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The Doomsday Machine: Another Astounding Adventure of Horatio Lyle
 
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The Doomsday Machine: Another Astounding Adventure of Horatio Lyle (Hardcover)

by Catherine Webb (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £10.99
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: ATOM (24 Jan 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1905654006
  • ISBN-13: 978-1905654000
  • Product Dimensions: 20 x 13.4 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 524,742 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description

London, 1865. There are many mysteries in this world that are yet to be resolved. Some of them, man was not meant to know ...Scientist, inventor and occasional sleuth, Horatio Lyle, is a man of science - a man of reason. As such, he does not care for the Tseiqin and the strange, mystical enigma they represent. But when news reaches him of a plot to remove them - through the simple expedient of mass murder! - well ...that presents a problem for a man of moral fortitude. A decent man. A man like Horatio Lyle ...Once more leading his young friends, Tess and Thomas, and his faithful hound, Tate, into a series of the most appalling dangers, Lyle leaps to the rescue of his mortal enemies. But when the dust clears and the menace has been confronted, there remains one rather pressing question for occasional Special Constable Horatio Lyle: who's going to rescue him ...?

About the Author

Catherine Webb is one of the most talented and exciting young writers in the UK. She published her extraordinary debut, Mirror Dreams, at the age of 14, garnering comparisons with Terry Pratchett and Philip Pullman. Subsequent books have brought Carnegie Medal longlistings, a Guardian Children's Book of the Week, a BBC television appearance and praise from the Sunday Times and the Sunday Telegraph, amongst many others. Catherine lives in London without a cat but plans to remedy that, soon.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Excellent Adventure, 12 Aug 2008
By Father of 5 (Felixstowe, UK) - See all my reviews
This is the 3rd instalment of the Horatio Lyle series. It follows on straight from the previous book, but can be read in its own right, without knowledge of the earlier ones. However, the author does indirectly make reference to the adventures that the characters have had before, and if nothing else, this would whet the appetite to read the earlier 2 books.

As with the first 2 books, there is excellent descriptions of London in Victorian times, but without getting bogged down in dull detail. The author produces a great sense of atmosphere, and the feeling within the Victorian community that their inventions and the changes that are going on around them are the beginnng of great things to come over the proceeding decades.

From a story point of view, this book will keep the reader hooked and is suitably paced for both children and adults alike. The sense of menace from the dark forces at work in the book are very well portrayed, without being unnecessarily scary for younger readers. The plot twists are very good, and the way that characters extract themselves out of almost impossible situations are written clearly and cleverly, without patronising the reader or making you think that there is a hole in the script which has been filled by a poor literary device.

In addition, the author clearly prides herself on her scientific knowledge of the 19th century, and her explanations of mechanical and electrical engineering to non-technical people like me are to commended!

All-in-all, a thoroughly enjoyable read, which I would recommed to adults and children.

Note that the language and words used would probably be difficult for anyone under 10 to follow at times.

Am looking forward to the next instalment!
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5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining tale of derring do, 20 July 2009
By quippe (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: The Doomsday Machine: v. 3: Another Astounding Adventure of Horatio Lyle (Paperback)
This is the third in a series of historical fantasy/crime thrillers for children and works as a standalone novel for those who haven't read the other two.

Horatio Lyle is a scientist/occasional detective in 1860s London who's helped in his investigations by Tess, a young thief he's rescued from the streets, and Thomas, the son of a Lord who wants to be a scientist. The book starts with Lyle being hunted through Clerkenwell by a Tseiqin (a mysterious race with hypnotic powers, white blood and an allergy to magneticism) looking for one of Lyle's friends, Andrew Berwick who is building the Machine (designed to annihilate the Tseiqin) but who has disappeared before its completion.

Morally bound to prevent the Tseiqin's mass murder, Lyle enlists Tess and Thomas to help him find Berwick and persuade him to destroy the Machine. Doing so brings him into contact with the malevolant Mr Havelock, a ruthless enemy of Lyle's and Lin Zi, a female Tseiqin assigned to protect Lyle and who is dedicated to the emancipation of women. As Lyle and his companions hunt for Berwick, they discover that there are sinister forces at work who view the Tseiqin as the biggest threat to the modern world and will stop at nothing to destroy them, or those who would help them.

Unusual in that it's main protagonist is an adult, Lyle is an interesting character - resourceful, morally upstanding and yet prone to doubts as to the rightness of his cause. Tess and Thomas are drawn in broader terms, but this doesn't detract from the story and Tess's passion for blowing things up and stealing makes for some entertaining scenes. The morally ambivalent Lin Zi who is as amused and entertained by humans as she is mistrustful of them is a good foil for Lyle and the underlying hint of reluctant romance allays some of his stuffiness.

Webb sets Lyle's search against the continuing construction of the Machine, which helps to build the stakes and raise the tension in the story and there are some interesting scene switches to the Tseiqin who may or may not be preparing to double-cross Lyle.

The only nitpick is that some of the writing becomes too convoluted at times and there's a fascination with poo that might put some off. Otherwise, this is an entertaining read and I'll go back to read the first two in the series.
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