This book started off so promising--it was creepy in a science fictiony 1900 kind of way.

And then it got weird. Not science fiction weird. More like Carl Sagan narrating a tour of the universe as imagined by some guy in 1900. For chapters and chapters and chapters.

And then it goes back to part one, kind of. But now the terror is caused by something completely different.

All in just 186 pages.

WHY OH WHY is this book on the 1001 list?

A book about a bad guy.

Who gets an uninvited sidekick.

Who has amazing magical abilities.

And wants to kill his enemies in the kingdom.

How can this book be so sweet? Sure the storyline is about a bad guy, his good guy/ex-best-friend nemesis, the "rules" of their ongoing battle, and the kingdom. But what it's really about is friendship, love, kindness, and doing the right thing.

It's always fun to find a science fiction book I enjoy, because I am soooo picky. This is the first in a new series, so I have quite a few questions that I imagine (or hope) will be answered in the upcoming volumes.

Neuvel writes this novel as a series of interviews, recorded diary entries, and reports. A mysterious interviewer seems to know all--but then he is interviewed by anther mystery man. Who knows what, who needs to know, who thinks they know, and who knows less than they think is all a part of this story.

And this story is clever--rather than ending with "oh it was aliens!", as way too many sci fi books do, this book starts with a strange discovery. After studying the found objects, the characters know aliens have been on Earth. As they work out what these giant metal (?) body parts are, and how to find them, put them together, and use them, they learn more. Or some characters do--others already know. Who were these aliens? Are they us? Are they coming back? Why are Kara and Vincent able to work the helmets?  Will this bring about world peace or world destruction--or intergalactic warfare?

Looking forward to book #2.