A review by laknight
Secrets of the Dragon Tomb by Jeremy Holmes, Patrick Samphire
5.0
So I don't normally buy a book brand-spanking new without reading the advanced reviews and/or without having read it myself (unless it's recommended to me by my friend Lorien, because I trust her judgment regarding what she thinks is good; we disagree on what's bad/unenjoyable, but if she says something is good, I believe her). But I read the summary for this and absolutely fell in love. I knew I had to have it because it hit so many of my "omg" points: Mars, the Regency Era (think Pride & Prejudice), siblings working together, spies, the Napoleonic War, steampunk, dragons, dinosaurs...
The whole idea of the book captured my fancy because it reminded me of the whole wonder and awe I used to feel when I would read middle-grade as a kid, before I'd pretty much seen everything and before they brought back the "let's explore this crazy-whacky world full of amazing, beautiful things" that they're slowly reintroducing into fiction books (because most YA and MG novels are heavily driven by plot, which is absolutely fine, but this means there's not as much whimsy in the world-building as there used to be when I was little).
And when I started the book, I fell in love with the world and the words. Patrick Samphire's Mars is just as original and inventive as Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom, but in a completely new way. Edward is a very relateable kid, and reminds me strongly of a 12-year-old Elizabeth Bennet. Luckily his youngest sister is almost nothing like Lydia; Putty (nickname, because she's adaptable) is a brilliant kid and I adore her to death. Samphire's prose is accessible and easy to understand and he makes Mars an adventure, with amazing world-building. He also explains very early on that no, this is not the Mars that actually exists, and this is how it was colonized way back in the day, and this is how that colonization changed everything.
What I Liked: Samphire's Mars is a landscape I'd seriously want to go on vacation to; his flora and fauna are super cool and beautifully described, and some of them are so whacky and cute, I just love them. The little "vermin" that actually are super prissy, tiny people who set up little civilizations in attics and disassemble houses to build their cities; the luminous fish that chill in Martian rivers; the Martian "fireflies" that shimmer like gold at sunset and look so beautiful. I could picture everything Samphire described and I was totally in love, even with the dangerous stuff.
Edward is such a great kid, trying to do the right thing for his family but believably torn between that and doing what's best for him. He's smart, but I like that he's smart in a way that isn't really lauded in boys - he's spy-smart. On the flip side, Putty is very technically savvy, which I love. It's nice to see a little girl (she's 9) so interested in STEM, and she's like a freaking sponge - she knows everything about the things she's interested in, and they show in the book how bad things can happen when you discount technical information just because the purveyor is a young girl. Olivia, the other sister on the team, is smart and strong but also girly, which is a great contrast to Putty, who likes to dress like her dad (in pants! The scandal! Gasp!) and has no use for romance.
The plot was pretty straightforward, but what plot twists there were, I couldn't call until they were almost right on top of me. Cousin Freddie's identity as foe or friend, I wasn't sure even after Freddie explains things to Edward and claims to be a good guy. Is he lying? Is he telling the truth? I honestly couldn't tell. I liked that, considering Edward is a scion of landed British gentry and lives in a British colony with Martian natives, the narration took subtle jabs at imperialism in a way that wasn't heavy-handed and would make the intended audience think twice about that sort of attitude. The girl power in the book, considering it's a male narrator/protagonist, is great too. Even the mom, who reminds me a bit of Mrs. Bennet, has some good stuff going for her, and her character history shows what happens when you actively discourage girls from being into STEM - again, without being heavy-handed or obnoxious about. The world-building is fantastic, the characters are amazing, I'm a bit in love with Freddie (who's a great spy, for good or evil), Edward's a dear, and I want Putty to be my new best friend. I love, love, love this book SO MUCH! Also the illustrations are cute.
What I Didn’t Like: nothing too much, except I wish Edward's comic book hadn't been destroyed (it's a pulp magazine so it's not good quality anyway, and then it got soaked in a river; my inner comic fangirl died a little inside) and I wish there had been a few more plot twists, instead of just the identities of the villain and whether Freddie is working for him. But that's about it.
