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Secrets of the Fire Sea

(Jackelian #4)

Stephen Hunt (Goodreads Author)

3.85 · Rating details · 774 ratings · 61 reviews

A tale of high adventure and derring-do set in the same Victorian-style world as the acclaimed 'The Court of the Air' and 'The Rise of the Iron Moon'. ...more

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Hardcover, 443 pages

Published 2010 by Harper Voyager

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Sep 17, 2009 Dan Schwent rated it really liked it

Shelves: steampunk, 2010

Jethro Daunt, the premeire consulting detective of his age, along with Boxiron, his robot Watson, go to the Isle of Jago to solve the murder of the Archbishop, a woman to whom Daunt was betrothed to before he left the clergy. The Archbishop's ward, Hannah Conquest, has been conscripted to the Guild of Valvemen in the wake of her death. But what was the Archbishop murdered to protect?

Secrets of the Firesea was worth the wait. The plot has a lot more twists and turns than I originally thought, as ...more

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Jun 23, 2012 Alan rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Savage beasts

Recommended to Alan by: Previous work, and its steam-punk setting

This is the fourth volume in Stephen Hunt's ongoing series of steampunk novels, set on a world which is probably a far-future version of our own Earth—that's what his characters call it, anyway, although it's never spelled out that way in so many words. To his credit, Hunt has so far resisted the temptation to stick with the same set of characters and locations, choosing instead to wander over the surface of his weirdly active Earth. The volume at hand is, for example—and for the most part—set o This is the fourth volume in Stephen Hunt's ongoing series of steampunk novels, set on a world which is probably a far-future version of our own Earth—that's what his characters call it, anyway, although it's never spelled out that way in so many words. To his credit, Hunt has so far resisted the temptation to stick with the same set of characters and locations, choosing instead to wander over the surface of his weirdly active Earth. The volume at hand is, for example—and for the most part—set on the island of Jago, in the middle of the Fire Sea, a location new to us as readers.

Jago is a land of contradictions, an isolated iron fortress surrounded by mutant monsters and a sea composed mostly of magma, with only a few variable channels through the fire for the trade that used to be its main source of income, before easier routes were discovered to the ursine lands of Pericur and beyond. The contraction of its economy has led Jago into a drawn-out agony of repression; despite its wealth of resources and history, and despite its being the only place on Earth where the wild power of electricity can be tamed and used as it was in centuries past. Jago is in decline, even as its leadership denies the fact and makes ridiculous plans for its glorious future.

Hannah Conquest is a orphaned ward of the state in Hermetica, the underground capital of Jago. Her parents disappeared on an expedition into the interior, so Hannah has been raised by the archbishop Alice Gray, chief of the Circlist anti-faith on Jago. Hannah hopes to join the Circlists herself, if she can pass the entry examination. But then Alice is killed, apparently by rampaging ursks which breached the electrical defenses of Hermetica for the first time in living memory... and Hannah is left alone (well, except for her ursine friend Chalph urs Chalph) to face the unwanted attentions of Vardan Flail (you can just tell he's a bad guy from the name, can't you?), chief of the guild of valvemen who maintain the enormous tube-driven transaction engines which keep Jago functional and safe.

Into this explosive mix come Jared Black and his steamman companion Boxiron, whose names we've heard before in prior volumes of Hunt's series, commanding a submarine and bearing the fledgeling archaeologist Nandi Tibar-Wellking and the Sherlockian ex-Circlist detective Jethro Daunt from the Kingdom of Jackals (a land whose name we've heard before as well) to Jago. It's a mixture that proves even more explosive when Daunt is charged with unraveling the circumstances of Alice Gray's demise, and a journey of discovery to the interior of Jago ensues...

As is perhaps evident from the synopsis above, a lot is going on in this book, and Hunt throw us into the middle of it very quickly. It took me a hundred pages or so to really get into this installment, and this book should probably not be read by anyone new to Hunt's milieu. But for those who are familiar with its quirks, Secrets of the Fire Sea will, I think, prove an ultimately satisfying addition to the world Hunt's been building. ...more

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Feb 16, 2010 Amanda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: steampunk, best-of-the-best

OUCH! Stephen Hunt is so great of an imaginist, it hurts! Cheesy sounding, i know- but this author blows my mind! This fourth installment from Hunt is another stellar adventure, probably the most in depth of all, mainly due to the strong theological bent to it. It takes place predominantly on the island of Jago, which is located on the Fire Sea, a place we've only briefly heard of before this.

