Review: Unusual with an interesting twist
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 4, 2013
I must admit to having had some problems getting through the initial pages of this book. Helena Preston and her sister engaged in stilted conversation, there was some theorizing about the nature of female accomplishments, but at the end of the first chapter the author introduced to the novel concepts of Spiritus and soul breathers - inserting a huge portion of fantasy into what had, until then, seemed a rather lame book set in the early nineteenth century.After that, the story takes off. We are led to understand that the art of "soul breathing" (animating dead matter and having it do your will) caused the defeat of the American Revolution and is being used to battle Napoleon. Helena is an intellectually inclined young woman and when her father brings home an expert in the art of soul breathing, a Fellow of the Royal Society no less, Helena is quite smitten - both with Mr Morgan's attractive exterior and his obvious knowledge. But when Helena and her sister are attacked by a man made of wood - an inanimate object brought to life by a soul breather - Helena no longer knows quite what to make of Mr Morgan. To add further spice to the broth is the dashing Captain Southward, who saved Helena from her attacker.Over the coming chapters the reader is taken on an amusing, exciting romp. Helena will discover what her accomplishments really are, the reader will vacillate - with Helena - over Mr Morgan versus Captain Southward, inexplicable attacks will occur again and in a very satisfying, final twist the hero and the villain will at last stand revealed, with Helena caught smack in the middle.The book could have done with some more editing, and in general the dialogue is rather stilted - no doubt due to the author's attempt to convey the period the book is set in. But Helena sort of grows on you, and the story is such that it is quite impossible to put the book down after the halfway mark. All in all, quite the enjoyable read!