Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36676 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback

Synopsis
A hugely engaging adventure set in a Victorian-style world -- a fantastical version of Dickens -- that will appeal to fans of Susanna Clarke and Philip Pullman. Two orphans are more than they seem. And one megalomaniac will stop at nothing to find them! When Molly Templar witnesses a brutal murder at the brothel she has just been apprenticed to, her first instinct is to return to the poorhouse where she grew up. But there she finds her fellow orphans butchered, and it slowly dawns on her that she was in fact the real target of the attack. For Molly carries a secret deep in her blood, a secret that marks her out for destruction by enemies of the state. Soon Molly will find herself battling a grave threat to civilization which draws on an ancient power thought to have been quelled millennia ago. Oliver Brooks has led a sheltered life in the home of his merchant uncle. But when he is framed for his only relative's murder he is forced to flee for his life. He is accompanied by Harry Stave, an agent of the Court of the Air -- a shadowy organization independent of the government that acts as the final judiciary of the land, ensuring that order prevails.Chased across the country, Oliver finds himself in the company of thieves, outlaws and spies, and gradually learns more about the secret that has blighted his life, but which may also offer him the power to avert the coming catastrophe.

Their enemies are ruthless and myriad, but Molly and Oliver are joined by indomitable friends in this endlessly inventive tale full of drama, intrigue and adventure.

From the Inside Flap
Two orphans on the run, each with the power to save the world
...

When streetwise Molly Templar witnesses a brutal murder at the brothel she
has recently been apprenticed to, her first instinct is to run back to the
poorhouse where she grew up. But there she finds her fellow orphans
butchered, and it slowly dawns on her that she was the real target of the
attack. For Molly carries a secret deep in her blood, a secret that marks
her out for destruction by enemies of the state.

Oliver brooks has led a sheltered existence in the backwater home of his
merchant uncle. But when he is framed for his only relative's murder he is
forced to flee for his life, accompanied by a agent of the mysterious Court
of the Air. Chased across the country, Oliver finds himself in the company
of thieves, outlaws and spies, and gradually learns more about the secret
that has blighted his life.

Soon Molly and Oliver will find themselves battling a grave threat to
civilisation, an ancient power thought to have been quelled millennia ago.
Their enemies are ruthless and myriad, but the two orphans are also aided
by indomitable friends in this endlessly inventive tale full of drama,
intrigue and adventure.

From the Back Cover
Strange. It was not past ten yet, only an hour after house
curfew; there should have been some cheap tallow candles burning, the
orphans reading penny dreadfuls, talking, eating fruit lifted from Magnet
Market's throwaway bins. The room was pitch black, no skylights to the
street above. Molly reached for one of the matches and lit a candle.

Cheap plywood bed frames lay overturned, hemp blankets scattered across the
floor. Not just blankets. Molly stood over one of the bundles on the floor,
hardly daring to flip the huddle over. She did.

Rachael's cold dead eyes stared back at her.

She would not be waking.

Customer Reviews

loved it
inventive, action packed, moving and poignant. I found this a real page turner - once you have dug in to the first third of the book it really picks up pace, and it is great to find an author who knows how to end a book without you feeling a little let down or it going flat! It is a heavy read in the sense that Hunt gives no explanation as to where you are, who the creatures are (or why) and why the world you are in is like it is - so at worst you could claim it is a bit confusing, however it is never dull and perfect for those who like to fall into a story and escape from the real world! let it wash over you without "over thinking" it all (like Shakespeare) and you will fall in love with the characters and feel a huge sense of adventure as you tumble through the story. great for cold winter Sundays!

A swift romp of the fantastic
Things happen rapidly in this sword and sorcery tale, but it is a measure of the Court of the Air's sureness that the action keeps you wrapped up and moving along through an imagined world of a depth that I have read in few works (and they are the greats too). Full of tense confrontations, the author resists the standard cliches and balances several themes with a touch of dark wit. A very skillful novel which only falters slightly in the number of rich characters that the plot tries to juggle at the same time. Let's hope that S Hunt manages to bring us many more works fixed in his remarkable fantasy settings.

An awe inspiring fantasy adventure
The Court of the Air is incredibly fanciful and entertaining with enough meat, ideas and concepts poured up to the brim to challenge the brain as you are carried along on its rapid ride through the Kingdom of Jackals.

A clear play on the England of the 19th/18th century, the novel scores a lot of points for adults on the nature of war, politics and power while serving up multi-faceted real characters.

The adventure-dripping plot will also keep the teenagers and the kids among you happy too. It's like an industrialized Middle-Earth written without the poe-faced seriousness of Tolkien. Yes, this book is a work of brilliance.