Hunt really gets into the religions of this intricate world he's created, the two leading ones dealt wi OUCH! Stephen Hunt is so great of an imaginist, it hurts! Cheesy sounding, i know- but this author blows my mind! This fourth installment from Hunt is another stellar adventure, probably the most in depth of all, mainly due to the strong theological bent to it. It takes place predominantly on the island of Jago, which is located on the Fire Sea, a place we've only briefly heard of before this.

Hunt really gets into the religions of this intricate world he's created, the two leading ones dealt with in this episode being, of course, Circlism, (which is the one we've always heard the most about throughout the series)and a new one from the Pericurians (a newly introduced ursine-like people) who worship the Scripture of the Divine Quad. It's smart and most definitely deliberate that he chose to focus on a creationism religion, (the Divine Quad) and a science-based religion, (Circlism).

The Circlists are supreme rationalists who do not believe in gods and see 'faith' as kind of a silly notion. Their religion is based on pure knowledge with moral fables consisting of math formulae. The Scriptures of the Divine Quad, being a creationist religion, of course put all value in faith. This religion has strong connections to Christianity, even with an expulsion from Eden scenario in which the Pericurians had been expelled from Jago, which had then supposedly been a paradise. I found these theological themes throughout the book fascinating.

Another great aspect of this novel were the various females in positions of power, including- the exclusively matriarchal society of the Pericurians, female archbishops and militia as well as a Pericurian woman as the head of their free company fighters.

This being my fourth book that i've read of Hunt's, i found it as enthralling as the first three. I did find myself missing characters and wished we'd been able to see more of the world, as is norm with his stories. Among the part/ characters i missed were- the Catosian womb mages and their hideous creations, the Cassarabian women fighters, the Steammen Free State and even the Quartershiftians.

The only thing i didn't like as much was that he did not have as many plot threads going at once, and i hope that wasn't intentional due to bad feedback from reviewers who thought there was too much going on, because that is one of the most enjoyable parts of his writing, IMO. I feel like i'm going to burst if i have to wait too long for the next installment from this extraordinary author!!! ...more

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Jan 21, 2012 Blake rated it it was amazing

Well, as usual, I will always give Stephen Hunt books 5 stars, because they are one shots, beyond awesome, and his character creation breathes life into them that makes the page come alive. This book is no exception. With the usual cast, which are amazing by themselves, he then throws in his version of steampunk Sherlock Holmes, Jethro Daunt, and a robot Mr. Watson, Boxiron, these two actually steal the show from the otherwise amazing characters that are always placed perfectly in these one shot ...more

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Aug 20, 2013 Florin Pitea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

An excellent addition to the Jeckelian Sequence, "Secrets of the Fire Sea" combines a detective story, exploration of exotic lands, intrigue and war in a truly impressive plot with numerous narrative hooks and twists. Recommended. ...more

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May 04, 2012 Robin Carter rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

The latest book from Stephen Hunt Secrets of the Firesea was in my opinion well worth the wait. As usual for his books the plot more twists and turns than you could imagine.
We get to see the continuation of some fantastic characters eg: the fabulous Commodore Black & Jethro Daunt.
The writing had a taste of Wodehouse, much like the earlier books. As usual Hunt brings his imagination bear on some interesting and unusual creatures such as the ab-locks and ursks.

Why only four stars? While I liked Se The latest book from Stephen Hunt Secrets of the Firesea was in my opinion well worth the wait. As usual for his books the plot more twists and turns than you could imagine.
We get to see the continuation of some fantastic characters eg: the fabulous Commodore Black & Jethro Daunt.
The writing had a taste of Wodehouse, much like the earlier books. As usual Hunt brings his imagination bear on some interesting and unusual creatures such as the ab-locks and ursks.

Why only four stars? While I liked Secrets of the Firesea, it wasn't my favourite of the Hunt books. The pace was slower and far more localised than previous books and far too focused on code breaking.

