Cirrus Flux: Der Junge, den es nicht gab

by Matthew Skelton

London 1783: Der 12-jährige Waisenjunge Cirrus Flux findet einen winzigen Globus, der einst seinem Vater gehörte. Eine wissenschaftliche Gilde hat von dem Fund erfahren und will ihm die kleine Weltkugel abjagen. Von deren Kräften weiß er nichts, aber Cirrus ist sich gewiss: Er wird den Talisman nicht hergeben. Auf der Suche nach einem Versteck flüchtet er in das brodelnde London des 18. Jahrhunderts, verfolgt von den gefürchtetsten Mitgliedern der Gilde: Wunderheilerin Mme Orrery und Mr. Sidereal, der überall Ferngläser postiert hat. Cirrus braucht Hilfe - wird es seinen Freunden gelingen, ihn zu retten? Eine abenteuerliche Reise in das England einer längst vergangenen Zeit.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Adventure, Middle Grade, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Magic

326 pages, Hardcover

First published July 28, 2009

About the author

Matthew Skelton was born in the UK but spent most of his childhood in Canada. He started writing while working as a teaching assistant at the University of Mainz, continued when he came back to Oxford to work as a research assistant. In 2002 he won Richard and Judy's short story competition. Endymion Spring is his first novel.

Reviews

[Kara Babcock · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to dive into the children’s section of my library to get this one. I haven’t been in there for ages. There were short people around! And all the shelves are much shorter! Still, it was worth it. The Story of Cirrus Flux is an interesting attempt to set a children’s adventure novel in Georgian Britain. Matthew Skelton’s breadth of imagination makes for some entertaining characters and rambunctious action scenes. Nevertheless, the plotting is underwhelming and frayed at the edges, and I was left unsatisfied. While I think some people will get a lot from this book, you have to be more willing than I am to overlook its flaws.

Cirrus Flux is an orphan, and everyone seems to be after him. He doesn’t know why—indeed, he’s only clued in when another orphan, Pandora, lets him know that her new mistress is up to no good. So Cirrus has to go one the run, somewhat clumsily, with a sphere left as a keepsake at the orphanage by his father. This would theoretically lead someone to the Breath of God, a mystical force with unimaginable power.

If that seems a little vague to you, it is.

The novel takes a bit of time to get going. I like how different people keep showing up at the orphanage asking for Cirrus. Yet Skelton spends more time initially developing Pandora. That’s not a bad thing—I liked Pandora—except that the book is very explicitly called The Story of Cirrus Flux. Indeed, a cynical person might think the title is a disingenuous attempt to get boys interested in a book that has a girl as arguably a main protagonist. Because while Cirrus certainly sees some action at the end of the book, some of the most interesting and difficult experiences are Pandora’s.

In between these present-day moments, Skelton gives us flashbacks to when James Flux first discovers, and then later in life, retrieves, some of the Breath of God. Again, these are a great idea and could have been super interesting, but they don’t seem all that particularly well done. Skelton only gives us a vague understanding of what’s happening in these scenes: it’s not entirely clear who is running these expeditions or what the stakes are. I know that children’s novels aren’t going to have the same type or amount of depth and background exposition that an adult story might have, but it’s all just very vague. Who are the good guys and bad guys in all of this?

Fortunately, the book picks up in its final act. Cirrus finds an old friend of his, there is plenty of betrayal and danger, and Pandora has to help save the day. There is a chase sequence, some electrifying, and a phoenix-like bird. Skelton has a talent for evoking a sense of wonder, and I couldn’t help but imagine this book as a miniseries. I think it could be really successful, and the miniseries format would allow a little more time to explore things that Skelton elides here.

The Story of Cirrus Flux will probably delight its younger audience. I don’t regret reading it, but I do think my mindset is a little too critical for it. I might have thoroughly enjoyed this adventure novel as a kid, but I didn’t read it then, so I don’t have the fond memories of it now. Next time I hit up the children’s section probably won’t be until I finally get around to re-reading Anne of Green Gables.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm seeing a lot of poor reviews, but I really enjoyed this one. The story is not so much about "The Breath of God," but more about the young foundlings, so anyone expecting The Golden Compass is going to be baffled, but anyone just looking for an adventure ought to enjoy it.

