Mysteries of Cove: Fires of Invention by J. Scott Savage -- Blog Tour

Mysteries of Cove: Fires of Invention

Author: J. Scott Savage

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Publish date: Sept. 29, 2015

ISBN13: 9781629720920

Hardcover: 370 pages

Goodreads Summary

Trenton Colman is a creative thirteen-year-old boy with a knack for all things mechanical. But his talents are viewed with suspicion in Cove, a steam-powered city built inside a mountain. In Cove, creativity is a crime and “invention” is a curse word.

Kallista Babbage is a repair technician and daughter of the notorious Leo Babbage, whose father died in an explosion—an event the leaders of Cove point to as an example of the danger of creativity.

Working together, Trenton and Kallista learn that Leo Babbage was developing a secret project before he perished. Following clues he left behind, they begin to assemble a strange machine that is unlike anything they’ve ever seen before. They soon discover that what they are building may threaten every truth their city is founded on—and quite possibly their very lives.

My Review

One word: AMAZING!

Okay, that isn't all I'm going to say, but that word sums up this book perfectly.  I absolutely loved this book.  The imagination and creativity involved in this story is mind-blowing.  I'm not surprised though, Jeff is an extremely talented author who dazzles me every time I read one of his books.  I loved how it was illegal to think outside of the box, to change things, to invent something new.  I won't get into the history of Cove in my review, but it is fascinating.  Cove is a treasure trove of secrets.  I really liked Trenton.  I think of him as a talented young man with wondrous potential and ingenuity.  Kallista needed to grow on me for a bit, but quickly she won me over too, she has a sad history.  Trenton is dealt a major blow early on, and is betrayed by someone close to him, but as the story goes, there are reasons.  I loved the adventure the two take on to solve the mystery of what Kallista's father left behind.  Can't wait for book 2, why can't time go faster?!?

5 out of 5 stars.  This book was a joy to read, another testament as to why I love middle grade fiction so much! Bravo, Jeff!

Author Links

Website / Goodreads / Twitter

Purchase Links

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Deseret Book

Mysteries of Cove: Fires of Invention by J. Scott Savage -- Spotlight/Release Info

About the Book

Expected publication: September 29, 2015

(I can not wait for this release!)

STEAMPUNK! Plus Dragons!

Trenton Colman is a creative thirteen-year-old boy with a knack for all things mechanical. But his talents are viewed with suspicion in Cove, a steam-powered city built inside a mountain. In Cove, creativity is a crime and "invention" is a curse word. Kallista Babbage is a repair technician and daughter of the notorious Leo Babbage, whose father died in an explosion-an event the leaders of Cove point to as an example of the danger of creativity.

Working together, Trenton and Kallista learn that Leo Babbage was developing a secret project before he perished. Following clues he left behind, they begin to assemble a strange machine that is unlikely anything they've ever seen before. They soon discover that what they are building may threaten every truth their city is founded on-and quite possibly their very lives.

Author Note:

Like many of my books, the inspiration for my new series Fires of Invention came from the collision of two ideas. The first time the story occurred to me was while I was watching the musical Wicked with my wife. The moment I walked into the theater and saw the huge mechanical dragon above the stage, I thought, Wow! I have to write a story about that! A few weeks later, I was talking with my nephew, who is probably the most creative kid I know, but whose inventiveness often gets him into trouble, and I thought, What if a kid who had the talents of my nephew lived in a world where creativity was against the law? What if the kids were building . . . a steam-powered dragon? Bam! I had my story.

Powered by great feedback from my agent, Michael Bourret, my good friend and author James Dashner, my publisher, Chris Schoebinger, and the song “Warriors” by Imagine Dragons, I wrote the entire first draft of the first volume in the series, Mysteries of Cove in four weeks. This book is unlike anything I have ever written. There are elements of City of Ember, Dragon Riders, and Hugo in it all mashed up together in a world I fell in love with from the moment I started writing.

I think what’s most exciting to me about this book is that it’s about giving yourself the freedom to imagine. To take chances. Too often we limit ourselves by only trying things we’re confident we can succeed at when what we need to do  is give ourselves permission to fail. Often it is when we attempt things with no idea of how we can possibly pull them off that we achieve our greatest successes.

Author Bio:

J. Scott Savage is the author of the Farworld middle grade fantasy series and the Case File 13 middle grade monster series. He has been writing and publishing books for over ten years. He has visited over 400 elementary schools, dozens  of writers conferences, and taught many writing classes. He has four children and lives with his wife Jennifer and their Border Collie, Pepper, in a windy valley of the Rocky Mountains.

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