“Debunked”

Dito Abbott

Something like 100 pages in to this book I looked over at my sister and said “I can’t tell if I like this book or not, but hopefully I’ll figure it out by the end.” Here I am at the end of the book, and I’ve concluded that I did like it, although I don’t know if I liked it enough to go looking for the sequel.1

There’s parts of the writing that remind me of Terry Pratchett’s works for younger readers; the footnoting style is very reminiscent of that, really, but you can feel the different age group as the target demographic. I think the part I struggled with the most was the plot; the book feels less like A Story and more like a collection of setpieces strung together. A ramshackle lighthouse under siege during a storm! An airship full of strange creatures! A flying city next to a desert hurricane! A fortress library, suspended above the caldera of an active volcano! And, honestly, any one of these makes for a fun setting for some scenes, and a good little vignette, but piecing them all together into a coherent whole is… challenging.

That said, if you just want to settle in for a quick read with some solid comedy, this was a pretty good book. Go in with the right expectations, and have fun!2

The book is very clear throughout that it is Book One of the series, it really wants you to know that it’s part of a series and there’s more books to read. ↩