(2021) J. S. Emery, Ad Astra - Head of Zeus, £20, hrdbk, v +721pp, ISBN 978-1-800-24992-9
This is a very long book. In its 720-odd pages we are introduced to a series of comic characters getting involve in improbably (and implausible) situations with more than a hint of Victoriana about it, not least in the convoluted language not quite echoing the times. Great cover, though.
It was written by a brother and sister team, Jacob and Sara Emery, over a period of ten years or so and is a first novel – though they’ve had plenty of time to polish the manuscript and its prose is strong for a first outing. It’s way too long, though. I’ve got the hardback sitting in front of me and it is, without exaggeration, bigger in all dimensions than a house brick. I’m surprised the publishers put it out as one volume – I certainly recoiled at the sight of it when it thumped (hard) on my doormat.
The plot is that a poor, aristocratic lock enthusiast goes missing (he’s been robbed and pressed into military service) and his sister tries to rescue him, helped by a house spirit, convicts, actors and other murky and nefarious creatures, some of which live in a network of pipes under the city (which is slowly falling apart – just like the family). Oh, and there’s a talking mouse…
It’s not really steampunk and it’s not really Terry Pratchett, but I’d guess that’s what the authors were aiming for. Maybe Enola Holmes meets Harry Potter. In other words, not to be taken too seriously. It’s entertaining enough, I guess. The caricatures appear to aim for Dickensian, but there’s no real bite to them: Briony, the main protagonist, is engaging in a feisty, non-conformist teenage rebel way, but her brother’s too strange to be likeable and it’s hard to really care about what happens to him. This, plus the larger than life characters, mean this isn’t a novel with much tension or suspense, though the plot meanders along nicely, plenty of quirky characters are introduced and lots of amusing things happen.
It lost me at ‘house spirit’ though.
Mark Bilsborough
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