Expected Publication Date: May 1, 2012
Book Description:
This dark and thrilling adventure, with an unforgettable heroine, will captivate fans of steampunk, fantasy, and romance.
On her 18th birthday, Lena Mattacascar decides to search for her father, who disappeared into the northern wilderness of Scree when Lena was young. Scree is inhabited by Peculiars, people whose unusual characteristics make them unacceptable to modern society. Lena wonders if her father is the source of her own extraordinary characteristics and if she, too, is Peculiar. On the train she meets a young librarian, Jimson Quiggley, who is traveling to a town on the edge of Scree to work in the home and library of the inventor Mr. Beasley. The train is stopped by men being chased by the handsome young marshal Thomas Saltre. When Saltre learns who Lena’s father is, he convinces her to spy on Mr. Beasley and the strange folk who disappear into his home, Zephyr House. A daring escape in an aerocopter leads Lena into the wilds of Scree to confront her deepest fears.
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After reading the description of McQuerry's The Peculiars, I could not wait to read it. I love alternative histories and I love quests, and, in many ways,The Peculiars did not disappoint. McQuerry's writing style is engaging, drawing the reader quickly into the story. After years of feeling alienated and different from everyone around her, Lena sets of to the wilds of Scree (ostensibly Canada) in search of her father. The plot starts out a little slow, but quickly picks up. On the long train ride to the borderlands, she meets a young would-be librarian, Jimson, an enigmatic marshal, Tom Saltre, and eventually the eccentric Mr. Beasley, each of whom play a significant role in shaping her future.
The alternative late 1800s America that McQuerry has created is fascinating. She is excellent at painting a scene with words, and I often wanted to sink into the setting. However, at times I found myself wishing The Peculiars,were just straight fantasy, or perhaps a bit more alternate in its history. McQuerry does a LOT of name dropping - so much so that it becomes distracting. I found myself mentally calculating, 'when was that book published?' or 'he would have been about this old then, right?' and wondering if the dates would line up in a plausible way. It also made it harder to accept the fantastical elements of her alternative America - how could everything here have been so different when the rest of the world, apparently, from Darwin to Marx to Napoleon, progressed in exactly the way it did in our history. There is a wonderful index of historical names, places, and things at the end of the book, but it was mostly beneficial in reassuring oneself that one had, in fact, remembered that correctly; or that, yes, that person was, in fact, real. Perhaps readers who are a little less familiar with history (or at least less concerned with accuracy) would not find this so distracting.
McQuerry also does an excellent job at characterization. Nearly everyone is three dimensional, even the spectre of Lena's father Saul, who often feels present, even when he is not. Secondary characters have histories, depth to their personalities, and a little mystery as well. Even the missionary sisters have room for growth. And there are no cardboard bad guys here. (Though I must say Tom's romantic interest in Lena, and Lena's reciprocation always felt way more tell-me than show-me in an otherwise show-me sort of book.) I cannot directly quote as I am reading an advance, uncorrected proof, but McQuerry says something that I also believe to be true, there are no good or bad people, just people making good or bad choices. There are a few moments that feel a bit deus ex machina (such as Mr. Beasley having the Aeolus prepared to fly a day early, or the sheriff's intervention with Tom at the end), but even they feel mostly plausible within the setting.
Perhaps this richness of characterization is what leaves me feeling a little dissatisfied with Lena as a heroine. In a story that tackles big questions like 'what makes us human,' 'what is a soul' or 'where is the line between skepticism and denial of facts,' we are left with a heroine that fails to ever move past her self-doubt to take control of her own future. My dissatisfaction could also arise from McQuerry's tone: I am not sure how she does it, but she manages to sound almost impersonal, while narrating from Lena's perspective. It allows the reader insight into what is going on outside of Lena's perspective, and one can't help but wish Lena would be just a bit more perceptive. I like her, but I do not find her particularly brave or heroic. I really want her to step up and seize control of her choices. I find myself in the uncommon position of hoping this is the first of a series rather than a stand-alone so that I get the chance to see her do it.
Thanks to Amulet Books for the ARC.
Review originally appeared on Goodreads