Interesting Imaginative and well worth reading.

(Parm)

Product Description (from back of book)
Tale of high adventure and derring-do set in the same Victorian-style world as the acclaimed The Court of the Air and The Rise of the Iron Moon. The isolated island of Jago is the only place Hannah Conquest has ever known as home. Encircled by the magma ocean of the Fire Sea, it was once the last bastion of freedom when the world struggled under the tyranny of the Chimecan Empire during the age-long winter of the cold-time. But now this once-shining jewel of civilization faces an uncertain future as its inhabitants emigrate to greener climes, leaving the basalt plains and raging steam storms far behind them. For Hannah and her few friends, the streets of the island's last occupied underground city form a vast, near-deserted playground. But Hannah's carefree existence comes to an abrupt halt when her guardian, Archbishop Alice Gray, is brutally murdered in her own cathedral. Someone desperately wants to suppress a secret kept by the archbishop, and if the attempts on Hannah's own life are any indication, the killer believes that Alice passed the knowledge of it onto her ward before her saintly head was separated from her neck. But it soon becomes clear that there is more at stake than the life of one orphan. A deadly power struggle is brewing on Jago, involving rival factions in the senate and the island's most powerful trading partner. And it's beginning to look as if the deaths of Hannah's archaeologist parents shortly after her birth were very far from accidental. Soon the race is on for Hannah and her friends to unravel a chain of hidden riddles and follow them back to their source to save not just her own life, but her island home itself. ...more

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Mar 05, 2010 Wade added it

An amazing romp through Hunt's fanciful world, this time to a dark and cold subterranean land or Jago, where the sea is fire and the land is ice. I felt this one had TONS of build up that often went very slow. The reader has to plod through tons of plot development which just didn't grab me like usual, although the end of the book we pick up "steam" and developments are as far reaching as any in his other books. The land of Jago was such an fascinating place and it's history and the role in Hunt ...more

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May 09, 2019 Shane rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, sci-fi, steampunk, with-shelley, read-in-2019

I love this series, but have to say that this one was my least favorite of the 4. Especially disappointing because I read this one with my wife because I really wanted her to experience how awesome these books were.

This one just didn't seem as epic as the others and the characters weren't that exciting. The cool ideas were still there and the political intrigue, but it just didn't get me as excited as the first 3 books. ...more

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Jan 21, 2018 Karen rated it liked it · review of another edition

Gripping and entertaining.

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Feb 06, 2020 Costi Gurgu rated it really liked it

Really nice world building!

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May 22, 2020 SR rated it really liked it

Shelves: fem-pov-characters, sf, paperbackswap, fantasy, colonization, brain-candy, war, body-horror, steampunk-clockpunk

These are such MESSES of books and I LOVE them.

Still wish I could take a swipe at copyediting, though.

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Apr 18, 2013 Forrest rated it liked it

Shelves: cbr5

The fourth book in Stephen Hunt’s Jackelian series is a marked improvement on the third, but doesn’t quite recapture the energy or creativity of the first. However, the actual narrative line of Secrets of the Fire Sea is surprisingly clean and easy to follow, a vast improvement over Hunt’s pervious stories.

If you haven’t been following my various Cannonball blogs, Secrets of the Fire Sea takes place in Hunt’s steampunk/fantasy/sci-fi setting that started with The Court of the Air. And it is hone The fourth book in Stephen Hunt’s Jackelian series is a marked improvement on the third, but doesn’t quite recapture the energy or creativity of the first. However, the actual narrative line of Secrets of the Fire Sea is surprisingly clean and easy to follow, a vast improvement over Hunt’s pervious stories.

If you haven’t been following my various Cannonball blogs, Secrets of the Fire Sea takes place in Hunt’s steampunk/fantasy/sci-fi setting that started with The Court of the Air. And it is honestly one of the best steampunk settings out there, and continues to be wonderfully creative sometimes even surprising. I would go so far as to say that the setting is the reason these books are worth reading, as the stories tend to be retreads of obvious tropes and are only interesting because of the set pieces that make up the world.

