⋙ [PDF] Arabella of Mars The Adventures of Arabella Ashby Book 1 eBook David D Levine

Arabella of Mars The Adventures of Arabella Ashby Book 1 eBook David D Levine

Download As PDF : Arabella of Mars The Adventures of Arabella Ashby Book 1 eBook David D Levine

Arabella of Mars The Adventures of Arabella Ashby Book 1 eBook David D Levine

Almost every review of this book is going to start out the same way: imagine Edgar Rice Burroughs, Patrick O'Brien and Jane Austen had collaborated on a fantasy set in 1813 in a parallel universe where a thin atmosphere extends throughout the solar system Great Britain is at war with France and the USA, and its trade is menaced by pirates and privateers, but some of that trade is with colonies on Mars and Venus. Arabella Ashby was born and raised on Mars, but her mother, horrified at the way she is growing up, forcibly returns her and her sisters to Earth, where she quickly discovers a dastardly plot... she must return to Mars immediately. But she is penniless, and lives in an era when women cannot travel alone.

The author puts Arabella through a wild variety of dangerous adventures and demanding tasks. Every reader will have a favorite character. Mine is the navigational automaton of the interplanetary sailing ship Arabella winds up on, Addim. He's a benevolent and wordless clockwork version of HAL 9000.

Highly recommended.


Tags : Arabella of Mars (The Adventures of Arabella Ashby Book 1) - Kindle edition by David D. Levine. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Arabella of Mars (The Adventures of Arabella Ashby Book 1).,ebook,David D. Levine,Arabella of Mars (The Adventures of Arabella Ashby Book 1),Tor Books,Alternative History,Fantasy - Historical,Science Fiction - Action & Adventure,110301 Tor Trade-Tor Hardcover,AMERICAN HISTORICAL FICTION,AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY,Alternative History,FICTION Alternative History,FICTION Fantasy Historical,FICTION Science Fiction Action & Adventure,FICTION Science Fiction Steampunk,Fantasy - Historical,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction-ActionAdventure,FictionFantasy - Historical,FictionScience Fiction - Action & Adventure,GENERAL,General Adult,Interplanetary voyages,Life on other planets,Life on other planets.,Life on other planets;Fiction.,Mars (Planet),Mars (Planet);Fiction.,Monograph Series, any,Science Fiction - Action & Adventure,Science Fiction Action & Adventure,Science fiction,Space flight,Steampunk fiction,United States,space opera; american science fiction; hugo award winning authors; steampunk series; space adventure; space voyage; alternative history; historical science fiction; swashbuckling adventure; alternate history; napoleonic wars; intergalactic war; interplanetary travel; pulp adventure; steampunk science fiction; steampunk fantasy; steam punk; science fiction and fantasy; speculative fiction; sci-fi; scifi; sff; genre fiction,swashbuckling adventure; alternative history; alternate history; napoleonic wars; intergalactic war; interplanetary travel; pulp adventure; hugo award winning authors; steampunk series; space adventure; space opera; space voyage; alternative history; historical science fiction; american science fiction; steampunk science fiction; steampunk fantasy; steam punk; science fiction and fantasy; speculative fiction; sci-fi; scifi; sff; genre fiction,FICTION Alternative History,FICTION Fantasy Historical,FICTION Science Fiction Action & Adventure,FICTION Science Fiction Steampunk,FictionFantasy - Historical,FictionScience Fiction - Action & Adventure,Science Fiction Action & Adventure,Fiction - General,American Historical Fiction,American Science Fiction And Fantasy,Fiction

Arabella of Mars The Adventures of Arabella Ashby Book 1 eBook David D Levine Reviews

When I can hear the swell of theme music from words on a page, and happy tears jump to my eyes because the heroine is triumphant in both her quest and her wholly requited romantic inclinations, that means I've read a damn fine Steampunk Adventure Regency Romance Novel. Of which I think only this one may exist (along with its successors) written by David D. Levine.

The order of description I gave is no accident. Arabella of Mars has more in common with Horatio Hornblower novels and Treasure Island than Persuasion or anything Georgette Heyer. What sucked me in were the excellently researched portraits of "naval" life, allowing me to learn alongside Arabella about the imaginative addition of airships and hot air balloon sailing between planets. The book is fantasy, it requires suspension of disbelief, but the part of the tale that touches on the impossible is easy to accept as young "Ashby" learns his trade and becomes a member of the crew.

