A Drop of Night

Presenting A Drop of Night by Stefan Bachmann.

Here is the summary of the book:

Five gifted teenagers are selected out of hundreds of other candidates to fly to France and help with the excavation of a vast, underground palace buried a hundred feet below the suburbs of Paris. Built in the 1780's to hide an aristocratic family and a mad duke during the French Revolution, the palace was sealed after the aristocrats fled there. No one has set foot in it for over two centuries.

Or so they thought.

But nothing is as it seems, and the teenagers—bitter, iron-hearted Anouk, gentle Will, bubbly Lilly, and crazy Jules— soon find themselves embroiled in a game far more sinister, and dangerous, than they could possibly have imagined. An evil spanning centuries is waiting for them in the depths. . .

You cannot escape the palace.

You cannot guess its secrets.

Where the idea merits more than the final result. A Drop of Night by Stefan Bachmann entices a rich french history. An underground castle. Mysterious restoration project. Exceptional teenagers recruited to take part in said project. Deception and subterfuge abound and the mysterious bogeyman ..... I so wanted to like this book ..... I liked the author's middle grade books so I was looking forward to this very much but it felt very much flat and lacking finesse.

The characters were well enough. Each different in their own ways and each with their own quirks. The transition between the past and the present was also very well done. The mystery was perfectly maintained and the thriller elements where very well realized as the truth of the project is revealed. But what the story lacks is finesse and enough explanations to explain and deliver answers to the happenings of the tale. The ordeal felt very much like Maze Runner but no explanation is given for the traps set in the castle. The conclusion also doesn't satisfy me very much.

I like Bachmann's flow of words very much and that was aplenty here but the story misses a lot of elements in its lineup which could have taken it to newer heights.

"Replete with the mysterious but not my cup of tea"

Genre :      Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Release Date: 15th March, 2016

My Copy: publisher & edelweiss

Rate:              3/5 (Liked It)

Other Books from the author:
                The Peculiar #1 #2
           
Buy:           Amazon | Book Depository 

The Peculiar #2 The Whatnot

Just as vibrant as the first and just as original as expected. Presenting The Peculiar #2 The Whatnot by Stefan Bachmann.

Here is the summary of the book:

The sequel to Stefan Bachmann's riveting and acclaimed debut novel, The Peculiar, which Publishers Weekly called "An absolute treat for readers of any age" and the Los Angeles Times compared to "Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities and more recent classics, such as J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events."

Twelve-year-old Pikey Thomas is missing an eye, a family, and friends of any sort. Named for the box he was found in-Thomas Ltd. Crackers and Biscuits. Premium Quality-Pikey lives under the chemist's shop and does odd jobs for him. One day, running from bigger boys set on bullying him, Pikey finds himself in front of a grand, beautiful house. There he meets a black-winged faery who begs for his help. The faery's wing is damaged-cricked and hanging at an uncomfortable angle-and Pikey clicks it back into place. It's a small gesture of kindness and bravery in steam-powered Victorian London, where faeries, now banned, are on the run or imprisoned, where the human armies are preparing for war, and where the changeling Bartholomew Kettle, aided by Arthur Jelliby, still searches for his missing sister, Hettie. This is the epic, imaginative, unforgettable, and ultimately hopeful sequel to Stefan Bachmann's acclaimed debut novel, The Peculiar.

Numbered as book 2 but essentially a companion book to 'The Peculiar'. While it is not necessary to read the aforementioned before reading this, but I like to be informed and as such wanted to find out what happened before diving into this story. But yes the main characters are there.

The Whatnot, essentially starts out a few years after the vents of the Peculiar. Hettie is now stuck in the Faery. Barty searches for ways to get there and rescue Hettie. And this enters Pikey Thomas. In Bachmann's Gothic fantasy world, Pikey Thomas starts out as the faery touched boy only thinking about candied apples and keeping his place of sleep intact, unknowingly holding the key to the salvation of all.