Secrets jumps away from the events of the last three books and starts with a new protagonist, Hannah Conquest, a bright, precocious young girl with aspirations of joining the clergy of the Circlist Church. But when the Archbishop of Jago is murdered in her own cathedral, Hannah finds herself in the middle of a secret conflict that could destroy her city, her family and maybe even the world. Alongside her, the famous detective Jethro Daunt and his Steamman assistant Boxiron have been hired by the Church to track down the Archbishop’s murderer.

Hunt is back writing to his strengths, having abandoned the sci-fi elements that made Rise of the Iron Moon nigh unreadable. With the setting of Secrets moved to Jago, an isolated continent that is home to more mysteries than usual, even for a country in the Jackelian universe. Jago is one of the only places in the world where electricity works more or less correctly, and has evolved as a nation of underground cities with powerful turbines tapping into volcanic power to keep the air moving and the lights on. These little facts are just a few of the fascinating elements that Hunt builds into his books. They keep adding on to each other, with aspects of life in Jago linking back to the events of The Court of the Air and things that we learned about the world in The Kingdom Beyond the Waves. Still, Secrets doesn’t have the same creative spark, partly because Jago just isn’t as interesting as the rest of the world, but also because the only entirely new element added to the book, a race of bear-people, feel very tacked-on and undeveloped.

In spite of some lackluster world-expansion, Hunt has actually managed to cobble together a serviceable mystery novel. The core plot of Secrets is much more coherent than any of his previous stories. He does an adequate job of creating villains, both obvious and secret, and manages not to rely on a twist ending. Or rather, the events of the climax all have easy to read antecedents, if you know what you’re looking for. He still has a tendency to default to the adventure/exploration model to pad his page count, but it doesn’t feel out of place here. The murder of the Archbishop unfolds naturally into the political machinations of Hermetica City and the subsequent sleuthing.

Unfortunately Hunt insists on using a set of dull, stock protagonists. Hannah Conquest is a fairly transparent expy of Molly Templar and Commodore Black continues to be the exact same stupid character he has been in every other book. The team of Daunt and Boxiron are by far the most interesting of the main cast, but both of them suffer from a bit of optimization syndrome, where they are both a little too well suited to their current assignment and just happen to have the exact skills needed to move the story forward. I suppose I shouldn’t have expected Hunt to give up his Deus Ex Machina addiction cold turkey.

I’m not really clear on the direction Hunt is going with these books. Each new volume seems to introduce as many problems as it solves and I can’t help feeling like the author should stick to his guns and stop switching up his styles. Rather that experimenting with new types of story, he could be refining the adventure/quest model that made Court of the Air such a good read. At this point, the setting is the only thing that keeps me coming back, and that’s not a terrible thing in and of itself, but if Hunt can’t find a way to bring in new readers, the series is going fail before we have our fill of the setting. ...more

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Mar 15, 2017 C.I. DeMann rated it really liked it

This is without a doubt my favorite steampunk series. I love the world Hunt's created. While previous books felt like adventures, this one felt more like a mystery, with the big detective's reveal at the end. All things equal, I think I would have preferred an adventure, but that's not stopping me from giving this four stars. Quality writing. ...more

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Aug 17, 2020 Joe Dougherty rated it really liked it

As usual the setup and execution of the characters backstory expands as you get dragged into the fantastic. Love the ride and truly believe it's Spielbergian in scope and action. Thank you once again. ...more

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Apr 18, 2015 Phil Leader rated it really liked it

Secrets of the Fire Sea is the fourth installment of Hunt's Jackelian series of books, exploring a far future world which has changed due to some catastophe resulting in plenty of strange peoples and some very weird and wonderful terra incognita.

The majority of this book takes place on the island of Jago, at the center of the Fire Sea, an area of shifting magma and steaming water channels. Jago has stood proudly against all attack for millennia and thanks to their modelling of the Fire Sea, they Secrets of the Fire Sea is the fourth installment of Hunt's Jackelian series of books, exploring a far future world which has changed due to some catastophe resulting in plenty of strange peoples and some very weird and wonderful terra incognita.

