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Summary
Summary
A middle-grade action adventure trilogy that's part Pinocchio, part fantasy, and all fun.
The first book in the Extraordinary Journeys of Clockwork Charlie trilogy is full of adventure, daring and heart. Charlie lives a quiet life with his protective father, an inventor and clockworker in Victorian England. When his father is suddenly kidnapped by a group billed as the Anti-Human League, Charlie gathers a motley crew to help track him down. From the terrifying but well-meaning troll Grim Grumblesson to the high-flying young aeronauts Bob and Sir Oliver, this team will follow the trail anywhere.
But the plan is much more sinister than Charlie could have imagined, for the League needs his father's remarkable talents to bring their dark plans to life. As Charlie gets closer to the truth about the League, he must also confront why he eats so little, can take any punch, and can hold his breath as long as he wants.
Will Charlie and his gang be able to rescue his father from the dastardly villains who have kidnapped him? And will he be able to comes to terms with who he really is? The journey begins here.
Series Overview- A boy discovers he is one of his father's clockwork inventions and must set out on a daring journey when his father is kidnapped by a villain who wants to use his skills to take over the world.
Author Notes
Dave lives in an old house, and works in a study where one of the biggest bestsellers of the 20th century was written-Dave has kept the room's original shag carpet and wooden-veneered walls. He likes games, guitars, languages, and most of all his family.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Charlie Pondicherry lives in his bap's (father's) clock shop in an alternate Victorian London shared by humans and fairy tale creatures (snippets from the Almanack of the Elder Folk and Arcana of Britain and North Ireland appear between chapters, describing these beings and their customs). Mr. Pondicherry forbids Charlie from leaving the alley where they live, but when his bap is kidnapped, Charlie vows to find him, aided by a ragtag group that includes a troll who practices law, a pixie on her tithe (akin to a walkabout), and two aeronauts who aren't what they seem. The characters' backstories are revealed as they try to track down the "Sinister Man" who took Bap as part of a larger conspiracy. The fast-paced plot is action-packed but leaves room for Charlie's coming-of-age journey as he discovers his own strengths and comes to terms with his true identity. Debut author Butler's meticulously crafted world springs to vivid life in this first book in the Extraordinary Journeys of Clockwork Charlie trilogy, which should satisfy fans of fantasy and adventure. Ages 8-12. Agent: Deborah Warren, East West Literary. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
When Charlie Pondicherry's father, a clockwork machinery expert, is kidnapped, Charlie and companions--including a troll lawyer and his pixie assistant--scour a steampunk version of Victorian London for him. Along the way, they uncover a deadly plot and a secret truth about Charlie. Outlandish characters and their backstories, twists and turns, and plenty of action make this an ambitious, entertaining series-opener. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Charlie Pondicherry lives in the back roads of London's Whitechapel area, running errands for Bap, his inventor father, and dealing with bullies. Insults and stones fly, with equal accuracy, from schoolmates like Bruiser and from Fathead Wu, who does Bap's laundry. All Charlie wants is adventure to meet dragons and trolls and to captain a pirate ship but even in this alternate London, full of clockwork creatures and devices, true adventures are few and far between. When Bap is kidnapped by a Sinister Man and the creepy Anti-Human League, Charlie takes it upon himself to mount a rescue. With unlikely help from the thieves Heavenbound Bob and The Snake, Charlie uncovers a plot to replace Queen Victoria and blame it on Bap, who, it turns out, has a shocking secret identity. In between chapters are snippets from the Smythson Almanack, detailing the sorts of fantasy creatures (trolls, pixies, kobolds) that Charlie sees on an average day, a nice touch that makes for an interesting addition to an already engrossing story.