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Fly by Night (Fly By Night #1)

3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 · rating details · 2,343 ratings · 318 reviews

Twelve-year-old Mosca Mye hasn't got much. Her cruel uncle keeps her locked up in his mill, and her only friend is her pet goose, Saracen, who'll bite anything that crosses his path. But she does have one small, rare thing: the ability to read. She doesn't know it yet, but in a world where books are dangerous things, this gift will change her life.

Enter Eponymous Clent, a...more

Hardcover, 486 pages

Published May 1st 2006 by HarperCollins Publishers (first published January 1st 2005)

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Sep 14, 2007 Adam Boisvert rated it 5 of 5 stars

In the back of Fly By Night, Frances Hardinge gives us the following warning: "This is not a historical novel. It is a yarn. Although the Realm is based roughly on England at the start of the eighteenth century, I have taken appalling liberties with historical authenticity and, when I felt like it, the laws of physics."

What she fails to mention is that it's a rollicking good yarn. It follows the adventures (and mis-adventures) of Mosca Mye. Her problem is she loves words of all shapes and sizes...more

13 likes · like · see review

Mar 24, 2009 Lucy rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: rena p.

Shelves: kidlit, fantasy, books-that-deserve-six-stars, favorites

Fly By Night opens with a short history of The Fractured Realm, and things look grim indeed. A history peppered with monarchs and parliament, guild wars and religious inquisitions, and a holy terror of the dangers of the written word are the backdrop for this story.

Mosca Mye, orphaned, black-eyed and stubborn and addicted to the written word, burns down her uncle’s mill (accidentally,) releases a con man from the stocks (on purpose,) and flees town with only her homicidal and loyal goose Sarace...more Fly By Night opens with a short history of The Fractured Realm, and things look grim indeed. A history peppered with monarchs and parliament, guild wars and religious inquisitions, and a holy terror of the dangers of the written word are the backdrop for this story.

Mosca Mye, orphaned, black-eyed and stubborn and addicted to the written word, burns down her uncle’s mill (accidentally,) releases a con man from the stocks (on purpose,) and flees town with only her homicidal and loyal goose Saracen as a companion. And thus begins Mosca’s adventure in a city that is a political hotbed of unrest, where people are rarely what they seem and loyalties may change at the drop of a hat. Mosca only wants to find her place and follow her love of the written word, but she will soon find herself a pawn in a political intrigue that has many sides. Only her fierce ingenuity (and Saracen’s loyalty) will be able to help her make it out alive.

This is one of those brilliant books with a million details and descriptions and characters, but all of them are interesting and important and colorful and worth reading about. The Fractured Realm has one of the most interesting political and religious histories that I have seen in children’s literature – or any literature – in quite a while. It is quite an ambitious feat, and Hardinge pulls it off with aplomb. Hardinge’s character descriptions are short but paint the picture. (One example: “The captain was a grim-smiling river-king named Partridge. There was something crooked in the make of his right wrist, as if it had been broken and never quite healed, and something crooked in the corner of his smile, as if that too had been broken and put back together slightly wrong.”) And lest you think the details superfluous, they are always important and relevant and interesting. I daresay there is not one inch of superfluous material in this brilliant story. And Mosca is an irrepressibly likeable heroine who learns early on how to lie convincingly and how to stay afloat and try to do the right thing. She is clever and interesting and smart and a lot of fun, and I would happily read more about Mosca and her homicidal Saracen. It goes without saying (but I will say it anyway) that this book is highly, highly recommended for anyone who likes interesting characters, political and religious unrest done well, compelling stories and/or good writing. Which is to say, everyone.
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May 22, 2008 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2008, young-adult, fantasy

Mosca Mye and her goose Saracen are certainly an odd couple of heros, but charming ones none the less. The underlying story is a good one with lots of twists and turns that satisfy as well as suprise.

