| Title | : | Arabella The Traitor of Mars (Adventures of Arabella Ashby, #3) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0765382830 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780765382832 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 335 |
| Publication | : | First published July 31, 2018 |
Arabella The Traitor of Mars (Adventures of Arabella Ashby, #3) Reviews
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3.5 stars. Review first posted on
Fantasy Literature:
David D. Levine’s THE ADVENTURES OF ARABELLA ASHBY Regency fantasy trilogy wraps up in Arabella the Traitor of Mars (2018), which, appropriately, returns us to early 1800’s colonial-era Mars, where all the action began in
Arabella of Mars. The series is an engaging melding of Jules Verne-style retro science fiction with Horatio Hornblower-type naval battles in the air above Mars, with an intrepid young woman heroine. *Some spoilers for the first two books in the series follow*
Fresh off their victory over Napoleon in the skies over the planet Venus, related in the second book,
Arabella and the Battle of Venus, Arabella and her India-born husband Captain Singh are now in England, honored guests of the Prince Regent. Emboldened by their defeat of the French on Venus and encouraged by his advisors and the Mars Company, Prinny has decided that it’s time to take control of Mars, where England has a foothold in the form of some British towns and invaluable khoresh-wood plantations, and turn it into a full-fledged colony of England, adding to England’s empire and to the Prince’s coffers.
The Prince asks Captain Singh to be the fleet commander over the naval expeditionary force to Mars, leading the military invasion to deal with any resistance from the native Martians. Arabella is an ardent supporter of Martian independence and can’t believe her beloved husband is even considering doing this, but Captain Singh is torn by his loyalty to his adopted country, England, and believes that he can use his position to make sure the invasion isn’t too brutal toward the native Martians. Arabella disagrees vehemently, especially after she finds out about a subplot to disgrace her husband. After a bitter argument, Arabella takes off on a Draisine (one of the earliest historic versions of the bicycle) to try to catch a ship to Mars, warn the Martians of the pending invasion, and do whatever she can to help the resistance effort against the British fleet.
Naval battles, albeit in the air and space rather than the ocean, take center stage in Arabella the Traitor of Mars, along with the travails of long voyages by airship and the difficulties of organizing and carrying out a resistance against British invasion. Personal relationships are of secondary importance to military and naval planning and execution. Perhaps as a result, as well as the restrained, sometimes distant tone, I didn’t find this third book quite as engaging as the previous two in the series, but readers with an interest in military history will find much to interest them. As with the previous two books in the ARABELLA ASHBY series, Levine weaves in actual historic events (the Opium Wars make a disguised appearance in one subplot) and historic figures, like the Prince’s mistress Lady Hertford and Lord Reid of the East India Company (here the Mars Company).
It’s almost inevitably a bit dicey dealing with colonialism and racism themes in fictional literature, which Levine takes on directly in the form of British prejudice against and mistreatment of the Martian natives, and even more so when a white person is the main character of the story, but Levine has made a clear effort to make the native Martians an integral and fully engaged part of the resistance. Still, the renegade British and their ships are the biggest factor in the resistance, even with a native Martian as the admiral of their small fleet. The final diplomatic resolution of the conflict is too quick and seemed improbable.
Despite these weaknesses, Arabella the Traitor of Mars has an interesting plot and a feisty, valiant heroine with a taste for adventure. The naval air battles are intense and detailed. Arabella’s relationship with Captain Singh is based on mutual respect (one gets a hint of passion as well, but it’s well hidden behind Regency-era doors here). Her relationship with her brother Michael, the head of her family and a landholder on Mars, is complex and adds depth to the overall story of the rebellion. It’s a satisfying wrap-up to a unique retro-SF series with modern sensibilities.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, Tor, for review. Thank you!! -
I'm bummed this is the last of Arabella's stories. I'd love to hear more.
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This is the third volume in the Adventures of Arabella Ashby, a steampunk, alternate history, Jules Verne-esque pulp Regency adventure. Following the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in the previous book, Arabella Ashby and her now husband, Captain Pradash Singh of the Honorable Mars Company airship Diana, return to Earth to find that England, as the solar system's only remaining superpower, has set its sights on Mars.
I'll be honest: I didn't like this volume quite as well as the first two. The "science," of course, is completely unbelievable: Mars inhabited, with its own native species! Venus the same! A solar system filled with air--the "interplanetary atmosphere"--that airships can navigate! But this has been baked into the books from the start, so the reader must grant this suspension of disbelief and move on. If a particular reader can do so, of course. I could. The reason I didn't like this book as much is the frenetic, tightly stuffed plot that seemed to come at the expense of character development.
