sleepyowl_ink reviewed Brilliant Devices by Shelley Adina
Review of 'Brilliant Devices' on 'LibraryThing'
2 stars
Is it just me, or is the science in this a bit airy-fairy? I'm not a big reader of the steam-punk culture, but the gadgets and machinery in this world seem bordering on magical.
Also I found it a very big stretch to have Claire re-rig the automatons into the airship and control it by voice command all under duress and supposedly completed in a few hours.
Throughout the whole series, it was stated time and time again that Claire was a brilliant engineer. But apart from being able to mix up a few chemicals taught to her in school and offering up a few suggestions, I hardly see any evidence of this (remember the chicken coop was designed by the children with the help of another lady scientist, the power cell was also that scientist's invention, Claire only suggested that the coal carbonator needed to move but she didn't …
Is it just me, or is the science in this a bit airy-fairy? I'm not a big reader of the steam-punk culture, but the gadgets and machinery in this world seem bordering on magical.
Also I found it a very big stretch to have Claire re-rig the automatons into the airship and control it by voice command all under duress and supposedly completed in a few hours.
Throughout the whole series, it was stated time and time again that Claire was a brilliant engineer. But apart from being able to mix up a few chemicals taught to her in school and offering up a few suggestions, I hardly see any evidence of this (remember the chicken coop was designed by the children with the help of another lady scientist, the power cell was also that scientist's invention, Claire only suggested that the coal carbonator needed to move but she didn't design the actual moving parts and her only skill was in playing poker).
But in this book, Claire's engineering and poker playing skills ramp up to nearly genius levels, although there was no strong evidence of this in previous books.
I've been constantly impressed by Shelley Adina's ability to write in unconventional ways; the plotlines in all her previous books have always swerved in surprising directions. But I find that in this book she has over-reached herself.
Being the last book in the series (at least in Claire's story arc), the story should be tying up loose ends, not introducing new story elements. Instead, we have new villains and new friends and completely new plotlines. And even these are not properly tied off. Jake flies off with Alice and Alice's father (and a whole village of Eskimos), Claire saves Count Zeplin but leaves Tig to save the Dunsmuirs.
I thought that the next book would be a continuation of Claire's adventure - it was the only way to explain how suddenly this book ends - but find that the next book picks up the storyline six years in the future.
I have suspended my disbelief and my scepticism for the whole series - were the unconventional plot lines and fantastical engineering feats a stroke of genius or a sign of someone who doesn't really know what they're doing? I think this last book has answered my question. I would not be continuing with this series.