[Alison C · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Story of Cirrus Flux, by Matthew Skelton, tells the tale of a young orphan boy in 1780s London, who is being raised in the Foundling Hospital, a place were poor folks leave the children they can't afford to keep, usually leaving a token with the child so that the child knows it was loved. But Cirrus doesn't have a token, or at least he thinks he doesn't; turns out that his father left him a sphere on a chain (so it could be worn around the neck), a sphere which has amazing properties. You see, his father was a seaman and in his sphere long ago, at the other side of the world, he had captured a bit of the Breath of God....Now Cirrus is 12 or so, and all of a sudden there are menacing people after him, all hunting for the sphere - a wicked mesmerist, a tiny man in a wheelchair who has an all-seeing eye, and a showman who uses newly discovered electricity to shock his patrons (and the little boys on whom he bestows jolts). It's up to Cirrus, the young orphan girl Pandora and the mysterious Mr. Hardy, an old friend of Cirrus' father who happens to have a hot-air balloon that is powered by the wings of a fiery phoenix, to outwit the evildoers and save the day....This is Skelton's second book (after Endymion Spring), and while it's not quite as wonderful as his first, it's well worth reading, particularly for the day-to-day aspects of 18th Century London. Recommended.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but not appropriate for my high school students

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts slow...(this could just be me; I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately), but it did catch my curiosity within a reasonable amount of time. One reason for the slowness was the alternating between time periods. Parts of the book are set earlier and are visited when it becomes relevant to the present. I had to go back and look at the part titles and dates to figure out what was going on. Again this was resolved fairly quickly.

There is quite a bit of alternating in this book. The first is the time periods, mentioned above, the second is alternating viewpoints. The book is written in the third person perspective, but it shifts between Cirrus and Pandora. I like both Cirrus and Pandora, but I felt that Pandora actually experienced her circumstances while Cirrus let things happen to him. I'm bothered by this because Cirrus is the title character.

It was a good read, but overall it felt underdeveloped. The fantasy elements are interesting, but take a back burner to the chase. I'm not even really sure why the coveted object was so coveted. That's a problem. Finally, the ending doesn't feel fully resolved. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be the beginning of something or a stand alone. If it's the beginning, yeah I'd be curious about a follow-up, but if it stands alone, I'm in the dark.

[Samrudhi Sridharan · Rating 2 out of 5]

After Endymion Spring, this book was just a let down.
It has such a wonderful premise, I have no idea why he would just let half the story just hang. The end was anti- climatic and I don't really think Cirrus got the amount of time he deserved. He was thrown into the middle of the action, he spent some time there, got out, without really contributing to what was happening.
Maybe it is a little misleading that the book is called "The Story of Cirrus Flux". That leads to the presumption that he is the protagonist, which he really does not feel like.
But maybe I am just being prejudiced because of how amazing Endymion Spring was. He has done some serious amount of research on Victorian England for the sake of the novel and that is something I applaud.

[Brynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

book review for school library system #1

* * *

This story had a lot of similarities to "The Golden Compass" but none of the strong story telling or originality. The language was too complex for a 12 year old, but a 14/15-year old wouldn't want to read the story. It was confusing at times even for me because the fantasy elements were not explained well. The conclusion was lackluster at best, with no real end. It felt like the author simply stopped writing. The main mystery of the novel, having to do with a magic necklace, was never actually explained.

[Madhumita · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot had an interesting idea but was too slow. The rising action took up most of the book and the main action was crammed in the end. The ending wasn't satisfying either.

[Regina Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sad that I can't give this book a higher rating. I absolutely loved this author's first book, Endymion Spring, and I'm still really hopeful he will give us more books- I think he's such a talented writer! That said, The Story of Cirrus Flux had many wonderful elements that made it entertaining, but my overall feeling is that I was left wish many of those elements had been further developed.

This book is set in London in the 1700s, and while the book gives some interesting details about this time period, I would have loved to be given a stronger foundation in the setting, particularly the zeitgeist of empirical science of the time and how that was impacting the larger world at that time. I read an interview with the author that actually helped me to understand a lot better what he was going for, but I didn't get a strong enough sense of that world from the book.

