Book Review: Reckless by Cornelia Funke

German author Cornelia Funke has quite the resume:  The bestselling Inkheart trilogy (Inkheart, Inkspell, Inkdeath), The Thief Lord, and two movies based on her books, just for starters.  Her newest novel, Reckless, the first in a series, was released mid-2010.
When he was younger, Jacob Reckless discovered a portal in his father's office.  Over the next ten years he spent more and more time in the mirror world and less in the real world.  One day, his younger brother Will follows him through the mirror and is fatally wounded.  (Fatally, in this case, refers to turning into a stone monster.)  Even though he has seen little of his brother over the past few years, Jacob is determines to reverse the damage and send Will and his girlfriend, Clara, back through the mirror.
Put plainly: Funke's latest novel shines.  The mirror world is dark and rich.  The three "normal" characters are realistic and driven.  Funke gives us just enough description to flesh out her world, leaving the rest of the imagining to us.  The plot parallels Jacob's one-track mind, pushing relentlessly toward the end.  Instead of leaving us worn out or bored, the urgency pushes us through the 300+ page book at, well, reckless speeds.

Pros:

*Amazing world building

*Believable, honest characters

*Eloquent story telling

*Intriguing pictures that add to the story

Cons:

*Some implied sex (mentioned so that young readers would probably not catch it)

*Some mild language

*Some violence.  Main kill often and characters nearly die.

*Some dishonest dealings.

*Could be a bit dark or intense for young readers.

Steampowered Stories [Album Review]

Some time ago in a city run solely on steam...

"Gather round now, everyone hear,
Hear of incredible things
We'll tell you the stories of people we've met
And creatures with clockwork and springs!"

The Cog is Dead is a steampunk band. Under the premise of a time-traveling band from the 1890s, the musical quartet manages to embrace all of the charm and themes of steampunk (romanticism of the Victorian era mixed with mechanics, clockwork, and "modern ingenuity") as well as a variety of different musical themes, ranging from a nineteen-twenties swing to reggae to a pop-rock feeling.

1. Steam Powered Stories (Intro)
The first track on this album is, as the title suggests, an introduction. Setting the premise of a radio show, the Cog is Dead sets the feeling for the entire album; whimsical, and in the words of Monty Python, "something completely different" with bright electric guitar and lyrics that just kind of throw you for a loop.

2. Blood, Sweat, and Tears
"Some time ago in a city run solely on steam..."

The second track on the album is a dark contrast to the first, which promises a cheerful listen.

This is one of those growing ever-so-rare "tell a story" songs that describes the power plants of steam-powered stories. After describing the conditions and job that the workers have, the song begins to tell the unfortunate tale of Frederick Worthington, who "clocked into work, and went to his station not knowing the danger that lurked".

Accordion is a fantastic stand-in for a pipe organ, equally as creepy, and brilliant sounding trumpets accompany the accordion wonderfully.

3. Loverboy
"Oh, loverboy, that woman's heart is not a toy..."

Why, yes, it IS one of those songs! You know the type; girl falls for guy, guy fools around, girl leaves guy, guy is heartbroken. Except old-timey and a tiny bit goofy.

I can't tell if its a banjo or a guitar; whatever it is, it adds extreme lyrical/musical dissonance; the song is about heartbreak and, as they put it, "running around", but the music is extremely upbeat and generally fun to listen to.

The old-timey radio voice saying "loverboy" intermittently towards the end, however, is a lovely touch. The Cog is Dead gets brownie points for that one.

4. The Copper War
The third track of the album feels very much like a Western movie. Starting off with a fast guitar and a whistled melody, the song is like its predecessor and tells the story of copper in a Western town. Not really much else to say; the lead singer does get a wonderful, rich, Southern sound out of his voice, though.

5. Aimee
"A girl sweet and pure like no other
With dreams just as big as the sea..."

"Aimee" is the song from a man, in love with a mechanic, to Aimee, who is away, exploring the ocean in her submarine. The song begins with a strong, loud organ, and suddenly switches to piano and slowly crescendoes to the chorus, which brings in the rest of the band.

The lyrics are adorable, sad, and most definitely steampunk, in all of its glory. (Really, how often do you hear a song about a girl practically in love with her machinery?)

An electric guitar solo comes in just before the end and somehow keeps the charm and feeling of the rest of the song. Finally wrapping up with just the lead singer and his piano, the song is definitely one of my favorites on the album.

6. Let Me Be Your Man
"Honey, I've known you for quite a while
My heart gets all a-flutter every time I see your smile
Darlin', won't you let me hold your hand
And say that I can be your man!"

