Agatha H. and the Airship City

Mar 26, 2011 Kat Hooper rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Notes: This rating reflects my satisfaction with the novelization of Girl Genius. The comic itself is worth 5 stars. Artwork (used with permission) shown in the review at fantasyliterature.com.

Adventure! Romance! MAD SCIENCE!

Agatha H. and the Airship City is a novelization of the first three volumes of the Girl Genius comic created by Phil and Kaja Foglio. This beautiful comic strip, which won the 2009 and 2010 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story, is ongoing...more ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Notes: This rating reflects my satisfaction with the novelization of Girl Genius. The comic itself is worth 5 stars. Artwork (used with permission) shown in the review at fantasyliterature.com.

Adventure! Romance! MAD SCIENCE!

Agatha H. and the Airship City is a novelization of the first three volumes of the Girl Genius comic created by Phil and Kaja Foglio. This beautiful comic strip, which won the 2009 and 2010 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story, is ongoing and can be read from the beginning at Girl Genius Online. In fact, if you read or listen to the novelization, I’d suggest that you occasionally view the comic along with it so you can see the story’s strange characters and constructs (and, also, just because it’s gorgeous and deserves to be seen). At the bottom of each page is an archive with titles of the chapters, so it’s easy to find the pages you need while reading. The novelization follows the strip almost exactly, but there are some minor differences.

Phil & Kaja Foglio Girl Genius 1. Agatha H. and the Airship CityGirl Genius is a “gaslamp fantasy” set in a Victorian-style world which produces “Sparks” — admired, but also somewhat mad, geniuses who are able to create bizarre machines and biological constructs — some which make life easier for people, and some which can be used as deadly weapons. For years, the Sparks have been warring with each other and leaving devastation in their wakes. Things are beginning to stabilize, though, as Baron Wulfenbach, a particularly ambitious Spark, continues to annex more lands and to control them with his weird minions.

The story begins several years after the disappearance of the Heterodyne Boys, a couple of hero Spark brothers who fought evil and protected the regular people from the less benevolent Sparks. Without the protection of the Heterodynes, the people try to stay out of the way of the mad scientists, while hoping for the Heterodynes’ return. The heroine of Girl Genius is Agatha Clay, a girl who, though she isn’t aware of it at the beginning of the story, is actually Agatha Heterodyne, daughter of one of the Heterodyne Boys, and a very powerful Spark.

Agatha makes a charming heroine — she’s smart and brave, but somewhat clueless and not always capable. And, of course, as a Spark, she sometimes teeters on the edge of madness. The other characters, and even the machines and biological constructs, are also vivid and likable (or extremely unlikable when appropriate). The world, with its castles, airships, steam engines, metal monsters, and talking animals, is a lot of fun to explore. The plot is fast-paced and exciting and, as promised, contains “Adventure! Romance! MAD SCIENCE!”

Girl GeniusAll of this comes across so well in the comic, which has been published as a series of graphic novels available in hardback and paperback. So, why turn Girl Genius into novels? … I don’t know… I suppose that those who don’t read comics might read the Girl Genius story in novel form. Also novelization allows it to be put on audio, which is how I read Agatha H. and the Airship City. The audiobook is narrated by Angela Dawe, who is simply amazing — she’s enthusiastic and vibrant and has a wide range of voices and accents. She’s a lot of fun to listen to and a perfect choice for this zany story.

Readers who pick up Agatha H. and the Airship City while ignoring the comic will be missing out. The novelization is successful, but because it essentially recreates the story frame-by-frame, the scene and viewpoint transitions don’t always come across smoothly, and much of the humor that comes from the art is missing (though some of it is maintained through careful description). But, most importantly, so much of the charm of the comic comes from the stunning art! Thus, Agatha H. and the Airship City works as a novel, but it’s much better in graphic form. If you don’t have time to read years’ worth of the Girl Genius comic, then the audiobook is the next best thing. Just be sure to supplement your listening by occasionally following along with the artwork online. You can’t fully appreciate it otherwise.(less)

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Mar 21, 2013 Corrina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really liked this book and the sequel, Agatha H and the Clockwork Princess (review to follow). Since it was originally a comic, there’s a strong sense of imagery to the novel. It’s very easy to picture Agatha and her world in your mind. Phil and Kaja Foglio call it a gaslamp fantasy, instead of steampunk, since biology is a technology as well as mechanics.

Agatha is a strong-minded young woman literally discovering who she is. Her family has lied to her for her entire life, and her beloved lock...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Nick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk, fantasy-adult

This delightful steampunk fantasy isn't quite as good as the graphic novel version, but still a wonderful romp in a universe where Frankenstein would be standard non-fiction reading in school.
By starting at the beginning of the Girl Genius story and retelling it in prose, this is a good jumping-on point. Readers who enjoy this may also enjoy the ongoing graphic version, or a prose version if this one sold well enough to continue.
Agatha has a moderately happy life, with a few minor exceptions. Sh...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Katie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I debated for a while whether or not I wanted to read this book. After all, it's based on the online comic "Girl Genius." I love the comic and since this is nothing but a retelling of the story, I didn't see much point. When it was available through the library though, I figured I'd give it a try.

I enjoyed it. It's the same story I love and since I'm the type who rereads favorite books, this was no hardship. However, I was disappointed that this new medium wasn't exploited to add something to th...more

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Feb 01, 2013 Aaron Forster rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, mad-science, steampunk

I made it all the way through this book before realizing that it was a Girl Genius book. In fact it was the 'similarity' that caused me to remember the Girl Genius web comic which I had not visited since some time in about 2003.

Girl Genius simply swims with the kind of cheap 'zaney mad scientist,' 'clanking steam creation' and 'quirky mechanical sidekick' that much of Steampunk rely on in lieu of actual imagination.

And the result is a fantastic lighthearted story that is very entertaining in no...more

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Oct 23, 2012 L.H. Cosway rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

3.5 stars

As far as action and adventure goes, this novel scores full points. Readers will barely encounter a quiet moment within the narrative as some new catastrophe or other seems to occur every few pages. Once Agatha has overcome one test she must immediately face another. At one moment she could be battling against her rival Zulenna in a fencing match, and at another she is hurtling swiftly to the ground in a failed flying invention created by Gilgamesh.