The majority of this book takes place on the island of Jago, at the center of the Fire Sea, an area of shifting magma and steaming water channels. Jago has stood proudly against all attack for millennia and thanks to their modelling of the Fire Sea, they controlled all shipping through the area and became very rich as a result. But times have changed and a new way around the Fire Sea has been found, putting Jago into terminal decline.

It also has another claim to fame; whereas the rest of the world is unable to use electrical energy in any predictable or safe manner, resulting in steam and clockwork being the primary power sources, Jago's unique geography allows for this wild energy to be tamed and used to drive computing devices, even if at some cost to the men and women who work closely with it.

When the archbishop of Jago is killed her ward, Hannah, is drafted in to work these machines. Meanwhile a submarine from Jackals arrives carrying an odd assortment of passengers. Nandi is from the university and is looking for information on the history of Jago found by Hannah's parents. Jethro Daunt and his half steamman assistant have been despatched to discover the truth about the death of the archbishop. Commodore Black, that most disreputable of old seadrinkers, is naturally the captain of the submarine.

As the various story threads and plots work their convoluted way forwards it soon becomes clear that a deep and very dangerous secret is hidden on the island. A secret more than worth killing for.

As with the previous Jackelian novels, this a very dense with not explanations given to the reader in terms of how the world works. These books are not ones to sit back and lazily take in. They require some work on the part of the reader, but that work is very well rewarded as the incredibly imaginative and fully realised world is one that is full of marvels.

This book did take quite a lot longer than the previous books to get going and although the descriptions were as vivid as ever and events happening, the story seemed to take some time to get going and actually have momentum and direction. But once it got going it was terrific stuff.

There are some particular stand out scenes - the 'cyberspace' infiltration of Jago's transaction engines is excellent and Hunt pulls out all his programmer credentials with the Joshua Egg and hidden codes.

As usual with these books, as the various story threads head towards each other like speeding express trains and the odds of our heroes surviving dwindle away, Hunt pulls off a series of daring and close escapes and as usual delivers the deus ex machina ending these books deserve. And in spades.

Overall a terrific book, quite hard to work through the first few chapters but well worth it. If you have never read a Jackelian book before this would definitely not be the one to start with but it provides more fascinating landscapes and cultures to get the imagination working.
...more

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Aug 17, 2010 April Steenburgh rated it it was amazing

Shelves: steampunk

This is my favorite of the series so far. Most of the pacing issues I had with previous books, the sort of situation where everything goes to hell in such a rushed fashion the reader is almost left behind, are delightfully absent in this one. The Commodore drove me nuts, as usual, with his eternal put-upon misery, but even that had a fantastic pay off by the end. I think, after finishing the book, that Commodore Black was one of my favorite characters. His scene at the end is just so visceral. N This is my favorite of the series so far. Most of the pacing issues I had with previous books, the sort of situation where everything goes to hell in such a rushed fashion the reader is almost left behind, are delightfully absent in this one. The Commodore drove me nuts, as usual, with his eternal put-upon misery, but even that had a fantastic pay off by the end. I think, after finishing the book, that Commodore Black was one of my favorite characters. His scene at the end is just so visceral. Not punches pulled. And I loved it.

Add in Jethro Daunt, the Circlist priest who was kicked out due do the fact he hears old gods (possessing an amazing talent for deductive reasoning), and his companion Boxiron, the head of a Steamman Knight inexpertly attached to the inferior man-made machine body (with an issue with aggression and stuck gears, not to mention a black market skill set) , and Fire Sea has a cast that not only grabs the readers attention but pulls them through each and every page. Every now and then Jethro appears to be a fantastic hat tilt to Sherlock Holmes, and on occasion made me chuckle with appreciation. His first scene in the book really drives that impression, and I was unable to get it out of my head whenever he was in a scene for the rest of the book.

The main protagonist is Hannah Conquest, ward of the church and math prodigy. She is interesting, but serves more as a reason to bring the rest of the cast together than anything else. Purity and Molly remain far more compelling heroines in my opinion.

The isle of Jago itself presents a creepy, hellish setting. From the corrupting domain of the valvemen to the beasts that roam the exterior of the city there is an omnipresent sense of danger and horror. The book itself is full of murder, conspiracy, and skulking Old Gods, which combined with the setting adds the twisted horror aspect I have come to love and expect from Hunt's books.

