Author: David D. Levine
Genre: Science Fiction/Steampunk
Series: Yes (Adventures of Arabella Ashby Trilogy)
Brief Summary:
Arabella Ashby greatly enjoyed life on her native Mars. With her beloved brother and Martian nanny/tutor, days were spent exploring the terrain and honing her survival skills. She also shared her father's passion for all things automated and was quite adept at them herself. From Arabella's point of view, it was an idyllic life; unfortunately for her, her mother thought differently.
A native-born Englishwoman, her mother despaired over her 'wild child' and was quite distressed that her daughter was quite content being a tomboy instead of settling down to more suitable, ladylike pursuits. When Arabella's younger sisters started to follow suit, the poor woman decided it was time to make a change. So leaving Arabella's older brother with his father on Mars, Mrs. Ashby and her daughters retired to her native London, much to Arabella's dismay.
The reality was as bad as she had expected, and Arabella dreams about the day she can return home. That day comes sooner than later and under the most distressful of circumstances. When tragedy strikes, Arabella is forced to make the perilous journey back to Mars in order to save both her brother and plantation. Time was not on her side, and the fasted way to get there was by airship. With little money, Arabella does the unthinkable.
Disguising herself as a boy, "Arthur Ashby" signs on as a deckhand on the Diana, a ship employed by the Trading Company. Soon caught up in the French/British War, the journey is fraught with peril. Her growing attraction to the mysterious Captain Singh only adds to the growing turmoil as she races toward an unknown future.
Here is what Goodreads had to say:
My take:Ever since Newton witnessed a bubble rising from his bathtub, mankind has sought the stars. When William III of England commissioned Capt. William Kidd to command the first expedition to Mars in the late 1600s, they proved that space travel was both possible and profitable.
Now, one century later, a plantation in the flourishing British colony on Mars is home to Arabella Ashby. A tomboy who shares her father's deft hand with complex automatons. Being raised on the Martian frontier by her Martian nanny, Arabella is more a wild child than a proper young lady. Something her mother plans to remedy with a move to an exotic world Arabella has never seen: London, England.
Arabella soon finds herself trying to navigate an alien world until a dramatic change in her family's circumstances forces her to defy all conventions in order to return to Mars in order to save both her brother and the plantation. To do this, Arabella must pass as a boy on the Diana, a ship serving the Mars Trading Company with a mysterious Indian captain who is intrigued by her knack with automatons. Arabella must weather the naval war between Britain and France, learning how to sail, and a mutinous crew if she hopes to save her brother from certain death.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and plan to read the remaining books of the trilogy. It was a light-hearted read, even though the dangers are not glossed over in any way. The main character is fully fleshed out, and the 'villain' of the story is presented in such a way that you are drawn into actively cheering for his downfall. You feel as if you are taking the journey with Arabella and actually become a silent part of the story.
It is not hard science-fiction; I found the steampunk element to be much more prevalent, which was fine for me, as I love that particular genre. I would definitely recommend these books, and this author is one I will be following in the future.
