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The Dead Gentleman

by Matthew Cody (Goodreads Author)

3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 · rating details · 110 ratings · 25 reviews

The dead are up and walking, and the Gentleman is at the door...

Featuring a kid hero, time travel, and otherworld portals in unexpected places (maybe there are monsters under your bed), The Dead Gentleman is a wild ride between parallel New York City timestreams—1901 and today. Eleven-year-old Tommy Learner is a street orphan and an unlikely protege to the Explorers, a sec...more

Hardcover, 288 pages

Published November 8th 2011 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

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Apr 09, 2012 Kater Cheek rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed Matthew Cody's first book, POWERLESS, so I was delighted when a copy of Cody's latest MG fantasy THE UNDEAD GENTLEMAN arrived in the mail.

Unabashedly steampunk, this novel throws steampunk elements at the reader like a magician flinging cards. Submarines! Goggles! Mechanical birds! Time travel! One of the two protagonists, Tommy Lerner, even comes from the right time period. Tommy's an Explorer, last of a secret society devoted to exploring the hidden mysteries of the world. Jez...more I really enjoyed Matthew Cody's first book, POWERLESS, so I was delighted when a copy of Cody's latest MG fantasy THE UNDEAD GENTLEMAN arrived in the mail.

Unabashedly steampunk, this novel throws steampunk elements at the reader like a magician flinging cards. Submarines! Goggles! Mechanical birds! Time travel! One of the two protagonists, Tommy Lerner, even comes from the right time period. Tommy's an Explorer, last of a secret society devoted to exploring the hidden mysteries of the world. Jezebel Lemon, fellow New Yorker (albiet of a modern century) meets him when he appears in her room to warn her that the monsters in her closet are real.

As the title implies, the events of the novel revolve around the undead gentleman, an evil lich who wants to take possession of Merlin, the mechanical bird that is the unofficial mascot of the Explorer's academy. Tommy and Jez don't know why the dead gentleman wants the bird, but they do know that if he gets it, he will destroy the world.

This book is written to appeal to preteen readers, and I suspect it will do so admirably. How can it not? It's got adventure! Dinosaurs! Monsters! Airships! I couldn't help but put exclamation points after them, because it felt like that's how the elements were introduced. I rarely say this about anything (plodding dense novels being anathema to me) but this book was actually too fast-paced for my taste. In one scene we're near the bottom of the ocean, and then we're in the land of the lost, and then we're in the Academy, and then it's a hidden city, and then it's back in New York again, and it all went so fast I felt I never quite got my bearings. I never figured out how things worked. How did they go to other dimensions? Why was Tommy chosen as an Explorer? What, exactly, did the trogs think about him? Where was Jez's father this whole time? I'm sure somewhere there's a 10-year-old who has read this book eighteen times already, and can sit me down and explain the whole manifesto, but I want to be able to figure things out on the first read.

I have mixed feelings about the characters. I liked Jezebel Lemon well enough, but Tommy Lerner grated my nerves from the first sentence to the last. I think he was supposed to be a swashbuckling brave street kid, but he came off as a smug brat who thought he knew everything and didn't listen very well. The other characters weren't involved enough for me to get to know any of them. Even Captain Scott had what felt like a small cameo. I liked what little I saw of Jez's father, but he wasn't around very much. The action-packed plot pretty much dominated the novel, leaving little room for character development or world-building.

Some books written for younger readers transcend their age group and appeal to everyone. Harry Potter was one of these. I wouldn't classify THE DEAD GENTLEMAN as one that parents will be snatching out of their kids' grasps. This book was written for middle-grade readers, and as I said before, I think it will appeal to both boys and girls. If you have a child or a young friend with a voracious appetite for books, slip this on their plate. They'll likely find it to their taste.(less)