This book covers a twelve-year time span, and A LOT happens: the Mars Rebellion, the overthrowing of English rule, and Arabella's life on Mars afterwards. This is not to say that the rebellion tale isn't good in and of itself--the fight scenes, especially, carry on the excellent tradition of the previous books. One can smell the smoke of the cannon balls and feel the heat of the burning sails, and the splinters of the broken masts. But I would have preferred a little less action and a little more about the characters, especially the natives of Mars who seem to be given pretty short shrift in favor of our human heroine.
It's just a bit of a letdown, especially compared to the previous book, Arabella and the Battle of Venus. But it's still a solid story. -
I think this series has jumped the shark.
I enjoyed #1 and #2, but I don't think this one adds much.
In fact, it reveals that the characters aren't that interesting; indeed, Aadim has as much personality as most of them.
This one plods along for pages with people being stodgy and disapproving, and Arabella being Flavia de Luce ahead of her time. Once the challenge is revealed, the plot becomes predictable. The good guys wil face an impossible challenge. Arabella will motivate them all to go ahead anyway. They will face insurmountable odds repeatedly, and Arabella will do things with gears and intuition until they win.
Using a special etheric current that no one else knows about? No problem. And somehow as soon as she uses it, people half a solar system away instantly know abotu it and follow her.
After three books, too, we start to look more closely at the, ahem, science. Whee, we're sailing in a 25,000-knot jet stream (why can we still breathe?) and if necessary we'll turn around and tack into it. How do you get into and out of a stream like that (well, it's a bit bumpy). Consider if you will the impact of a 100-mph gust. Multiply by 250.
Then we'll imagine an aerial battle with a frigate and some PT boats against 100+ battleships. Let's make the frigate a bit more maneuverable.
Credit to Levine, he has worked really hard to sell all this, carefully putting in flimsy explanations of how this could be possible. In volumes 1 & 2 I was able to let them go, but the suspension of disbelief failed the third time.
Applause, though, for including Dr. Barry. AFTER you have read the book, go Google Dr. James Barry (note the dates, too)
It was a fun series but IMHO it's time to move on. -
Fun if at times too, um, fast forwardy ending to an enjoyable, fast reading trilogy. First of all, I still loved the combination of Jules Verne, clockpunk, steampunk, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Master and Commander, Horatio Hornblower, and Regency era romance novels, a delightful combination that worked the first two books and continued to work in the final instalment of the trilogy, the mix a unique blend that I just plain loved. If one is reading the third book I assume one has accepted the fantastic premises of the novel, that Mars and Venus are inhabited with sentient races and though both can be challenging for humans to inhabit, humans can survive on both planets without special equipment, that there is breathable air between the planets and the sun, a gigantic mega-atmosphere that that can be navigated by sailing ships that rise and descend in planetary atmospheres by either hot air or hydrogen balloons, and that possibly perhaps a clockwork mechanism can produce a sentient being (or at the very least sophisticated computers). One gets a little more explanation of some of the science fiction (heavy emphasis on fiction here) but largely either the reader has accepted it or has not.
Positives, I liked how the plot got going very fast, that not far into the book at all Arabella and friends are leaving Earth, off to Mars, all in a treasonous attempt to stop the British Empire from conquering all of Mars rather than instead the British living on the small portion of the red planet they already control, a plan that will lead to many deaths and the end of any Martian independence if the British succeed. Though previous books explored the joy and wonder of a long interplanetary journey, there isn’t any of that in this book, the reader only joining the characters in important moments, this decision allowing the author to spend more of the book on the goings on at Mars. I liked how small plot, character, or setting elements that appeared early on in the book figured into important decisions at the end, I appreciated that. There are two battles in the book, the latter one especially extremely exciting, vividly told, just well done all around.
Negatives, there are sections where there is a lot of fast forwarding. I wasn’t surprised and actually completely fine with moving past describing daily life on the voyages between planets, but not to give too much away, there are long sections of the resistance campaign against the British that we just don’t get to see. The reader is there for important decisions, the beginning, important battles, the end; it is well covered, but it just felt at times to keep the book down to a more manageable word count the reader missed out on some events or character development. I was never confused or angry about it in any way, it just felt like things were skipped. Easily fifty pages or more could have been devoted to the longish campaign and I bet it would have been interesting given the skills of the writer.
