Review: Rebel Heart (Engines of Liberty, Book 1) by Graham Bradley
What if Harry Potter wasn’t the Chosen One, didn’t have magic, lived in America, and had access to guns?
Two hundred years ago, George Washington led an army of Technomancers against the Royal British Mages. It was spells and curses versus technology in 1776. The War for Independence began in the British colonies and was so close to victory….
But in-fighting and power plays allowed the British to crush it. The War for Independence failed and Washington was executed via Draconis Trifecta. The other rebels, down to the children, were executed in other ways. Ever since, the magic-less “duffers” have lived under the heel of the powerful mages who come from Britain to ensure the common folk know their place. These duffers include one Calvin Adler, a budding young engineer sick of being looked down on and mistreated. But what can a fifteen-year-old Merykan with no magic do against the mages of Great Britain?
The Story
Son of a pair of wool merchants, Calvin Adler straightens up after doing backbreaking work scrubbing sheared wool with his parents. A year ago, Calvin built a machine to halve this work, save his back, and make everything go faster for him and his family. No more working in the burning sun, no more sore back….
Then the mages found his machine and hexed it. Not only did it come apart, he couldn’t put it back together again no matter how hard he tried. Machines are forbidden, by order of the Crown, so the mages made certain he couldn’t rebuild it.
As he pauses in his work, Calvin is in time to see local mage trouble headed his and the neighbors’ way. Winston Fitznottingham and Hammond Birtwistle – otherwise known as Fitz and Birty – are drunk and on the prowl for someone to abuse. Trailing in their wake, as he has nothing better to do in the Merykan colony city of Baltimore, is Godfrey Norrington. Banished to the Merykan Colonies for making his bureaucrat father look bad, he lacks entertainment, so Godfrey is following his superiors around in the hope of breaking up a dull afternoon.
Fitz and Birty shake down the Adlers’ neighbors, the Tanners, for their usual protection money. Infuriated at their behavior and the fact that no one will stand up to them, Calvin manages to maneuver into position to humiliate the two mages and save the Tanners. This has the unintended consequence of Birty and Fitz snatching his parents’ savings straight from their house, leaving them at risk of losing their sheep franchise and thus their home. The Adlers blame Calvin for this turn of events, not the mages who stole the money, because Calvin is the safer target.
Unable to understand why his parents do not stand up for themselves and others, Calvin is nonetheless startled when three strangers sneak into his room late that night. Identifying themselves as Technomancers, they offer to take him into their army, returning the gold Fitz and Birty stole from his family earlier. Torn between following his dream of resisting the mages and loyalty to his parents, Calvin finally steals away with the Technomancers, heading to their recruitment center at Mount Vernon. But when he meets the man in charge, Commodore McCracken, and falls for the lovely Amelia McCracken, Calvin starts to wonder if he traded one tyranny for another….
The Characters
Calvin is a bit naive, definitely bullheaded, and he has a temper. Nevertheless, he is a good-hearted young man who truly does want to make Meryka a better place for everyone. The mages’ constant humiliation of his parents and neighbors raises his ire, as it offends his sense of justice. While he tends to rush into things without thinking matters through, it is less because he is stupid and more because he cares too much to stop and consider all his options.
Godfrey Norrington is a stuck up snob, a bully, and a dangerous narcissist. Despite being Calvin’s age, Godfrey has the discipline, strategical mind, and self-possession to get most of what he wants. His biggest flaw is that he has such an inflated opinion of himself that he believes he is smarter than he actually is. It makes him the perfect foil to Calvin and his hot-blooded righteousness.
Amelia McCracken, Calvin’s love interest, is a nice girl feeling stifled. Raised in Mount Vernon by her father, she wants to join the Technomancers as her mother did, but Commodore McCracken won’t hear of his daughter leaving. Nor will he abide by her interest in a certain new recruit from Baltimore, either. Whatever she wants, Amelia knows, must bow before her father’s will...whether she likes it or not.
The World
This is a world where the American colonies not only never became the United States of America, but there was no technological progress made at all. Since mages are susceptible to firearms and “mimics” – animal mecha designed to compete against the magical creatures many mages ride – all technology is forbidden. Readers get a hint of how deep the magic in this world goes as Godfrey seeks spells to counteract the Technomancers whom he faces, while Calvin dodges magical arrows from Amerindian tribes and mentions the magic practiced in other nations. It makes the world of Rebel Heart a real treat to explore, as Bradley acknowledges that not only are guns great equalizers, there is more than one kind of magic for the heroes to fight!
Politics
It is 1776 in 1984. Literally. The politics are those of the American War for Independence. If that bothers you, this book may not be one you wish to read.
Content Warning
There is bullying, drunkenness, beatings, imprisonment in a brig, mentions of death via curse, a brief description of Godfrey chasing a girl around his father’s office, and a kiss between Calvin and Amelia. The book is definitely Young Adult rated, though mature middle graders could probably read it as well.
Who is it for?
Young adults looking for red-blooded adventure will like this book. Fans of 1980s action movies, such as the original Red Dawn, will have a great deal of fun as they recognize where Bradley’s inspiration came from. Readers who enjoy alternate history will also like it, and if any Harry Potter fans have ever wondered what a wizard would do when faced with a gun, they will find an apt answer within this book. Urban Fantasy readers will enjoy seeing a frontier setting full of magic and budding technology where the two struggle against one another, as magic seeks to crush machine. Anyone who wants to encourage teens to dig further into history will find this novel does just that, and those who wish to inspire a love of folklore will discover it is useful for whetting young readers’ appetites on the subject.
Why buy it?
It is a grand “What if?” adventure that will appeal to anyone who wants to see how British mages would stack up against Americans with guns. Furthermore, it is perfect reading for Independence Day. Why not pick it up and enjoy it now?