This book receives only three stars, however, for several reasons. First, the author is a little too enamored of simile and comparison. There are some really great similes in this book but also some humongous clankers. Many of the comparison's the author makes just don't fit or make sense. There is...more

3 likes · like · see review

Dec 30, 2007 skokiesam rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who liked Inkheart by Cornelia Funke or The Never-Ending Story

Shelves: favorites

This is truly a book about readers, for readers. I know that the plot is not unfamiliar to many of you: lonely girl or boy, spends more time with books than with people because books are friendlier, kinder, less cruel. And then something magical happens, blah blah blah. Fly by Night is a little different in that instead of exploring the power of books to a child, it delves into the strength of words and names, and how both affect the world and how they determine the kind of person you become. Th...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jun 30, 2007 Ashley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: juvenilefantasy

This is probably the best example of what I call "not-quite-fantasy" that I've read since Lloyd Alexander's The Kestral. While it takes place in a fictional country loosely based on seventeenth century England, there is no magic in this story, except for the elusive magic of words which the author both idolizes and exhibits in her own gorgeous prose. The young protagonist makes her way through a complex and realistically imagined world complete with an elaborate social structure, religion and hi...more

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 24, 2007 Ruffin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: middleschool

i wholly sympathized with Mosca's love of words and appreciated that Hardinge used such wonderfully descriptive language. "The papery sound of rain" is fantastically perfect! I also like that she inverted the usual fantasy triangle: instead of introducing many characters who are doing different things and then they converge, the characters in this one all meet in the beginning, touch again and then the action is spread out. Very nice

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Mar 13, 2011 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

This book reads like a mashup of a few other young YA novels to me, meaning it doesn't feel very original, and the plot is a bit ludicrous. The writing, though, is so original and clever and the kingdom's history so well laid out and explained that combined they prevent any melodrama.

First, the writing: Fly by Night flows smoothly, yes, but it also showcases a uniquely twelve-year-old experience. Hardinge removes her perspective so completely from the novel that she manages to create characteriz...more This book reads like a mashup of a few other young YA novels to me, meaning it doesn't feel very original, and the plot is a bit ludicrous. The writing, though, is so original and clever and the kingdom's history so well laid out and explained that combined they prevent any melodrama.

First, the writing: Fly by Night flows smoothly, yes, but it also showcases a uniquely twelve-year-old experience. Hardinge removes her perspective so completely from the novel that she manages to create characterization through word choice. The novel never lets you forget, through its very words, that this is its protagonist's story. This is seen most cleverly through use of metaphor and simile, which themselves depict Mosca's age and range of experience:

The jokes they exchanged were like clods of earth thrown at the face, mean good-humoredly - but meant to bruise as well.

...Mosca felt less alone. It was a strange and shiny new feeling, and she decided not to think about it too hard, in case she wore the paint off it.

The kingdom's history is wonderfully done as well, rich in metaphor and completely believable. It evokes the French Revolution with its descriptions of terror and wanton death, tyranny and rebels. Some of the novel's strongest writing describes the evolution of the kingdom's religion.

Afterward it was hard to be sure exactly when the sublime light had dazzled their minds and driven them mad, since they went insane with such calm and dignity that nobody noticed.

The ways Hardinge uses words and multiple meanings to create layers is nothing short of brilliance. One can read the book for the writing alone.

An added benefit, though, is the book's description of the discovery of truth and the ways it can be hindered and spread. The discovery of the importance of both freedom of speech and of the press. The discovery that people are never what they seem and that they can be more complex than ever imagined. That not even smart twelve-year-olds can foresee everything or always be correct. All this in a highly entertaining, potentially ridiculous but ultimately wonderful story.(less)

4 likes · like · see review

Sep 22, 2007 Gabriel rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: read-me-goddammit, fun, badass

This book was a nice surprise. A very solid and satisfying adventure that was sincerely amusing, exciting and interesting. The main character Mosca is awesome and won me over almost immediately. How could she not? Champing on a pipe with a take no shit attitude under one arm and a murderous goose under the other.

3 likes · like · see review

Nov 12, 2009 Warnie B. rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2009, fantasy, young-adult, books-about-books

I really enjoyed Hardinge's most recent book, The Lost Conspiracy, and between that and all the five star reviews for Fly By Night on here, I naturally assumed I'd like this one just as much. But I was wrong. I never really connected with the main character, and then the story itself...just never really interested me (the main point also seemed REALLY heavy handed). And it's very difficult to enjoy a book when you don't care about anybody or anything in it. Another thing: part of what I loved ab...more

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Sep 23, 2008 Mika rated it 4 of 5 stars

As I sat down to write this post, I thought, “You know, the title really doesn’t make any sense. It has nothing to do with the book at all.” Oh my, I am losing it. I somehow failed to make the connection between the main character’s name, Mosca (in honor of the day she was born on - sacred to Goodman Palpitattle, He Who Keeps Flies out of Jams and Butter Churns), and the double meaning of the word fly. Sheesh.

