Arabella and the Battle of Venus

Charming young Arabella (introduced in Arabella of Mars) embarks on another entertaining quest in an imaginative setting that combines 19th-century seafaring with pulp-style space adventure. This time she’s setting out to rescue her fiancé from a prison camp on the planet Venus, where Napoleon’s forces are holding him and his crew. To do so she employs the help of a dashing and impulsive privateer, Captain Fox. The journey to Venus is pretty slow-paced, but the scheming and deprivation within the prison camp bring the plot back up to speed, and Arabella makes good use of her creativity and collaboration skills to save the day. This interesting piece of speculative fiction draws on venerable imaginings of distant worlds while still feeling fresh and original, especially to the younger readers who are its most likely audience. Agent: Paul Lucas, Janklow & Nesbit. (July)