Review: Action-adventure post-apocalyptic steampunk thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 17, 2013
Like any sixteen-year-old, Victoria (Vix to family and friends) is a volatile mix of emotions, childish fantasies, maturing romantic and sexual attractions, daredevil risk-taking, and yearning for the adult world she's poised to enter. But unlike most teenage girls, she is also a royal princess, unexpectedly responsible for the safety of her family, friends, and kingdom.Add that to a steampunk mix of robots, steam-powered airships, and post-apocalyptic future, and you would have a terrific page-turner. ButA Flight of Thieves (Sky Ships)is more than the sum of those parts. Author David Bridger casually tosses in mixed-race and same-sex relationships as unremarkable norms, but addresses very contemporary issues of prejudice and class through the characters' relationships and reactions to the robots in the story. I was particularly interested in the subtle thread about what makes a person - whether a human who has accepted a robotic prosthesis is less human, or a robot who has integrated decades of memories is "murdered" by wiping them.If you're looking for an action-adventure post-apocalyptic steampunk thriller with thoughtful contemporary messages,A Flight of Thieves (Sky Ships)will certainly deliver.