The plot was extremely unique. In whatever world this takes place in (one thing I can h...more

3 likes · like · see review

Sep 18, 2008 Kirstin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Kirstin by: Danny

Shelves: best-of-2006

Rudi picked this [ARC] up for me at ALA this spring and when I blogged about it coming home with me, it piqued Danny’s interest, who then went out and bought and read it. So then I had to play catch-up.

I really liked Mosca Mye, a young girl whose father taught her how to read before he died, leaving her orphaned and with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. She, like many of us, has a love of words and of storytelling and of reading. You accompany her as she embarks upon the biggest adventure o...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 02, 2008 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 11thgrade

Fly By Night is about a girl named Mosca Mye. She is a girl with the rare ability to read. It takes place in a world without a king and guilds plotting to take over the realm. She is in a world where name is important but books are not. Books are consider to be dangerous and whoever has the ability to read is in danger. One night, her father dies, and all of his books are burned. Mosca is only left with two things which is her ability to read and her name. Mosca is forced to live with her cruel...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 26, 2008 Carissa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: juvenile, teen

“since the burning of her father’s books, mosca had been starved of words. she had subsisted on workaday terms, snub and flavorless as potatoes. clent had brought phrases as vivid and strange as spices, and he smiled as he spoke, as if tasting them.” this quote early in the book is a quick representation of the relationship between mosca mye and eponymous clent, two of the main characters in this delightful tale. it is set in a vaguely classical era (men wear powdered wigs) of a non-existent wor...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 07, 2008 Kirsten rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-pre-12-07, own, fiction

I picked this up mainly because it sounded interesting and because Garth Nix (a favorite YA author) praised it in such glowing terms in his cover blurb. Cover blurbs are a dangerous way to pick books, but in this case I picked a winner. Desperate to get out of town (and find some stories in the process), 12-year-old Mosca Mye throws in her lot with a con man named Eponymous Clent and takes off cross-country with Saracen the homicidal goose in tow. Mosca is unusual because her father taught her t...more

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Jul 17, 2011 Hilary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, fantasy, juvenile

This is why I keep on reading; for all the sludge you find yourself wading through, every so often you turn up a genuine diamond. 'Fly By Night' is set in a world something like 18th century England, dominated by myriad household gods but still haunted by a religious reformation that� s been overturned but whose influence still casts a shadow. Our heroine is Mosca Mye, a plucky young orphan who escapes from her evil uncle by the simple expedient of setting fire to his barn, picks up an itinerant...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Sweeneytoddisepic rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

If you asked me to make a list of my most favourite books in all the world, this one would be in the first five, if not at the very top. It's a joy to read, well written and fantastical. It's fit for both children and adults.

It follows the story of twelve-year-old Mosca Mye, who is clever and street-wise with a sharp tongue and even sharper wit, and yet still possesses the emotional and mental limits of being twelve. Mosca lives in a world where all books not approved by the Stationers are ille...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Cleo rated it 3 of 5 stars

I've been really wanting to read this children's book for a long time. The plot sounded fascinating. Twelve year old Mosca Mye lives with her cruel uncle who locks her up in his mill. Her only friend is Saracen, a vicious goose. But she does have one ability: she knows how to read. And in a world where most books are banned and words are dangerous, this is a risky and life-changing gift. For when Eponymous Clent, a con man who loves words as much as Mosca herself, she runs away with him and beco...more

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Nov 05, 2012 Brian rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens

Once upon a time in Frances Hardinge's Fractured Realm there was a king who spent a lot of time devising beautiful gardens but who ruled very badly. So in the end the people cut off his head. After that Parliament argued for decades about who should rule in his stead. In the meantime power fell into the hands of the Guilds: the Locksmiths who could enter any building with their keys, the Stationers who alone could decide what books to ban and what to approve, and the Watermen who policed the riv...more Once upon a time in Frances Hardinge's Fractured Realm there was a king who spent a lot of time devising beautiful gardens but who ruled very badly. So in the end the people cut off his head. After that Parliament argued for decades about who should rule in his stead. In the meantime power fell into the hands of the Guilds: the Locksmiths who could enter any building with their keys, the Stationers who alone could decide what books to ban and what to approve, and the Watermen who policed the rivers.

