I love books that break molds. We found this series at our local library, and I PURCHASED them, I loved them so much!
This series successfully transcends reality and any pretense of adherence to scientific laws by ignoring them -- in a space setting that is utterly fantastic.
Imagine: Napoleon Bonaparte is alive and well and scheming to invade an already-colonized Mars. Three-masted schooners sail between worlds, on lanes created by now-extinct dragons. Dragon tombs on Mars are stuffed with fantastical technology that make all sorts of amazing inventions possible. All set in a very Austen-esque, or perhaps Bronte-esque (?), British Mars colony, with all it's preconceptions of propriety.
The MC, Edward, is a "damsel," as my daughter calls them -- characters who perpetually need saving. Edward gets into scrapes from which his 9-year-old sister, Putty, must rescue him. Or his uncle Freddy, the spy trying to thwart Napoleon's aspirations of Martian conquest. Or his father, the inventor of the amazing water abacus. Or his sister Olivia (who's in love with Freddy) or his sister Jane (who definitely puts me in mind of Sense and Sensibility).
I do hope there's a third book soon!
