Cogheart

Cogheart by Peter Bunzl is about young Lily whose life is in mortal danger, her father is missing and strange silver-eyed men are stalking her from the shadows. What could they want from her, and have they somehow connected to her father tragedy and the devastating others that follow? Lily must flee from her home in Bracken bridge Manor with help from Robert, the clock maker’s son and Malkin her father’s mechanical fox. But what waits for the three in the shadows of the cobbled street and what could they want with her? Lily realizes a little too soon that the ones she holds dear could be the very people to break her heart… 

Summary

Lily is faced with a sudden shock as she discovers that her father has gone missing and presumed dead. She thinks this is an ordinary death, however, she doesn’t know about the danger and betrayal behind her father’s absence. After days mysterious silver-eyed strangers stalk her in the shadows, her own home is unsafe, with flashbacks of her mother’s car incident, not even her own mind is safe. 

She tries to evade them, with help from her father’s mechanical fox, Malkin and ends up seeking help from Robert, the clockmaker’s son. After yet another tragedy the three, now alone, set on a journey to Lily’s Uncles house in town. The silver-eyed men follow their every move and they are put to the test as they try desperately to evade them. Once they think all their troubles have passed when they reach Lily’s uncle’s house, yet neither of them knows that the trouble has just begun… 

Review  

This is a daring book set in the Victorian ages and adds so much more mystery and excitement to the plot. Since this is dated back a long time ago something, such as a Cogheart would be a miraculous experiment. I have never read such a book before, it has so many elements adding into making it such a perfect book, like action, adventure a little bit of comedy and imagination. 

This book has so much imagination involved! The way the author has described the setting and the culture of their universe is truly astounding. You can so easily picture their world, especially how complicated and fast foreword it is from the modern world. Which is very ironic as it is said to be set in the past. I recommend this book to anybody who likes science fiction or steampunk. 

“Feelings and intuition, love and compassion, those are the things make a soul, not blood and bones or machine parts.” 

Even though most of the story is full of action and adventure with our young heroes constantly evading danger. The age group for this book is between 11 and 15 because, although the story might sound simple, the language is very complex and might not be understandable by all. Great for secondary school. 

Peter Bunzl is an author and filmmaker who likes to write stories about showing where you belong in the world and why you are unique. His series of children’s novels (The Cogheart Adventures) are set in the Victorian Era about daring adventure and a fair share of catastrophe. A must-read! Currently, Peter lives in North London with his partner, Michael, a fox who visits their garden and a clutter of house spiders! 

Overall I give Cogheart a five out of five as it was a very enjoyable read!