--Comfort, Stacey Copyright 2016 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-Charlie Pondicherry, the son of an inventor, lives a cloistered life in a back alley of London until his father is kidnapped and he is thrown headfirst into a series of adventures as he tries to rescue him. As Charlie travels through London, he meets a colorful cast of characters and learns that he might not be quite the boy he thinks he is (hint: the spoiler is in the title). The story is action packed and throws readers right in, but the world-building can feel overly busy, particularly since this version of steampunk London is populated not just by humans but also pixies, trolls, hulders, kobolds, and more, each with their own particular habits, dialect, and political subplots. An open ending promises more to come. VERDICT A page-turning adventure for ambitious readers who don't mind a bit of a learning curve.-Eliza Langhans, Hatfield Public Library, MA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Charlie Pondicherry, a Punjabi-English boy whose life revolves around his father's clock shop, experiences the world entirely through books and storiesbut that is about to change.When his brilliant inventor father is kidnapped by a group of sinister men, all they leave behind is a mysterious note signed by the Anti-Human League. Aided by a motley crew of helpmates that includes a troll, an aristocratic pixie, and two chimney sweeps, Charlie races to save his father and foil a plot against Queen Victoria during her Diamond Jubilee. Along the way, Charlie learns that life is far more complicated than the fairy tales he read could have prepared him for. In this first novel of a projected series for children, Butler crafts a multilayered network of societies within and beneath London and a racially diverse cast of characters, none of whom are entirely what they seem. Through the group's exploits in the city, the author makes astute social commentary about the xenophobic attitudes of both 19th-century English society and, by extension, our own. Though the fast-paced action is dizzying at times, the novel's central lesson that kindness is integral to the definition of humanity is solid.Reminiscent of both Pinocchio and The Great Mouse Detective, this novel is tailor-made for young readers who love adventure narratives and steampunk fiction. (Fantasy. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Excerpts
Excerpts
"Charlie Pondicherry ain't got no mum!" Charlie cringed. There would be a rock. There was always a rock. "What are you talking about, Skip? Charlie Pondicherry ain't even got a dad! Charlie Pondicherry's a toenail fungus; that's why he's always got that goop smeared on him!" Skip, Mickey, and Bruiser followed Charlie down the Gullet. Charlie was sure the three boys had just waited in the alley for him to come out. Charlie's shoulders slumped. He hunched down lower over the basket of dirty laundry he was carrying. Sooner or later, there would be a rock. "A fungus . . . ha-ha! A fungus!" Whack! That was the rock. It hit Charlie between the shoulders. He stumbled, but kept his feet. He wanted to turn and stand like a ship's captain, letting the pirates have it with both pistols . . . but he'd soil the laundry. Plus, they outnumbered him three to one, and any captain knew those weren't great odds. Charlie gritted his teeth and hoped they'd give up. The steam clouds that surrounded Lucky Wu's Earth Dragon Laundry billowed just ahead. Behind him he heard the sucking sound of the other boys' feet in the mud. "Where you going, fungus? Get him, Bruiser!" Bruiser grabbed Charlie by his jacket and shoved him against the brick wall. Charlie gripped tight with both hands; he managed not to drop any of the laundry. "You got any brass, fungus?" Mickey sneered. Mickey had ears like jug handles and teeth too big for his head. He spat when he talked. Charlie glared at the bigger boy. "Do I ever have any money?" Charlie's bap--his dad, the other boys would have said, but Charlie's father was from the Punjab, in India, and insisted Charlie call him Bap--never gave him money. "What you think we are, stupid or sumfing?" Skip shouted. Skip had a loose lower lip that flapped down and almost covered his chin. Also, Skip smelled terrible. "Stupid or sumfing!" Bruiser echoed, and he laughed. Bruiser was a big boy, with man-sized knuckles. "Going to Fathead Wu's again, yeah?" Mickey spat. "What, you ain't got a bit of brass to pay old Fathead?" "Are you an idiot?" Charlie snapped. He was shaking, but he might as well speak his mind; whatever he said, he was going to get