After finding a compass and clues left by Kallista’s father, Leo Babbage, Trenton and Kallista head west aboard their homemade mechanical dragon to search for the missing inventor. The teenagers hope to find answers about their mountain city of Cove, but instead, they find only a blackened forest, ruined buildings, and a small underground city.
Almost immediately, Trenton and Kallista are caught up in a civil war between a clan of scavengers called Whipjacks and the Order of the Beast, people who believe that dragons are immortal and divine.
Stranded in a new city, the two friends meet Plucky, a Whipjack girl with mechanical legs, and Ander, a young member of the Order who claims humans are able to communicate with dragons. Can they trust anyone, or have they unknowingly stepped into a trap?
And high above in the sky, the dragons are gathering . . .
| Pages | 342 |
| Size | 5.5 x 8 |
| ISBN | 9781629722238 |
| Published | Shadow Mountain 2016 |
I was pleasantly surprised at how well this was written. Much more entertaining than the first one. I was relieved to see that the whole series would not take inside of the mountain. Well done!
It has been quite awhile since I read the first book in this series, and I wondered if I should try to re-read it before starting Gears of Revolution. I didn't end up having time to squeeze that in though, so I just plowed right in.
I was surprised that there wasn't a prologue or any backstory to start this book out. It just took up where the last book left off (from what I remember anyway). So, if you are looking for a stand alone novel, this isn't it. But, if you enjoyed the first book, I think you'll enjoy this second book. It has a cliff hanger ending, so if you are the type that needs closure you may need to wait a bit while the rest of the series is written and published. :)
Although it's over 300 pages, the font size and spacing is consistent with middle grade books, and goes pretty quickly. I appreciated that everything really moved the story along (no excess details or wordy descriptions), and I enjoyed the addition of the new characters that Trenton and Kallista found in Seattle.
There were also some twists and turns that kept things interesting, and I liked the message about giving yourself permission to fail so you can accomplish things you've never done before.
What a FUN book!
Dragons, inventions, secret clues, revolution.
A great read for any age making it a perfect book to read together as a family--
I am loving this Steam Punk genre!
