Where to start? Jonathan Gouden is an apprentice to his father who is a surgeon. Shortly, he wil be leaving to go to the Institute and take formal classes. His plans are interrupted by an awful virus called Venen that seems to attack only women and quickly end their lives. As his mother and sister Hannah catch Venen, Jonathan fights furiously to find a cure in time to save them. Jonathan grows a lot within the six days that form the bulk of the story. He’s very smart, a mathematical and physics genius, but makes some very dumb mistakes. Understandably, he has led a very sheltered life and he’s very naïve. It’s in his nature to want to believe the best of people and in his situation this is a determent.
Jonathan “falls” into an alternate reality in the city of Nod’ol where illusionists are very valuable. So it happens that Jonathan is a very good illusionist and he’s blackmailed into staying there in exchange for the cure to the Venen. This ensues a fast paced series of events and challenges in order for Jonathan and his companions to make it back to Arthurise in time.
“My father had this…belief.
It was that everyone had a sort of compass inside of him. One that you could feel. And if you were doing everything good and right, it pointed to a northernmost light, and if you did ill, it turned and twisted and caused of sort of southerly darkness inside your soul.”
Lockwood is so funny! He’s a handsome young lieutenant and he’s a great fighter. I really liked his interaction with Jonathan, I think at the end they became very good friends. Constantine, and Divinity and two other illusionists that are sort of like famous rock stars in Nod’ol. They are a nasty piece of work, backstabbing and ruthless. Anna/Hannah is awesome! She’s smart, loyal, courageous, a risk taker and true gem. Queen Honoria was such an awful person. SO, SO bad.
“You little maggot!” he snarled. “You disgusting flap of cut-off flesh, you murky chunk of filth! Thanks to you I’ve been stripped of my rank!”
The setting deserves its own paragraph for sure. At the beginning, Jonathan lives in Fata Morgana, an Aerial City over the Netherlands. It is cold and isolated, but it is a cozy existence where everyone knows and cares for each other. Arthurise is the world in which they live, which – as is typical of steampunk- is based on London, England. This world has embraced the culture of the times of Arthur and his knights, thus the name. Nod’ol is where most of the story takes place and it is a “London” gone bad. It’s in a downright spiral towards extinction, the city is in a state of ruins and decay, and its inhabitants are very difficult to like. Such an imagination!
I love the writing, it was easy to understand, even with the new terms and technology presented. I found the story to be fast paced and enthralling. The plot was unique, interesting, and exceptional! I wish that we could have seen more of what happed with Lockwood and Hannah and that the romance between Alice and Jonathan was more present in the story. Also, I’m curious to know what happened with Nod’ol after the story ended. I kept thinking on why didn’t Jonathan turned back time and to undo the start of the Venen…
Note: I’m a bit bummed that it was really hard to follow up the ‘footnotes’ in the eARC. Also, there are certain illustrations that didn’t made it. No worries, it just means that I have to get my very own finished copy sooner :)
Overall, I really liked Illusionarium. It was a mix of steampunk and an alternate worlds that I enjoyed. I’m glad that it’s not part of a series and I’m more than happy with the ending, although there is certainly more that can happen to this world and to the characters. This review was originally posted on Reading With ABC