xeni's review
1.0
I hate read this entire thing. I read it for the /r/Fantasy Bingo: Canadian author - small press square.
The writing wasn't bad. It wasn't great either. At times it was very unclear what was going on. For example, Vincent falls asleep in a hotel, wakes up to a room full of steam, and Freedom, his sister-turned-steam-child tells him to take her hand, to shut his eyes and feel with his heart: blockquote>"He tried, and felt the awkwardness of a voyeur peeking in on someone’s family dinner. A sense of belonging came to him, wrapped in bursts of exultation and frustration as artists poured themselves into their work. A wide array of faces bent to their task, and along with each person came a chain of memories reaching back into the lives that had brought them to this place." First he tries, and then magically something changes, and it's all just very vague about how or what happens. Freedom, his sister who was lost to him as a child, also talks like a wise old sage. And somehow wants to return to her body? But fine, the text is fairly serviceable and doesn't give us any terrible errors or far too much purple prose.
However this book is also very sexist:
Far worse in my eyes was suffering through the character that is Vincent. He jumps to conclusions based on half the information he was given, usually the worst conclusion of the options, and then he calls everyone else a liar and a terrible person. All these people are trying to help you, they feed you for free, they give you money and yeah, they're a little eccentric compared to your usual crowd but maybe just take it a bit more in stride? No reason to call the woman who *literally* saved your life, "Lady" all the time. She has a name. Use it. Be nicer. (Also he blames everyone around him for his bad mood and terrible attitude. I get being traumatized as a youth, but this is not how you write a good main character who you want people to hang out with, aka read. Also he blames other trauma victims for their trauma.) Vincent really suffers from the YA protagonist trope: invited to everything, friends with everyone (even if he is so rude they should shun him), gets helped everywhere, considered to be a high-level magic user without having been given any training, good at everything he tries to do... it's tiring. Not to mention how in one breath he'll commend Samantha for her 'pluck' and the next call her a 'treacherous little snake who needs her neck broken'. He's just so gross. Another choice quote: "This place must've been hell for her, and yet she risked returning on his account. Why? Maybe he was the one being an ass here. Or maybe she's playing me like a chump." So close to realizing how much of an ass he is... but nope.
This could have been a great book that also explores the evils of capitalism, slavery, and what it means to be part of the underclass, all with a cool magical train / hobo-land backdrop. Instead we're stuck reading about a hateful, spiteful, cynical, rude, revels-in-his-ignorance boy who needs to just shut it and listen to what other people say for once. I really wish this book had a different protagonist and didn't fall into so many cliche tropes. I would have loved to read about steam trains and living tracks and even airships! Unfortunately all of the good stuff was too tainted by the shit.
The writing wasn't bad. It wasn't great either. At times it was very unclear what was going on. For example, Vincent falls asleep in a hotel, wakes up to a room full of steam, and Freedom, his sister-turned-steam-child tells him to take her hand, to shut his eyes and feel with his heart: blockquote>"He tried, and felt the awkwardness of a voyeur peeking in on someone’s family dinner. A sense of belonging came to him, wrapped in bursts of exultation and frustration as artists poured themselves into their work. A wide array of faces bent to their task, and along with each person came a chain of memories reaching back into the lives that had brought them to this place." First he tries, and then magically something changes, and it's all just very vague about how or what happens. Freedom, his sister who was lost to him as a child, also talks like a wise old sage. And somehow wants to return to her body? But fine, the text is fairly serviceable and doesn't give us any terrible errors or far too much purple prose.
However this book is also very sexist:
"Same thing happening to every gandy dancer's daughter when she finds her first train. She rides it. Girls become steam children. Boys end up like their fathers. That's the way things work."On top of that, the book ships Vincent and the girl who rescued him, Samantha, very very hard. There is no chemistry, there is no connection at all between them aside from she is the only eligible girl the book introduces.
Far worse in my eyes was suffering through the character that is Vincent. He jumps to conclusions based on half the information he was given, usually the worst conclusion of the options, and then he calls everyone else a liar and a terrible person. All these people are trying to help you, they feed you for free, they give you money and yeah, they're a little eccentric compared to your usual crowd but maybe just take it a bit more in stride? No reason to call the woman who *literally* saved your life, "Lady" all the time. She has a name. Use it. Be nicer. (Also he blames everyone around him for his bad mood and terrible attitude. I get being traumatized as a youth, but this is not how you write a good main character who you want people to hang out with, aka read. Also he blames other trauma victims for their trauma.) Vincent really suffers from the YA protagonist trope: invited to everything, friends with everyone (even if he is so rude they should shun him), gets helped everywhere, considered to be a high-level magic user without having been given any training, good at everything he tries to do... it's tiring. Not to mention how in one breath he'll commend Samantha for her 'pluck' and the next call her a 'treacherous little snake who needs her neck broken'. He's just so gross. Another choice quote: "This place must've been hell for her, and yet she risked returning on his account. Why? Maybe he was the one being an ass here. Or maybe she's playing me like a chump." So close to realizing how much of an ass he is... but nope.
Spoiler
Instead of this being a story about a boy who looks for his long-lost sister, it turns into something else:“I know what you’re saying, Katy, but we’ve got no choice, remember? Either you become human or Dad’s stuck on that train.”So... she has to give up her literal freedom, Vincent needs to ruin everyone's day by existing and also, oh yeah, your father needs more saving after running off on you. Sigh
This could have been a great book that also explores the evils of capitalism, slavery, and what it means to be part of the underclass, all with a cool magical train / hobo-land backdrop. Instead we're stuck reading about a hateful, spiteful, cynical, rude, revels-in-his-ignorance boy who needs to just shut it and listen to what other people say for once. I really wish this book had a different protagonist and didn't fall into so many cliche tropes. I would have loved to read about steam trains and living tracks and even airships! Unfortunately all of the good stuff was too tainted by the shit.
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