The people of the fractured realm carried on with their daily lives and especially with worshipping the scores of gods whom they called the Beloveds. At one end of the scale there were important ones like Beamabeth, the god of the sun, and at the other end were minor ones like Palpitattle whose sole function was to keep the flies out of the jam. All had their supporters.

Then came the Birdcatchers, a terrifying sect of zealots who spent their time staring into the White Heart of Consequence and who put their enemies to death by the thousand until they were finally driven out by the people and the realm returned to its uncertain equanimity.

That's the background. Now into the story comes Mosca, the feisty twelve year old daughter of a radical writer, accompanied everywhere by her even feistier goose, Saracen. When Mosca runs away from her damp and dreary village and throws in her lot with a wandering confidence trickster whom she has freed from the stocks, she inadvertently becomes involved in a Byzantine plot by the beautiful but ruthless Duchess of Mandelion to seize control of the realm.

Hardinge's voice is entirely distinctive. Her novel teems with invention and she has a remarkable way with words, often finding images that both surprise, and amuse.

"Chough could be found by straying as far as possible from anywhere comfortable or significant, and following the smell of damp."

"It is a very terrible thing to be far smaller than one's rage."

"Mosca and Clent were led to an unsmiling little man of fifty with a gnawed, yellow look like an apple core."

"Fear made everyone look very alive in a strange and fragile way, like the last flare of a candle before it dies."

She is undoubtedly a writer of enormous potential. Nevertheless, I found this novel difficult to read and not particularly enjoyable. The plot is over elaborate and while the writing is often delightful, there's a degree of self-consciousness about it that, for my money, interferes with the storytelling. More importantly, it strikes me as the kind of novel that librarians will love but few children will read. (less)

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Oct 27, 2012 Nick Fagerlund rated it 5 of 5 stars

Everybody read this immediately. (Ignore the cover and don't bother reading any promo copy, because the marketing department fixated on the Macguffin and got it two-thirds wrong anyway.)

Mosca, a smart, stubborn, and angry hick who totes a homicidal goose named Saracen, follows a con man named Eponymous Clent to the big city. Espionage, guild warfare, and murder ensue. They accidentally turn some poor bastard into a folk hero. There are moving coffee houses. The goose steals no fewer than two boa...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Helen Tozer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Frances Hardinge's debut novel draws us into a dark, eighteenth century inspired society rife with highwaymen, rival royals, thieves, and one very aggressive goose. Amongst all this pandemonium lies a plucky young girl named Mosca Mye. Unlike the majority of her female peers, Mosca was taught to read by her father before he died. Now 12 years old and fiercely independent, Mosca is determined to leave her callous Aunt and Uncle and the damp, claustrophobic village in which they live. Having been...more Frances Hardinge's debut novel draws us into a dark, eighteenth century inspired society rife with highwaymen, rival royals, thieves, and one very aggressive goose. Amongst all this pandemonium lies a plucky young girl named Mosca Mye. Unlike the majority of her female peers, Mosca was taught to read by her father before he died. Now 12 years old and fiercely independent, Mosca is determined to leave her callous Aunt and Uncle and the damp, claustrophobic village in which they live. Having been mesmerised by the verbal dexterity of a travelling storyteller and conman named Eponymous Clent, Mosca rescues Clent from the clutches of the local magistrate and together they flee the village.

It's the beginning of an unlikely partnership, based more on the desire to keep alive than out of loyalty. Mosca's decision to hedge her bets with Clent, despite being aware of his slippery tongue and nature, shows her willingness to disregard social expectations in the pursuit of knowledge. Her love and respect for books is matched only by her affinity to Saracen, the goose that aided her escape from the village. Mosca senses the force of words and knowledge, and she thirsts after the power and freedom that they offer. What Mosca doesn't anticipate is the far-reaching consequences of her search. Together, Mosca and Clent tumble through a madcap series of events, eventually coming to the attention of the very highest, powerful members of their society.

