Reader, ahoy!
Yes, you.
Do you like adventure? How about history? Mystery? Inventions? Magic?
All of the above?
It’s hard to imagine a story weaving together so many elements, but Kate Milford’s The Left-Handed Fate does just that, and brilliantly.
We first meet Maxwell Ault and Lucy Bluecrowne as they stand at the rail of the famous Left-Handed Fate. Lucy—brash, confident, and brave—is the daughter of the ship’s captain, Richard Bluecrowne. Maxwell—awkward, bookish, slightly seasick—is the ship’s employer. It is the young Max, a philosopher at heart, who has hired the ship to help him find the pieces of a machine. And not just any machine: A machine rumored to be a great weapon, unlike any the world has known; a weapon that could change the way wars are fought, including the current war between Max and Lucy’s England, and Napoleon Bonaparte’s France, or James Madison’s newly declared war on England. With the pieces scattered and the clues written in riddles, the task is not simple. But Max’s father was killed trying to complete the quest, and Max is determined to finish what his father began. They are joined onboard by Lucy’s younger brother Liao, a boy of nine whose distaste of conflict is matched only by his fascination with pyrotechnics. Fireworks, to be exact.
One piece of the mysterious machine is at a shop in Fells Point, the shopkeeper having written to Max’s father telling him to come get it. But it appears Max is not the only one racing to solve the mystery. The Fate limps into Fells Point, badly damaged by a ship captained by Maxwell’s father’s nemesis, the Marie Collette. Upon arriving in town, Max learns the piece promised to his father is gone, aboard the Honoratus, and on its way to Norfolk. Not one to give up, Max urges Captain Bluecrowne on to the chase, but they don’t get far before battle breaks out. When the dust, er, gunpowder has settled, Max does indeed have the piece of the puzzle he seeks, stolen back from the Honoratus. But Captain Bluecrowne and much of his crew are dead, the Fate has been captured by the American ship, Amaranthine. The Amaranthine sends over a prize-crew, captained by acting-Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, Oliver Dexter. Who happens to be 12 years old.
Oliver has his orders. Deliver the Fate to Norfolk. Aim her towards the lights and steer. Almost immediately, though the Fate finds herself in conflict again, this time with the Marie Collette. In order to defeat the ship, Oliver must rely upon the captive Fate crew, a position that forces him to make bargains with Lucy, Max, and Liao that will bind them together in a way none could imagine, and suddenly his task is anything but simple. Together, the trio will race to put together the mysterious machine before the pieces fall into the wrong hands. Their adventure takes them to Nagspeake, a city like no other, with a magic of its own. There’s the philosophical iron, which bends and moves on its own, amid the hidden floating docks of Flotilla. There’s the Spinster and the confectioner, both pieces of the puzzle in their own way, but perhaps slightly crazy. There are the mysterious dots of light that appear just before the men, uniformed entirely in black, who sail upon a ship that seems to appear and disappear like a mist. In the end, all Max, Lucy, and her brother will have difficult questions to face. If Max builds the machine, what will he do with it? How will Oliver escape court-martial for bargaining with the enemy? Where will Liao and Lucy go without their father or ship?
As with all good endings, not every question is answered. But there’s a conclusion as bold, brilliant, and unexpected as one of Liao’s fireworks displays. The Left-Handed Fate is a tale woven with threads of history, magic, science, and a whole lot of heart. The characters are multi-dimensional, the plot twists clever and elaborate. Readers will find themselves on the edges of their seats, falling off, and immediately climbing back up for more. This one is must-read for older middle grade readers.
The Left-Handed Fate is on shelves now!