Pastworld - Ian Beck

*** 1/2 - A great premise full of atmospheric fog, a serial killer run amok and the steampunk/dystopian fun of a corporation determined to make the experience authentic, but the end struck me as oddly unsatisfying.

FTC Disclaimer: I checked this book out from my local library, because libraries rule!

Gaslit Victorian London fuels the imagination - the fog-ridden world of Jack the Ripper, Sherlock Holmes and Dickens. And even in the sanitized future, it continues to exercise its pull, to the point where the actual London has been turned into a huge theme park dedicated to experiencing the authentic Victorian-era city. And it is authentic - from the clothing, to the dirt and poverty, all the way to the seemingly uncatchable serial killer, the Fantom who haunts the streets of Pastworld looking for a girl with unusual blue eyes.

My Thoughts: Pastworld reminded me a bit of a steampunk version of Margaret Haddix' Running out of Time, in that our heroine, Eve, has no idea that she is living in a theme park until she runs away to join a traveling circus. I loved the blending of the old-fashioned Victorian lifestyle with futuristic technology, and I thought the entire set-up of the Fantom was incredibly intriguing. The whole thing is twisting and thought-through to the point where I almost can't say much about the plot for fear of giving away some of the joy of experiencing the novel.

There were some things about the characters that struck me as a bit off - I never really grew attached to any of them, and I never figured out what the feud between Bible J's master and the ragged men was all about (a blatantly waving loose end). The characters all seemed a bit like placeholders - I think I liked Caleb the best for his doubts about leaving his father, but Eve was rather flat and Bible J seemed like a carbon copy of the Artful Dodger a few years older. The setting is really the saving grace of the story because it is masterfully described.

Beck does an excellent job of sprinkling clues to help solve the mystery and foreshadowing of the final showdown throughout the novel, and it is a delight to watch the plot unfold eerily in the flickering gaslight. But I have to admit to being less impressed by the end. There's some unfortunate monologuing, for starters, but really the climactic scene is rather anti-climactic - particularly since it ends so abruptly. While I didn't like the end, I was enamored of Pastworld, of Jago the circus clown, and of the originality of the premise. Pastworld is definitely a page-turner, I barely put it down.

I did like that while there is room left for a sequel should Beck care to write one (his interview at Wondrous Reads suggests maybe), this installment of the story stands alone - thank goodness for THAT in a world full of YA trilogies!

Links:

The book site (with the excellent trailer) - though I admit to being upset that Jago isn't Indian! (My mistake - Ian Beck stopped by to assure me that the young man playing Jago in the trailer is, in fact, Indian. Hats off to the production company. Sorry for doubting!)

The rules of Pastworld

Gaskella - The Truman Show Meets Dickensian Melodrama

Wondrous Reads review and author interview