Or, rather, of magic and Mechanique, because I want to tell you about Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti by Genevieve Valentine, which is a book you really should read if you haven’t already.
The spoiler-free recap is: it’s about a mechanical circus. But you could guess that from the title already, couldn’t you? It’s about so much more, though. It’s about loyalty and obsession and pain and bravery and growing up and saying goodbye. It’s about music and war and a pair of wings. The novel is a puzzle. Not in the sense that it’s a mystery to be solved, but in that you are given one shining, sharp-edged piece at a time, and those pieces fit together bit by bit to make something that is more. I was lucky enough to hear Genevieve read an excerpt at the Steampunk World’s Fair. The excerpt hooked me, and I moved the book to the top of my to-read pile. I was not disappointed. You won’t be either. Promise.
