Quintessence

WOW where do I start with this one?! Quintessence is a fantastical tale, set in an alternate Victorian Age England. In this reality, the world really IS flat, and the sun and stars are a half dome over the earth, meaning they're much closer to the earth at the edges of the world. Our main characters are Dr. Parris and his daughter Catherine, part of an expedition to an island on the edge of the world, populated by fantastical creatures, where lines of magical “quintessence” power strange abilities.

This book was fantastic. I keep using that word - but it's the perfect word for this book! There's -just- enough romance to give it that happy-ever-after feeling at the end, but the romance was by no means integral to the plot. Walton wove together magical creatures, political intrigue, colonization issues, philosophy, and troubles with the natives into one coherent, magical tale. I LOVED it. I see on his Amazon page that there's a sequel - Quintessence Sky - but I'm not sure I want to spoil the perfection that is the first book by taking the chance on the second!

I picked this book up largely because of the gorgeous cover art, but it does not disappoint. If you like steampunk, you should read this book.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

Pros: great world-building, entertaining

Cons: surprisingly swift resolution to numerous problems

The Western Star returns to England from the edge of the world purportedly carrying treasures untold, but the hold is full of barrels of dirt, rocks, and seawater, and the crew has mysteriously died. Stephen Parris, physic to the ailing King Edward VI, attempts to increase his knowledge of the human body by dissecting corpses, an act that would mean his execution if discovered. The most recent body he examines, from The Western Star, is remarkably preserved and has some bizarre characteristics. Christopher Sinclair is an alchemist, determined to find the elixir of life, and believes the tales of wealth the admiral of The Western Star told before he died. He convinces the king to finance a second mission for the repaired ship and persuades Parris to accompany him on his voyage of discovery.

This book is set in a world very similar to our own where the Earth is, in fact, flat, and a mysterious substance called quintessence - the fifth element, the essence of life - is found in creatures that live close to the world's edge. The book, consequently, has a lot of fantastical creatures, starting with a beetle that can fly through walls and a manticore that can speak mind to mind using its tail as a connection port. Learning about the different creatures and their miraculous properties was highly entertaining.

I'm currently learning about the history of science so it was a real pleasure to see Aristotelianism argued against atomism (not to be confused with the modern atomic theory).

The book doesn't pull any punches with regards to what life was like, either with England in its time of tribulation (with the succession), shipboard life, or the challenges of learning about a new land. I especially appreciated that the Spanish inquisition was used accurately - as a way to wipe out heresy, not a series of witchcraft trials. Again, the horror of the institution isn't toned down at all, and the true targets, conversos (Jews and Muslims who professed conversion to Catholicism while retaining their beliefs in secret), are briefly shown in focus. Witchcraft does come up, but in the contexts of body snatching and magic.

I really liked Parris and his inquisitiveness, as well as his daughter Catherine, and her desire to learn more about the natural world and avoid marriage for the time being. I felt that Catherine grew over the course of the book, though mostly at the end, when the consequences of her actions throughout the book become clear. Parris too grows to some extent.

Sinclair is pretty interesting as a character, though he's not very likeable. I found his experiments cool, but his willingness to manipulate people to get his way became disturbing as the book wore on.

Most of the action in the book was predictable but there were some interesting twists, mainly concerning the creatures encountered and revolving around the ending of the book.

The ending came rather suddenly and wrapped things up a little too neatly. A number of people mastered powers too quickly to be believable. I did, however, appreciate that there was no cliffhanger leading to the next book in the trilogy.

En wat als de zaken die geloofd werden door alchemisten en pre-wetenschappelijke denkers en dergelijke, waar zouden zijn? Als de wereld echt plat zou zijn en eindig en overdekt met een vast firmament, als de muziek der sferen zou bestaan, als waar er op de kaarten “here be monsters” staat, ook echt monsters zijn, en als de quintessens ook echt zou bestaan?

Walton bouwt een fijne wereld waar dat allemaal ook zo is. Zestiende eeuw, vers protestants Engeland met een achtergrond van koningserfopvolgingsproblemen en katholiek Spanje en inquisitie, ontdekkingsreizen, en allemaal fijne personages.

Er is Parris, een dokter die wetenschap wil doen en er is Sinclair, een geslepen alchemist die de geheimen van de wereld wil doorgronden. De vrouw van Parris die een closet catholic is, de dochter van Parris die er zich niet wil bij neerleggen dat haar rol, als meisje, erg beperkt is. Er zijn zelfs nevenpersonages die potentieel hebben: Maasha, dienaar van Sinclair maar eigenlijk een Afrikaanse prins die zijn vrouw en kinderen vermoord zag, en Blanche, ogenschijnlijk Frans maar eigenlijk een verborgen Joodse.

Het begint allemaal veelbelovend: een schip komt terug van de rand van de wereld, en de bemanning is dood of stervend: de kisten vol goud blijken stenen te zijn, hun bloed wordt zand. Sinclair denkt te weten wat er aan de hand is, en slaagt erin om van de stervende koning van Engeland een opdracht te krijgen om een expeditie op het getouw te zetten. Shenanigans en alles: Sinclair en dochter eindigen ook in de expeditie, en na avonturen komen ze aan de rand van de wereld uit.

Waar allerlei Wondere Gebeurtenissen Gebeuren en zo.

En dan – niemand verwacht ze! – komt de Spaanse Inquisitie eraan. Logisch, dat niemand ze verwacht: hun belangrijkste wapen is het verrasingselement. En terreur. Hun twee belangrijkste wapens zijn verrassing, tereur. En gruwelijke efficiëntie. Oh, en een bijna fanatieke gehoorzaamheid aan de paus. Um. Hun vier. Nee. Onder hun belangrijkste wapens bevinden zich...

Nee serieus: de schlechte schlechterik is bedroevend karikaturaal. En het verhaal valt helaas allemaal een beetje in duigen, naar het midden en het einde van het boek. De hoofdpersonages blijven wel overeind, maar die dochter wordt een uitknipfiguur (het meisje dat bijna een jongen is), en de zijpersonages worden verkwanseld. En er was zoveel méér mee te doen, verdomme toch!