There are also some very funny moments...more

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Oct 12, 2012 Lee rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The novel gave me characters to care about right off the bat, instead of postponing them until after explaining this strange new world. And a fascinating world it is, bursting with artificial mechanical and biological marvels, and breathing new life into the stereotype of the mad scientist.

Spelling out the Jägermonster accent was highly irritating. Reading dialog such as "Ve effen trow in sopper" ("We'll even throw in supper") may be acceptable when reading 50 words a day in a webcomic (I wouldn...more

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Aug 05, 2012 Lightreads rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fiction

Honestly, I haven’t’ had this much fun in months.

Novelizations of the webcomic, and adorable, absurd, alarming hilarity from start to finish. It’s “gaslamp fantasy” about historical not!Europe. Not about science but instead about mad science, which is a completely different thing. A classic/cliche story about a young orphans adventures on-the-run from the powers chasing her, with all the expected familial entanglements, and also about being dangerously gifted. Except told so freshly and charmin...more

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Feb 23, 2012 Jaime rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk

I picked up Agatha H. and the Airship City, and tucked myself into a chair to enjoy the afternoon. Agatha H. is based off of a Hugo-winning webcomic Girl Genius, and though I haven't read the comic, I thoroughly enjoyed this version of the first three volumes and am thinking of checking out the comic as a result.

I felt a little awkward at the start of the story because even with the prologue, it felt like I was jumping into the middle and that there was history I probably should have known. But,...more

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Aug 22, 2011 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was OK, but not wonderful. I am not really familiar with the Girl Genius comics, but this book still did not meet my expectations. I don't know, from the title, the cover, and the description I had really high expectations. For some reason, I imagined it would be humorous throughout and it had a few amusing parts (the Jaegermonsters were the best), but was not on the whole a humorous book. The steampunk setting was great, but the plot was hard to follow at certain points. And the endin...more

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Jan 19, 2011 ***Dave Hill rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: text

I am a Girl Genius fan. I've been reading the comic since it started up, have most of the volumes in hardcover, and think it is da bomb.

Which is, in part, why I am disappointed in the novelization.

Robbed of Phil's imaginative and baroquely-detailed artwork, too much of the tale of Agatha Clay becomes ... well, rather unpleasant, rather than zany and humorous. Sure, the Jaegermonsters are always a hoot, and Othar and Krosp can't help but be amusing. But half the fun of GG are the myriad details t...more I am a Girl Genius fan. I've been reading the comic since it started up, have most of the volumes in hardcover, and think it is da bomb.

Which is, in part, why I am disappointed in the novelization.

Robbed of Phil's imaginative and baroquely-detailed artwork, too much of the tale of Agatha Clay becomes ... well, rather unpleasant, rather than zany and humorous. Sure, the Jaegermonsters are always a hoot, and Othar and Krosp can't help but be amusing. But half the fun of GG are the myriad details that Phil sneaks into the background. Book case in the panel? Gotta read all the titles. Crazy steampunky contraption in someone's hand? It will, of course, have a humorous label on its side, or a droll warning sign on the wall.

The book drops pretty much all of this. We don't even get the name of the University, let alone its motto. In exchange, to be sure, we get some nice background exposition. For example, a prolog tells us a lot about the Hive Engines and Slaver Wasps, not to mention some of the things going on before the Heterodyne Twins vanished. And a number of the characters get some otherwise missing backgrounds -- the murderous pirate Bangladesh Dupree comes to mind.

And, of course, with experience the Foglios have massaged the story a bit, setting up some later conflicts more clearly, altering some details here and there. It's 98% the same, but after reading the book I went through the three graphic novels it's made up of -- Agatha H and the Beetleburg Clank, ... and the Airship City, and ... and the Monster Engine -- and the differences are there, storyline-wise, and largely improvements.

Still, without the art (not even on the cover!), or even an attempt to describe it, the tale loses the particular humorous pizazz it has. Which is a darned shame. I realize it wouldn't be easy -- telling rather than showing is rarely as good a way to convey humor. But without it, it's a rather grim (especially toward the beginning) tale of tragedy and loss and monsters. Which is not what I think of Girl Genius (though, with this book as consideration, that's sort of what it is).

Don't get me wrong. I liked it. I enjoyed reading it. I'll be loaning it to my wife, an even more hepped GG fan than I. And I'll be rooting for a sequel.

But if someone asked me for a Girl Genius tale, I'd hand them the first graphic novel. It's just that much better.(less)

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Nov 26, 2012 Zoe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was the perfect read for a day off work, it's fast paced, steam filled and completely bonkers, I couldn't put it down. Agatha is a hugely likeable heroine, and she's massively readable, I had no end of fun with her and can't wait for the sequel in January. I have to confess, when reading it I didn't realise it was a graphic novel adaptation, the novel covers the first 3 volumes of the comic series I believe, and they can be read online at www.girlgeniusonline.com, pardon me while I squeeeee...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Lianna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Agatha H and The Airship City by Phil and Kaja Foglio was an absolutely lovely read. I read through it voraciously, and can say that I am very sad to not have the next book in the series on my bedside table right now. If I did, I probably wouldn't be writing this review.

I didn't realize that this book is actually based off of the beautifully illustrated Girl Genius webcomic, which looks to have begun in 2002. So if you're more interested in visual storytelling, you can read the story there. How...more Agatha H and The Airship City by Phil and Kaja Foglio was an absolutely lovely read. I read through it voraciously, and can say that I am very sad to not have the next book in the series on my bedside table right now. If I did, I probably wouldn't be writing this review.

I didn't realize that this book is actually based off of the beautifully illustrated Girl Genius webcomic, which looks to have begun in 2002. So if you're more interested in visual storytelling, you can read the story there. However, the world of Agatha H and the Airship City is beautiful, and wonderfully crafted. Phil and Kaja Foglio have created a vivid mindscape, full of cute, odd, and terrifying creatures, scuttling around a landscape full of all of the brass, grease, and machine parts a steampunk could ever want.

