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Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | J FICTION BAI | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
For Phoebe Plumm, life in affluent Meridian revolves around playing tricks against her irritating servant Micah Tanner whilst she anxiously waits for her world-renowned father, Dr. Jules Plumm, to return home. Dr. Jules is the chief engineer for The Foundry, a global corporation with an absolute monopoly on metal production and technology and so is often absent for months at a time, much to his daughter's chagrin. But when a sudden and unexpected reunion leads to father and daughter being abducted, Micah sets out to rescue the pair.
Author Notes
CAM BAITY & BENNY ZELKOWICZ are writers, animators, and filmmakers who began collaborating after meeting at California Institute of the Arts. A Texas native, Cam has made several short films, and his work has been screened at numerous festivals around the globe, including the BBC British Short Film Festival. In addition, he worked on the motion picture Team America: World Police as well as the award-winning television series SpongeBob SquarePants . Canadian-born Benny studied science before turning his attention to animation, and his celebrated short The ErlKing was an official selection at both Sundance and the New York Film Festival. He has directed the BBC/CBC animated series Lunar Jim , and in the U.S. his work has been seen on television in The Simpsons . Both have contributed to Adult Swim's Robot Chicken and Moral Orel and reside in Los Angeles. Learn more about them at camandbenny.com.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Phoebe Plumm lives in Meridian, a society controlled by the Foundry, a powerful corporation churning out unbelievable technology. Her father is an executive there, and his secretive work means that he is often away from home. Lonely, but incredibly spoiled, the 12-year-old spends her time playing pranks on Micah, a household servant, until she and her father are kidnapped by Foundry men. With Micah's help, Phoebe escapes and the two set off on a rescue mission. As they traverse the landscape of a peculiar world called Mehk, they discover that the metal Meridian uses for its technology is not mined, but rather harvested from intelligent beings who have their own language, culture, and even religion. Phoebe is horrified by her father's work and is determined to make things right. The authors have created an imaginative and profound world. The descriptions of the Mekhans are so original and detailed, readers might think these creatures actually exist. "Despite his attire, he was anything but human. His limbs were long, flexible hoses of tarnished metal, and instead of a lantern on his head, the lantern was his head." Combining elements of fantasy and steampunk, The Foundry's Edge explores how the exploitation and destruction of one group unfairly advances another. A fine addition to any middle grade collection.-Kimberly Garnick Giarratano, Rockaway Township Public Library, NJ (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Baity and Zelkowicz, animators and artistic collaborators whose credits include work on such shows as Robot Chicken and Moral Orel, make their fiction debut with this richly imagined fantasy, first in a trilogy. Twelve-year-old Phoebe Plumm lives in the lap of luxury, in a world filled with amazing technological advances, whose secrets are jealously guarded by the Foundry. When Foundry agents kidnap Phoebe's father, she and the Plumm Estate "grease monkey," annoying 10-year-old Micah, follow. Plunged into a world of living metal and machinery, the two encounter numerous dangers, as well as a mechanical companion, the erratic Dollop. Baity and Zelkowicz have created a memorable setting that owes less to steampunk than an atmosphere of retro-futurism, and the authors' prose is stuffed with lavish descriptions ("The brasslands stretched as far as the eye could see, a golden ocean roiling in the breeze, crashing up against corkscrew spires"). The plot drags at times as the heroes slog from one situation to the next, and some twists are quite obvious, but it's still a solid start to the series, filled with storytelling potential. Ages: 8-12. Agent: Gotham Group. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
A rescue attempt gone wrong drops snobby outcast Phoebe Plumm and her tech-savvy servant, Micah, into a hidden world of living metal ravaged by The Foundry, an unethical corporation from their own world that has monopolized metal production. While young steampunk fans may be enchanted by the all-metal ecosystem, the clunky slang and flat characterization give the trilogy-starter less general appeal. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
The Foundry, a metal-forging behemoth, controls the world's supply of trinkets, fashion, construction materials, vehicles, and, of course, weapons. Phoebe's father is one of its most powerful players, and when he's kidnapped by mysterious bespectacled animatrons, she and her nemesis turned friend, Micah, follow him into the depths of Mekh, a hidden world full of living metal. As Phoebe and Micah search the strange metallic environment, they realize that the Foundry hasn't invented anything; it has merely plundered Mekh for its resources and enslaved its population. With a few new metal friends, the teens seek out Phoebe's father, and she struggles to accept the part he has played in Mekh's destruction. Baity and Zelkowicz put their experience as animators to work, describing the alien metal world and its mind-bendingly outlandish denizens with such an eye for visual detail that they clatter to life on the page. The imaginative world, whirlwind adventure, tense emotional stakes, and some well-placed laughs put this first in a planned series in the same stack as Harry Potter and Percy Jackson.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2014 Booklist
