Saturday, October 28, 2006

Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge

This thick tome follows young orphan Mosca as she travels across land and sea with a strange man named Eponymous Clent. In no time at all, she is caught up in an intriguing struggle for power between different persons and guilds.

Fly by Night is not a fantasy book, nor is it historical fiction. Instead, her world is something somewhat like our world a few hundred years ago -- but with different laws and events, which have shaped its history and its people accordingly.

Initially, I thought this story revolved around books and literacy because the attractive front cover boldly states, "Imagine a world in which all books have been banned!" Though it did deal with writing and words, the book was ultimately more about power, greed, politics, and trickery.
Some of my acquaintances really loved Fly by Night. It was recommended to me by more than one person. The book never quite lived up to the hype which preceeded it. Perhaps it was not my cup of tea because it wasn't everything that I expected, but that is not to say it was a poor book. I did enjoy some moments of suspense, and I liked Mosca's pet goose.