Great story line, interesting characters, but ultimately hard to follow the larger story arc (where the sequels go from here) and distractingly peppered with video game imagery. I think that authors are trying too hard to stay relevant with young readers. The story is great on it's own. I keep wondering what will happen next, but the tech takes away from it for me. ( )

This book has many plots and many main/important characters. The story really brings out your inner imagination. 5Q5P The cover art is awesome and I'd recommend this book for high school students and adults. WilliamH

The Sky Village is a unique fantasy with rich world building. Monk and Nigel Ashland have created two fascinating cultures, each of which shows elements of their root cultures. The Sky Village is a lovely concept, a city made of balloons tied together and floating above China. The culture of the Sky Village is an interesting mixture of traditional Chinese elements with unique elements unique to an airborne society. I particularly loved the nuptial rituals. The caves under Las Vegas, by contrast, have a culture steeped in greed and gambling that seems appropriate to their location.

The characters are also interesting, varied and colorful. The two protagonists are likable, sympathetic, and quite human: they make mistakes and they fail, sometimes with disastrous consequences, but they are both courageous and caring, and try to make up for their mistakes. The plot is exciting and holds your interest, although I did find Rom's story a little more exciting than Mei's.

Read my entire review ( )

I started this, but even with its unique premise and intriguing setting, I didn't get through it. One day I'll try it again and see how that goes, because I do like the ideas presented in the book.

http://lampbane.livejournal.com/594046.html

"The book follows two children in a post-apocalyptic word where machines and animals are locked in constant struggle, and the remaining human population stays in hiding. The concept is kind of neat, but the culture is pretty by-the-book. There's a "before time" to contrast with the now. Familiar concepts are twisted by ignorance. It's funny to think that they seem to be pushing this as a fantasy novel, but it's really science fiction. It is the future, and snatches of familiar culture will appear—half the book takes place in China, and bits of actual Chinese culture will pop up here and there.

Both your main characters are pretty by-the-book. Both are trying to save the people they love, and then they are handed a mysterious power that will let them do just that. The kids aren't unlikable, but they are pretty unremarkable. Standard YA heroes.

The book is split between them, existing on opposite sides of the world—one in China, one in Las Vegas. Their only interaction is through a 'magical' book, and a lot of that interaction isn't even shown, just described in passing. Because of this, there's no emotional connection between the two for the reader, and when they finally do meet in a later book it's likely to lack real emotional punch.

The boy, Rom, has a pretty straightforward quest to save his sister, and that's fine, though it's so straightforward that it reaches its conclusion almost too quickly and easily. You know what's going to happen. The girl, Mei, wants to save her mother, but there's no action on her part until the last few chapters. She doesn't actually *do* anything for most of the book. She whines about how much she doesn't want to be in the Sky Village, and why won't people accept her, and oh, maybe she likes it here but she still wants to save her mother, and then, boom, everything goes to hell, now we can do something but it's a very bad thing to do indeed. Sigh.

The two quests resolve themselves and then we are teased with the next quest for our heroine, but our hero knows nothing of it, leaving his part with a lack of closure for this volume at least." ( )