M.K. Hobson’s debut novel, The Native Star—the first book in her Veneficas Americana series—was nominated for a Nebula award in 2010. She lives in the first city in the United States incorporated west of the Rockies. Her favorite writers are Theodore Dreiser, Sinclair Lewis, Booth Tarkington, Gore Vidal, and William S. Burroughs. The Warlock’s Curse is her third novel. You can find out more at her website, www.demimonde.com.
Website: http://www.thewarlockscurse.com/
Twitter: @mkhobson
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mkhobson
Book trailer: http://youtu.be/oyrYAfu8IMg
Publisher: Demimonde
Pages: 390
Series: Veneficas American #3
Review Source: eBook via CBB Book Promotions for tour review
Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
THE YEAR IS 1910. Eighteen-year-old Will Edwards has landed a prestigious apprenticeship at Detroit’s Tesla Industries, the most advanced scientific research center in the United States. It’s a plum prize for a young man who dreams of a career in the new science of Otherwhere Engineering.
But his father doesn’t want him to go. And he won’t tell him why.
Determined to get there by any means necessary, Will finds unexpected support along the way. His old friend Jenny Hansen—daughter of a San Francisco timber baron—is eager to help him for reasons of her own. And so is his estranged brother Ben, who he hasn’t seen in over ten years.
But running away turns out to be the easy part. On the first full moon after his eighteenth birthday, Will is stricken by a powerful magic—a devastating curse laid upon his ancestors by the malevolent sangrimancer Aebedel Cowdray. Will must find a way to control the magic that possesses him—or the vengeful warlock’s spirit will destroy everything and everyone he loves.
My Thoughts:
The first thing that intrigued me about this book was the fact that it’s a steampunk set in the United States. It’s not often that I’ve seen a steampunk title set outside of England, so that immediately made me take notice. Once I started reading I was impressed with the fabulous world building. There’s a whole alternate history in this book, filled with science, steampunk, and magic. The book features such a dense setting, which at times was daunting, but overall really added to the richness of the narrative.
‘The Warlock’s Curse’ isn’t necessarily an easy book to read. It requires a certain commitment, because of all the characters and details about the science and magic. However, if steampunk science fiction is your preferred genre, then this is definitely one worth reading. What was unique about it, to me, was that while the characters were upper-YA age, it definitely had more of the feel of an adult book. It was more serious and focused on the plot, rather than the character-driven journey that most YA books feature. I actually would have liked to have explored Will’s relationships more, especially with Jenny, as I felt like we never got to fully understand her actions, despite learning a bit about her motivations.
This was definitely an interesting book, and I think that if you’re a big fan of the genre then you might enjoy it even more than I did. Also please note that while this is part of a larger series, it is the first book set in a different time period and with different characters, so you do not need to read any previous books to understand what is happening in this one.
The Cover:
I like it, although having Will as the main image on the cover would've made more sense, I think.
Rating:
[3/5]Find The Warlock's Curse by M.K. Hobson on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.
As part of the blog tour, M.K. Hobson is giving away some great prizes.
US Only
Prize package of *signed* copies of The Native Star, The Hidden Goddess and The Warlock's Curse as well as a swag pack of a Tesla Industries pin, magnets and a sticker *not shown*.
International
13 ebooks of The Warlock's Curse
The giveaways ends 12/30/12. Please see the Rafflecopter for full terms & conditions, and fill it out to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The full tour schedule can be found here.
I adore the cover but once people pointed out it should have Will on the cover I understood. I think that many go in expecting a female to narrate and that's not the case here. I'm glad you mostly enjoyed the story. I do think the authors writing style leans more toward adult, her previous books are marketed as adult. But it seems a lot of mature teen readers enjoy them but I probably wouldn't hand it off to a teen reader who isn't used to reading heavier books because it is a bit heavy. But yet there's a lot of YA starting to go that way... so I guess it just depends on the person.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thanks so much for hosting a tour stop!
Yah I think that's why a male on the cover, or something more generic, might have made sense. I did know going in that it was a male narrator, but then it made me curious why there was a female on the cover. Still a good cover overall, though, I agree. =)
DeleteAgreed, I think it works perfectly well for older YA... a good crossover title, probably, for those who don't read a lot of YA too.