The plot winds unexpectedly, as does Mosca's loyalty and trust of those she meets. As a reader, this kept me constantly on my toes. Hardinge refuses to install any sort of absolutes in the novel, other than that of the desirability of free speech and education. This makes Fly By Night a refreshing intelligent, multifaceted young adult novel. There's a fair bit of humour to be found in her writing too, much of which is caused by her penchant for kooky names. She pokes fun at religious rites with her description of devout offerings:

'They were passing a cluster of shrines. As she watched, a troop of grateful citizens trooped past the shrines, dropping different thanksgiving offerings before each icon. A biscuit for Goodman Blackwhistle. A mackerel for Goodman Sussuratch. A shiny coin for Goodman Greyglory.'

Far from just religious-bashing however, Hardinge also intelligently dissects power, greed and the desire to crush dissent in politics, trade unions, and the royalty. This is a true gem of a book. Read it!(less)

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Aug 25, 2012 Judith rated it 4 of 5 stars

"Fly by Night" is the story of Mosca Mye, a twelve-year-old orphaned girl who lives in The Fractured Realm, a land which has some parallels to early eighteenth century England. The author herself writes a disclaimer stating that there are some parallels, but that she has created her own world, even violating the laws of physics when it suits the storyline. Hardinge also uses humor well to keep readers' interest.

Mosca apprentices to Eponymus Clent as his secretary and goes along with him on adven...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Utami rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Buku yang agak sulit untuk digolongkanke kategori yang mana. At first, ceritanya mirip dengan kisah petualangan. Tapi semakin lama, saya merasa buku ini semakin banyak dengan perlambang dan simbol-simbol sosial.

Buku ini bercerita tentang Mosca Mye, yang berusaha melarikan diri karena (agak sengaja sih sebenernya) membakar lumbung milik pamannya. Dia melarikan diri bersama Saracen (seekor angsa yang galaknya ampun-ampunan) dan bertemu dengan Eponymous Clent. Si Clent ini sebenernya jadi buronan d...more Buku yang agak sulit untuk digolongkanke kategori yang mana. At first, ceritanya mirip dengan kisah petualangan. Tapi semakin lama, saya merasa buku ini semakin banyak dengan perlambang dan simbol-simbol sosial.

Buku ini bercerita tentang Mosca Mye, yang berusaha melarikan diri karena (agak sengaja sih sebenernya) membakar lumbung milik pamannya. Dia melarikan diri bersama Saracen (seekor angsa yang galaknya ampun-ampunan) dan bertemu dengan Eponymous Clent. Si Clent ini sebenernya jadi buronan di Chough. Tapi takdir membuat Mosca menuju Mandelion, sebuah kota yang tengah dibelit kemelut politik bersama si Clent. Di Mandelion, Mosca (yang kepo) dan Clent (yang sok tau dan sombong) terlibat dalam konspirasi politik antara Serikat Ahli Cetak, Serikat Perajin Kunci, dan Lady Tamarind, saudara perempuan Duke penguasa Mandelion.

Buku yang penuh imajinasi. Somehow, seperti yang sudah saya katakan, sepertinya banyak perlambang tentang pergerakan sosial dalam buku ini. Saya sendiri sebenernya suka banget sama dialog-dialog antara Mosca dengan Clent. Mereka yang saling kesel, tapi tahu bahwa in one way or another, they depend each other. Suka banget yang waktu mereka berantem di pinggir sungai setelah diturunkan dari kapal menuju Mandelion, sama waktu mereka menulis kontrak kerja Mosca sebagai sekretaris Clent. Sebenarnya, selain berbagi hal yang sangat imajinatif dalam buku ini (begitu imajinatifnya sampai kadang-kadang nyaris tidak masuk akal), buku ini mungkin agak berat karena bahasanya yang berbunga-bunga. Mhuahahaha…bukan berbunga-bunga ala pujangga sih. Kalau menurut saya malah kata-kata yang digunakan dalam buku ini cenderung sinis dan banyak menyindir. And of course, Saracen, si angsa galak itu sungguh tak terlupakan. Saya suka ketawa aja baca nama-nama dewa (di buku ini disebut sebagai Para Sang Terkasih: yaitu para Goodman dan Goodlady) yang seringkali sangat absurd. Somehow, terlepas dari betapa ajaibnya tokoh dan setting dalam buku ini , bagi saya kok ceritanya sangat tervisualisasi yaaa…