I also had an issue with the characters. The book has two POV characters that we alternate between- foundlings (orphans) Cirrus Flux and Pandora. Obviously the title of the book is The Story of Cirrus Flux, and so the expectation is set for Cirrus to be the protagonist. But my reading of the story did not bear this out- Pandora was the much more developed character, the one whose inner world and motivations are much more thoroughly explored, and she is also the active character, making decisions at every turn. By contrast, I never felt I got as strong a sense of Cirrus as a character, and Pandora is the one making decisions that ultimately rescue Cirrus from his plight. Choosing a different title could have set different expectations for me as a reader, which would have helped. It didn't feel like Cirrus deserved to be the title character of this story.

I also wish there was more emotional connection between the characters. I liked Pandora a lot, and it's set up that her drive to rescue Cirrus stems from her experience of the death of her younger brother. But I think the story would have worked better for me if Cirrus and Pandora actually knew each other and were friends before events started to unfold- perhaps if Cirrus was already something of a younger brother to Pandora. More connection would have given the story a greater sense of urgency and emotional drama for me. It felt a little strange to me that throughout the story, Pandora and Cirrus really don't know who each other are or anything about each other. I would have liked to have been given more insight on the inner worlds of other characters as well, especially Mr. Hardy.

Finally, the story wraps up very quickly with a lot left unexplained. I was particularly hoping to finally get more knowledge of "the Breath of God" and its power, but the ending didn't really satisfy me in that regard. While I loved and appreciated the blend of historical fiction and fantasy the author gives us in this book, it did leave more questions open at the end since a lot wasn't explained, which made it hard to tell with some elements of the story whether they were meant to be historical or fantastical. I wanted a more of a final showdown with the two villains, Madame Orrery and Mr. Sidereal. These villains were in conflict with one another as well as with Pandora and Cirrus, and at times in the book they are shown to have the capacity to be quite scary. So I was a little let down that we didn't get to see them more in action at the end of the book, especially Madame Orrery, whose villainous capacity seems to fall by the wayside as the book goes on.

With all that, this was still a fun book, and for stretches I was very engaged in what the outcome would be. This might be one that works better for kids than adults, even adults who enjoy kids' books.

But, I really want the author to write more books! I truly think he is super talented and creative, and has a special talent for drawing on the past to inform stories in different eras. Come back to us, Mr. Skelton! As far as I know he has not published anything else since this book came out in 2009, but if and when he does I will be excitedly reading it!

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Forgettable

Set in nineteenth century London, during the time when Empirical Science dominated culture and learning, this novel follows the story of Cirrus Flux, an orphan boy who has a much sought-after token from him deceased father. Moving between Cirrus’s story of present day and then eleven years previous, readers learn about the why this token is so important and the lengths people will go to to take it from Cirrus. And, unfortunately, this is just the entire gist of the book, leaving me feeling it was rather unforgettable and one-dimensional.

Interestingly, Skelton writes the flashbacks to Cirrus Flux’s father in the present tense; present day in the past tense. I found this unusual yet, rather irritating and made the plot seem poorly formed and badly written. That being said however, once I was used to this technique, (and I’m talking about two thirds of the way through the novel), it was bearable and simply made me just read the story a little bit faster.

‘The Story of Cirrus Flux’ does not have much going for it. We learn about a few of the other orphans and unfortunately their involvement in the plot was predictable and nothing else. Pandora’s role as the heroine was quite heartfelt and I did warm to her, but feel that Skelton could have developed this further. Finally, I feel like that this novel is just the beginning of a series. Yes, it does end but I don’t believe that it is the last we hear of these characters. If it isn’t part of a series then I have to argue that the ending is very dissatisfying and one that could have closed off properly with another twenty pages or so.

In places, this book reminded me of Philip Pullman’s ‘Northern Lights’, particularly with the references to science and orphans. However, Pullman writes in a class of his own and Skelton doesn’t come near this. I wouldn’t recommend this as a decent teenage read as there are so many other fantasy books out there. However, if you have a young reader this might be for them due to the simplicity of the plot.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It reminded me of Howls Moving Castle in some ways. I liked the characters. It was a books I was glad I read and one I enjoyed but probably not a book I will read again. If you like the Victorian era books and need something to read it was a fast read and I liked the story. If you have a kid that likes Paper Magician and books like that. This is another of that kind of book.