I think Captain Singh was a bit too enigmatic at times, too distant a character. A small thing, but from the perspective of Arabella he could be difficult to understand at times, a weird thing given he is the captain of the ship she spent a lot of time on and oh her husband.
I disliked the plot device of a character or characters coming up with something, maybe in their head, maybe in a conversation, and the reader basically gets “and we discussed it and a plan was made,” and we don’t see the plan until it unfolds. It keeps the element of surprise and it isn’t necessarily bad form as the storyline is not really told from exactly the character’s viewpoints (not first person for sure), so it isn’t bad writing or incorrect, but I didn’t care for it a few times. This may just be a personal preference on my part.
Arabella is an extremely dominant character in the book and pretty much she was behind everything in the book that worked, from beating the British fleet to Mars to finding ways to resist the much more powerful British Empire to techniques that won the final battle to how to win the peace. Just about everything was from her. A very strong character, loved her, empathized with her, but when the book revolved around the Martian resistance to Earth…even given Arabella thinks of herself as Martian now, it made everyone else but especially the Martians almost as if they would have no real idea of what to do at times without her (bordering a little bit on the white savior thing). I am not trying to be politically correct and much of what she did wasn’t showing a Martian how to Martian or anything, but highly technical skills and discoveries that only a handful of people can even begin to understand (such as using a particular current of air safely or how to navigate and fight in the turbulent zone between a planet’s atmosphere and the interplanetary atmosphere), but it would have been nice to see other characters be a bit stronger and more independent, especially the Martian Martians.
The complaints were relatively minor though. It was a satisfying ending to a fun trilogy. -
This final book of the trilogy really focused on ship navigating and ship battles. I think if you enjoy naval military fiction, this could maybe be fun. Or if you want someone into fantasy with feminine female leads to get into naval military fiction, it's a good segway. (I'd never thought I'd actually say that...)
I mostly enjoyed the first book of this series as it was focused on Arabella disguising herself as a man on a ship to get back to Mars to save her brother. The second book was okay in that it had a good plot for Arabella to save her fiance, but then was bogged down by a forced love triangle. This one didn't interest me all that much because it really focused on the airship aspect of the space travel, and definitely a lot of ship battles. There was still some worldbuilding, but here I think the author may have went a bit overboard with trying to make everything so believable. It was a lot of telling about how it works, and not showing.
If I didn't already buy the whole series, I probably wouldn't have read this one. A regency steampunk fantasy is likely not going to speak to those who enjoy military fantasy or military fiction, so I don't know if this book was crafted with its readers in mind. -
The adventures of Arabella Ashby are a pleasing mix of swashbuckling thrills, steampunk, and Regency romance. The underlying fantasy in this series is that interplanetary space is filled with breathable air and winds that can be navigated by airships to travel between arid Mars and swampy Venus. The Napoleonic war is raging, trade between Mars and Earth is controlled by Britain’s Mars Company (think East India Company), and European colonialism is oppressing the native Martians and Venusians. Mars-born Arabella is sent to England to be married off, but she runs away in the first novel and joins a trading ship disguised as a boy. Much of the action in all three novels takes place shipboard, complete with aerial battles. The story is told in Regency-like language, much like Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series. Arabella’s story is drawn to a happy conclusion in this third novel, which I liked immensely.
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This book was a great conclusion to the series. Arabella remains one of my favorite heroines.
The story was enjoable, it was action-packed and fast-paced. The world building is fantastic. I loved reading about the ships and the flights even though some things definitley went over my head.
This series as a whole is a gem and I really wish more people would pick it up. -
This was very capably written, and on paper I should have loved it; determined young female protagonists who are intelligent and competent and independent are a feature I look for in books, and here we have one. Somehow, though, I never connected with Arabella emotionally, and while I didn't dislike the book, I also didn't love it.
There could be several reasons for that. One reason may be the stiff, cool language of the (alternate-universe) Regency setting. I've enjoyed and emotionally connected with books with that kind of setting before, though, such as Melissa McShane's Extraordinaries series. It wasn't my dislike of the gory battle scenes, though I'm not a fan of those; they came late in the book, when I was already feeling disengaged.