But as a lover of romances, it is the relationships Arabella has with her shipmates, her captain, and her Martian caretaker that give the book a rousing finish.

[SPOILERS BELOW - READ ON AT YOUR PERIL!]

I gave the novel only four stars for two reasons The main one was that the prologue, which gave me a glimpse into Arabella's formative past, did not instill within me a strong affinity for the characters that explicitly motivate and drive the story. Arabella's father does not fight for her, console her, or evidence the intelligence and affinity that Arabella ascribes to their relationship. That his loss affects poor Arabella deeply didn't resonate with me.

Similarly, the brief interactions I saw between the heroine and her soft-hearted, beloved brother were so mild that I found myself rolling my eyes when Arabella waxed on about his merits. Her desperate adventure with the sole intent of saving him from a known threat fell hollow and made the first few chapters of the book hard for me to get into.

Once I was in, however, there were plenty of extremely well-written trials, fights, and perilous privateers to hold my interest and deepen my sympathy with Arabella. The pace and the plot of the second act were incredibly enjoyable.

The last part of the book, after Arabella is discovered to be a girl, was again, more difficult for me to enjoy.  Her treatment by the captain and crew was so abrupt that I fell out of the story for awhile, tempted to skim. Similarly, Arabella's strangely generous nature with the villain rankled, though it was *so very Regency.* In that perhaps Levine accomplished what he set out to do perfectly.

The surprises and emotional resolutions in the last section aptly guided the book into the final resolution, underscoring themes about colonialism, family, culture, and above all else, honorable personal behavior in the face of anger and difficult circumstances.

I recommend this book to everyone interested in any of the genres above, whether romance is your thing, alternate history, pure adventure, or steampunk-ish fantasy. It is fun and has lots for a diverse array of readers to love.
Although this story has elements of science fiction (a Mars colony), Regency novels (mainly in the heroine’s clothing early on), and steampunk (automatons, including a navigator variant of the famous Turk, and airships), it is mostly a rip-roaring 19th-century seagoing adventure, complete with a disguised cabin boy, a dark and handsome captain, a mutiny, and a battle with an enemy privateer.

The seagoing manages to take place in space, on a journey from Earth to Mars, thanks to the interesting if thoroughly improbable notion that an “atmosphere” of sorts, complete with winds and weather, exists in outer space; the characters are weightless for much of the story, yet they have no trouble breathing, and they constantly have to manipulate ropes and sails and other oceanic hardware in order to survive.

If you can manage to swallow that basic idea, though (and it does take a BIG gulp), the story is a lot of fun. Arabella, the dauntless heroine, is everything that a dauntless heroine should be, and her adventures as cabin boy “Arthur” aboard the fast company ship Diana are delightfully exciting. In the later part of the book, too, she puts her knowledge of Mars, where she was born and raised, and its native people (to whom she paid far more attention than most English settlers on the planet) to good use in foiling a Dastardly Plot.

If there is such a thing as a science fiction “beach book,” this would be it. I’m glad to see that a sequel will be coming soon.
This book flows like a stream from its beginning to the last page. It is written in a very nice, very clear style, that gives me a good mental picture of all the action. The hero is feminine without being fluffyheaded, and shows a lot of good sensible inner dialogue. The author went to a lot of trouble to research life aboard a sailing ship, and his writing gives it the gritty feel of the real thing. I was hooked into the story from the first line. The author is an excellent wordsmith, I have a great deal of trouble in most books seeing the action in my head, but David Levine paints the picture so well it is easy for me to see everything from the ropes and wood that make up the ship to the sands of Mars marching off in rows of dunes. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read in a fantastic, Regency, science fiction novel.
Almost every review of this book is going to start out the same way imagine Edgar Rice Burroughs, Patrick O'Brien and Jane Austen had collaborated on a fantasy set in 1813 in a parallel universe where a thin atmosphere extends throughout the solar system Great Britain is at war with France and the USA, and its trade is menaced by pirates and privateers, but some of that trade is with colonies on Mars and Venus. Arabella Ashby was born and raised on Mars, but her mother, horrified at the way she is growing up, forcibly returns her and her sisters to Earth, where she quickly discovers a dastardly plot... she must return to Mars immediately. But she is penniless, and lives in an era when women cannot travel alone.

The author puts Arabella through a wild variety of dangerous adventures and demanding tasks. Every reader will have a favorite character. Mine is the navigational automaton of the interplanetary sailing ship Arabella winds up on, Addim. He's a benevolent and wordless clockwork version of HAL 9000.

Highly recommended.