The Story of Cirrus Flux, by Matthew Skelton

5th June 2009
Puffin
318 pages
Historical drama, 10+, boys and girls

Cushions: 4
Daggers: 0.5
Smiles: 1
Tissues: 2
Overall rating: 5/5

Thankfully I didn't have to put this book down. I couldn't. The stunning cover complements the story. I may not comment on every single cover, but whenever I look at this one it reminds me of the times I'd hold my breath as I turned over the page.

This is the tale of Cirrus Flux, an orphan, and Pandora, also an orphan but initially not Cirrus' friend. It's also the tale of James Flux, Cirrus' father, whose story is told over several flashbacks. James found a sphere, with the power of what some call the Breath of God. A mysterious light, desired by Madam Orrery whose strange power apparently 'cures' people of their ills. She 'adopts' Pandora from the orphanage, but there's no love in their relationship. Pandora is coerced to track Cirrus down, and thankfully breaks free from Madam Orrery's clutches later on in the story. Cyrrus doesn't even know the full story behind his special orb, only that people are after him; Madam Orrery and also a strange gentleman with a very special 'bird'.

Bonds of friendship are struck in this book as equally as ties of enmity. I confess to knowing little about 18th Century London, but the harsh realities of life for the homeless and those on the run is well portrayed here. I liked Cirrus as much as I liked Pandora, which for me is saying something. I cared for him. I was in tears when he lost people close to him. And cheered every time he overcame an obstacle.

The only small grumble I have with this book is the end. The end itself is satisfactory. However, it came a little too quickly for me. I'd have prefered perhaps one or two more chapters developing the final showdown. Perhaps a little more of the sphere's power could have been examined, to show how wonderful it really was before the end.

Apart from that, I loved this book. So much so that I'm giving less away about the story than I normally do.

I haven't read Matthew Skelton's earlier book Endymion Spring, but its going on my TBR list.

If you like the sound of this, try Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy.