The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent (English) Paperback Book

Description: The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent Synopsis coming soon....... FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description In an alternate London where magical creatures are preserved in a museum, two people find themselves caught in a web of intrigue, deception, and danger.Vespa Nyx wants nothing more than to spend the rest of her life cataloging Unnatural creatures in her fathers museum, but the requirement to become a lady and find a husband is looming large. Syrus Reeds Tinker family has always served and revered the Unnaturals from afar, but when his family is captured to be refinery slaves, he finds that his fate may be bound up with Vespas—and with the Unnaturals. As the danger grows, Vespa and Syrus find themselves in a tightening web of deception and intrigue. At stake may be the fate of New London—and the world. Author Biography Tiffany Trent is the author of The Tinker King and The Unnaturalists, which won a Green Earth Book Honor. She is also the author of the Hallowmere series and the recipient of a Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators Work-in-Progress Grant. Her short stories have appeared in Magic in the Mirrorstone, Corsets and Clockwork, Willful Impropriety, and Subterranean magazine. She lives with her family in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Visit her at TiffanyTrent.com. Review "Fast-paced, heart-wrenching, magical and fascinating." -- Tamora Pierce, author of The Song of the Lioness quartet"Utterly ingenious! Tiffany Trent has more fine invention at her fingertips than a roomful of magical Leonardos!" -- Ellen Kushner, World Fantasy Award-winning author"By St. Darwin and his Great Apes, The Unnaturalists is unnaturally good! Few authors can mix science and fantasy the way Tiffany can; her science-worshiping New London is perfectly original and perfectly realized, and Vespa Nyx is a heroine to cheer for. So much steampunk is just more of the same; The Unnaturalists is captivatingly different." -- Ysabeau Wilce, Andre Norton Award-winning author of Floras Dare"Thrilling, intricate and magical, The Unnaturalists is a formidable entry into the steampunk genre. Vespa Nyx is a spunky heroine we can all root for, and Tiffany Trents worldbuilding skills are unmatched. This book will delight anyone who loves magic, gadgets and brilliantly drawn settings. I highly recommend it." -- Caitlin Kittredge, author of The Iron Thorn"Thoroughly magical...leaves readers wanting more." * Kirkus Reviews *"Science, magic, myth, and alternate history all work together to create an intriguing alternate world with more depth than many books in the genre. This is a world worth visiting." * Publishers Weekly *"An entertaining mix of steampunk and fantasy." * School Library Journal * Review Quote "Science, magic, myth, and alternate history all work together to create an intriguing alternate world with more depth than many books in the genre. This is a world worth visiting." Excerpt from Book Unnaturalists CHAPTER 1 The Sphinx stares at me from her plinth. I edge closer, daring her to open her mouth and enspell me with her riddles. She crouches, eyes a-glitter, teeth gleaming through parted lips. But she never moves. She cant, trapped as she is by the paralytic field that holds her suspended. Once, the Museum of Unnatural History stuffed specimens of the Greater Unnaturals instead of presenting them like this. There are a few of them still in odd corners of the Museum, but they never fare well. Most have crumbled into dust. Decades ago, the paralytic field was developed by a Pedant working for the Raven Guard, and we use it to hold the larger specimens we otherwise couldnt. Only the Lesser Unnaturals--sylphids and the like--are stuffed and mounted now, and I do most of that work. Which means, basically, that the Sphinx crouching just beyond the pulsing blue light is alive, even if she cant move. Im certain she would eat me if she could. I like leaning in toward the field, tempting her, tempting Fate. (Though the saints know a devotee of the Church of Science and Technology should not even think of temptations or Fate). I like the way the etheric energy buzzes and tingles just at the edge of my skin. A patron--some dowdy woman with a whimpering babe in a perambulator--makes disapproving noises. I lean closer to the field, so close the energy leaks into my nose and the corners of my eyes. I look over at the woman and grin while my hair crackles. We used to do this with the little kobold on display at Miss Marmalades Seminary for Young Ladies of Quality. None of the other girls thought anything of it, until I told Effie Lindler how to trip the field. I didnt think shed do it, of course! But when she did, it was quite possibly the best day of all my sixteen years. The kobold wreaked havoc, cursing Miss Marmalade with the Malodorous Slime and turning Effie into a cow. For some reason, he left me unharmed, even giving me a slight nod as he leaped from the dance hall window. I dont know if the kobold was ever caught, but the upshot was that Father and some junior Pedants were called in to clean up the mess, I was expelled, and Ive been here in the Museum working for Father ever since. That was almost a year ago. Im very nearly seventeen now, and those days of fun are over. Besides, this field is much stronger than that at Miss Marmalades. One would have to be as powerful as a witch or warlock to trip it, much less survive trying. Since all magic (except that sanctioned by the Empress) is heresy, theres nothing to worry about there. But I cant resist teasing this woman just a bit more. I spread my arms as if hugging the wall of energy to me. She gasps. The needling oddness hovers at my fingertips. Then, the unthinkable happens. Someone pushes me hard in the back and I pitch forward. The womans scream follows me through the pulsing curtain. The etheric energy zips across my eyelids, my wrists, slithering down my stockings into my boots. I am suspended in the crackling field for several seconds before my palms and knees hit the floor. I breathe slowly, afraid Im nothing more than a cinder. But cinders dont breathe. Nor do they think. Its impossible, though, that Im still alive. I should be burned to a crisp. The field is down. Somehow, Ive tripped it, though that, too, should be