3.5 out of 5 for this book.
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Jan 15, 2012 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, children, fantasy, young-adult

Mosca Mye lives in the Fractured Realm, which has no king or queen. Various guilds hold the cities together in uneasy alliance, and past religious tension may not be quite as past as people think. Mosca just wants to escape her depressing village and the resentful family members who were forced to take her in when her father died. She and her irascible pet goose Saracen find their escape with a traveling ne'er do well and wordsmith, Eponymous Clent, who does his best to get rid of them at every...more

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Feb 27, 2011 Hallie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, ya

This is a sort of sum of a reading (when it came out, horribly bound paperback - really badly affected readign pleasure) and a listening (audiobook much better, except that Mosca was done as much more street-child than she should have been, given her father and education). While I didn't really feel the love that much on reading, I knew how badly I'd been put off by the binding, and I did indeed really appreciate the love of language that infuses the book through being slowed down to listen. The...more

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Jan 02, 2011 Terry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

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

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Jan 01, 2011 mina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tadinya pesimis dengan buku ini. Narasinya ditulis dengan bahasa berbunga-bunga ala cerita sastra, dan usaha menyelesaikan buku ini begitu besar, hampir sebulan, dan baru menarik dan bersemangat begitu tokoh utama buku, Mosca Mye, mulai mengambil jalan berbeda dari "teman jalan"-nya, Eponymous Clent. Yah, sekitar lewat lebih dari separo buku lah.
Mosca Mye lahir ke dunia yang takut kepada buku atau jenis cetakan apa pun yang ilegal (ilegal = tidak mempunyai cap legal dari Serikat Ahli Cetak). Ay...more

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Dec 29, 2010 Courtney Johnston rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-about-books, fiction, own

Like Hardinge's equally, relentlessly, inventive 'The Lost Conspiracy' which I read at the start of the year, 'Fly by Night' revolves around a 12 year-old-ish girl whose life has been enriched - and complicated - by her love of words.

Hardinge loves words too. Loves them. LOVES THEM. Every noun has an adjective, every verb an adverb, if not two. Every face has a description, every character a sketch, and water - water flows throughout the book - is described in a hundred different, and often ver...more Like Hardinge's equally, relentlessly, inventive 'The Lost Conspiracy' which I read at the start of the year, 'Fly by Night' revolves around a 12 year-old-ish girl whose life has been enriched - and complicated - by her love of words.

Hardinge loves words too. Loves them. LOVES THEM. Every noun has an adjective, every verb an adverb, if not two. Every face has a description, every character a sketch, and water - water flows throughout the book - is described in a hundred different, and often very evocative ways.

I'm caught between being exhausted by Hardinge and envying her ability to build dense, luminous stories that are crammed with historical and social detail. Here she takes early 18th century England as her setting, although from my limited research - read, Wikipedia - 17th century England with its tussles between the Crown and Parliament, the Jacobite uprisings and the splintering of religious factions seems as better match. A rich religious and political setting - almost sci-fi in its detail - is drawn up where the monarchy has been split into factions, replaced first by an extremist religious sect, the Birdcatchers which started purging the citizenry, itself replaced by an uneasy alliance between the various guilds, who now are trying to manage the remaining ruler, the slowly-tipping-into-insanity Duke of Mandelion, who is also being gently and expertly manipulated by his mysterious and icy sister Lady Tamarind.

All this is set off against a background of thieves, con-men, marriage houses, bonnet strings, breeches, a homicidal goose, a radical printing press, and a multitude of oddly named Beloved, the small personal gods and goddesses of the country, a cross between the domestic gods of Roman households and the multitudes of Catholic saints.