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Jun 01, 2013 M. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The second half of this book is terrific. Having enough patience to get to the second half is a problem. The narrative style is confusing. The story cuts between Tommy, a child explorer in roughly 1900, apparently being betrayed by a friend and killed, to Tommy in present times sort of appearing in a hotel basement, to Jezebel in present times encountering the sort of Tommy in said basement and trying to figure out what's happening. Once the stories meet up, about half way though the book, the s...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Betsy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Steampunk will never supplant some of the better known genres out there in the hearts and minds of children. Kids walk into my library every day asking for fantasy, mysteries, funny books, scary books, and what have you. They don't tend to ask for science fiction unless it's part of a school assignment, and if you ask them if they'd like some Steampunk they look at you like you've started speaking in tongues. The word means nothing to them (and very little to quite a few adults as well). Nonethe...more Steampunk will never supplant some of the better known genres out there in the hearts and minds of children. Kids walk into my library every day asking for fantasy, mysteries, funny books, scary books, and what have you. They don't tend to ask for science fiction unless it's part of a school assignment, and if you ask them if they'd like some Steampunk they look at you like you've started speaking in tongues. The word means nothing to them (and very little to quite a few adults as well). Nonetheless, while a kid might not be able to identify what Steampunk is (Quickie Definition: Futuristic elements mixed with old-fashioned gears and clockwork) but once they find a book they love they'll read it up, steam-powered ray guns or no. Steampunk is generally found in works for adults and teens, so Matthew Cody's The Dead Gentleman is a rarity in its field. Part early 20th century orphan scamp material, part present day end-of-the-world epic, and part Land of the Lost (trust me), Cody's book may not always entirely consistent but the characters are compelling, the settings fun, the storytelling's upbeat action is hard to match.

Tommy was just your average everyday 20th century street kid and cutpurse at first. There is such a thing as trying to pick the pocket of the wrong guy, though. When a routine pocket grab ends up involving a well dressed, walking corpse, Tommy ends up stealing a mechanical bird and, inadvertently, saving the world. Seems he's wrangled with a villain going by the name of The Dead Gentleman and in doing so ends up joining with an organization of explorers who travel all over the universe through space and time. When Tommy is trapped in a strange sunless world he manages to join forces with a present day girl named Jezebel. Together with the mechanical canary Merlin the three must try to defeat this singular villain before he conquers not just the earth but the universe as well.

Fans of Cody's previous middle grade novel Powerless, a story of superhero kids and their disappearing powers, are aware that as an author Mr. Cody is pretty good at creating fantastical stories packed with action. Fight scenes, chase sequences, all that good stuff. In this book he gives himself a much wider world to play with than he did in his previous novel. The skies the limit when it comes to exploring different worlds and Cody has fun with that. Mind you, there's a lot of death here. Not to the main characters, necessarily (well... not all of them), but in the interest of the plot a whole city pretty much gets wiped out in the course of the tale. FYI. This book is very much the first in a series but that doesn't mean that this first novel doesn't stand on its own. All the plotlines get wrapped up and the book doesn't end with some cheap cliffhanger. You can see that there are more tales yet to be told but if this is the only book a kid gets their hands on, they won't be disappointed.

Of course there's such a thing as over enthusiasm. Cody is dead set on throwing every last cool element into this book that he can think of that as a reader you're left feeling more than a little out of breath. So it is that you encounter in the course of this book a clockwork canary, time travel, monsters, a kraken, zombies, dinosaurs, zombie dinosaurs, multiple worlds, a near toothless vampire, interplanetary travel, and the Land of the Lost. At least it looks like The Land of the Lost. It's underground, contains portals to other worlds, ape-like inhabitants, and dinosaurs. It also slows the novel down more than it should. Once it's left behind, things pick up again. There's also the mild problem that Cody has to use a bit of a plot contrivance to keep his characters in line. Routinely Tommy and Jezebel are trapped in a situation with the means of escape at their fingertips. Jezebel, you see, accidentally steps through time when she interferes with a Cycloidotrope. Tommy uses it to simply see into the future, and is told never to try to travel that way because it's a million to one shot that you won't be torn to pieces. A million to one shot if you're a bad guy that is. Good guys use the warning to keep themselves in peril, but when the going gets tough they can apparently use it with impunity.