Track six is an adorable nineteen-twenties style song, complete with the banjo-sounding guitar and adorable lyrics, a wonderful contrast and follow-up to "Aimee". It tells the story of a man madly in love, willing to do whatever it takes to be with his dream girl.

Jeez, so many adorable love songs on this album, its so easy to forget sometimes that its steampunk.


7. Mechanical Menagerie
A song with a pop feel to it, "Mechanical Menagerie" starts off sounding more like a Barenaked Ladies song than a steampunk piece of music. The typical "ooh-ooh-ooh-ing" and four guitar chords repeated over and over again start off the song.

Describing a "mechanical menagerie", a plethora of robots and clockwork animals created and put on display by a man in London, the song seems to fit the "radio show" feeling set by the first track on the album, almost like an advertisement for the Mechanical Menagerie. All in all, an adorable song.

WARNING: This song is an earworm! One listen and you'll be rockin' out to it all day in your head. Don't say we didn't warn you.


8. The Depths Below
"There's an ancient legend, an oceanic tale
An underwater monster not a fish and not a whale..."

Ahh, at last, the steampunk train rolls on! The "The Depths Below" is one of those legends that old sailors might have told to each other set to a creepy piece of music, begun with bells, like those on a xylophone.

Telling the story of something that "isn't quite a creature and isn't quite machine," it describes a mighty sea monster that, so far, has never let any ship survive its wrath.

9. Time Machine
Another sad love song telling the story of a man whose lover is dying of a currently incurable disease. Her boyfriend (perhaps husband, the song doesn't ever specify) is so distraught by the idea of losing her that he builds a mighty time machine to go to the future and retrieve a cure so that she'll live and be able to stay with him.

This song follows a steampunk timeline; diseases (consumption and the like) had no cure or treatment during the Victorian era. (Another steampunk band, the Clockwork Quartet, wrote a song about a woman who had such a disease and whose husband went mad trying to find a cure for it; more on that, perhaps in a later post.)

The song begins with a plucked guitar and violins playing pizzicato, shortly joined by a cello before the lead singer begins.

I'm telling you now, this song is a bit of a tear jerker. Have a box of tissues at the hand, ladies and gentlemen.

10. The Inventor's Daughter
"I once knew a girl with a heart of gold
To legs of silver and arms of chrome
The prettiest girl I ever knew,
I loved each rivet, bolt, and screw"

A bright contrast to "Time Machine", this next song is about a man who falls in love with a robot girl, referred to as the daughter of an inventor. Its the story of how they met and fell in love and decided to elope, before getting dragged back to the Inventor's house, where he locks his daughter away from her lover.

The song is whimsical, starting up with whistles and a cheery, lighthearted melody. A bright guitar solo in the middle manages to keep the charm and fun mood of the song.

Suddenly, at the end of the song, we hear a special news bulletin, informing us of...

11. The Death of the Cog
The band takes on a suddenly dark, grim tone with "The Death of the Cog", from whence their name comes. (Or was it their name that spawned the song...? Hm, who can say?)

The song is directed at one Mr. Hamilton, inventor of the digital clock. The storyteller, supposedly the band's lead singer "John Sprocket", an English clockmaker, is stricken with grief and is furious with Hamilton for causing the "death of the cog".

Three words for you: epic accordion solo.

12. I Want Only You
Hey, look, another mood change! "I Want Only You" is a reggae love song, from the storyteller to a Victorian girl, who's said to have a charming combination of a parasol and goggles.

The aforementioned lyrics, folks, is what steampunk is all about.

Bob Marley-esque, as one might expect. Not my favorite track, but a definite earworm (beware the earworm!) so watch out!

13. A Letter to Michelle
This is the final part of the radio show premise, excluding the reprise/outro of "Steam Powered Stories".

Track 13 tells the story of an airship pilot attacked by pirates and writing home to his wife about his fate. A beautiful song, certainly a bit of a tear-jerker. (Hope you didn't put away the tissues just yet.)

14. Steam Powered Stories (Reprise)
A lovely little wrapping up of the whole album, keeping with the theme of a radio show. Very much like its counterpart, the intro.

BONUS TRACK:
Giiiiiiirl.... It's a '90's R&B song..."
Yes, there is a reason why the band skipped this genre.

SO...
All in all, a charming, fun debut CD with a different style. And epic album artwork. Definitely a fantastic (rare) concept album, surprisingly clean and appropriate for listeners of all ages, a definite plus. If you have the chance, check out their website here.