Agatha is a university-aged orphan living with her "parents." Her parents, Lillith and Adam Clay, pass for human, but,secretly, are creatures called constructs. Constructs are piece-meal, and sometimes humanoid, creatures created by the mad-genius Sparks who run the world, or at least, used to run the world.
Now, it seems that there is one Spark in charge- Baron Klaus Wulfenbach, a former companion of the famous Heterodyne boys. The Heterodyne boys were brother Sparks, and heroes. They protected the free world from, well, some awfully nasty bugs, up until they disappeared. Their names linger on, but their legacy has been reduced to that of myth and legend, hardly remembered for the very real protection they had provided.

Which brings us to Agatha Clay, or as the bookcover pronounces, Agatha H. Her adventure on the Airship City is one in which she discovers some of the truth about who she might actually be, and that she might be a lot more important than she'd been giving herself credit for.

I really enjoyed that Phil and Kaja give you Agatha's real name with the book title. It gives the reader that "I know something you don't" edge over the characters, and makes it all that much more fun to watch Agatha figure out who her parents actually are. I loved all of the excellent descriptions of all the clanks, both cute and terrifying, that the mad science sparks created. The entire time I was reading this, there were all these weird little clockwork, brass bugs running around my brain. Totally excellent.
I also really enjoyed Agatha's temper, and general reactions to being treated poorly as a girl in a victorian-sexist setting, I'm excited to see how her "I'm not the sidekick girl" attitude plays out. (spoiler: I really love when she throws that guy off the airship)

I guess I'm not a super-critical book-reviewer. I mean, lets see. The book was a little slow, but the ending made up for the character/plot development in the beginning, and can I really call a book I read in less than 24 hours slow? No, I don't think so. It's a totally vivid, fun adventure, and Agatha is a smart, strong female lead, who doesn't let a potential romance get in her way, or even tag along- which is majorly refreshing. I'm really excited to read the next book, and to start exploring the girl genius comic.(less)

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Jan 18, 2013 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who like sci-fi fantasy fluff

Recommended to Stephanie by: AUDIBLE

Shelves: sci-fi-distopian

Did not know anything about Agatha H when I bought it. It was on sale on Audible for 4$ and sounded interesting. So my point is that there are a few things I am confused about. BUT, from what I have read, this is what I have gathered.

Agatha Clay lives in a village (cobble stone road, town bell, horse and carriage, the whole shebang) with TECHNOLOGY! Weeeiirrrdd. But cool! Amazon calls it the Industrial Revolution. Anyway her "kingdom" is under the Rule of Baron Wulfenbach (we just call him the B...more

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

Shelves: alternate-universe, fun-characters, giant-bugs, humor, pirates, science-fantasy, steampunk, mind-control

An enjoyable steampunk romp, which has a lot of interesting world-building in an alternative Earth. It incorporates a light attempt at explaining how people who build the outlandish contraptions typical to Verne would fit into society. The conceit is "the Spark," which seems to be analogous to the X-gene in Marvel comics, in that it usually manifests in puberty. Unlike other mutations, though, this one confers the ability to create Mad Science, fantastic devices formed from insane laboratories o...more An enjoyable steampunk romp, which has a lot of interesting world-building in an alternative Earth. It incorporates a light attempt at explaining how people who build the outlandish contraptions typical to Verne would fit into society. The conceit is "the Spark," which seems to be analogous to the X-gene in Marvel comics, in that it usually manifests in puberty. Unlike other mutations, though, this one confers the ability to create Mad Science, fantastic devices formed from insane laboratories or just the materials at hand, such as steam-powered robots, dirigible gunboats, and MacGuyver-like contrivances of paperclips, magnets, and wooden gears. People with the Spark - called, naturally enough, "Sparks" - have changed the face of 19th century society significantly from real-Earth history. For one thing, flying machines are much more commonplace, but for another, Sparks have created vast armies of rampaging monstrosities (one section of the book goes into the history of reanimated constructs - Frankenstein's monster-like creations that are usually an emerging Spark's first project) that have thrown the world into turmoil.

In the midst of this, some evil genius - simply called "The Other," for no-one knows its identity - created a way to enslave most of Europe: mobile Hive engines that transform into bio-mechanical factories, churning out armies of cyborg insects. These insects are colloquially called "wasps" for their ferocity. There are warrior wasps, which fight to both protect and fuel the Hive; the Wasp Queen, which consumes matter and converts it into more wasps; and Slaver Wasps, which burrow into a person's body and take control of their higher brain functions. The Other was the scourge of the world, and almost none could withstand an attack of a Hive engine, much less an aerial bombardment of them. They seemed to be focused on Sparks and the areas they controlled...which is an ongoing theme in this book. How does one contain/control/eliminate the threat of the Sparks? Most Sparks are power-mad freaks determined to Rule the World, with few to no scruples to temper their ambition. A few, however, have a bit of altruism: Othar Tryggvassen is a Hero to all, on a quest to defeat the nefarious plots of evil madboys everywhere! The Heterodyne brothers Barry and Bill also go off on wild adventures for fun as well as catastrophe prevention.

This much is revealed in the prologue. The main story has to do with the young and comely Agatha Clay, a studious innocent who wishes to be a scientist at the university, but whose creations always fail.

As an avid reader of the comic on which this novel is based, I don't fully trust myself to judge this novel separately from the comic, and it's interesting to read reviews from people who've never read the comic. But I can easily compare them.

The novel serves as a good counterpoint to the comic; it allows a lot more character and other background to be provided, fleshing out a lot of the stuff that is glossed over in the comic (I was particularly pleased with the brief backstory for Bangladesh DuPree, who has always seemed terribly enigmatic in the comic). On the other hand, a lot of the visual emphasis is lost in the printed word, particularly in situations where an escalating verbal intensity is implied. For instance, the scene where Agatha and Gil are plummeting to their deaths and they get caught up in the enthusiasm of tinkering on the flying machine's engine was curiously dissatisfying, as it doesn't convey their progressive Mad intensity. Compare that to the few pages where we see the same in the comic, where the lettering allows us to see that intensity. Further, the story is written to have regular comic beats - either punchlines or big illustrations for visual impact - which is totally expected and usual for a comic strip. That pacing doesn't transfer well to a novel format, except at the end of each chapter. So the comedy, in particular, loses a good deal of its punch. On the other hand, the narrative flows much more smoothly in the novel, making it much easier to both follow the larger storyline and keep track of which character is which. Both of these - character identities and larger plotlines - are easily lost in the comic strip, particularly as it can be years between times that we see a particular character or plot element. I have had problems over the last ten years remembering Sleipnir, for instance, as well as Von Zinzer...reading the novel has helped my appreciation of the comic a great deal for these reasons.

