Today’s team review is from Terry, she blogs here http://terrytylerbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/
Terry has been reading Phaethon by Rachel Sharp
PHAETHON by Rachel Sharp
4 out of 5 stars
Jack and Rosie are a young married couple living in downtown Boston. They have an obsession with all things techy, and spend their time pulling them apart, posting ‘how-to’ videos, reports on the latest software, and troubleshooting tips; they have menial jobs but supplement their income from donations via their online life. They care more for what they do and love than upgrading to a better apartment or slipping into the American middle-class ‘norm’; domestic and material stuff is unimportant to them, in comparison with their tech world. I loved Jack and Rosie!
When the new ‘Phaethon’ phone is introduced, they’re among the first to buy it, in order to make a bit of much needed cash from their critiques and how-tos. But this is no ordinary phone. When Rosie pulls ‘Lassie’ apart, she discovers that the inside is more like something from the pre-camera phone 1990s. After a long, long night in conversation with Lassie, Jack suspects other-worldly goings on….
Basically, this book is about a magical world of faeries and other beings who exist alongside our world, unbeknownst to most ~ think Harry Potter. Not a subject that is absolutely up my street, generally, but I enjoyed this, and sometimes I loved it. Elements of the faerie world are rising up against the humans; you begin to find out why at about 60%, just as I was wondering what, exactly, it was all going to be about! Calthine, the fae creature who labours alongside Jack, Rosie and their friends to put things right, is hilarious, so well written. The tech stuff is spot on, clever and current, as are the observations of popular culture. It’s sharp, funny, intelligent and (of no little importance) it’s perfectly proofread, edited and formatted ~ which is no less than I would expect from the creator of Jack and Rosie 😉.
Book Description
Hacker couple Jack and Rosie crack technology, but the newest device, the Phaethon, isn’t like other phones. The parts are junk, yet it can do the impossible. Though gentle prodding and data theft, they learn it’s powered remotely…by a living creature.
Cracking the Phaethon enters them into a war. Some, like Calthine, the bitter Bogle, are on their side. Others are controlled by a new type of fae; the bosses of the Phaethon corporation, who have steel for eyes and iron for souls. Now, the hackers have to fight creatures they’ve never heard of to save the friends they’ve just made.
About the author
Rachel Sharp is an author and lifetime member of the Somewhat Eccentric Creative Persons Club (which she just invented).
She now lives in New York City with her partner, several plants, and her boundless sense of inappropriate humor. At time of writing, she is working on entirely too many projects. The previous statement will be true regardless of time of reading.
She also lives with chronic illness, plays ukulele, and tries to save the planet.
Rosie Amber 