The other main problem I had, and perhaps the main reason for my coolness towards the book, was that I was working so hard to maintain suspension of disbelief. The basic setting (a solar system in which there is air everywhere and sailing ships can voyage through it between the planets) requires quite a robust effort to swallow by itself; I'm OK with the planetary-romance conceit of an inhabited Mars full of canals and an inhabited Venus full of jungles, but the physics of the air-filled solar system made no sense to me, and nor did the idea that people pedaling to propel the ships would make a significant difference to their interplanetary speed. I have a similar struggle with the dragons in the Temeraire series (who cause suspiciously few supply problems, and can fly amazingly well, for such enormous creatures). I appreciate that part of SFF is suspending disbelief, but some premises make it harder than others.
On top of this unlikeliness, too, there are a few others layered. For example, the inciting incident of the whole book is that the heroine refuses to accept the Prince Regent's plans to conquer Mars and exploit it for Britain. I appreciate that, as he mentions in his afterword, the author was trying to write an anti-colonialist novel, but I'm afraid I never believed Arabella's rebellion against the comprehensively held mindset of her time. Even when I reminded myself that the American colonies had rebelled and thrown off British colonial government, I still couldn't help thinking that that was emphatically not because anyone there respected the native inhabitants and considered resisting colonialism as such to be a matter of self-evident natural justice. On top of which, Arabella is an example of the White Saviour trope; real resistance to colonialism was almost universally driven by indigenous peoples themselves, and although the Martians play an important and respected role in the resistance, they don't initiate it and they're not at all the centre of the plot.
And then there's a fortunate and somewhat unlikely coincidence at the all-is-lost moment that saves the day, putting a further heavy burden on my already overstrained suspension of disbelief.
Ultimately, I think I didn't love it because I didn't believe it.
I haven't read the previous two books in the series; there's enough catch-up at the beginning that I wasn't confused about the events of the backstory, but it may be that I would have been more emotionally engaged, and perhaps even believed more easily, if I'd been through the process of following Arabella's earlier adventures, rather than having them briefly summarized. Who knows?
Your experience of the book may be different, and I will say that the writing craft is at an admirable standard. I couldn't quite bring myself to drop it down to three stars, but it's at the lower end of four, for me.
I received a copy via Netgalley for purposes of review. -
As Captain and Mrs Singh are welcomed to England as heroes, the Prince Regent is already plotting another war and he wants Captain Singh as his commander. The Captain is in a tricky spot, he has sworn his allegiance to the Company and the Crown, but the plans are to conquer Mars through military and drug might for the Prince Regents greedy ends. Arabella is appalled that her husband would even consider being part of this heinous plan. She may be a British citizen but her heart belongs to the planet she grew up on. Convinced she must warn the Martians before British forces arrive, Arabella sneaks away and enlists the Touchstone crew on a plan that will get them all labeled traitors. Can Mars hold its own against the greatest navy in the solar system? And what of all the people whose allegiances are torn in two by this conflict?
The entire first part of this book I felt like Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance were playing in the background as Captain Singh wrestles between duty and his heart. As an expat, I totally get Arabella’s feelings for Mars and how those who have grown up only on Earth just can’t get her. I really appreciate how well Levine conveys her third culture kid emotions and her unique understanding of both sides of the conflict that’s quite unlike anyone else’s. As reimagined history, this somewhat mimics the Opium Wars but only in the impetus for the war. From there on out, this story is all Levine’s, though of course, there can be parallels found in many points of history if you really, really want to find some. I do like that this plot line allows us to spend more time on Mars than many previous books and introduces more Martian culture. Through the conflict, the book does bring up some very important thinking points. Those who enjoy realistically depicted naval battles will eat this book up. Levine makes you feel like he totally witnessed naval battles in space and makes them come to life in sharp and often horrifying detail. I was grateful for the way Levine handled the conflict between Captain and Mrs Singh . Recommended for reimagined history fans, space-based scifi fans, technologically savvy heroine fans, third culture kid fans, and naval battle fans.
Notes on content [based on the ARC]: As per the practice of the time period it is mimicking, swear words are dashed out except for the first and last letters and just a handful of these. No sexual content beyond some kissing. Some intense battle scenes with fatalities, wounds, and gore realistically depicted.