impossible. The Sphinxs claws splay before me, five perfectly curved scimitars. One lifts and ticks against the marble plinth as the beast stretches her toes. I may not be alive for long. Lucky for the screaming woman that shes managed to faint dead away. I probably should recite Saint Darwins Litany of Evolution now, but the words of my patron saint escape me. Something about all of us being tiny twigs on one small branch on the Tree of Life, et cetera, et cetera. I cant remember. Terror dissolves whatever words lurk on my tongue. I hear a sound, as of a thousand buzzing bees. The sound might almost make words, except that I know Unnaturals cannot truly talk. Oh, there are stories, of course--the Riddle of the Sphinx, for example--but its been definitively proven by our Scientists and Pedants that Unnaturals are dumb, irrational creatures. Like dogs or horses, only perhaps a bit more cunning and certainly more deadly. Because they have magic. "Be still!" someone shouts through the sudden silence. Im trying to place the owner of the voice--someone male and educated. And youthful. "And do not look into her eyes," he says, coming closer. I search my memory as to why I shouldnt look into the face of the Sphinx--isnt it the Basilisk one is supposed to avoid?--but that information is as inaccessible as the Litany. So I dont look up. I look aside at the owner of the voice instead. He wears the teaching robes of a Pedant, though he isnt wearing a wig. Hes so young that I check to make sure he isnt wearing Scholar robes. But no. He has the braid on the collar and the long, colorful tassels, even if his garment looks a bit ragged. He isnt particularly handsome. Something about his face looks wrong, but I cant tell if thats because Ive been nearly blinded by falling through the field or . . . Its as though hes blurred at the edges. I blink, trying to place his shifting features as he signals to two Scholars to remove the petrified woman and her babe. I know every Pedant here, but I have no idea who he is. He crouches at the burn line that used to be the edge of the field. He holds out a hand, his easy smile betrayed by the concern in his eyes. For one second, I think I see his face clearly, like sun breaking through cloud, but then he speaks. "Come to me slowly." I focus on his eyes, blue beyond all Logic. I am terribly annoyed that Ive even noticed the color of his eyes. I turn from him, trying to stand on my own. The Sphinxs gaze catches mine. And then Im frozen, unable to feel my cramped toes in my too-small boots anymore. The buzzing grows louder, almost intolerable. The Sphinx is so close I can smell her breath--metallic and dry as an iron desert. The Pedant whispers something I cant hear, pulling me by the wrist and thrusting me behind him. He steps between me and the Sphinx, breaking her hold. The buzzing seems to migrate from my ears into my limbs. The Sphinx turns, intent on this Pedant who has placed himself literally in the jaws of Death to save me. I take two more trembling steps backward, but I cant look away from the Sphinx and the new Pedant. A strange glow, like the faintest of fields, dances across the mans fingertips. All sound drains away. Its as though we three are indelibly etched on the air of the hall--girl, man, and monster--and everything around us has faded into ghosts and shadows. The Pedant retreats slowly so that the burn line is between his scuffed boots and the Sphinxs claws. "Raise the field!" someone cries. The silence shatters and theres movement in the alcove where the rusty field box hangs. The switch is thrown and the blue wall rises between the Pedant and the Sphinx, trapping the Unnatural again just before she can leap. The young Pedant approaches me, and I try to stop gaping, to breathe through my nose again. The crowd surges closer, except for the woman I teased who pushes her baby out of the Grand Hall as quickly as possible. Im acutely aware that Im not wearing gloves, that my laboratory apron is stained, and that my hair is probably a sizzling halo around my head from contact with the paralytic field. "My apologies, miss, for my rough treatment," the Pedant says. Theres a glint of humor in his eyes that I mislike. "Do you require further assistance?" I draw myself up and look him fully in the face. "I thank you, sir, for aiding me"--I cannot bear to use the word "rescue"--"but I require nothing further at present." There are gasps from the crowd. I suppose Ive insulted him, but theres something about his manner thats far too familiar for my liking. Much as Aunt Minta and Father might want me to think differently, I prefer the life of a Scientist, working here at the Museum with Father. It is my most cherished, most secret dream to be the first female Pedant--well, the first in several generations--and no man will overshadow that. He has the nerve to smile, an infuriatingly charming smile. "Very well, then. Until we meet again, I advise you to be more careful where you step, Miss . . . ?" "Nyx," I say. His eyes widen as he realizes whose daughter I must be. I will not give him leave to be even more familiar, and I do not ask his name in return. "Miss Nyx." He bows just as Father arrives, pushing through the crowd. "Vespa!" Father takes my hands in his gloved ones. Hes wearing his traveling coat and has replaced his teaching wig with a traveling wig and tricorn. I would ask him where hes going, but my teeth are suddenly chattering so much that I cant form words. "I am grateful to you, Pedant Lumin." Father says. His gaze is filled with concern, but his flat tone surprises me. He dislikes this new Pedant even more than I do. Why? Etheric energy from the field courses through me, unbalancing my humors, j Details ISBN148144297X Author Tiffany Trent Short Title UNNATURALISTS Pages 336 Audience Age 13-17 Language English ISBN-10 148144297X ISBN-13 9781481442978 Media Book DEWEY FIC Birth 1973 Year 2016 Imprint Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Country of Publication United States Place of Publication New York Illustrations f-c cvr--NO sfx; gloss finish; digital Publication Date 2016-06-28 NZ Release Date 2016-06-28 US Release Date 2016-06-28 UK Release Date 2016-06-28 Publisher Simon & Schuster Format Paperback Alternative 9781442422070 Audience General AU Release Date 2016-08-31 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:137960758;

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