Sharon Cameron is the author of two other great YA books, "The Dark Unwinding" and its sequel "A Spark Unseen." Both of them are engaging, well-conceived stories of the Napoleonic wars that involve spies, inventions, subversion and just enough romance to keep you wondering about what will happen next. In addition, Cameron includes a mentally challenged individual, brilliant but misunderstood at the time, as a main character in these books and beautifully illustrates the special nature of this individual, in how he interacts with the world around him. After my positive experiences with her writing before I was very excited to pick up "Rook," a new standalone book by Cameron. However, this one fell extremely short of my expectations.
The premise to the story is promising: When technology failed hundreds of years before, civilization as we know it collapsed. In the aftermath, the new governing body that controlled what was once Paris banned the development of all but the simplest machines, like the wheel and the wedge. This, they reasoned, would keep people from again becoming too dependent on technology. But as often happens, power bred corruption and soon those in power were imprisoning and executing not just criminals, but property owners and business people whose wealth was coveted by those in the government.
Into this society of fear and opacity came the Red Rook, a figure from myth, to spirit innocent prisoners away from the dreaded prisons. The Red Rook thwarted the authorities, championed the people, and worked to subvert the evil machinations of the men in charge. Nobody suspects that the Red Rook is really a young woman, Sophia Bellamy, the daughter of an impoverished nobleman. But when her brother is accused of the crime, and sentenced to death, Sophia finds herself racing against time to rescue him, free the other prisoners, and perhaps even start a revolution before retiring the persona of the Red Rook.
This book is an homage to the Scarlet Pimpernel, which they even mention in the course of the story. But as interesting as the setup is, it's frankly wasted on what actually transpires here. The characters are stereotypical with no redeeming originality, from Sophia's brave but tortured and romantic idealism to the rogue with the heart of gold to the good man driven mad by desire. Instead of building what could have been a fascinating world with complex politics and a revolution at hand, Cameron focuses solely on the overwrought romance. It's angsty, with "twists" that couldn't fool anyone. I could practically tell when the next big "reveal" would take place. These together formed a sort of lumpy mesa of a plot climax, so exhausting that there didn't really feel like there was true high point to the rising action.
I know that Cameron is a talented writer. It's obvious in her previous two books. But "Rook" was just terrible. It's a beautiful idea left untapped because of too much unoriginal romance, from the unwanted marriage proposal to the declarations of love on scaffolds above restless crowds. It's my great hope that in her future works she'll let go of the overdone romance in favor of her more imaginative approaches.
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