Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge

10 Stars

Mosca Mye is born in a world terrified of the awesome power of words. She is both blessed and cursed by a literary father who teaches her to read--and then dies, leaving her an unwanted orphan. When she encounters the questionably articulate Eponymous Clent, she can't help but be drawn into his world of the unanswerable. But perhaps she gets in deeper than she expected when asked to spy on a powerful Guild by an even more powerful duchess. Her exploits lead her and her gander (yes, she really does have a pet gander) into treachery, a Guild war, and a terrible propensity for her world's history to repeat itself.

I, like Anthony, will probably not give a lot of reviews with ten stars, but wanted to start off on a good note. I just read this book for the second time. Seeing as how the first time I read it was only just over a year ago, that alone should say something.

Frances Hardinge is a genius! As difficult as it would be to create a world so dependent on words and actually be able to do it justice with your own, she pulls it off completely. She really is a master storyteller--one of those who makes you want to run out and finish that book you've begun writing, while at the same time making you completely despair of ever being a good writer. Now, that being said, she does have a taste for the slightly macabre, so I wouldn't recommend her for the very young or very squeamish. (Though, truthfully, this is not as apparent in "Fly by Night" as in her "Gullstruck Island." Another excellent read, but slightly creepier, and probably more a 9 than a 10 for me.) The characters in this book are outstanding and very memorable. The plot keeps you guessing, but doesn't lose you. She spins a beautiful web of words throughout. Even the names she chooses have world's of meaning, without giving anything away. If you haven't yet read at least one of her books, you really ought to. And if you only ever read one of them, it really ought to be this one.