Speculative Fiction Junkie

Stephen Hunt

I was pretty excited about this book, and the difficulty of acquiring a copy of it made me anticipate even more. The first difficulty was the fact that The Court of the Air was published in the UK about a year ahead of its US release (like a lot of speculative fiction these days). Shipping costs and the poor state of the U.S. dollar made ordering a copy a somewhat expensive proposition. EBay didn't provide a reasonably priced alternative either, so I decided to just wait for the U.S. release, which was this past June.

About a week after the US release, I went to my local Borders store but couldn't find the book. I asked when they were going to get a copy in and was told that only one store in the area was going to carry the book. Now, I live in an urban area with two other major cities within a short driving distance. Why only one store in this area would have a copy of this book was--and is still--beyond me. Before finally ordering the book from Borders, I went to a Barnes and Noble store as well as another bookstore in my area to no avail.

This is all a long way of saying that by the time I finally got my hands on a copy, I was ready to dive in. The Court of the Air is set in the Kingdom of Jackals, which resembles a fantasized London of the nineteenth century, complete with a race of mechanical beings called "steammen" and a Navy of Zeppelin-like aerostats. Centuries earlier, the parliament secured its dominance of Jackals and the king was reduced to a derided ceremonial figure, whose arms are removed so that he cannot raise them against the people. Throughout its history, we learn, Jackals has fought various wars with its neighbors who have different political systems.

The story follows two orphans: Molly and Oliver. Molly has spent most of her life in an orphanage, being loaned out around the town to perform various jobs for which she is not paid. During one such job a client tries to murder her, succeeds at murdering her fellow orphan, and forces her to flee her home. A similar thing happens to Oliver, who lives with his wealthy uncle after the rest of his family perished in an aerostat crash. The family's aerostat crashed into the feymist, a feared substance that always leaves those exposed to it changed in some fashion even if exposure lasted only a minute or two. Oliver was in the feymist for four years but has so far shown no signs of abnormality. Shortly after the beginning of the story, Oliver's uncle is murdered, Oliver framed for it, and forced to go on the run.

Molly and Oliver's efforts to survive and figure out what is happening lead them across the land of Jackals and to underground cities with different political systems, priorities, etc. Eventually, they realize that their entire world is threatened...

I really wanted to like this book. I thought I would like it. As I read, I found myself repeatedly thinking that the things Mr. Hunt populated his world with were novel and interesting. And yet, not once did I find myself itching to pick the book back up after I had set it down. While initially this was just something minor that I noted in passing it soon came to dominate the whole experience for me.

The problem with The Court of the Air is this: while it is full of fascinating ideas, the storytelling doesn't adequately tie these ideas together. It's almost as if Mr. Hunt had a list of things he wanted to include in this book and crafted the story to make sure that each was included. The result is a book that while promising, ultimately fails to deliver. This is really a shame because it's clear that Mr. Hunt has a wonderful imagination and is a competent writer to boot.

Rating: 5/10

The True First

The Court of the Air was first published in the UK by the Voyager imprint of HarperCollins in 2007. There was also a signed and numbered limited edition that was, as far as I can tell, simultaneously published, which would make it the highest state true first. I believe that these limited editions were initially only available from Goldsboro Books.


[This review was not based on a review copy]