I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. -
a really solid trilogy. usually i dont love "female protagonist happily ever after with children" endings but this one was really cute.
overall i think this series is really good though and a great example of an underserved genre (eg pure science fiction steampunk). also i had to stop in the middle and watch Master & Commander because i've been having so many classic 18/19th century naval warfare feels ;)
my one big critique of this book is something ive mentioned with the Gail Carriger novels in that theyre trying to use a conversation about imperialism and colonialism to further their white character's adventures which...sometimes comes across as a little tone deaf. in the case of this book, i think Arabella does stray into white savior territory quite a lot and the author doesnt delve into much of Captain Singh's perspective on the subject which is too bad considering he IS a man from another earth culture that's been colonized by England. just be mindful of that going in. that being said, at least authors are trying to critique this part of history rather than ignore it -
Arabella The Traitor Of Mars by David D. Levine was a fun and fast-paced read full of intense action that I was almost incapable of putting down once I had started reading it. I was honestly a bit hesitant to start this book when I received it in the mail, I liked the first two books in the series and was a bit worried my expectations were too high to meet, but I think I can say that Arabella The Traitor Of Mars surpassed those expectations in just about every way. I honestly found this book to be so intense at times that I caught myself pacing around my apartment while reading it because it had my adrenalin pumping while reading it so I had to move.
While I enjoyed reading Arabella of Mars quite a bit when I read it a years ago, I think David D. Levine has improved so much on Arabella The Traitor of Mars that it’s almost impossible to compare the two fairly. One of the best parts of this book is how much Arabella has grown and matured as a character since the first book in the series and how much it has impacted her relationship with Captain Singh. Honestly, their relationship seemed kind of rushed and forced in the beginning of the series but now they fit each other so well it’s difficult to picture them apart. The way the various characters have evolved since the first book is one of the things that’s made each book progressively better.
One of the things I found most interesting in this book was the conflicting emotions of both Arabella and Captain Singh over what to do about the events that unfold in the story. Their love and loyalty were tested in some really interesting ways over the course of this book and needing to know what their decisions would be on where their loyalties ultimately rest was one of the things that made it almost impossible for me to stop reading. David D. Levine did a fantastic job showing how those choices and the sacrifices they have to make an impact and change them over the course of the story.
Although I have to say as intense and drama-filled as this book was I still find it to be one of the most entertaining series I’ve read in a long time. I think the concept of these pirates and other spacefarers traveling between planets in these giant sailed ships you would expect to see in the water is absolutely ridiculous but it really works in this story. I honestly don’t think these books would be anywhere near as fun as they are to read if everything was done in a more scientifically accurate manner.
I will definitely be recommending this series to anyone looking for something to read and I can’t wait to see where the story goes next!
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review -
What a magnificent final book in the Adventures of Arabella Ashby trilogy!
Think Colonial India back in the day when the sun never set on the British Empire during the British Raj period and you have the setting for this series. (Except India, in this case, is Mars and you have these marvelous steampunk airships sailing the interplanetary "seas" between Earth and the rest of the solar system.)
These ships inflate huge balloon(s) with hydrogen, regally rise into the atmosphere until they cross the "falling line" (above which is interplanetary space and below which you just fall to your death on the ground if you lose control of your vessel). Then the hydrogen is pumped back into the tanks, the balloon(s) are deflated and stowed, and the airship regally sets sail (just like a nineteenth century ocean-going sailing ship) for the desired planet (such as Mars).
In this world, "space" has plenty of air and the "skies" are always blue. I especially like what happens when you get high enough over the planet. After you cross the falling line, you enter the "Horn", the interface between the planet's atmosphere and open space.
It is described as a whirlwind. In fact, the Horn is very like the onramp for a modern freeway. You have to enter at your own risk and carefully merge into ongoing traffic. The "winds" are quite fierce but if you have your sailplan right (have set your various sails in just the correct positions), you can transfer from the planetary atmosphere to open space.
And then there are the currents (think the Gulf Stream!). All but "invisible" air currents run both in the plane of the ecliptic AND perpendicular to the ecliptic (the latter more hazardous to get on and off, naturally).
The most valuable crew person after the captain on one of these airships is then definitely the navigator! Which turns out to be Arabella in this trilogy!
This trilogy is very much an adventure story as well as alternate history as well as a love story.
In the first two books Arabella and her plucky crew battle Napoleon in the early years of the nineteenth century. He is vanquished by book three but then it is time for the Martian Revolution (you know, following the American Revolution in which the young USA had thrown off its colonial British ruler towards the end of the previous century).
I'm very sorry to see the end of this tale but this was such an entirely satisfying read that I can't wait to see what author David D. Levine comes up with next!