That said, it's a great romp and the kind of book you can hand to a kid intent on action. I know that librarians are constantly on the lookout for "boy books", which is to say books that don't look pink and sparkly and might actually attract a reluctant male reader. The Dead Gentleman certainly fits the bill if that's what you seek. And if you're looking for something comparable to this you may be out of luck. The best you can probably hope for in the Steampunk middle grade genre is to read books like Matthew Kirby's The Clockwork Three. Even then, you won't find the same sheer conglomeration of beasties and epic battles at work here. There may be a couple hiccups along the way but for simple enjoyment don't hesitate to pick this one up.

For ages 9-12 (less)

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Jun 20, 2012 Susie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was recommended when Child-Lit listserv members were sharing time travel titles. My rating is partly colored by the fact that I don't like lots of description with numerous inventive machines/creatures/landscapes. This one seemed to throw in everything but the kitchen sink. It was a bit confusing at times (I had to re-read the year on the chapter titles more than once, and the "rules" sometimes seemed to morph), and got much more exciting when the Dead Gentleman finally met Jezebel. Not my...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Josh rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Contrary to what other reviewers have said, I enjoyed the beginning of this book. I think Cody respects the reader and does not quickly lay out the world in which the story takes places. I enjoyed the book and found the characters to be interesting although somewhat predictable. Overall the story was entertaining and engaging, but I felt that it wrapped up too quickly. I think I would give this book 3.5 stars if possible, but given the choice between 3 and 4 I selected three. Although I enjoyed...more

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May 26, 2013 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you like steampunk literature, this is for you. Tommy Learner is living in New York City in 1900. He is a street kid who supports himself by stealing. One day he steals a magical metal bird from a strange looking man. Now he is being pursued by monsters. He is finally rescued by the Explorers’ Society, a group of dead gentlemen who travel through time. When the Dead Gentleman attacks the Explorers’ Society, Tommy is trapped. He is found by Jezebel but it is now modern time and Tommy is a ghos...more

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Mar 06, 2012 IndyPL Kids Book Blog rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, fantasy, favorites

When a long forgotten basement door is uncovered in the lobby of Jezebel’s apartment building she can’t keep herself from taking a look. What could be down the rickety steps in the damp, cement darkness? A boy actually. And he’s got a message for Jezebel.

“I don’t have much time. But you’ve got to be warned. Keep safe and trust your instincts. Be careful. Be smart. Be afraid. The Dead Gentleman’s Coming.” (page 26)

Then he disappears. Like, poof! Gone. Be afraid. Check! The rest? Not so much!

The f...more

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Sep 14, 2011 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk

Steampunk, time travel, and, dare I say it… zombies? Matthew Cody delivers all of the above with aplomb in his forthcoming book “The Dead Gentleman.” The story centers on two children, excuse me, young persons. Tommy is a street thief in the New York at the dawn of the 20th century, and Jezebel, is an average young lady of today. Tommy’s adventures start when he steals a clockwork bird from a rather dead looking gentleman, who nevertheless, resents the loss of his property. The flight from the D...more

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Nov 27, 2011 Debbie Mcneil rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What I loved: it's a good sci-fi book (an underrepresented children's genre IMHO) that is accessible to average readers (not 500 pages), it has a strong female character, it had some cool steampunk stuff and the monsters du jour: zombies!

What I liked: the theme of selflessness, friendship, the greater good....a satisfying ending that still leaves it open for a sequel.

What I didn't like: the shifting narrators in 1st & 3rd person, the overabundant rotting flesh descriptions.

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Jun 01, 2012 Tony Keefer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: middle-grade-action-adventure, middle-grade-fantasy, bookaday-summer-2012, read-2012

Time travel fantasy adventure with some steam punk elements. Thought it was a fun read, but not as much as Cody's other book, Powerless. Tommy and Jezebel were likable characters but I had some difficulty with the changing narrative viewpoint and switching between the various time threads. I think some middle grade readers will like this book because of the action, but they would probably need to be a strong reader to follow all the plot twists.

