Arthur Slade - The Dark Deeps:The Hunchback Assignments - Book Review

  

We find ourselves back again for the second book in this series. In this book, Modo sets off on another mission as a British secret agent, he is their secret weapon. He has the power to change his face and appearance, this enables him to become a special member of "The Association"- formed to protect Britannia from outside enemies. The start of this book finds Modo heading straight into action, it begins well for the first three chapters. However after this, the story starts to go little flat but incredibly this actually enhances the story! I'm not sure if this was a clever ploy on behalf of the author but when you actually get to the heart of the story, it turns into a brilliant piece of storytelling.

The book takes a rapid turn of events when Modo falls overboard; the ship he is sailing on comes under attack. At this point the story is injected with amazing detail, in fact this would not be out of place within a Jules Verne adventure.  I found this book to be a very enjoyable read - Arthur has brought lots of traditional ideas together such as an underwater city and an invisible man. He has used these to great effect by creating a unique world that takes you back in time.

The book still runs on a smarting of steampunk snippets - the Clockwork Guild leaps back into the fray allowing the story to become an action packed sea exploration. The detailed descriptions of the gadgets and gizmo's in this book are very engaging. Whilst the eclectic mix of characters show a diverse range of personal traits and emotions which enable the reader to interact with them.

This series is getting better with each book - I would love to see it published in the UK as I feel it would do really well. The next book due to be published is the Empire of Ruins which has an amazing book cover. In fact keep your eye on this website, as this cover could easily find its way into the 2010 'Mr Ripley's Book Cover Wars'.

Please vote on heat one of Mr Ripley's Echanted Book Cover War's at the top of the page.  All your votes  are important to me and the author,and you could win a signed copy of Charlie Higson book "The Enemy". by leaving a comment.
Can anyone remember who won it last year?