggles on and their dress is natty. With goggles. In the zeppelin. Goggles.
I also felt like the characters were just sort of going through the motions tra lala lala with very little danger to them.
October 22, 2010
I met Nick Valentino at the Southern Festival of Books a couple weeks ago, and his enthusiasm was so infectious I bought his book. He signed it, too.
Anyway, about Thomas Riley. I haven't had this much fun reading a book since Mississippi Jack. This was my first foray into steampunk, and now I'm addicted. If anyone can recommend another good one, please tell me about it. Valentino has come up with the most inventive book I've read in a long time, though the flow of the story got hung up on the details a little too often. I stayed up way too late to finish it; I just couldn't put it down! Quick, give me more!
Anyway, about Thomas Riley. I haven't had this much fun reading a book since Mississippi Jack. This was my first foray into steampunk, and now I'm addicted. If anyone can recommend another good one, please tell me about it. Valentino has come up with the most inventive book I've read in a long time, though the flow of the story got hung up on the details a little too often. I stayed up way too late to finish it; I just couldn't put it down! Quick, give me more!
January 16, 2016
Thomas Riley is a West Canvian scientist who, along with his wily apprentice Cynthia Bassett, has built weaponry and technology for their country's twenty year war against its neighbor Lemuria. When an alchemy experiment goes horribly wrong, leaving the soul of Thomas' patron's daughter in Cynthia's body, Thomas and she must kidnap their Lemurian counterpart - a mad scientist - to help them retrieve the young girl's spirit. It will take all of Thomas' scientific skills to escape from Lemurian soldiers, airship pirates and from the constant threat of treason.
I really liked this story and give it a B+! Nick Valentino stopped by for a blog tour in November. Thank you, Nick.
I really liked this story and give it a B+! Nick Valentino stopped by for a blog tour in November. Thank you, Nick.
June 25, 2011
Really 3.5 stars.
Read the Kindle edition.
Thomas Riley and Cynthia Bassett, the protagonists of Thomas Riley, design weapons for use by West Canvian in its fight again Lemuria. When Thomas is ordered to save West Canvian's princess, things go very wrong. The adventure starts when Thomas and Cynthia head to Lemuria to right this wrong.
Read the Kindle edition.
Thomas Riley and Cynthia Bassett, the protagonists of Thomas Riley, design weapons for use by West Canvian in its fight again Lemuria. When Thomas is ordered to save West Canvian's princess, things go very wrong. The adventure starts when Thomas and Cynthia head to Lemuria to right this wrong.
September 30, 2011
I'm a sucker for romance, and the way this particular story handled the primary romance was a little bit of a cop-out. Other than that, the technicality of the steampunk mechanisms and flying mabobs was really well handled. The plot was great! The characters were a little underdeveloped, but I enjoyed it. The end was also really quick and left some things unresolved. Not sure if there's a sequel with these characters or not. I hope so!
May 9, 2011
Thomas Riley is an amazing steampunk adventure novel that keeps you entertained and on the edge of your seat from the first page to the last! Nick Valentino does an amazing job drawing you into the steampunk world and developing characters that are exciting, yet human enough to relate too. I highly recommend this book!
August 27, 2010
This book deserved better copy editing, but I enjoyed it nonetheless--it was a fun, escapist read, with feisty scientists, airship pirates, alchemy gone wrong, nonstop action, and lots of cool gadgets.
June 1, 2012
Overall, I enjoyed this novel that mixed mad science, alchemy and airship pirates. I think the novel would have benefited from a thorough edit and careful proofreading. Nevertheless, I found it a fun and diverting steampunk adventure, which is what I was looking for when I started it.
June 16, 2010
Very good novel for you Savage Worlds players out there. This book will give you thousands of ideas for running a steampunk game.
I love the flying battleships and exploding acid bullets!
I love the flying battleships and exploding acid bullets!
May 6, 2011
I am going to take a break from this. It's good, but it just dosnt catch me.if you get it be pataint.
October 25, 2010
Action packed, gadget filled. Great intro to steampunk.
October 21, 2010
A fun adventure in the steampunk genre. Hoping there will be more of Thomas Riley in the future.
Read
December 11, 2010A good read. Can't wait for the next one to come if there is one?
February 22, 2011
i liked this book very much i don't know if it is a typical steampunk novel or not but
i will be reading more from this author
i will be reading more from this author
July 27, 2011
An entertaining steampunk romp that could have benefited from better proofreading.
January 27, 2012
This book should have more love for it then it seems . It is well done , and I loved reading it.
September 10, 2015
I met the author at SteamCon a few years back, so I bought the book. Bummed that I could never get past the middle of the book.
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