The Court of the Air

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Caroline Berg, May 12, 2012 (view all comments by Caroline Berg)
I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Yes, it borrows a lot from history, but all the history is used so uniquely - seriously what other book is there were the Ancient Aztec gods are mixed with insects and are hellbent on destroying the world? (OK, to be fair, the Aztec gods are fairly bloodthirsty, but they aren't insectoid.)

This book is a steampunk romp that takes place so far in the future that time has cycled around again and Earth is having a second "Victorian-esque" age. Magic has returned to the world. The continents have shifted to form new counties, like Cassarabia, part Eastern Europe, part Arabian peninsula. And in this book two different groups are rushing to save the world. At first it can be confusing, since the two parties don't actually meet up until the middle of the book. And there are a lot of points of view to keep track of. But despite all the plots and subplots, everything comes together at the end.

I highly recommend it if you are a fan of steampunk. It is certainly one of the most creative books I have read in a long time.

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Lucy Black, July 3, 2009 (view all comments by Lucy Black)
There are some brilliant, innovative, humorous, provocative works of fantasy/sci-fi out there; this is not one of them. Someone made the mistake of comparing Hunt to authors like Susanna Clarke and Phillip Pullman (something I consider a blatant insult to the latter two). Other than the fact that all three authors are English, neither Clarke nor Pullman’s writing has much in common with the insipid blather that can by found in The Court of the Air. Hunt’s novel is an excellent example of why I avoid most sci-fi and a lot of fantasy; genres where too many authors try to disguise their inability to write with a bunch of funny-sounding names.

Although (maybe) a couple of the minor characters in this novel are amusing, the main ensemble is colourless and one-dimensional. The author’s attempts at making-over England into a fantastical setting was pathetically unoriginal, and his plot wasn’t all that great either. Hunt sort of just “borrows” things at random from history/reality, conveniently ignoring the fact that his story supposedly takes place in a DIFFERENT UNIVERSE (which makes the use of rugby terms or allusions to the Round Table flagrantly inappropriate) as well as from other sources like Doctor Who, Verne, and Lovecraft.

Overall, although I did manage to finish it, The Court of the Air was extraordinarily disappointing. I think the most positive thing I could say about this book is that it has nice cover art.

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