The Ursine race added another interesting culture to the social menagerie that populates the world, and the fact the plot hinged on something more mundane than most of the other novels- race/culture conflict between the Humans and the Ursines- the book as a whole was a more intriguing read.

This is a wholly brilliant addition to the series. I highly recommend picking it up! ...more

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Sep 18, 2009 Brian rated it really liked it

its been at least a year since i read the last book from this series. i thought maybe i would forget some of the people and things that transpired (which i did.) but the great thing about this is that the books can each be read independently of the others.

sure, there is penty you'll miss out on if you havent read all the books. but they are so engaging and fast paced and dialogue heavy that you will find yourself right in these new worlds without any necessary background.

this book was pretty goo its been at least a year since i read the last book from this series. i thought maybe i would forget some of the people and things that transpired (which i did.) but the great thing about this is that the books can each be read independently of the others.

sure, there is penty you'll miss out on if you havent read all the books. but they are so engaging and fast paced and dialogue heavy that you will find yourself right in these new worlds without any necessary background.

this book was pretty good, all the action and buildup was there, i like the writing style, the story breaks, and the general arc of the whole story. there were some things that i was absolutely positive would transpire and then it was different. and i like that. certainly not a book where you can basically recite the ending after the first two chapters.

anyway, they only thing that i didnt really like was the epilogue and about the last ten pages of the book. sure, part of it could be that annoying kid that stand outside my gate repeating over and over again "wheres my dollar" "hey, give me my dollar." this kid is really annoying. when i'm drunk, i like to fuck with him, but in the middle of the day and i am just trying to read a book...not fun.

i thought about going to my back porch to read, but why should i let this little kid shake me from the relative comfort of my front porch? so i gave him a few gruff responses and told him to leave me alone.

anyway, the book! yeah the end was kind of shitty and i have no real idea what happened. i remember this being something i didnt like about the first or second book as well. there were just a few too many story lines to wrap up that some got left out, and some needed more explaining. so, the main arc with hannah and jethro, i wouldve liked more there.

the epilogue, pretty worthless. i dont understand why it was there at all. i wouldve liked seeing commodore black back in jackals conversing with amelia harsh. i have no real idea what happened to jethro and boxiron, my guess is that they just continued doing their line of work. and i guess hannah became the archbishop at pericur? whatever. i'm sure there will be more spelled out in a future book. ...more

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Jun 21, 2012 Alex rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

The plots get samier and the characters get sketchier in the fourth Jackelian book. Unlike books one and three it's not too ambitious, but the level of pastiche of the previous plots Hunt has used is just a little bit ridiculous. Unlike some authors, he doesn't just replicate the same story over and over, but by this point it is getting a little familiar - especially as Jethro Daunt is Connor is Cornelius Fortune.

On the plus side, Hunt doesn't overreach: the events are almost exclusively constra ...more

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Mar 23, 2010 Liviu rated it it was amazing

Shelves: genre-sf, genre-fantasy, 2010_release_read, read_2010, top_25_2010_novels

About a month ago when Secrets of the Fire Sea was published I gave another try to Rise of the Iron Moon and while it still read too pulpy, I was better disposed towards it and today I would give it a B, rather than the D to F I gave it originally..

That's the power of expectations, after a very good but flawed Court of the Air, the superb Kingdom Beyond the Waves was a top five book, after that the pulpy Iron Moon was almost a throw away in anger...

Now Secrets of the Fire Sea returns to the f ...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Leo rated it liked it

This was a nice installment on behalf of Stephen Hunt, but I won't lie, it was not one of his best. There wasn't a ridiculous mystery behind the issue that arose on the isle of Jago, and everything was resolved fairly easily with a literal ghost in the machine twist. There was the desperation that is characteristic of his plots, but I was not in as great suspense when compared to the distress found in The Rise of the Iron Moon or my favorite book by Hunt, The Court of the Air. This book seemed t ...more

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Apr 09, 2013 Marc Jentzsch rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, thriller, pulp

Okay, so Stephen Hunt is one of my two favoritest authors in the universe. Full disclosure. I love the crazy. If you like your fantasy straight, he's not for you.