Being able to see the plot more clearly has helped me reflect on some larger themes, explored here in the spoiler section:
(view spoiler)(less)

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Oct 13, 2011 Salimbol rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

As the tagline says, "Adventure! Romance! Mad Science!" - and this book delivers in spades. It was just TONS of fun from beginning to end. It's based on the first three graphic novels in the Girl Genius series, and it has many of the strengths of those graphic novels (sharp dialogue, humour and sense of whimsy), while at the same being able to convey more of the characters' backstories and thoughts, and really revel in the world-building. Would I enjoy it so much if I weren't a fan of the graphi...more

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Mar 18, 2011 Creativity's Corner rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-lit, steampunk

For those of you who don't know, this book is a novelisation of the webcomic Girl Genius. I was introduced to Girl Genius about a month ago, and I have been hooked ever since. I got caught up by the end of the week (neglecting some possibly important other work) and I have been frustrated at the webcomic format ever since - mostly because I can't get the rest of the story fast enough! So, when I found out there was a book, I was very excited! I wanted more of Agatha's story, and here was the cha...more

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Mar 17, 2011 Anki rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: status—own, steampunk-gaslamp

I was very excited to find this book on the shelf at my local bookstore (it took them a while to get it in). I have been reading the Girl Genius comic for several years, so a novelisation was of interest to me.

The writing is solid, though some stylistic elements may take getting used to, particularly if you are unfamiliar with steampunk and/or Girl Genius. Content-wise this novel covers the same time period and story elements as the first three volumes of the Girl Genius comic. There are some mi...more

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May 15, 2012 Joseph Adair rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So, I've read the comic, several times. I have some of the print versions, I've read the entire thing online.

People have said that this book looses something. And that's true. You don't see the little bit of whimsical detail in the background. You loose trivialities, you loose some of the giggle inducing bits of madness that's a major part of what a mad boy IS.

But you gain something, as well. Agatha's story is tragic. It's a stream of horrible things happening in a horrible world. This book ad...more

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Nov 15, 2011 Kelli rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks

Story: B+
Narration: A

Sometimes I like a book because the writing is evocative or a character resonates with me. Sometimes the descriptions are so eloquent I can’t help but be in awe of the writer’s skill. Sometimes there’s a breakneck current of action that sweeps me past any less-than-stellar-writing rocks. Sometimes, I come across a book that is just plain downright fun. Agatha H and the Airship City is that kind of audiobook. It is chock full of mildly amusing lines that are delivered with mo...more Story: B+
Narration: A

Sometimes I like a book because the writing is evocative or a character resonates with me. Sometimes the descriptions are so eloquent I can’t help but be in awe of the writer’s skill. Sometimes there’s a breakneck current of action that sweeps me past any less-than-stellar-writing rocks. Sometimes, I come across a book that is just plain downright fun. Agatha H and the Airship City is that kind of audiobook. It is chock full of mildly amusing lines that are delivered with more than mildly amusing vocal attributes and inflections as part of a very accomplished narration and it all takes place in a fantastic world that invites the listener to sit back and watch events go by.

In an alternate-history world where some people have the Spark (think mad geniuses) and can create amazing mechanical constructs, Agatha Clay is a less-than-accomplished student at Transylvania Polygnostic University. The worst day of her life begins when she loses her locket (a gift from her long-absent uncle) in a mugging. When Baron Klaus Wulfenbach arrives at the university with his heir Gilgamesh, Agatha’s boss ends up dead and she is banned from TPU. The Baron takes over the city of Mechanicsburg and Agatha soon finds herself removed from her home, taken from the constructs who have acted as her parents for the past sixteen years, and ensconced at Castle Wulfenbach, the Baron’s airship stronghold. There she falls in with a group of youth who are being held as hostages to ensure the good behavior of their parents or other family members, all of whom are using their Spark in the employ of the Baron. It soon becomes clear that there is more to Agatha than meets the eye and the core adventure of the story begins.

When I picked up this audiobook several months ago, I was aware that it was based on a comic book/webcomic series named Girl Genius but other than that and the book description, that’s all I knew about it. I mention that because I can’t speak to how the book varies from the comic and can only offer the perspective of someone unfamiliar with the whole series. The story portion has a lot to recommend it. There’s a plucky heroine with a nice blend of smarts, some insecurity over her inability to create things, otherwise decent self-confidence, and an admirable practicality; a large cast of interesting and varied characters whose motivations never boil down to a simple case of good or evil intent; plus nifty world-building with a nice “gaslight fantasy” vibe and a good dash of romance. The pacing is excellent and although I was initially a bit lost as to how the pieces of the world fit together, everything soon lined up nicely in my head. The ending wasn’t a cliff-hanger but there were a ton of loose plot threads that were left flapping in the wind. I can console myself with the fact that I can always turn to the webcomic but I’m really hoping for another audiobook.

I would have enjoyed this as a dead-tree book but as a listen? Angela Dawe knocked it out of the park with this one. Although this was written as a long-form story, I think the vibrancy of the narration took the place of the illustrations that a comic/graphic version would have included and added that extra something to the story. Differentiation between characters (and there were a lot of them) was the most varied I have heard in a single-narrator audio: from Othar Tryggvassen (Gentleman Adventurer) and his bigger than life egotistical super-hero-like voice, to the Jägermonsters with their Germanic accents who always talk like they are delivering bad pick-up lines, to Krosp, the cat construct who speaks like, well, like you’d imagine a cat would if he could talk - smug and with a hint of a meow to many words. The voices of the younger kids in the story, often a problematic narration point for me, were excellent. There was a cornucopia of accents (American, English, East Indian, German, French, Irish) and I enjoyed every one. The humorous lines had just the right snap to them and the delivery of the narrative was nicely paced.