Binding it all together - like the egg in an over-stuffed Christmas cake - is Mosca Mye, a black-eyed orphan bewitched by words. Despite the originality of the setting - which, as with 'The Lost Conspiracy', I have to give Hardinge full credit for, the story itself is a fairly standard coming of age, where a child turns into an adult by being inducted - at first unwittingly, then knowingly - into the strange games adults play amongst themselves, while also learning important lessons about him or herself. (less)

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Nov 14, 2010 Truly rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Banyak yang menjadikan buku ini bahan perbincangan. Saya jadi tergoda membacanya. Sempat ragu-ragu apalagi mendapat kisikan kanan kiri. Untung sementara, biarkan rasa penasaran saya tergoda. Setelah membeli buku ini, muncul perasaan ragu-ragu membacanya, lalu sepertinya bakalan mandek di tengah jalan. Apalagi penggunaan huruf dan layout buku yang tidak bersahabat.

Berhubung sudah terlanjur dibaca, biarlah saya berbagi beberapa hal dari buku ini.

Fakta pertama : 8 dari 10 teman yang saya tanyai soa...more Banyak yang menjadikan buku ini bahan perbincangan. Saya jadi tergoda membacanya. Sempat ragu-ragu apalagi mendapat kisikan kanan kiri. Untung sementara, biarkan rasa penasaran saya tergoda. Setelah membeli buku ini, muncul perasaan ragu-ragu membacanya, lalu sepertinya bakalan mandek di tengah jalan. Apalagi penggunaan huruf dan layout buku yang tidak bersahabat.

Berhubung sudah terlanjur dibaca, biarlah saya berbagi beberapa hal dari buku ini.

Fakta pertama : 8 dari 10 teman yang saya tanyai soal buku ini mengatakan bahwa buku ini tidak bagus. Fakta lain dari Goodreads menyebutkan bawah buku ini mendapat 3,63 bintang dengan 153 review. Tidak terlalu buruk khan. Kembali rasa penasaran tergoda!

Fakta kedua : Judul bab disusun secara alfabetis. Entah harus memuji sang tukang cerita atau ide kretaif si penerjemah. Tapi siapapun itu, idenya boleh juga guna menghindari kejenuhan.

Fakta ketiga : tema novel ini adalah politik dan detektif. Sebenarnya merupakan perpaduan tema yang unik. Buku ini membicarakan tentang politik di suatu negeri yang kacau balau. Sebuah negeri yang pemimpinnya sudah lumpuh. Di negeri tersebut banyak sekali pihak yang akhirnya mendominasi pemerintahan di negeri itu. Pihak-pihak ini kemudian saling berseteru dan menjatuhkan. Sebut saja serikat ahli cetak, yang mengatur semua yang berhubungan dengan aksara. Serikat air, yang mengatur semua yang berhubungan dengan sungai, laut, dan segala sesuatu yang boleh melintas di atas kawasan perairan tersebut. Serikat-serikat tersebut saling berebut kekuasaaan dan saling menjatuhkan untuk bisa memimpin secara utuh.

Fakta keempat: novel dengan menggunakan tokoh utama seorang anak-anak namun tidak diperuntukan untuk anak-anak. Tengok saja sosok Mosca Mye yang bisa disejajarkan dengan seorang kriminal. Mengingat beratnya tema dan pesan tersembunyi, tidak mungkin seorang anak bisa menikmati buku ini, kecuali memiliki kemampuan khusus.

Fakta keempat : Saracen adalah angsa jantan yang sangat kuat dan, Eponymous Clent adalah seorang penyair, mata-mata, dan buronan. Semua orang yang pernah melihat Saracen beraksi pasti mengakuinya. Ia telah membuat banyak ulah. Walau demikian ia adalah teman yang setia.

Di desa asal Mosca, Chough, Clent adalah seorang buronan. Mosca membebaskannya dengan imbalan akan diberi pekerjaan. Mosca kemudian ikut dengan Clent ke Mandelion, berharap akan menemukan sekolah yang sering dibicarakan oleh ayahnya. Tapi takdir menempatkan Mosca menjadi pion di tengah-tengah persaingan dan perebutan kekuasaan di Mandelion. Petualangan Mosca bersama Clent dan Saracen membuatnya mengerti ajaran ayahnya, ada hal lain yang lebih berbahaya dari kebenaran, yaitu orang-orang yang membungkamnya.