[Liana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good! I actually enjoyed it more than Endymion Spring. I was more engaged with this plot, and curious to discover what would become of the characters. It all turned out to be a fun little mystery. :)

[Junedarc · Rating 2 out of 5]

Facile à lire mais l'histoire manque de développement, même pour du jeunesse.

[Madison McLeod · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some London, was an okay read.

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[Conan Tigard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Story of Cirrus Flux is an interesting with a cool concept. Enlightenment science was all the rage back in the late 1700's, so having found something called the Breath of God really peaked the interest in the Guild of Empirical Science. That is why James Flux went on another mission, to discover more about it, whether it be for knowledge or profit. That is also why members of the same organization are after Cirrus Flux, because they have discovered that he has the spherical token that contains the Breath of God.

Matthew Skelton does a wonderful job of portraying London and the world back in the late 1700's. He creates a gritty feel throughout the story of a rough and tumble world where one always had to be on your toes on the lookout for danger. The author has obviously done his fair share of research on the time period, for which I am grateful. This easily come across when on the pages he wrote and really drops the reader right into the midst of this interesting period of time.

The only weakness in the story was his two main characters, Cirrus and Pandora. They are only supposed to be around twelve years old yet some of the decisions they make could only be made by someone with more life experience. Also, since they grew up in a rather harsh world, I found it unrealistic that they would care at all about harming the bad people that were chasing them, yet they did. I understand that they were supposed to be "good," but that doesn't mean they have to be wimpy. In other words, they were just a little too nice for the time period and the circumstances that they fond themselves in. I had a hard time bonding with either of the main characters because of these flaws.

Overall, The Story of Cirrus Flux is good story but could have been a lot better with some tweaking. I loved the atmosphere of the story but was disappointed by the main characters. Still, the story is entertaining and is worthy of being read, it just isn't at the top of my list for Young Readers.

I rated this book a 7 out of 10.

[Laura Martinelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I received this book through the Goodreads contest, mostly because the description looked interesting, and the title caught my eye. Sadly, what looked like a really fun read ended up as being a bit boring.

The story concerns two orphans at a hospital for foundling children- Cirrus Flux and a girl named Pandora. Cirrus, who had been dumped there by his explorer father, is trying to get on without his best friend, Bottle Top, and meets a mysterious gentleman who has been watching him from the grounds. Meanwhile, Pandora finds herself employed by Madame Orrery, a mesmerist who has an interest in finding Cirrus. Pandora knows she needs to help Cirrus get away, not to mention, find his father's token that may hold the key to why so many people are interested in Cirrus.

While the plot is good and I did like most of the characters, the book falls flat and seems really anticlimatic. Skelton never really explains his characters' motives or what his plot devices are used for. It seems like this is supposed to start a series, but the ending wraps up Cirrus's and Pandora's plotlines too neatly to continue. While the eighteenth-century London setting is engaging, it's hard to tell if this is supposed to be an outright fantasy (phoenixes and holograms are involved) or a historical adventure. The majority of the book is set up to discuss that the bad guys want Cirrus Flux and the sphere he owns, but there's never a reason given to why (outside of "I want power!") A plotline involving human dolls and electricity experiments only shows how different Cirrus and Bottle Top are and is promptly abandoned.

If there was a mention of a continuing story, I would recommend to read this, because it is interesting story. Unfortunately, it seems like a stand-alone book, so unless you really like historical kids' fiction, I would pass this up.

[Ryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book was a lot better than Endymion Spring! I had to read them both because (wonder of wonders), I heard it was for Potterheads.

Hmmm. Once again, kindly STOP this comparison.

Having said that, this was okay. It was a children's book, and not (as I'd thought) YA. But this story was much more... cohesive (?) than the other. I'm not saying I totally understood it, since I think there's a lot that Skelton just kind of throws into the air and leaves unexplained (although, again, this is a children's book, so I probably shouldn't keep harping on about this), but there was enough that was kind of creepy and spine-tingling to keep me interested. Plus, I liked Cirrus and Sophie a whole lot more than Blake and Duck. The ending was sort of abrupt and I can only hope there are to be sequels as I would definitely recommend this for the 8-10 age range.