Quite frankly, this book could have been a thousand times longer and I would have been content to listen to the continuing story for the next year.(less)

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Jul 13, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

This book was really fantastic! I loved it.

I was drawn in by what seemed to be a steampunk-type theme, and by a character who had the potential to be a real spitfire. The book definitely lived up to my expectations, and then some.

I am really hoping this couple will put out another novel, because I would prefer that to reading the graphic novels series upon which this was based, but I will probably have to check out the online installments (since the book is brand new, and I will have to wait a...more

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Jan 13, 2011 Alexandra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011

I have been looking forward to this ever since I got to interview the Foglios for Galactic Suburbia way back at Aussiecon4, when they announced they'd been given a deal with Night Shade Books for the novels.

Actually, in some ways I have been looking forward to this for even longer: I first read about Agatha Clay in Girl Genius vol 9, the Hugo-nominated (and winning!) graphic novel. I had never heard of it before I got it in the Hugo packet, and... well... it was love. Pure, sweet, love. I read t...more I have been looking forward to this ever since I got to interview the Foglios for Galactic Suburbia way back at Aussiecon4, when they announced they'd been given a deal with Night Shade Books for the novels.

Actually, in some ways I have been looking forward to this for even longer: I first read about Agatha Clay in Girl Genius vol 9, the Hugo-nominated (and winning!) graphic novel. I had never heard of it before I got it in the Hugo packet, and... well... it was love. Pure, sweet, love. I read the entirety of vol 9; bought the ebook of vol 1; then discovered that you could just read the whole lot online, one page at a time. So I did that. One volume is one year's worth of comics, and pages come out regular as clockwork every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so... yeh. You figure out how much reading that was.

Yes, I know. I lot. But I love it. It's got Adventure! Romance! Mad Science!! And this is the sans-illustration novelisation of, I think, the first three volumes of the graphic version. So yes yes, I've read the story before. But this is a different version. It's like... the novelisation of a movie. Only better.

Officially, the Foglios - wife&husband team Kaja and Phil - call this 'Gaslamp Fantasy'. Which is different from steampunk, and I can sort of see how but I can't always explain. I think, basically, that with steampunk things are meant to make sense, in the same way that good SF makes sense in a scientific way (sorta). Fantasy, though - fantasy gets to cheat outrageously, when it wants to, by wiggling its fingers and saying ta-DA! And as long as it does it in an entertaining enough way, it's fine. I know, I know - I'm exaggerating ridiculously here, and the genre purists will pull me up for it. Whatever. This is gaslamp fantasy because it's kinda the European nineteenth century, but at the same time it's really not, and there are serious mad scientists running around, mostly with The Spark. A Spark is like someone with The Knack: whatever they want to make, whatever they fix, it Just. Works. Although most Sparks end up going nuts or being crushed by their creations.

There are numerous things I love about this series. Firstly, the characters. The main character is Agatha: a sometimes-bumbling, sometimes-competent wannabe mechanic. In the graphic novel, especially, she's wonderful because she's this voluptuous woman unaware of her own looks and perfectly capable of looking after herself, thanks very much. The rest of the cast, as appearing in the novel, are also great: both men and women, good and bad and somewhere in between, and - something that only occurred to me in reading it rather than looking at the pictures, which is a bit crazy - a wide ethnic mix, too. Black people, Jewish people, white people, Chinese people, the marvellous Bangladesh DuPree... not to mention all the slightly non-human types, too. And a talking cat. We love talking cats. Most of all, we love the Jagerkin. The Jagerkin inspired my title, because that's how they talk: with the most outrageous faux-German accents you could possibly imagine (having heard Phil do his impersonation, I understand the inspiration now). They are crazy, they are mischievous, and they love their hats. They also have a propensity for lusting after entirely inappropriate women.

I love the plot, too. Sure you could roll your eyes at yet another story about a poor orphan girl who discovers something amazing about herself, but you know what? Who cares! It's fun! Agatha makes it worthwhile! There's a reason those stories get written so often. And here, along with the self-discovery stuff, there's some serious mad science, a one-km-long dirigible, lots of explosions, and a touch of romance.

I bought the hardcover version, because the trade paperback isn't out until August and that's waaaay too long to wait (and it's not very expensive anyway). It's a lovely little production, with nice paper and cool cover art. My one gripe, and I'm a bit sad about it, is that there are some editing issues. There are a few spelling mistakes ('access' for 'assess'), and someone really doesn't like semi-colons - which would be fine if they used periods in their place, but mostly they used commas, and that just really, really, grated.

Is it original? Not if you've read the comic, no. I have no idea what it would be like to read this cold; I imagine there are some bits that might be a little confusing, but I can't be sure. But did I enjoy it? Hell yes. And I will certainly be buying the second one (Agatha H and the Clockwork Princess) and third (title still TBA), because I am that much of a fangirl.(less)

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Apr 12, 2012 Boyd rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: girl genius fans

Very good novelization of the first three volumes of the epic webcomic (Girl Genius, Vol. 1: Agatha Heterodyne and the Beetleburg Clank, Girl Genius, Vol. 2: Agatha Heterodyne and the Airship City, and Girl Genius, Vol. 3: Agatha Heterodyne and the Monster Engine). The story actually makes a bit more sense to me in this form, in part because we get glimpses into the internal dialog of the characters, and in part because we get some description of parts of the world outside of the experience of t...more

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Mar 09, 2012 Spiral2007 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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Aug 13, 2011 Ryan Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-2011

After reading some of the other reviews of this book, I will agree that the textual novelization of a graphic novel was never going to be as good or the same, but then if they were exactly equivalent, why would you bother reading the novel anyway? It had been a while since I had read the first volumes of Girl Genius and so it was nice to go back, especially because it all made a lot more sense now that the story has progressed a bit further. I was able to put together some information which I di...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Nathan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: author-female, author-male, rated-3-star, read-2013, steam-punk, read-on-kindle, wwe-2013-challenge

Fantasy Review Barn

How seriously do you take a book that in no way, shape, or form takes it’s self seriously? ‘Agatha H and the Airship City’ is a novelization taken almost directly from a web comic, and it shows. How much enjoyment a reader takes from the book would depend on how capable they are of turning their brain off. Lucky for me, I can turn my brain off at will, so I enjoyed the hell out of this little steampunk yarn.

