Arabella and the Battle of Venus

May 22, 2017
Charming young Arabella (introduced in Arabella of Mars) embarks on another entertaining quest in an imaginative setting that combines 19th-century seafaring with pulp-style space adventure. This time she’s setting out to rescue her fiancé from a prison camp on the planet Venus, where Napoleon’s forces are holding him and his crew. To do so she employs the help of a dashing and impulsive privateer, Captain Fox. The journey to Venus is pretty slow-paced, but the scheming and deprivation within the prison camp bring the plot back up to speed, and Arabella makes good use of her creativity and collaboration skills to save the day. This interesting piece of speculative fiction draws on venerable imaginings of distant worlds while still feeling fresh and original, especially to the younger readers who are its most likely audience. Agent: Paul Lucas, Janklow & Nesbit.

June 15, 2017

Napoleon Bonaparte has escaped from the Moon, and Arabella Ashby learns that her fiance, Capt. Prakash Singh, and his crew have been captured and imprisoned by the French on Venus. Arabella must find a way to get to the enemy-controlled planet, then release her captain through either bribery or a fight. She enlists the less-than-inspiring privateer Capt. Daniel Fox and his ship Touchstone, but Arabella's brother insists their straitlaced neighbor, Lady Corey, accompany her as chaperone. Arriving on Venus, Arabella soon discovers that Napoleon has developed a secret weapon that could change the course of the war; can Arabella, Singh, and Fox, drawing on their skills and wiles, stop him? VERDICT Levine's sophomore work (after the Nebula Award-winning Arabella of Mars) brings back his plucky heroine and introduces charismatic characters for another engaging steampunk adventure among the stars.--KC

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