Illusionarium by Heather Dixon

Illusionarium

by Heather Dixon

As apprentice to his father, the second-best medical scientist in the empire, Jonathan leads a quiet life in a remote aerial city until the king arrives, calling on them to find the cure to a plague that has struck the capital city and put the queen's life at risk, but the newly discovered chemical, fantillium, that may help will also put at risk all that Jonathan holds dear.

Reviewed by ladygrey on

3 of 5 stars

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eh. First of all, this book is gross. I glazed over so many descriptions of Rivening because, ew and double ew.

I don't read a lot of steampunk so it's an interesting change. The theme was good and served the plot well, and there's not a lot of young adult books with so clear of a theme.

The characters were good, particularly Anna and Lockwood, though Jonathan worked well as a focal point.

The plot was mostly very good, twisting and turning nicely, especially through the middle. By the end, though, after the second round, it was one chase scene too many. I was rather bored of the masked guard and ready for a nice conclusion. But there was still like two more chase scenes.

Once those were all over, however, I didn't feel short changed by the conclusion. Everything wrapped up rather nicely, which was particularly well done in so few pages.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 24 August, 2017: Finished reading
  • 24 August, 2017: Reviewed