This is steampunk with all the trimmings. Alternative Europe, mechanic...more Fantasy Review Barn

How seriously do you take a book that in no way, shape, or form takes it’s self seriously? ‘Agatha H and the Airship City’ is a novelization taken almost directly from a web comic, and it shows. How much enjoyment a reader takes from the book would depend on how capable they are of turning their brain off. Lucky for me, I can turn my brain off at will, so I enjoyed the hell out of this little steampunk yarn.

This is steampunk with all the trimmings. Alternative Europe, mechanical everything, airships, even characters in goggles. It is also very Saturday morning cartoon, with mad scientist a plenty, daring heroes, and non-stop action. You see history has been turned sidewise by ‘Sparks,’ super-geniuses that snap into their ‘powers’ with little warning. Often they use their new found super intelligence to build lots of machines and take over the surrounding area, mad scientist style. Constant battles between sparks are slowed down when one particular talented man named Baron Klaus Wulfenbach consolidates his power and finds way to control other sparks, using their talents to consolidate it further. The plot moves at such a fast pace that any other background would really be a spoiler, so let’s move on.

First for the good. By running at a comic book like pace the story moves along very quickly. The action is exciting, and if you like classic steampunk the world building will work great for you. While none of the characters are particularly complex, they are fun to follow. The Baron seems way to nice to be a tyrant, but shows his darker side from time to time. His son Gilgamesh rebels in the tiniest ways, and has some of the stories best lines (I love his constant attempts to explain that a now dead professor WAS trying to throw a bomb at him). And of course the story wouldn’t work at all if Agatha wasn’t fairly engaging. Her genius is kept under wraps early on, and while it drives the plot, she is much more fun when it comes out near the end. For most the story she is guided by the plot rather than in control, but toward the end that changes quite nicely.

Fans of this sub-genre will also love the various constructs and techs that are shown. Once I got past the idiotic accent the Jagermonsters are always worth a chuckle. I wanted to know more about the slaver wasp hives. And I am a sucker for airships, for reasons I can’t explain.

Of course everything I just considered a plus could be seen as a negative in a different light. There is very little back story, once you know that you’re in alt-Europe and history has been taken over by mad scientist you know it all. If your consider steampunk trite by this point then you will see nothing new to this story. And if you’re looking for more than action scene followed by action scene, keep looking. Lastly, if you can’t stand the cheese factor (such as said Jagermosters talking in horrible German accents, cities called Mechanicsburg, people named Doctor Doomsfrenzy, and a lab called Large Dangerous Mechanical Lab), then run far, far away.

I want to give this book 4 stars, because I enjoyed it a lot. But I got to be honest with myself, it was a pretty simple story, and having now checked out the “Girl Genius’ web comic, I think it would have been a lot better if I had read the same story with the fun artwork. In fact, I plan too.

3 stars
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Jan 22, 2013 Ambrosia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is exactly what it says on the label - Adventure! Romance! Mad Science! Yep, it's gaslamp fantasy, the sort of pulp that a Victorian penny dreadful author might have written after ingesting an unwise amount of questionable laudanum. In all fairness, however, they'd have to be a rather good author (or it would have to be some rather strong laudanum) - this is absolutely a cut above your average adventure novel.

Most of the story's strengths lie in its characters and its cultivation of a gentl...more This is exactly what it says on the label - Adventure! Romance! Mad Science! Yep, it's gaslamp fantasy, the sort of pulp that a Victorian penny dreadful author might have written after ingesting an unwise amount of questionable laudanum. In all fairness, however, they'd have to be a rather good author (or it would have to be some rather strong laudanum) - this is absolutely a cut above your average adventure novel.

Most of the story's strengths lie in its characters and its cultivation of a gentle sense of humor. I wouldn't say any of the characters quite get past two dimensions (although a couple of them start to lean towards that boundary by the end), but most of them are fleshed out enough to be halfway interesting and memorable, which is especially surprising given the large cast. And while the story's comic-book origins come through in the presence of a certain level of slapstick humor, there's also more than a few entertaining moments watching the aforementioned characters' personalities bounce off each other.

It's not quite a perfect story, or even a perfect adventure story. There are more than a few backstory-filling-in moments that, while not exactly boring, feel a little bit like casual infodumping; one imagines that it's the sort of thing that's easier to show in the background of a comic strip but tougher to work into a novel's dialogue. A couple of my least favorite gender-related tropes show up (Agatha's literal first conflict comes in the form of a drunk ex-soldier mugging and threatening to rape her, and the scene is played for laughs; Agatha's main conflict throughout the story consists of her overcoming her insecurity relating to her gender and her abilities; the love interest is Struggling With His Darker Nature but it's heavily implied that A Good Woman Can Redeem Him Before He Turns To The Dark Side). This is balanced somewhat, however, by the subverting of more than a few other tropes; I especially liked the half-The Doctor/half-James Bond character who's regarded (and regards himself) as The Hero but turns out to be more a pain in the ass than anything else.

I also have to tip my hat to the worldbuilding; while the protagonist/antagonist questions are slightly more clear-cut than in a Miyazaki film, the authors seem to have taken a page from his book in that few of them come across as all-good or all-evil (which is especially refreshing in a pulp adventure). This is a complicated world, with politics and power struggles and mythology and heroes that are half-historical, half-fictional (and may not turn out to be as heroic in person). And while the handling of the "what's fact and what's myth" aspects aren't quite on the level of, say, one of Gaiman's works, it's still one of my favorite themes to see explored.

