Monday, December 31, 2012

Haphazardly Implausible || Book Review

Well before I wish you all a happy future, I believe it to be time to (DUN DUN DUN) cue the lights and cut the curtain for a book review.


Haphazardly Implausible, people. Good book, great author (wait-a go Jack!!). And before reading anymore, you must bounce over to her blog and tell her how fantastic she is. NOW. 

Really, you should know that I'm no knowledgeable whiz kid when it come to books or literature. Especially not books about airships and Europe. I seriously fail when it comes to history/geography, and I've never chomped down on anything steam punk before. Needless to say, this book was a new genre for little ol' me. 

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The book begins with Scottish people in a Scottish place. This is rather lovely, as it gives me freedom to think of these characters with some sweet accents. From their it jumps between multiple peoples and places, all on their own conquests to find what they're looking for. 
Peter, Tony, Steed, Darcy, Kirk, Isidore, Jack, Singur, and the others. All lovely people with complex backgrounds and personalities to match. My favorite(s) had to be Darcy, with Peter close behind. Kirk and I became fast friends, I could almost empathize with Isidore and his struggles with Jack O'Malley, Steed and Tony were both gems, and Singur...well Singur left me wanting a bit more out of him, but I have faith that in the coming books he'll blossom into a very well-rounded fellow of fiction. 
After reading Haphazardly Implausible I'm very interested in reading Jack's collection of short stories: Kirk, Lisbeth's Choice, and Reveille, and so when I get a chance, I'll be getting my hands on those. 

I won't say much concerning the story, for fear that I will slip a few spoilers. 

---Ah! That's another shining moment of this book: the mystery. Seems like everyone has a secret---or if not secret, a past that's not to be spoken about. These little eye-catches feed you brain and keep you interested. When reading, I typically try to solve and resolve the plot twisters before the characters do. With HI, I was totally clueless (though I nearly caught Hogan's revelation before it had been...revelated), which is a pleasing thing. 

There are handfuls of pros, plot being the most prominent.
The cons are few, and I can only think of two:

1) A slight unbelievability. I know---I know, it's steam punk, it's fictional, etc. BUT when Singur decides to take a swim with a bag of explosives, it occurred to me that no matter how much of a genius he might be, this dude has no hope of not sinking to his drowning doom (especially as only a few minutes ago, he was about to pass out). 

2) There were scatters of little typos. I am no person to be in the position of accusing someone of typos (yes, we call all laugh hysterically and roll our eyes at this). And however many times you read a manuscript, you are never going to find each and every little error. Thus, (no worries Jack) we shan't shoot the author. 

Aside from these two points of the story, I really couldn't find anything else to turn my nose up at (yes, I know I'm picky ;). 

A lovely book with lots of potential. *cough*movie adaption*cough*
So read it, enjoy it, and be excited for the sequel(s)!

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And now I can wish you a successful future by saying "Happy New Year!"
K-Minty

4 comments:

elizabeth said...

yes! You finally read something steampunk! That totally makes my day! :)

I've been meaning to buy Jack's book...and now that I have the money, I think I shall in the near future. :D

Can't wait to read it!

Ely

Kismint said...

Yes, albeit, very light steam punk (I say it in two separate words because the red line of spell-correction keeps telling me that "steampunk" is non-existent).

When you read it, you must tell me what your thoughts were (and who your favorite characters are).

Jack said...

Thank you for doing a review! And I am glad you enjoyed it! (Also, thanks for not shooting me. *Smirk* I am rather glad of that.)
Eh, my type-os. They are very cruel to still be in there even though I hunted high and low for them. Do typos hide and pop out at the last minute on the author?

Jack said...

Whimsically stories are fun. Have you ever read the Frog Princess books? I plan to. I read The Wide Awake Princess, Sew Its a quest is kind of along the same lines.

Oh no! You didn't come off as heartless at all. It was actually nice to be able to read a real review, not just someone going on and on about how great it was. (If I know there are faults in it, I can fix it in book two 8-D.
I am glad you liked it though! That is always nice 8-D And I hope your friend likes it as well.)

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