Fakta kelima Fly By Night adalah buku yang ‘berat. Buku ini memang bukan jenis buku yang dibaca untuk hiburan. Banyak mengandung sindiran untuk sebuah negara dan kehidupan. Membacanya juga harus pelan-pelan dan santai, otomatis kecepatan membaca saya harus menurun jauh.................!
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Jul 15, 2010 ICPL Staff Picks added it

Shelves: jason, staff-picks-blog, young-adult

Among the many changes that came with the publication success of the Harry Potter series was the freedom to publish books for children and teens with a longer page count. I’m not saying this is always a great thing; in fact lately I’ve grown quite tired of seeing yet another bloated fantasy pushing 600 pages (I’m looking in your direction Mr. Paolini!). But occasionally a slightly-pudgy gem comes along that vindicates J.K.

Frances Hardinge’s 483 page book Fly By Night uses the extra words to good...more Among the many changes that came with the publication success of the Harry Potter series was the freedom to publish books for children and teens with a longer page count. I’m not saying this is always a great thing; in fact lately I’ve grown quite tired of seeing yet another bloated fantasy pushing 600 pages (I’m looking in your direction Mr. Paolini!). But occasionally a slightly-pudgy gem comes along that vindicates J.K.

Frances Hardinge’s 483 page book Fly By Night uses the extra words to good effect. This is a complex tale involving an orphaned girl living in a politically tumultuous England of an alternate history (based on the 18th Century lifestyle). The pacing varies, but there are plenty of scenes involving espionage and characters being chased and nearly caught.

More than the plot though, this is mostly a story written as a gushy Valentine to the English language. Hardinge is blessed with an amazing vocabulary and clever imagination. We meet characters with names such as Mosca Mye, born on the day of "Goodman Palpitattle, He Who Keeps Flies out of Jams and Butter Churns," hence her name Mosca or fly, from the Latin musca. Then there is Eponymous Clent, Mabwick Toke, Vocado Avourlace, Arami Goshawk, and who could forget Linden Kohlrabi (I’ve been waiting years for someone to make good literary use of the word ‘Kohlrabi’!). She writes lines that will challenge the average 5-9th grade reader, but they will be rewarded by staying with her for the journey. An example of her writing style is seen early on as Mosca attempts an escape from her prison in her Uncle’s mill:

"It had made perfect sense to grab armfuls from the gorse stacks which the village used as fuel, and pile them against the wall. And when she had clambered up to the top of the wall, ignoring the sweet smell of dying summer and the stems which prickled against her face, it had made sense to light an oil lamp. She did not remember deciding to drop the lamp, but nor did she remember it exactly slipping from her grasp. What she did remember was watching it fall away from her hand, and bounce so softly from one stack to another that it seemed impossible that it should break. She remembered seeing the wrecked lamp sketch a faint letter in white smoke shortly before the dry stems around it started to blacken and a hesitant flame wavered first blue, then gold … and she remembered a rushing thrill of terror as she realized that there was no going back to her old life. Now, as Mosca and Clent fled Chough, the wind followed them like a helpful stranger, offering them the smell of smoke from the burning mill as if it thought it might belong to them."

Bravo to Frances Hardinge (and her editor) for writing a complicated but gorgeous tale for the younger crowd. --Jason

From ICPL Staff Picks Blog (less)

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Feb 03, 2010 Nic rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I loved a lot about this book. The world-building and writing were astounding. If I'd felt that the characters kept up, I would have given it five stars.

No one character bothered me a lot. I just didn't connect well to Mosca, though. She was simultaneously too wild and too manipulable. The combination made me feel like I never had any idea what she was up to. Every time she takes an unexpected action, she finds a way to justify it using her vast store of conflicting motivations.

This was especial...more

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About Frances Hardinge

Frances Hardinge spent her childhood in a huge, isolated old house in a small, strange village, and the two things inspired her to write strange, magical stories from an early age. She studied English at Oxford University and now lives in Oxford, England.

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The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2007: Twentieth Annual Collection

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Quotes from Fly by Night

“Everybody knew that books were dangerous. Read the wrong book, it was said, and the words crawled around your brain on black legs and drove you mad, wicked mad.” — 45 people liked it

“True stories seldom have endings.
I don't want a happy ending, I want more story.” — 35 people liked it

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