Highly recommended for steampunk airship alternate history fans and anyone who just enjoys a thumping good yarn! -
"Arabella The Traitor of Mars" eBook was published in 2018 and was written by David D. Levine (
https://www.daviddlevine.com). Mr. Levine has published three novels as well as numerous novellas and short stories. This is the third in his
"The Adventures of Arabella Ashby" series.
I received an ARC of this novel through
https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence. The story is set in an alternate history to our own. While the story is set in Earth's 19th century, this one has lighter-than-air craft traveling around the Solar System since the 1600s. The main character in this fantastical tale is Mrs. Arabella (Ashby) Singh, a young woman who has grown up in the British Colony on Mars.
While she is a more or less proper English young lady, she has shown far more interest in adventure and mechanical automata than English refinement. She has already proven to be a force to be reckoned with as she helped her fiancé defeat Napoleon's space navy at Venus. While in London celebrating the defeat of Napoleon and paying last respects to Lord Nelson who died in the battle, she learns of a plan by both The Mars Company and the British Crown to force the entire planet of Mars into the British Commonwealth.
Flush with the defeat of Napoleon, there seems to be no obstacle to Britain's domination of Mars or the Solar System. When her husband is chosen to lead the British forces, she feels betrayed and flees Earth in a desperate attempt to reach Mars ahead of the British forces and lead a resistance as she feels Mars is her home rather than England. It becomes a race to see if adequate Martian forces can be brought together to oppose the powerful British fleet.
I enjoyed the 8.5+ hours I spent reading this 336 page steampunk alternate history and fantasy. While I liked the story and there are several very well created battles between opposing vessels, I really had a hard time with the notion of there being a breathable atmosphere between planets and 'sailing ships' able to travel through space. Perhaps if I had started with the first book in the series things would have been explained, but I doubt it. I was able to pick up this third novel in the series and read it without really needing to have read the prior novels in the series. I do like the cover art. I give this novel a 4 out of 5.
Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at
https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/. -
First of all, the title: "Arabella, Traitor of Mars. Wife. Hero. Traitor."
Um, yes PLEASE.
And then the delightful fact that she has my maiden name. Every time the Captain would say, "Ashby, man the poop deck" or whatever, I would get a little thrill of excitement.
Finally, this book is basically the opposite of The Martian in its complete disregard for the laws of physics. The real science in the Martian made that book better. In this book they use clockwork golem robots to calculate interplanetary trade winds without the slightest degree of apology and it's glorious in its own kind of way. It's 1820 and the English Naval fleet is sailing to Mars (with actual sailboats) to expand the empire. Only Arabella and her trusty band of space pirates can protect the sovereignty of the planet!
The problem is that all of that sounds more exciting than it actually is. Quite possibly if I hadn't been distracted by the cover (Wife. Hero. Traitor!) I might have noticed that this is book #3 in the series. Presumably there is more character development in the first two books that would have helped me feel attached to Arabella and her handsome captain, but on its own they weren't very interesting. Things pick up considerably during the space naval battles, but most of the book ISN'T that, and I found those parts pretty slow. -
I continue to love what Levine has done with his vision of what we might have if Jules Verne and Jane Austen were to have collaborated to write Horatio Hornblower. I also continue to have the impression that the pseudo-science is a hybrid between what we know now and what we thought we knew at the beginning of the 19th century.
In this the third, and possibly final, volume, our plucky heroine Arabella is forced to choose sides. As one might expect, her life unravels in the wake of shattered loyalties. Much chaos ensues. Furthermore...EXPLOSIONS!!! As the icing on the cake, the author manages to plausibly get our heroine into leather (Dunno if that was exactly what Levine was thinking when he wrote that bit, but I got a chuckle out of it.). While the Battle of Venus in the previous book was obviously the Battle of Trafalgar, I found myself trying desperately to come up with a real-history basis for the central conflict of this story. Clearly, I don't know my Napoleonic era history well enough (gotta fix that). There may be room for further adventures, possibly involving one or more of Arabella's children, and that could make for a wild ride. -
With "Arabella the Traitor of Mars," David D. Levine brings his Arabella Ashby series to a close. And what a close it is! As the book opens, our plucky heroine is now married to her love, the redoubtable Captain Singh of the Honorable Mars Company. Arabella and her spouse have journeyed to England to participate in the victory over Napoleon and the defeat of his forces. However, a sinister plot is afoot. The Prince Regent is seeking to conquer Mars and make England the dominant power in the solar system! Well, our Mars-born heroine won't stand for it. She makes her way to Mars and begins forming a resistance effort. Her husband is soon at her side, aiding the resistance effort. The Martian resistance is able to cobble together a force to combat the English invaders, and battle is soon joined. The battle does not go well for the defenders of Mars, and all seems lost. That is, until all eyes perceive possible salvation... The Arabella Ashby series has been a real treat to read, and kudos to David D. Levine for penning such a ripping yarn to conclude the series. If you enjoy something a little different in science fiction, spend some time with the amazing Arabella Ashby!
