Gears of Revolution by J. Scott Savage
Book Description:
After finding a compass and clues left by Kallista's father, Leo Babbage, Trenton and Kallista head west aboard their homemade mechanical dragon to search for the missing inventor. The two teenagers hope to find answers about their mountain city of Cove, but instead, they find only a blackened forest, ruined buildings, and a small underground city
Almost immediately, Trenton and Kallista are caught up in a civil war between a clan of scavengers called Whipjacks and the Order of the Beast, people who believe that dragons are immortal and divine.
Stranded in a new city, the two friends meet Plucky, a Whipjack girl with mechanical legs, and Ander, a young member of the Order who claims humans are able to communicate with dragons. Can they trust anyone, or have they unknowingly stepped into a trap?
And high above in the sky, the dragons are gathering . . .
Rorie's Review:
J. Scott Savage does it again with this latest installment in the Mysteries of Cove series. As soon as I got the book in the mail, my oldest son took it from me and didn't give it back until a few days later when he finished reading it. So first, I'll start with his review: "I really like how the author makes it intense. Also, they put in some really funny parts. I also love how much description there is. If you took away 50% of the description, there would be at least 30 less pages. I'd like to say one more thing: Leo Babbage is crazy! (and funny.)"
It didn't take me long at all to get caught up in this story. Trenton and Kallista are just like a brother and sister - constantly bickering, but they always have each other's back. When they got to Seattle, I was a bit confused at the description of building the new city on top of the other one - and that led me to get a bit frustrated that I couldn't tell what time period the story was taking place in. Is it supposed to be in the past? Modern day? Future? I know that it really doesn't matter to the story at all, but I just really like to know when stories are taking place.
Aside from that very minor frustration, I really enjoyed this book. And talk about cliff-hangar at the end! The author definitely needs to hurry up and write the third book, because this mom (and her son) really needs to know what is going to happen to Trenton, Kallista and all of their friends. And where the dragons came from. And why. And, and, and...so many questions...
I'll end with a quote from the book that I liked enough to mark on the page, because it is perfect for real life, not just this story: "Because if you only try the things you believe you can do, you'll only accomplish the things you already knew you could do. But if you give yourself permission to fail, you're free to try the things that seem completely beyond your reach. And that's when magic happens." I love that quote.
Andrea's Review:
It has been quite awhile since I read the first book in this series, and I wondered if I should try to re-read it before starting Gears of Revolution. I didn't end up having time to squeeze that in though, so I just plowed right in.
I was surprised that there wasn't a prologue or any backstory to start this book out. It just took up where the last book left off (from what I remember anyway). So, if you are looking for a stand alone novel, this isn't it. But, if you enjoyed the first book, I think you'll enjoy this second book. It has a cliff hanger ending, so if you are the type that needs closure you may need to wait a bit while the rest of the series is written and published. :)
Although it's over 300 pages, the font size and spacing is consistent with middle grade books, and goes pretty quickly. I appreciated that everything really moved the story along (no excess details or wordy descriptions), and I enjoyed the addition of the new characters that Trenton and Kallista found in Seattle.
There were also some twists and turns that kept things interesting, and I liked the message about giving yourself permission to fail so you can accomplish things you've never done before.
Title: Gears of RevolutionAuthor: J. Scott Savage
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Published: September 2016
ISBN: 1629722235
Source: We received copies of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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