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Mar 12, 2012 Christie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Think of all the things that an author might write to target pre-teens boys. This book is a major cluster-you-know-what of all of them. I'm seriously disappointed in Matthew Cody. I loved Powerless and could not stand this book! I kept reading because I kept telling myself "it has to get better- it's Matthew Cody." Wrong. So wrong.

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Oct 15, 2012 Kay rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Yes, I am giving the coveted 5 stars for this book. Not my genre (sci-fi, time travel and a little steampunk) and I couldn't put it down! Scary, fast-paced, ghoulish...all of the things that The Graveyard Book wanted to be but wasn't.
This book is creepy and pretty amazing. Keep up the good writing, Matthew Cody!

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Nov 05, 2012 Marjean added it · review of another edition

Time travel, portals, undead, what more could a boy want in a book. This isn't my favorite genre but I enjoyed the fast paced somewhat chaotic attempt to save the world. Seems a little scary for real young readers.

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Mar 23, 2012 Annie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A perfectly good, run-of-the-mill steampunk adventure story. There are no big questions, no big answers, and no hidden agendas. Just interdimensional time travel, cool gadgets, fierce monsters, and other unsolved mysteries of the universe.

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Mar 27, 2013 Rosemary Bruner rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a well told tale with many twists and turns. It is a great adventure story featuring strong girl and boy characters. Lots of supernatural elements included to add spice!

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Oct 04, 2012 Douglas Zaznaow rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Although technically fantasy, I opened this book sure it would be sci-fi. Even halfway through, I maintained that view. I mean, what fantasy book has wormholes and time travel and the split of reality? Therefore, I strongly recommend this book for anyone who likes a good, mind-bending sci-fi read.

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Apr 14, 2012 Brenda Kahn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, advneture, steampunk, time-travel

Hang onto your hats and consider pocketing some Dramamine for this Steampunk page turner for middle grade readers looking for plenty of action!

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May 01, 2012 Jenn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Steampunk for middle readers! It is AWESOME!

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Nov 26, 2011 Judith Weaver rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

started out strong but hit a place around page 175 where I found myself saying okay, I'll give it another 25 pages. When I have to push to read a book, I wonder what the kids will do with it.

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Dec 16, 2012 Ethan E rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Spooky and confusing but good

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Feb 09, 2012 Shanshad Whelan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens, mg, science-fiction, fantasy, steampunk, time-travel, adventure

A middle grade steampunk time-travel adventure! I read Cody's Powerless a few years ago and loved it. He hasn't lost his touch, that much is evident. The subject matter of this book may be less familiar to young readers than the superhero realm of the last book, but I think any middle grade reader looking for some wild adventure may find this a good read. Lots of fun!

And there's room for more stories with our heroes in the future!

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Feb 11, 2013 Karen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: juvenile, adventure, time-travel, steampunk

This was an interesting story with a mediocre output. I'll give this book a big old meh. It throws enough steampunk at you to classify this as steampunk. I saw "time-travel" as a label and got really excited, but we didn't spend enough time in the past. We spent more time on alternate planets. I like the main character boy, the female is okay. The captain is the most fascinating and isn't in it very long.

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Nov 13, 2011 Lorraine Stinson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 20, 2012 Janis rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own-on-kindle, childrens-scifi

I enjoyed this story. Not for the faint of heart, some younger readers may find it a bit scary in places, but for older kids that don't mind some sci-fi with their adventures I think they may well enjoy this one.

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Mar 27, 2013 Alice rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

fast paced adventure

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Jun 14, 2013 Daniel Hudson marked it as to-read · review of another edition

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Jun 12, 2013 Natalee marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Jun 11, 2013 Irock Irock marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Jun 09, 2013 M.j. marked it as to-read · review of another edition

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About Matthew Cody

Originally from the Midwest, Matthew Cody now lives in New York City with his wife and son. When not writing books or goofing off with his family, he teaches creative writing to kids of all ages.

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