The Story of Cirrus Flux (review)

One by one, the friends of Cirrus Flux have left their foundling home for apprenticeships in London; only Madame Orrery, a mesmerist, has shown any interest in the boy, and the home's benevolent director has been uncharacteristically loathe to let him go to join her service. In fact, a number of adults are after Cirrus—not for his potential as a tradesman, but for a pendant in his possession that contains the Breath of God, a mysterious emanation gathered by his seafaring father on a trip near Antarctica and bequeathed to Cirrus. Chases ensue, and as the bad guys close in, Cirrus is airlifted out of the chaos by a man whom he had once feared, who turns out to be his father's old shipmate. The aerial rescue, which involves another orphan and a hot-air balloon powered by a firebird (last of its kind), is pretty much the highlight of the tale, apart from some tantalizing but undeveloped episodes including a foundling's betrayal and a spy system of telescopes trained on all corners of the city. There's plenty of adventurous possibility in Cirrus's brushes with the mesmerist, the threatening telescope system, and a shady dabbler in the nascent field of electricity, but none of the villains takes the spotlight long enough to shine. Moreover, the nature of the Breath of God is never fully examined, so the point to the pursuit is also left unclear. Still, a wild air and land chase delivers its own pleasures, and kids who favor action over plotting may want to join Cirrus aloft.