But I have to say Commodore Black has started getting on my nerves. He WHINES SO MUCH! Other than that, I have little negative to say other than I wasn't quite sure how to envision parts of Hermetica City which didn't work well when the book started reaching its climax. There was one rather sudden death of a supporting character that ma ...more

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Jun 23, 2012 Mark rated it really liked it

The fourth book in Hunt's sequence of books about the various characters that inhabit Jackels and it's surrounding world. This was my favorite in all the series. It combines a sort of Victorian steam punk sci fi with a murder mystery that holds together through the entire book and to the end. The story takes place on the strange island of Jago, which is surrounded by a burning hot sea that can only be navigated by powerful difference engines and is inhabited by humans who live in small enclaves ...more

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Jan 15, 2016 Joel Mitchell rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

This is a fairly typical installation in Hunt's steampunk-esque "Jackelian World" series. As always, his world-building is superb. The story features a blend of geopolitical intrigue and supernatural elements as in the other 3 books, but they do seem to be better balanced than previously (i.e. the supernatural elements are not so powerful that in the end they completely trump every other part of the story like they do in The Court of the Air and The Rise of the Iron Moon).

The plot focuses quite ...more

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Dec 07, 2011 Adam TenPas rated it it was amazing

As always, I walk away satisfied from yet another in Stephen Hunt's Jackelian series. Secrets of the Fire Sea took a little bit more time winding up than the others in the series thus far (pardon my pun), but once the story got going it was hard to put down. I have to say, I love the little comparative intricacies that Hunt weaves in his stories--I'm always trying to figure out the real-world parallels of the locales and denizens of this particular canon. It's also fun to pick out the little eas ...more

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Feb 02, 2013 Ben Yosua-davis rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

The book starts off deliciously - interesting characters, intriguing mysteries, potentially dangerous politics. Then - over three quarters of the way through the book, the wheels fall off, as if Hunt suddenly realized, "Oh goodness! I have seventeen unresolved plot threads to deal with in the next hundred pages!" and resolves them all with a crash - which, while exciting, sadly leaves a lot of debris behind.

Perhaps this is the case of a good author taking on too complex a project, which is noth ...more

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Aug 30, 2010 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

At last, a book written by Stephen Hunt that maintained its strength from beginning to end! Huzzah! (and may I add a wheeee?!)

This book was a mixed blessing - I don't think the characters were overall, as engaging as some of the characters introduced in his previous books, but the flow of the story was fantastic. And the world-building of Jago - the mysterious fire island mentioned in earlier books - is fabulous.

...more

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Mar 27, 2012 Andrew rated it really liked it

Shelves: library, steampunk

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

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Jun 24, 2012 Rebecca rated it did not like it

Just a train wreck. Sorta steam punk fantasy sci-fi with a nod towards Sherlock Holmes and bear people. As in people who are also bears. Sort of. And twenty five half-baked side plots in competition with each other so that even when you DO find something that isn't utterly ridiculous, you only get to enjoy it for a half minute before the channel switches back to utter nonsense. I don't mind a fantasy landscape, but you still have to have a mildly coherent story. ...more

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Nov 04, 2011 Karen Desmond rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Not so much a 'rollicking tale' as a rolling tale that meanders its way from start to finish. Short bursts of action are more than outweighed by pages of religious and political debate.

I did stick with it till the end but it never really gripped me.

A future 'might do' author for me rather than a 'must buy'. ...more

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Nov 16, 2011 Psychophant rated it liked it

Shelves: series, fantasy, reviewed, shelf-3b

Stephen Hunt takes a smaller scope and a smaller (in a way) menace, and the story improves compared to the previous ones. It is mostly new, and a nice adventure romp in a fantastical world of steam and electricity. The ending is a bit abrupt, but it is a nice escapist reading for an evening of steam opera.

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About Stephen Hunt

Stephen Hunt

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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Stephen Hunt is a British writer living in London. His first fantasy novel, For the Crown and the Dragon, was published in 1994, and introduced a young officer, Taliesin, fighting for the Queen of England in a Napoleonic period alternative reality where the wars of Europe we ...more