The Cabinet of Wonders

If the true measure of a children's book is whether or not it can hold an adult's interest then THE CABINET OF WONDERS certainly passed this test for me. I'm certain that this above average tale with hold the interest of above average children. There is just so much here that resonated with my own interests: Prague as the 16th century capital of alchemy, kabbalah, and hermetic arts; the old Empire and the Hapsburgs; Dr. John Dee; the Roma and cant; etc. Yet, do not think that it is a mere encyclopedia of historical, or quasi-historical trivia, for the character developement could hardly be better. You care about these people from the start. I'm sure some might be disturbed by the early occurence of a man's eyes being cut from his sockets, but if you reflect, this really isn't any more bloody than many of the events in the tales told by the brothers Grimm. In fact, there is enough unpleasant realism woven into this story to keep it from becoming a sugar-sweet fantasy- chamber pots being emptied into the streets, bed bugs, corrupt cops, political intrigue, etc. Yet, this isn't our world for magic and mechanics exist side by side. I know that this book is subtitled as the first of the KRONOS CHRONICLES but it could easily stand on its own. I do not think that it is a spoiler to state that it has a most satisfying ending and there is no insufferable cliff hanger to make you feel cheated if you miss the next book. Yet, you will most definately want to continue on to the next book when it appears. A most enjoyable little gem.

This story is about a 12 year girl named Petra. She lives during the 1600's but they have magic. Petra's father is a metal worker who also has magic powers and incoporates it into his inventions. Because he is so talented the Prince hires him to build him a clock, not just any clock a magical clock that can control weather. There is quite a bit more to the story, which I do not want to give away, but suffice to say, Petra has to help her father and takes off to Prague to see if she can get something special back that the Prince stole from her father. The author did an awesome job writing this book. It is a very vivid and imaginitive story with wonderful characters. My 12-year-old daughter is about to start reading this book and I am excited to see what she thinks.

In this world everyone has a talent. Petra's family is good with metal. When her father comes back from working for the Prince Rodolfo of Prague he is blinded. The Prince has stolen his eyes in an attempt to steal his magic and Petra vows to get them back, no matter what the cost. Traveling to Prague she encounters many things along the way. But she stays the course, knowing that only certain death will prevent her from attaining her goal. This is a great start to a new series. I absolutely adored it, and look forward to more in the future.

This book begins starkly with two men who are bringing an injured clockmaker home to his family. Mikal Kronos's hurts are deliberate, his silver eyes torn out by the prince for whom he has made a great and magical clock. His only apparent thanks is his life. The deliverymen wonder whether Mikal's sons will seek revenge, but relax when they see that the clockmaker has only one child, a twelve-year-old daughter. A discerning reader will immediately surmise that Petra Kronos WILL seek revenge--or at least, that she will set out on a dangerous quest to recover her father's eyes. Author Marie Rutkoski starts with the city of Prague at the end of the sixteenth century, then adds a rich mix of magic. As if that weren't tricky enough to pull off, she goes on to mix the magic with technology. For example, in European fairy tale tradition, heroes running from enemies sometimes fling down magical combs and mirrors which turn into forests and lakes to block or at least slow the pursuit. In this book, an apprentice craftsman who is one of Petra's friends has trapped water and fire and even a wasp inside of small glass bubbles. The spells multiply their contents when thrown, creating a thoroughly satisfying effect during the key chase scene. Petra's father has also invented a menagerie of mechanized magical animals--one of whom, a spider, accompanies Petra wherever she goes, offering counsel as well as companionship. There are hints of adventures to come in the Kronos chronicles. We learn that Petra may someday attend the magic academy usually reserved for the children of nobility. In Rutkoski's Bohemia, the lower classes are not allowed to use magic, or at least not openly. If Petra does attend the Academy, I'm sure it will be just as fresh and intriguing as everything else in this author's world, with nary a hint of Hogwarts. Most important, the characters are appealing and the plot hangs together. Petra and her friends make good heroes--her new friend the Gypsy boy, Neel, can extend his fingers to ghostly yet effective lengths, and the mysteries in his life will surely come up again in later books. Another notable character is the English ambassador, John Dee, who is suspiciously helpful, decidedly manipulative, and very much magical. Then again, he is trumped by Countess Iris, the castle dye-maker whose skin leaks acid. I especially liked Iris's quest to create a new primary color! Prince Rudolfo is charming, ruthless, and undoubtedly insane. His power and his calm violence combine with a cheery intellectual curiosity to make him more unnerving and nuanced than the average fantasy villain. The enchanted sentries that compose the door to Rudolfo's chambers and the seven doors within those chambers are among the book's many captivating details. Petra must not only steal back her father's eyes--which the prince often wears (ulp, to see beauty with!)--she must also stop the prince from using her father's magical clock to wreak havoc across Europe. I very

It seems to me that today's average everyday fantasy author for kids has to walk a delicate line. You want to create an alternative history novel laden with magical elements? Fair enough. Here is the choice set before you. Nine times out of ten books of this sort, whether they're of the steampunk variety or the more common knights + wizardry type stuff, are written for kids thirteen and up. Think about it. The King of Attolia books, Philip Reeve's Larklight series, Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy), and so on and such. All of these are mature books for mature readers. They deal with large themes, long complicated plots, and dark motivations. So do you skew your book older or younger? Really, when you sit down and think about it, Marie Rutkoski's new series The Kronos Chronicles is a rare beastie. In her first installment "The Cabinet of Wonders", Rutkoski opts for the younger end of the spectrum, combining just the right mix of kid fantasy within a well-planned historical setting. I'm as tired of new otherworldly series as the rest of you, but Rutkoski's new world is crisp and smart enough to win over even the most jaded fantasy fan. When they brought her father home with bloody bandages over his eyes, that's when Petra Kronos got good and mad. Her father was given a remarkable commission: construct a clock for the prince himself in Prague. But instead of showering her father with gifts and praise upon its completion, the prince plucks out his eyes so as to make them his own (and prevent her dad from creating anything quite as nice again). Yet the clock is more than it seems. With the potential to control the weather itself, the Prince knows full well how powerful he could be if he just managed to put together the final piece. Now Petra is determined to steal back her father's eyes before that happens, even if it means befriending the Roma, sneaking into the palace, helping a woman who can leak acid through her skin, and reluctantly working alongside the magician and spy John Dee. Fortunately she has her tin spider Astrophil by her side and a host of talents that even she has been unaware of until now. One of the problems I've had with a lot of fantasy novels lately is just how bloody long they are. Blame Harry Potter, blame Twilight, blame whoever you like but the fact of the matter is that a lot of authors aren't taking the hint that sometimes your novel really doesn't have to be 300+ pages. Now let's take a gander at "The Cabinet of Wonders". Coming in at a trim 258 Rutkoski could have explained at length about everything from Petra's mother's death to the girl's experiences with her in-laws while her father was away. Instead we are plopped into the story midstream and Rutkoski has a clear enough sense of the story she's telling to fill the small background details along the way. The result is a story that moves at a quick clip but never hurries so quickly that you loose the plot's thread or get confused about where