Would I Buy This Book? Tech, yes! And I'm dying for the sequel, which sucks because this one just came out last month so I'm gonna have to wait at least a year if not more! Omg I think I might die.
The whole idea of the book captured my fancy because it reminded me of the whole wonder and awe I used to feel when I would read middle-grade as a kid, before I'd pretty much seen everything and before they brought back the "let's explore this crazy-whacky world full of amazing, beautiful things" that they're slowly reintroducing into fiction books (because most YA and MG novels are heavily driven by plot, which is absolutely fine, but this means there's not as much whimsy in the world-building as there used to be when I was little).
And when I started the book, I fell in love with the world and the words. Patrick Samphire's Mars is just as original and inventive as Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom, but in a completely new way. Edward is a very relateable kid, and reminds me strongly of a 12-year-old Elizabeth Bennet. Luckily his youngest sister is almost nothing like Lydia; Putty (nickname, because she's adaptable) is a brilliant kid and I adore her to death. Samphire's prose is accessible and easy to understand and he makes Mars an adventure, with amazing world-building. He also explains very early on that no, this is not the Mars that actually exists, and this is how it was colonized way back in the day, and this is how that colonization changed everything.
What I Liked: Samphire's Mars is a landscape I'd seriously want to go on vacation to; his flora and fauna are super cool and beautifully described, and some of them are so whacky and cute, I just love them. The little "vermin" that actually are super prissy, tiny people who set up little civilizations in attics and disassemble houses to build their cities; the luminous fish that chill in Martian rivers; the Martian "fireflies" that shimmer like gold at sunset and look so beautiful. I could picture everything Samphire described and I was totally in love, even with the dangerous stuff.
Edward is such a great kid, trying to do the right thing for his family but believably torn between that and doing what's best for him. He's smart, but I like that he's smart in a way that isn't really lauded in boys - he's spy-smart. On the flip side, Putty is very technically savvy, which I love. It's nice to see a little girl (she's 9) so interested in STEM, and she's like a freaking sponge - she knows everything about the things she's interested in, and they show in the book how bad things can happen when you discount technical information just because the purveyor is a young girl. Olivia, the other sister on the team, is smart and strong but also girly, which is a great contrast to Putty, who likes to dress like her dad (in pants! The scandal! Gasp!) and has no use for romance.
The plot was pretty straightforward, but what plot twists there were, I couldn't call until they were almost right on top of me. Cousin Freddie's identity as foe or friend, I wasn't sure even after Freddie explains things to Edward and claims to be a good guy. Is he lying? Is he telling the truth? I honestly couldn't tell. I liked that, considering Edward is a scion of landed British gentry and lives in a British colony with Martian natives, the narration took subtle jabs at imperialism in a way that wasn't heavy-handed and would make the intended audience think twice about that sort of attitude. The girl power in the book, considering it's a male narrator/protagonist, is great too. Even the mom, who reminds me a bit of Mrs. Bennet, has some good stuff going for her, and her character history shows what happens when you actively discourage girls from being into STEM - again, without being heavy-handed or obnoxious about. The world-building is fantastic, the characters are amazing, I'm a bit in love with Freddie (who's a great spy, for good or evil), Edward's a dear, and I want Putty to be my new best friend. I love, love, love this book SO MUCH! Also the illustrations are cute.
What I Didn’t Like: nothing too much, except I wish Edward's comic book hadn't been destroyed (it's a pulp magazine so it's not good quality anyway, and then it got soaked in a river; my inner comic fangirl died a little inside) and I wish there had been a few more plot twists, instead of just the identities of the villain and whether Freddie is working for him. But that's about it.
Would I Buy This Book? Tech, yes! And I'm dying for the sequel, which sucks because this one just came out last month so I'm gonna have to wait at least a year if not more! Omg I think I might die.