The Dark Deeps (Hunchback Assignments Book Two), by Arthur Slade
Author: Arthur Slade
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy/Steampunk
Pages: 320
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Read in October 2010
First line: The boy hadn’t always been yellow.
Summary (ganked from Goodreads): Transforming his appearance and stealing secret documents from the French is all in a day’s work for fourteen-year-old Modo, a British secret agent. But his latest mission-to uncover the underwater mystery of something called the Ictíneo-seems impossible. There are rumors of a sea monster and a fish as big as a ship. French spies are after it, and Mr. Socrates, Modo’s master, wants to find it first. Modo and his fellow secret agent, Octavia, begin their mission in New York City, then take a steamship across the North Atlantic. During the voyage, Modo uncovers an astounding secret. The Dark Deeps, the second book in Arthur Slade’s Hunchback Assignments series, is set in a fascinating Steampunk Victorian world. Modo’s underwater adventures and his encounters with the young French spy Colette Brunet, the fearless Captain Monturiol, and the dreaded Clockwork Guild guarantee a gripping read filled with danger, suspense, and brilliant inventions.
What I thought: I’d be hard-pressed to say whether this one exceeds the first or comes dead even. It’s always nice when a series keeps its momentum, both in terms of action and character development. Modo goes from hopping across the rooftops of London to being (albeit cordially) imprisoned on the tricked-out submarine Ictineo after he falls overboard during an attack on their steamship, leaving Octavia behind to relay the news of Modo’s possible death to Mr. Socrates. While the crew and captain of the Ictineo are zealots, with a one-sided focus on using pure science to advance an utopist agenda, their hidden underwater city near Iceland is both a marvel of technology and of tolerance, which pulls at Modo’s heartstrings as well as his intellect. Meanwhile, Hakkandottir and the Clockwork Guild are up to more of their nefarious plans, and they’ve sent after Modo a truly difficult enemy: Griff, the invisible boy.
Modo is in a difficult place in this book, even more so in the first. Managing his appearance is harder, since he is stuck in close quarters on a submarine, and he never fully manages to hide behind masks or his shape-changing ability effectively. This takes a physical toll, obviously, but an emotional one as well, since Modo is constantly on edge that someone will see his true appearance. Also, his desire to please Mr. Socrates by bringing home Captain Monturiol’s technology - thereby aiding the British Empire and sticking it to the French - is in direct contrast with his empathy for the Captain’s true intentions. She only wants to create a society where all people are equal and valued, and Modo, who looks like a monster, shares in that vision. All he wants is a place where he can show his true face without fear, where he can belong.
A lot of what I like about this book is the contrasts among the characters: Captain Monturil and Hakkandottir; Modo and Griff; Octavia and Colette. They’re all duos with similar backgrounds and/or characteristics, but each person does something entirely different with the similarities.
Blinded by her idealistic visions, Captain Monturiol can be ruthless and vengeful with those whom she perceives (sometimes unfairly) to be in her way, but she is sympathetic in a way Hakkandottir is not. Hakkandottir is intriguing, but she is wholly villainous, with no redeeming qualities. She’s mustache-twirling evil, though in a coolly dispassionate way. The Captain, on the other hand, first seems like a villain - after all, she’s sinking ships that come too close to her underwater city, regardless of the lives lost and whether the ships were at fault - but she quickly becomes more complex. Sure, she is a little crazy, a fanatic with an implausible dream who refuses to see reality, and the fact that her fanaticism presents itself in a completely rational, scientific manner only makes it seem crazier. But she truly cares for her people - the ones with whom she’s creating this society - and one gets the sense that if more people thought like her about equality, the world would be much improved. So, she wavers between Modo’s antagonist and his ally and, like all real people, is not simply good or evil but both.
Griff, the invisible boy, is basically Modo without the benefit of Mr. Socrates and the others who raised him with care. Griff is a genetic freak (though in his case, a purposely altered one) used by an organization to further their aims. So is Modo. The biggest difference is that the Clockwork Guild used Griff in an inhumane way, taught him to hate himself and others, and punished his failures severely, while requiring complete obedience. They twisted him mentally. Modo, despite being twisted physically, had an upbringing that was occasionally harsh but never cruel or deceitful, and he always had people to care for him. Griff’s isolation mirrors Modo’s - neither can show his true face, neither can ever be ordinary - but Griff has been driven insane by it. It’s tough not to feel pity for Griff, who’s been shaped by those who raised him as much as Modo has.
(Hakkandottir does get one scene, in which she wonders if Griff has survived and reflects that she will miss him, that I thought was interesting and could be the beginning of a crack in her singularly evil façade. Still, it isn’t much, and she is still much too disconnected from any real human emotions - Griff was as a useful tool that had become a pet, but his abilities were always more important than his life.)
And finally, Octavia and Colette, competitive, intelligent, young female spies aware of how hard they must work to be taken seriously among the menfolk. Both are somewhat bossy and superior, especially with Modo, but they’re clearly compensating - Colette is also half-Japanese and half-French, so she feels the pressure to prove herself possibly even more than Octavia does. Colette seems older, more polished and urbane, than Olivia, but both have hard shells. Both come to care for Modo because of his competency, his decency, and his compassion, and I think they are also taken in by his mystery and the challenge of uncovering it. Modo and Colette they come to trust each other - despite Modo being a British spy and she a French one - in part because battling against the Clockwork Guild is more important. Since Colette is more forward about her interest in Modo, willing to challenge his belief that no one will ever truly accept him, he eventually shows her his true appearance. The whole scene is beautifully written, and my heart broke for Modo when Colette tearfully asks him to put his mask back on so that she doesn’t have to see his face. My heart broke again when, after Colette’s and Modo’s daring escape and rescue at the end, Octavia gives him Colette’s farewell letter and he knew in his heart why she hadn’t stayed to say good-bye. Her admission that she wasn’t as good a person as she wanted to be just made it more painful. Modo’s hurt and self-loathing is palpable, and Octavia’s chances of seeing Modo without his mask just went down to zero.
We also get a few chapters from Mr. Socrates viewpoint as Octavia first reports Modo’s potential watery death and then as her search for Modo continues. Again, he is distant and chilly and yet, underneath his emotionless mask, he has feelings for Modo that he cannot quite put aside. Almost, but not quite. He may consider these feelings to be irrational and not in the best interests of the British Empire, but he goes further in this book toward accepting that this is how a father should feel. His relationship to Modo is still the one that I find the most interesting; his heart is always warring with his head when Modo is concerned, but the battle is practically invisible, like he’s trying to fight it without admitting it, even to himself. It makes me wonder even more about his past, of which we know very little. Will he be there when Modo really needs him? Here, it seems, he is, though we don’t get to see their reunion play out in this book, something I really missed.
Of course, this book isn’t short on fascinating steampunk inventions or thrilling chases, escapes, and battles, but what I love about the series is that there’s much more than cool gadgetry and action scenes. It has heart. This may prompt me to finally go out and get Slade's other books to read while I'm waiting for the next installment.