Absolutely recommended to any fans of the genre, or who just want a good old-fashioned rip-roaring adventure story that doesn't make them wince over the quality of the writing.(less)

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Nov 07, 2011 Insouciantly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk, romance, fantasy, reviewed

Well well, where to begin? Begin here. If you've never been introduced to the multiple Hugo Award-winning online web comic/graphic novel of Girl Genius then your life has been emptier than you knew. And its about to be more full and colorful and steampunk-adventure-filled than you could ever guess. I apologize in advance, its going to become difficult to leave your computer for the next few days. Possible side-effects when you reach the last page include symptoms of intense withdrawl, possible t...more Well well, where to begin? Begin here. If you've never been introduced to the multiple Hugo Award-winning online web comic/graphic novel of Girl Genius then your life has been emptier than you knew. And its about to be more full and colorful and steampunk-adventure-filled than you could ever guess. I apologize in advance, its going to become difficult to leave your computer for the next few days. Possible side-effects when you reach the last page include symptoms of intense withdrawl, possible temporary depression followed by strange desires to build clock-work friends. And in one rare, but well documented case, plans to kidnap the writers with giant laser cannons and force them to write at gunpoint.

If you've read Girl Genius before, then you know what I'm talking about. You've been through the crushing defeat of hitting the "next page" button and having nothing happen. Of realizing you're reading the most recent page, and nothing you can do can make the next chapter appear. Three pages a week just isn't going to cut it, and life is never going to be the same again. Luckily, you can go back to the beginning and start all over again with Agatha H and the Airship City. Yes, thats right, the creators of Girl Genius have decided to go back and create a novelization of the story from the very beginning. Agatha H covers the first three volumes of Girl Genius.

Girl Genius tells the story of a girl named Agatha, and the desperate adventure she's thrown into. Agatha's world is one full of chaos, conflicting rulers, harsh empires, and complicated politics. A few people every year are born with "the spark." This appears to be an intense drive, impossible to resist, to use mad science to create life from machinery. Sparks are often called "madboys" by the normal people, because while they have the brilliance to create, they don't often have the will to control their creations. Most of them end up dead at the hands of their constructs, or at the hands of the locals when the constructs destroy whatever village it was born in. The few that aren't killed locally are usually taken out by a neighboring Spark who feels their territory is being threatened.

Years ago, the populace was helped and saved by a group of heros and adventurers who happened to be some of the few sane sparks. They were led by a pair of brothers known as the Heterodyne Boys. The only problem is, the boys disappeared sixteen years ago when their home and families were destroyed by an unknown villain called merely "The Other." Since then, most of the lands and smaller kingdoms have come under the control of the tyrant Baron Wulfenbach.

Agatha is a quiet girl, raised by her parents and uncle in the smaller but less anarchic city of Beetleburg. Her uncle left them 10 years ago, and since she came of age Agatha has been studying at the local Transylvania Polygnostic University. The only problem is, she's not very good. Everything she builds just falls apart, and on the unlucky days does it with a ball of fire and smoke. She's only merely an unrespected lab assistant on the day the Baron comes to inspect Beetleburg. Before she even really knows whats happening, the Baron has killed her teacher and protector, taken over the city, and her parents are missing. Mostly by accident, she is taken aboard the giant flying airship of Castle Wulfenbach, and only then does she really begin to learn about her family, and the world outside Beetleburg.

The original webcomic of Girl Genius is brightly colored and expertly drawn. (They publish high-quality physical volumes of them now, and they are well worth owning, even though you can read it for free online.) Its highly imaginative, filled with images of strange clockwork devices, expressive characters, and expansive cities and landscapes. The plot instantly draws you in with romance, and wonder, and silly science, and hilarious creatures. Agatha is one of the strongest female characters I've ever read, especially in a graphic novel. Comics have been written for boys for so long that its about damn time someone wrote a female character that is not a side kick, or a love interest, or helpless, or just there to look good. She's smart and smoking hot, and can kick all the boys butts with her use of science and her plain stubborn will-power. And they know it, and adore her for it.

If I have one problem with the Girl Genius comics its just that they are too complex and involved to read in a page-a-day format. I actually have to force myself to stop reading and checking up on it on a daily or even weekly basis. I enjoy the story much more when I actually ignore the website and every six months or so go read the newest volume. And sometimes I can't help but reread the whole thing from the very beginning.

It was during this most recent reread that I found out they'd actually published a novelization of the first three volumes. Oh the wonder, oh the glory! Same loved story, but new and different and exciting format!

Well, I can't possibly say I didn't like it, because the Girl Genius story was there, and was just as good in its basic elements. But I feel like they didn't utilize the power of the novel as well as they could have. The written version definitely has some of the back story explained that isn't in the graphic novel. But I don't feel that they translated the scenes from the comic very well. It was written very... descriptively. It felt more like they were just trying to describe everything they'd drawn, but copied over the dialogue nearly verbatim. It fell into the classic problem of telling the reader everything instead of showing us and letting us imagine some for ourselves.

I think if they had just accepted that capturing the visualization of the graphic novel was going to be impossible, and instead fleshed out the power of the words more it would have gone better. A book is just so different than a comic, you shouldn't try to make them similar. Just work to the strengths of each of them. I would rather have seen more of the emotional changes in Agatha and gotten a glimpse inside her head as her life is being turned upside down, than just read another pale description of a room in the castle that I've already seen drawn in full technicolor. They could have gone so much more into the motivations and true personalities of all the characters, and instead spent time just describing everything around the characters.

