Frances Hardinge

Fly by Night #1

Fly by Night

Fly By Night is the stunning debut novel from Frances Hardinge, author of the Costa Award winning The Lie Tree. As the realm struggles to maintain an uneasy peace after years of civil war and tyranny, a twelve-year-old orphan called Mosca Mye and her loyal companion, a cantankerous goose, are about to become the unlikely heroes of a radical revolution. Mosca is on the run, heading for the city of Mandelion. There she finds herself living by her wits among cut-throat highwaymen, spies and smugglers. With peril at every turn, Mosca uncovers a dark plot to terrorize the people of Mandelion, and soon merry mayhem leads to murder . . . Winner of the Branford Boase award, Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge has an unforgettable cast of characters and an inspiring message at its heart – sometimes the power of words can change the world. Fly By Night is followed by its thrilling sequel, Twilight Robbery. 'Everyone should read Frances Hardinge. Everyone. Right now' - Patrick Ness, author of A Monster Calls.

Fly By Night

Janice Hopper

Hrm, I'm not sure what I think about this book.

There were times in it where I liked it well enough. There were other times where I thought it was just annoying, and times where I thought it was trying to be too clever by half, almost to the point of being a bit twee or precious.

You'd think a book about a rebellious gal who can read in a world where many can't would be right up my alley. And Mosca IS an interesting character. And she does have adventures. And the writing is pretty good.

I think part of my ambivalence about this book is that I couldn't exactly decide on what tone the author was trying to convey. There are characters with names (Eponymous Clent, Linden Kohlrabi, Caveat) that make me think the author is writing with tongue firmly in cheek, and that things are not to be taken seriously. But there are other very serious happenings in the book. People get injured and die.

But there are also, for example: 
1) coffee shops that are barges and move up and down the river, towed by kites; 
2) a battle goose named Saracen who saves the day more than once; 
3) a highwayman who's acclaimed a hero in spite of himself because of a ballad; 
4) a factional division between the Locksmiths, the Stationers, and the Watermen
5) a plethora of Small Gods 

I think in another mood, on another day, I might have liked this book a lot. But right now, it's not the book for me, really, in spite of its merits.

Twelve-year-old Mosca Mye hasn't got much. Her parents are dead, her cruel uncle keeps her locked away, and her only friend is her pet goose. But she does have one small, rare thing: the ability to read. In a world where books are dangerous things, this gift will change her life—but it may also be the death of her.

river k

I honestly felt fairly skeptical about reading this, mostly because the basic premise didn't strike me as very exciting or original. But thankfully, Fly By Night turned out to be full of wonderfully imaginative world-building and great characters. There's also something I can't quite articulate that really hit the sweet spot for me personally--it was just so enjoyable and fun to read.

Fly by Night Fly by Night #1

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