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3.5
in the final installment, the author takes time to address some of the effects of colonialism and it makes all of the final, amazing scenes that much better. it's a gentle approach to the issue, but a good introduction for those new to the subject.
some readers may get bored by levine's sailing and worldbuilding explanations. if you're into that kind of creative expansion, this whole series is right for you. also appropriate for history nerds who truly enjoy a generalized, alternate approach to wars of the 17th and 18th centuries.
the book's a fun adventure all around and keeps you guessing where the characters are going to end up or what kind of ridiculous feat they're going to attempt next. characters remain solid in their established traits, but lack the well-developed depths seen in other series like Mortal Engines and leaves you feeling like you parted as distant relatives rather than as friends. -
The conclusion to the Arabella trilogy is as action-packed as ever. A few breezy conveniences (solar currents perpendicular to the ecliptic, dramatic reappearances of both Singh and Fox just in the nick of time. Levine still plays coy with Adim (hope I'm spelling his name correctly--book not to hand) and whether he is fully AI or just clockwork. Levine himself has said that he's more Master and Commander/Horatio Hornblower than Jane Austen, and Arabella's relationships with Singh and Fox seem like situational responses rather than romance/flirtation.
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Arabella just cannot keep from putting herself in danger. This time to save Mars. It looks like she and her beloved Captain Singh are on opposite sides. But wait! Will they really fight against each other. It is fun to watch real history and the alternate history that Arabella lives in collide. I think this was the best story of Arabella Ashby's adventures. Read book one and two first so you have the entire world building and back story.
I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review. -
Well. The series is over, although I didn't believe Levine was going to be able to get it wrapped up in time. I still enjoyed this, but some of my ambivalence about the series has continued. In this book, Arabella's relationship to her husband just didn't ring true to me. Also I found the final battle to be, well, improbable enough that it almost felt to me like the author had gotten us into this big battle, but suddenly realized his word limit was approaching, just went "Ta-da! They win!" and stopped. Anyway. This was a pretty fun little steampunk trilogy.
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I really liked this series. As with the last one, I had to walk away a number of times because I couldn't stand the suspense. There was maybe a little more battle description than I found absolutely necessary, but it was not unexpected and didn't really take away from the book. I liked the characters and was really looking forward to what happened to them next. I'm hoping Levine does some more steampunk for me to enjoy!
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This was a really good ending to the Arabella trilogy. I honestly thought Levine was setting up for a fourth book until about 3/4 of the way through, but this one does end the series. There were a couple parts I wasn't fully on-board with, especially concerning the final status of antagonists. I thought the societal changes started especially in the second book could have been pushed further. But ultimately an enjoyable read.
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This series was not my usual cup of tea,
the writing style was very well done and I really enjoyed the characters.
It's set in a very old Victorian English tone.
The story is full of impossible things, creatures, and adventures.
Set in the time of Napoleon's war, there's a lot of war action happening in this series as well.
It has a bit of steam punk essence to it as well, which I rather enjoyed.
Overall, a great series. -
Once you get your head past the whole sailing ships in space thing, the rest is good time. I am going to have to find the first book and read it, just to keep my stories straight.
Frothy, bloody, revolutionary story with Mars becoming independent, despite the best efforts to the Company to reduce the population to drug addled slaves, and then sending the Arieal Nave to subjugate the planet. -
The continuing young adult, alternative history, steam-punk adventures. The world-building continues to be excellent, here delving heavily into the idea of Empire and displacement of natives. There are lots of exciting aerial battles. But at the end, I felt very "meh" about it.
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This started out slowly and I said to myself, “I think I am done with these Arabella books.” However, the story improved and overall I enjoyed reading it. And yet, maybe I am done with these Arabella books.
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No cliffhanger, but a satisfactory ending. I'm unsure if there will be a book four, as this one ended as though it were meant to be a trilogy. If that's the case then I am sad as I really don't want this lovely series to end!
{Further review to come!}