The authors have mastered the creation of a brilliant plot and lovable characters, they've excelled at witty dialogue, their imagination is broader and more colorful than we could ever believe... But this novel is merely a "good first try." I fully hope that they'll keep trying, and that they realize there is room for improvment, because right now their writing style outside of the speach bubbles is rather juvenile. Keep trying guys, I know you can get there!(less)

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May 17, 2011 Maria rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Steampunk, Girl Genius Fans

Shelves: steampunk

I’ve had a hard time writing this review because I’m a fan of the Girl Genius webcomic, and it feels like I’m speaking ill of the series to offer up criticism on the novel. It has taken me a while to decide that not all great comic heroes have made a graceful transition into novelized forms, and this book falls into that category. Don’t get me wrong: The book is a fun, pleasant read, but it is so because the original story has those qualities. This book offers very little that is new to the Girl...more I’ve had a hard time writing this review because I’m a fan of the Girl Genius webcomic, and it feels like I’m speaking ill of the series to offer up criticism on the novel. It has taken me a while to decide that not all great comic heroes have made a graceful transition into novelized forms, and this book falls into that category. Don’t get me wrong: The book is a fun, pleasant read, but it is so because the original story has those qualities. This book offers very little that is new to the Girl Genius world, and if you’re looking for a summary of volumes 1-3 of the comic reprints, or you don’t want to read the comic but be brought up to speed, then this book is for you. I enjoyed reading it, and wouldn’t have any problems recommending it to others, but this book is simply a capable retelling of what has already transpired. If you really want to read this story, buy the webcomic reprint. If you want the CliffsNotes or absolutely must own everything Girl Genius you can get your hands on, then buy this book.

The story begins with Bill and Barry Heterodyne, who are attempting to identify a way to destroy a powerful threat. The source if this threat is mysterious, but whoever it is has abducted Bill’s wife and son and Bill, a powerful ‘spark’ and scion of the Heterodyne family, is trying to get to the bottom of things. Bill’s brother Barry has also inherited the spark genetic trait, and the brothers are powerful inventors and scientists that have fought to bring order to their part of the world. Now Bill is obsessed by a desire to avenge the loss of his family and bring relief from the perpetual destruction caused by renegade sparks in the region.

The story then picks up over a decade later. The Heterodyne boys have both disappeared and their good friend and partner, Baron Wulfenbach, now rules over the region with an iron fist. The story begins with Agatha Clay, who is being raised by her foster parents Adam and Lilith. All her life Agatha has had visions of invention and creation that ended with debilitating and excruciating headaches. Despite this, she has enrolled at Transylvania Polygnostic University under the watchful eye of Dr. Beetle, who keeps her on despite her repeated catastrophic failures to create anything that actually works. Then one day, while on her way to school, Agatha is mugged and the locket that Lilith insists Agatha wear every day is stolen and Adam and Lilith move to relocate. While the pair is gone making arrangements, a tired Agatha lies down for a moment to rest and, when she wakes up, she discovers that she may have built a machine in her sleep, and this has caught the eye of Baron Wulfenbach, who consolidates his power by isolating new sparks whenever one is found. But the Baron makes a tactical error: He thinks the spark is the man who stole Agatha’s locket, and that Agatha is merely a girlfriend. The Baron takes the pair up to his floating capitol, the airship Castle Wulfenbach.

On the airship Agatha feels finally free of her headaches and, even though she doesn’t understand why yet, she has too much to deal with to give it any thought. The Baron’s son, Gil, is also on the ship, and he knows that there is more to Agatha then his father is able to see. He is the one who identifies her as a spark, and keeps that information from his father so he can recruit her to help with his projects. Agatha also learns that the Baron often forces the families of his vassals to send their children to live on the airship for the majority of the year as insurance for good behavior. Agatha begins making friends with these fellow hostages while she tries to figure out who she is and why she keeps waking up in the morning in only her underwear and machine grease all over her hands. Eventually, Agatha learns that not only is she is a spark, but the daughter of Bill Heterodyne and, since her father and uncle are missing and presumed dead, she is the last scion of her family and a target for all the ruling sparks, who will want to control her. She can either submit to the Baron, or she can escape in the hopes of restoring her family and solving the mystery of what happened to her parents.

One of the reasons I was somewhat disappointed with this book is because it offers so little additional information about Agatha or the world she lives in. Agatha suffers terribly from incapacitating headaches for most of her young life, and her attempts to create, which fulfill a deep-seated need, are constantly frustrated. This condition is definitely presented as a problem in the book, but her headaches seem to be more of an inconvenience than a major roadblock to development. I ‘get’ that Agatha’s self-esteem and inability to self-actualize has been seriously compromised throughout her life, but this reality is presented in a way that feels cardboard and two-dimensional. This is acceptable in a comic because of the limitations of the format, but I expected more internal dialogue and complexity from Agatha.

This criticism applies to Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, Agatha’s potential love interest. As the son of Baron Wulfenbach, who took over the area Agatha lives in when she was a child, Gil honestly believes himself to be different from his father. Gil is constantly tested by the Baron, which he resents, but at the same time he has picked up many of his father’s opinions and attitudes. This is an area where a novelized version of this story could really shine to create an ambiguous and complex character, but Gil never quite develops. As a result, Gil is a caricature that falls flat. It feels like a missed opportunity for additional content that might not fit into the comic format, and deprives both Gil and his father Baron Wulfenbach of the ambiguity that would help this story transcend from just a copy of another format into a version in its own right.
I feel even more strongly about this after having asked Kaja Foglio at a recent convention if she and co-author Phil had gained any new perspective about Agatha through the writing process. Kaja responded that no, they pretty much understand who Agatha is as a character and there were no additional refinements in the writing process. This begs the question of why bother with writing the novelized version of the story then? If story is complete in its graphic form, it seems to be needlessly redundant to create a novelized version that is simply a retread of what these authors have already done in a previous text.

I will repeat my initial statement that this was a fun read, and I enjoyed it, but the novel never moves beyond just ‘ok’ to something more interesting and thought provoking. It also doesn’t help that the story suffers because the artwork, which is a powerful component, is missing altogether. The comic succeeds because of the engaging art and, without it, much of the charm and heart of the story simply never appear on the page. I sincerely hope that Kaja and Phil have been paying attention to what their readers are saying about this book, and are taking this feedback to heart. I know that I will buy the next book in the series when it comes out, but it would be nice to read a story that is more engaging.
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May 09, 2011 Ronald rated it 3 of 5 stars

Before I get started I just want to mention that I found this book at the local library on the new arrivals shelf. I grabbed the book because I remember liking the comic book.

The story while interesting did not translate well from comic book form to written novel. The breaks in the story where the Heroine suddenly appears in her underwear is not nearly as distracting in the comic as in a regular book. It just really bugged me here that our hero is such a ditz and clothing free in the book - I gu...more

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Agatha H. and the Airship City (Girl Genius novels #1)

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