Thursday, October 17, 2019

Indiana Jones meets Earthsea--with airships: Hûw Steer's The Blackbird and the Ghost

Title: The Blackbird and the Ghost
Series: The Boiling Seas (Book 1)
Author: Hûw Steer
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 252


What Goodreads has to say:

The Boiling Seas are the mariner’s bane – and the adventurer’s delight. The waters may be hot enough to warp wood and boil a hapless swimmer, but their scalding expanse is full of wonders. Strange islands lurk in the steamy mists, and stranger ruins hold ancient secrets, remnants of forgotten empires waiting for the bold… or lying in wait for the unwary.

On the Corpus Isles, gateway to the Boiling Seas, Tal Wenlock, the Blackbird, seeks a fortune of his own. The treasure he pursues could change the world – but he just wants to change a single life, and it’s not his own. To reach it, he’ll descend into the bowels of the earth and take ship on burning waters, brave dark streets and steal forbidden knowledge. He’ll lie, cheat, steal and fight – but he won’t get far alone. The ghosts of Tal’s past dog his every step – and one in particular keeps his knives sharp.

The Blackbird will need help to reach his goal… and he’ll need all his luck to get back home alive.

What I have to say:

It must be my birthday or something, because I keep getting sent these awesome books to review. On the same day I finished listening to Rob Keeley's adorable MG ghost story Childish Spirits, I also turned the final page of Hûw Steer's thrilling fantasy adventure The Blackbird and the Ghost

This book is kind of like Indiana Jones meets Earthsea. Tal Wenlock is a tomb-robber with magical powers. Sounds awesome, right?

It is.

But it's about to get even more awesome when I tell you that there are also sailing ships, boiling waves, ancient libraries, deep dark mines, and world-building that will make you stop and exclaim: "Yes! That's how you do it!"

In other words, this book is my dream come true.

I've got a thing for archaeology. (I'm kind of obsessed with Howard Carter and the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb.) I also love magic, stories of adventure, and far-off places. And clearly I've got a thing for books or I wouldn't be writing this blog.

This book has literally all those things and more! WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE? THIS IS LITERALLY MY DREAM BOOK. WAIT DID I ALSO MENTION THERE ARE AIRSHIPS???

OK. Deep breath. I'll try to settle down and talk about this book in more sensible terms. 

Let's start at the very beginning.

Oh yeah, there might be some minor....







********************************SPOILERS*************************************







The beginning of this book is actually the end.

And talking about the way this book is structured is almost sending me into another geek out session, but I'll try to stay calm for the sake of my hapless, captive readers.

The story starts with Tal Wenlock--alias The Blackbird, famed tomb-raider--breaking into the tomb of his career. He's after an ancient scroll with magical properties, and no mission has ever been so important to him.

The prologue follows Tal as he breaks into the tomb and makes his way toward the sarcophagus of the king, avoiding one deadly trap after another in pursuit of his object. It's so intense and it's so boss that we're not even told his name until the very last sentence! 

Then there's a sudden, totally unforeseen disaster, and then the chapter ends and we go back to three weeks before!

I can't even with this book. It's so freaking cool.

Because the whole time I'm reading from here on out, my mind keeps flashing back to that prologue and what happened at the end of it, and internally I'm screaming, but I'm also strangely invested in what's happening on the page in front of me right now, and I'm rooting for Tal so hard even though I know what lies at the end of his journey. 

I'm hoping against hope that once we get there, once we return to that moment, there will be something I missed the first time around and it will all be all right after all. Man.

On the subject of rooting for Tal, he's definitely someone to root for. A thieving tomb-raider with a strong interest in history, a respect for the dead, and a love of thick books, I mean, what's not to love? 

He's also very good at what he does, and his skills at everything from lock-picking to locating rare books to evading certain death are, to say the least, impressive.

The other characters are great too. Max is a scholarly young doctor and historian who, upon very slim persuasion, gets pulled into Tal's illegal quest for a mythic item. She doesn't fit the mold of the average sidekick, and for that she's way cool.

Mikhail is a seriously terrifying rival tomb-raider who I assume is the "ghost" of the title. I love the effect he has on Tal because it makes Tal himself more vulnerable and relatable as a character. He's a competent, thrill-seeking tomb-raider with serious survival skills, but he's not fearless. The idea of Mikhail stalking him makes Tal's hands shake.

Also, side note: I just love that Tal is a tomb-raider who also digs libraries, is super nice to people, and goes to therapy. He's a total boss but he's also kind of adorable.

Besides awesome characters, another thing this author does really well is world-building. All the places--the coastal town of Fort Malice with its wharf and maze-like streets, the chilling ruins of the Sydren Mines and the forbidding tomb on the island of The Palm--they all feel so vivid and real.

This story is richly painted: you can almost feel the salt wind on your face as Tal walks the streets of Fort Malice, hear the sinister velvet of Mikhail's voice, taste the stale air of the ancient tombs. 

I felt like I was right there with Tal from start to finish, shadowing him on his quest for the scroll, because all the scenes, sights, and even Tal's private emotions had such immediacy to them. 

Long story short: 

Loved this book. Hope there's a sequel in the works. Send it my way.

(And keep sending me awesome books, everyone.)

Rating:










Until tomorrow.

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