Alternation between the point of views of Hettie in the old country and Pikey in England, Stefan Bachmann tells this dark fantasy. The once scared Hettie, now holds even more characters and a much stronger personality. Barty and Pikey end up paired in the search for Hettie..... but the Sly King looms.... an entity you do not mess with.

Maintaining the captivating and imaginative narrative, Bachmann extends this vibrant world. One of the most enjoyable moments for me was the detailed description of the Old Country and the fineness of the Fey.

"An epic sequel to Bachmann's The Peculiar"

Genre :      Middle Grade, Fantasy, Paranormal, Historical Fiction, Steampunk

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Release Date: 24th September, 2013

My Copy: publisher and netgalley

Rate:              4/5 (Really Liked It)

Books in the series (review links):
          #1 The Peculiar

Buy:           Amazon | Book Depository 

The Peculiar #1 The Peculiar

The cover draws you in..... doesn't it. Presenting The Peculiar #1 The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann.

Here is the summary of the book:

Don't get yourself noticed and you won't get yourself hanged.

In the faery slums of Bath, Bartholomew Kettle and his sister Hettie live by these words. Bartholomew and Hettie are changelings--Peculiars--and neither faeries nor humans want anything to do with them.

One day a mysterious lady in a plum-colored dress comes gliding down Old Crow Alley. Bartholomew watches her through his window. Who is she? What does she want? And when Bartholomew witnesses the lady whisking away, in a whirling ring of feathers, the boy who lives across the alley--Bartholomew forgets the rules and gets himself noticed.

First he's noticed by the lady in plum herself, then by something darkly magical and mysterious, by Jack Box and the Raggedy Man, by the powerful Mr. Lickerish . . . and by Arthur Jelliby, a young man trying to slip through the world unnoticed, too, and who, against all odds, offers Bartholomew friendship and a way to belong.

Part murder mystery, part gothic fantasy, part steampunk adventure, The Peculiar is Stefan Bachmann's riveting, inventive, and unforgettable debut novel.

Of the fey and of the classics, The Peculiars is a brand new and exuberant look to these creatures of magic. An imaginative and creative world successfully illustrated through the words of a young mind. And that vibrant cover is just the cherry on top that sets the show on the road. Stefan Bachmann ties together gothic and steampunk with his middle grade fantasy and that lyrical tone of the written word is just enough to the set the mood for both the genre and the era.

In an incident that changes the course of the history of the world. Faeries are very much alive and real and now living with the humans, trapped and away from their home. Set in the faery slums of Bath. This is the story of Bartholomew and Henrietta "Hettie" Kettle. Both changelings, half-human, half-fey and forever more hidden by their mother because if you get yourself noticed, you get hanged. And all Barty and Hettie want is to belong......

But things are set in motion that have the potential of changing the course of the world. Such untoward acts happen and its not only Barty but also Hettie whose life is in danger. Faeries may not be accepted but half-faeries are neither. And the world at stake, it is an unlikely parliament member, who may be the only ally they have.

This is by no means a common tale and its characters by no means are common folks. Barty is a complex and dynamic character. The Victorian era is by no means a child's play and life as a changeling in the slums is not either. With a sister who has branches for hair, no father and a mother always keeping them hidden. Just like the children of his age, he just wants to belong and play with little ones his age .... a wish that very well takes its toll.

With a solid foundation and profound world building. Bachmann forms together a world like no other. There is the high airs of the aristocracy and the hard life of the slums. Categorized as a middle grade, this is a tale as original as any and can be read and enjoyed by people of all ages.

"Stefan Bachmann breathes new life into the Faery with his youthful mind"

Genre :      Middle Grade, Fantasy, Paranormal, Historical Fiction, Steampunk

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Release Date: 18th September, 2012

My Copy: bought (ebook)

Rate:              4/5 (Really Liked It)

Buy:           Amazon | Book Depository