I think one of these novels is going to be made into a movie? I can't remember which one it was, but I certainly hope it's this one. I don't think I'd go watch it, or even read any more in this series, but at least I wouldn't classify it as a total waste of time.

[D.w. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a YA charmer. As such there is a shortness in the book hidden by the larger type and openness of paragraph kerning and spacing. A read that takes but a few short hours to consume.

There is treasure here, but it is hidden, and the telling of the story seems to be only opened like an onion with revealing flashback chapters that come at you in layers. For the younger person this reveal might indeed be just the thing, but for those of us older, we can see where there is a larger, greater amount of detail of the story we are not seeing.

That we would like to explore and learn of, instead of seeing this from the child like eyes of our hero, and his unknown heroine. There are parts of the period and people that are also hidden as the author has done his research but has left it out of the tale seeing that a young person may not want to learn of such. May not need the details that this would show.

In all, worthy of a read and a share if you have young people who you might want to share more of the era with and discuss with them. An introduction to speculative adventure fiction with an historical flair.

[Jenni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time with this story at first, but sticking with it was worth the time, for shortly into it, I was compelled to witness the outcome. It read a little bit like a Dickens' story to me, perhaps mainly because it was about orphaned children in Victorian England and their escape from brutal adult figures who are preying upon the unfortunate lads (and lassy) for some mystical reason, unbeknownst to the children. Ehhhh, Dickens is definitely better, but I would not be surprised if Skelton's writing of this story was inspired by the great author.

[Ruby Dragon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This historical and adventurous tale for children 8-13 reminds me of a mixture of story styles from Charles Dickens, Jules Verne, and Phillip Pullman. This book is well written using lots of active verbs and similes to create colorful characters and adventurous scenes full of suspense. The draw back of this book is that it skips around a lot and the storylines can be confusing and there was an occasional plot hole. This book has to be read a couple of times to grasp the clarity of the plot and to appreciate the adventure that the author creates for the reader.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read, but lots of fun and adventure. I wanted the story to last longer and would like to read more about these characters, who really developed their personalities throughout the book.
I was a little confused through the first 3rd of the book about who the characters were in relation to each other. It is explained later, but I wanted more. There was a lot of excitement, a little bit of mystery, science, and illusion. I will definitely look for more books by this author.

[Johnny Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of 1700's London style life for an orphan. But this story includes magic and mayhem. Told from the view of two different characters as their lives cross. The story reads fast and flows well, though the ending struck me as a bit abrupt. A light read for early teens or so with a little bit of grittiness to it.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess the best 'sell' on this to students would be as a type of steampunk for younger readers. It had a good plot, although the flashbacks made it somewhat difficult to follow. I'm wondering if there will be a sequel, it seemed to leave the reader hanging at the end, and wanting more info (ie- explore this concept of Pandora having a twin, and did James Flux really die in that storm?)

[Andrey Burak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, but lacking in depth.
Ive never read anything by Matthew Skelton before but was pleasantly entertained by his sophomore work.
Skelton uses a lot of word play within this work but I wish he focused more on character development...
Everyone seems to say his debut novel was great so I'll have to give that a shot

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

A kids book and a pretty good story with a disappointing ending.
Cirrus has been left at a hospital to be raised while his father goes on an expedition to the end of the world. His mother died in childbirth and his father had nowhere to put him while he went on his exploration so he left him where he himself had been raised, intending to pick him up when the exploration ended.

[Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great steampunk adventure about a boy left at an orphanage with a spherical token that holds special powers.

Some of the ending was a little unclear to me. I felt there was some mystery that needed to be unraveled a little more. But the flavor and the detail of the book were great. And if there were a sequel, I would read it as well.

[Caity · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting story but in the end i was left wanting more, there were a few things that were not very well explained which was disappointing. Overall i liked the characters and the idea of the story more than the story itself. One thing i did enjoy about the book was the way it moved backwards and forwards in time interweaving the story of Cirrus and his father.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll give this a "3" because the writing style was very good and the author did a great job at immersing the reader into 18th century London. However, the plot was lacking, as very, very little actually happens. Also, the whole "Breath of God", the main plot device, wasn't even explained.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the Age of Enlightenment, there is some fantasy, but most of it fits in to the ideas of science of the times.