See also: Horten's Incredible Illusions
Overall rating: 8/10
Plot: 8/10
Characters: 8.5/10
Difficulty: 3/10
Quality of writing: 7.5/10
Concerning content (language, violence, etc.): minimal
Age level: 8 and up
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Summary
Protagonist Stuart Horten moves to a new town in England, but promptly becomes entangled in a mysterious series of clues left for him by his magician great-uncle, who mysteriously vanished many years ago. Along the way, he meets an annoying set of triplet girls, a bumbling would-be stage magician, and the evil Jeannie—who will stop at nothing to beat Stuart to the trove at the clues’ end. The treasure itself is composed of a group of rare apparatuses for stage magic previously owned by Stuart’s great-uncle (“Teeny-Tiny Tony Horten,” notable not only for his brilliant career as a magician, but also for his remarkable shortness (which he shares with Stuart)). This book is a good mystery-style work for younger readers, and has plenty of interesting characters and light dialogue.
Plot
The plot of Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms centers around the efforts of Stuart and his friend April to unravel the clues left around the town of Beeton by Stuart’s great-uncle, all the while evading the antagonists’ (mainly Jeannie’s) efforts to halt them. While attempting to find the cache of magical mechanisms, they are forced to explore various locations (including an abandoned park and the Beeton museum) to find the old coin-operated machines that contain the information they seek.
Based on this rather linear development, the plot of this book is easily followed and quickly unfolds in a way that might be a bit predictable for older readers. While there certainly is “mystery” in the sense that the reader doesn’t know precisely what will happen next, the book isn’t particularly heavy on the plot twists or unexpected developments. Overall, the plot of this book isn’t overly complex, but should be just about right for younger readers (age recommendation: 8 and up). (8/10)
Characters
The characters in this book are fairly fun to read about, all things considered: take, for example, Stuart’s dad, who has a predilection (as he himself might say) for long words. This ends up as a sort of caricature by the end of the book, with Mr. Horten occasionally spouting long phrases that are entirely unintelligible both for Stuart and for the reader (but are subsequently explained in less high-flown language). Another amusing character is Clifford, who is training to be a stage magician and appears mainly during his futile, recurring efforts to capture a wayward white dove he owns.
While the characters in this book can be silly at times, Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms nevertheless also incorporates some very nice individual development and lessons, including the process of Stuart learning to be comfortable with his height (the book references him being bullied for being short). The book also shows strong relationships between the members of the Horten family, with Stuart’s dad telling him at one point: “You’re a splendid chap, Stuart. Your mother and I think the world of you.” Overall, the characters in Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms are fun to read, while running the entire gamut from silly to serious. (8.5/10)
Difficulty
The plot of Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms is quite straightforward and incorporates no overly complex elements. In terms of style, the writing is understandable, not flowery, and lacks excessive descriptive language. This book really has no potential difficulty issues to speak of, and merits a 3/10 rating.
Quality of writing
While the quality of writing in this book is perfectly suitable for its age level and plot scope, it’s also nothing particularly exceptional (particularly with figurative language and descriptive passages). The writings explains the plot and characters well and incorporates occasional humor (understated or otherwise—it varies); however, readers should not expect anything on the level of, say, Dickensian character descriptions. The characters are well-written and the plot is cohesive—it’s just that they can sometimes be a bit unimaginative. However, this simplicity should not pose a problem for younger readers (this book’s recommended audience). (7.5/10)
Concerning content
One of the major pluses of Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms is its near-total lack of concerning content. No sexual content is included, and violence is notably absent from its “confrontation” scenes—any “fights” mainly involve sneaking, hiding, and running, rather than actual combat. There is, additionally, no language to be concerned about. The only potentially concerning content (which I suggest really isn’t, but should be noted regardless) is a few passing references to Stuart being bullied at school because of how short he is. These, however, are only mentioned (we don’t see the actual incidents happen) and even so, are not particularly dramatic or graphic. Overall, this book has practically nothing to be concerned about.
Age level
Based on this book’s straightforward plot, simple style, and lack of nearly all concerning content, it is recommended for ages 8 and up.