The Court of the Air (Jackelian World)

when Streetwise Molly Templar Witnesses A Brutal Murder At The Brothel She Has Recently Been Apprenticed To, Her First Instinct Is To Run Back To The Poorhouse Where She Grew Up. But There She Finds Her Fellow Orphans Butchered, And It Slowly Dawns On Her That She Was The Real Target Of The Attack. For Molly Is A Special Little Girl, And She Carries A Secret That Marks Her Out For Destruction By Enemies Of The State. oliver Brooks Has Led A Sheltered Existence In The Backwater Home Of His Merchant Uncle. But When He Is Framed For His Only Relative's Murder He Is Forced To Flee For His Life, Accompanied By An Agent Of The Mysterious Court Of The Air. Chased Across The Country, Oliver Finds Himself In The Company Of Thieves, Outlaws And Spies, And Gradually Learns More About The Secret That Has Blighted His Life. soon Molly And Oliver Will Find Themselves Battling A Grave Threat To Civilization, An Ancient Power Thought To Have Been Quelled Millennia Ago. Their Enemies Are Ruthless And Myriad, But The Two Orphans Are Also Aided By Indomitable Friends In This Endlessly Inventive Tale Full Of Drama, Intrigue, And Adventure. the Court Of The Air Is A Rollicking Adventure Set In A Fantastical Dickensian Clockwork Universe That Will Appeal To Fans Of Susanna Clarke And Philip Pullman. publishers Weekly two Teenage Orphans In An Anemic Fantasy Analogue Of Victorian London Are Baffled To Find Themselves On The Run In This Overeager Effort From British Author And Blogger Hunt ( for The Crown And The Dragon ). Molly, Pursued By Determined Assassins With Mysterious Masters, Hides Underground, While Oliver, Framed For His Uncle's Death, Takes To The Air To Escape The Fey-hunting Special Guard. They Also Draw The Attention Of The Court Of The Air, A Shadowy Black-ops Organization, And Communityist Revolutionaries Seeking To Resurrect Ancient Subterranean Gods. An Entire Steampunk Menagerie Is Pressed Into Lackluster Service, But The Pace Leaves No Time To Focus On Any Single Element. Only The Steammen And Their Refreshingly Tender Machine Culture Are Affecting And Original. The Historical And Geographical Parallels Are Overly Frequent And Mostly Trite. Hunt Has Packed The Story Full Of Intriguing Gimmicks, But The End Result Is More Overload Than Wonder. (june) copyright © Reed Business Information, A Division Of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved. Streetwise Molly witnesses a brutal murder at the brothel where she has recently been apprenticed and runs back to the poorhouse where she grew up. There she finds her fellow orphans butchered, and it dawns on her that she was the real target of the attack. For Molly is a special little girl who carries a secret that marks her for destruction by enemies of the state. Oliver has led a sheltered existence in the backwater home of his merchant uncle. When he is framed for his only relative's murder he is forced to flee for his life, accompanied by an agent of the mysterious Court of the Air. Chased across the country, Oliver finds himself in the company of low-life rogues, but learns more about the secret that has blighted his life. Soon Molly and Oliver will find themselves battling a grave threat to civilization, an ancient power thought to have been quelled millennia ago.