punched. "I always go to Wu's. And I never have any money." Charlie wished he were bigger. He'd pound Mickey and his friends flat. Maybe then Bap would let him out of the shop more. "Clock off!" "How many times we gotta teach you this lesson?" Skip jeered. Bruiser pressed Charlie against the wall with one hand and curled up his other fist. His big hand hung in the air like a wrecker's ball. Charlie laughed. "You're slow learners, I guess." He smirked to distract them from his hands while he shifted his grip on the basket and made a fist inside one of his bap's shirts. He was Captain Charlie Pondicherry, priming his pistols. Bruiser didn't know when the joke was on him. "Slow learners, ha!" Mickey looked at Bruiser, irritated. Charlie threw the basket of dirty laundry at Bruiser's face. "Huh?" Bruiser shouted, and swung his fist-- Charlie ducked. Pow! Bruiser's fist plowed right into the top of Mickey's head. "Ow!" Mickey staggered back. Charlie hurled his fistful of shirt at Skip's face and turned to run, but the shirt missed and Skip knocked Charlie down. Charlie hit the mud in a rain of dirty laundry. What was he thinking? He couldn't really run away and leave the laundry. He couldn't really fight, either. There were three of them and only one of him, and they were bigger. Best to just take a quick beating and not drag it out. Charlie wasn't aboard a sailing ship in search of treasure, and he was no adventurer. "Hit him, Broo!" Mickey showered Charlie with spittle. Bruiser dropped to one knee and punched Charlie in the stomach. It hurt. Charlie jerked his knees up to protect himself. "Ow." Bruiser shook his hand. "What's the matter, Bruiser?" Skip giggled. "Charlie Pondicherry too hard for you? He hurt your precious hand?" "Hurt my hand, huh, yeah . . ." Bruiser chuckled slowly. Mickey stepped deliberately on two shirts and a pair of Charlie's trousers, squashing them all into the filth with the heel of his square-toed shoe. Charlie stayed down, grinding his teeth. His stomach hurt. Overhead, hundreds of yards above the rooftops framing the Gullet, he saw an airship drift slowly past. The craft had a hull like an oceangoing ship's, copper-bottomed, and it hung beneath three oblong balloons. Steam puffed from a funnel at the back. The airship's motion was calm and graceful, and Charlie desperately wanted to be on it. Or on the saddled neck of a vengeful dragon, blasting his tormentors with fire. "Yeah, well, Charlie, it's been fun," Mickey said. "We got other customers to see, so we have to leave you now." "Fun, ha-ha!" Skip kicked Charlie in the shoulder. The kick hurt less than the punch, because the sole of Skip's boot hung loose and flapped just like his lip. Still, it knocked Charlie over. Charlie sighed, shook his head, and stared holes into their backs until the three boys disappeared down the Gullet. Then Charlie climbed to his feet. He spat mud and gathered up the laundry. Only a few pieces had escaped getting trampled, and the pair of trousers Mickey had trodden upon looked as if they'd been worn by a pig wrestler at a Sunday fair. Charlie had read about pig wrestlers, and about Sunday fairs. Lucky Wu was not going to be happy. Charlie moved quickly, worried he was running out of time. He heaped all the clothes back into the basket and trudged into the steam. The clouds jetted from the mouths of brass dragon heads guarding the front of the shop. Standing in the dragons' breath was a little like taking a bath, so Charlie lingered and wiped mud off his face. What with the white creams his bap put on his skin, the black mud, and the steam washing both off in rivulets, he expected he must look like a zebra caught in a rainstorm. Finally Charlie pushed in through Lucky Wu's door, out of one cloud of steam and into another. Hyoo-hyoo-hyoo-whee-up, hyoo-hyoo-hyoo-whee-up! chirped the little brass sparrows perching over the door. There were three of them, fixed on tiny pins, so they were forever flying in a circle around their brass nest, beaks open. Charlie smiled at the birds. They didn't move; they didn't do anything but sing when the door opened so that Wu would know he had customers. Still, Charlie's bap had made the sparrows, so they were Charlie's friends. Not really, of course. Really, they were just a bit of clockwork. "You stupid inbred sack of meat!" Charlie flinched. Excerpted from The Kidnap Plot (the Extraordinary Journeys of Clockwork Charlie) by Dave Butler All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
