If Wrench (Wren Chester-Harris) hadn’t saved dozens of lives including her own, she wouldn’t now be sitting in an electric chair for interrogation. Captain Flemington of the Regulators is ever so gleeful to have her in his clutches. After all, she is an aberation (not completely human). She is a Brasswitch, and his job is to police and capture any aberations that stand out.

Wrench can manipulate machines with her mind, and has faced the prejudice and hatred from others before. She is a skilled Brasswitch for one so young, but carries a heavy guilt over the deaths of her parents. Her father was a gifted engineer who designed locomotives. The Drake was his newest design and while on a celebratory trip, it jumped the tracks killing several on board including him and Wrench’s mother. Wrench survived but blames herself for the crash – maybe she did something accidentally, causing the Drake’s brakes to lock?

Just as Captain Flemington is to flick the switch to a powerful electrical current, a mechanoid crashes into the cell. He snatches Wrench away from danger and soon introduces himself as Bot. He too works for the Regulators and Wrench still fears for her safety. Bot soon allays her fears. He needs a Brasswitch for a particular mission. This mission could save the world.

Bot belongs to a top section of Regulators called Cabal Thirteen who monitor and if necessary, control NIA’s. (Non Indigenous Aberations) These come from a Rupture (an opening to another Dimension). Someone wants to open it, and Bot and his magical (Remarkable) Regulators are desperate to stop them.

Wrench meets Octavia, a dark-blue skinned beautiful woman who just happens to have several tentacles, and Plum, a pale, and frail-looking boy, is skilled in controlling the elements. Water, Fire and Air are his weapons.

For the first time since her parents died, Wrench feels safe and comfortable as herself – admired for her special skills as a Brasswitch with new friends at her side. This safety is challenged again and again as Bot, Plum and Wrench hunt for those planning to open the Rupture. This enemy is made up of aberations (Remarkables), sick and tired of being treated badly for their differences. They want to turn it back on their tormentors.

Can Wrench help Bot and his team stop them? Does she want to stop them? She too has been bullied mercilessly by others. In fact, can Wrench trust those around her to keep her safe as tensions build to breaking point, or will they finally deem her back to aberation status? She has to trust her gut, their loyalty and dig deep to save herself and those around her. Then and only then may she find the truth?

This new novel by multi-award winning author Gareth Ward, had me gripped from the first page. Wrench (Wren Chester-Harris) is a Brasswitch who can control anything mechanical with her mind. 

Brasswitch and Bot hooked me in with the sassy, brave but guilt-filled Wrench. It threw me into one action scene after another, pumped with gadgetry, explosions, twists, turns and sprinkles of humour too. Strange creatures run amok, old agendas run rife, unspoken grief and guilt drive the characters and loyalties are tested.

As with Ward’s The Traitor and the Thief series, his language is rich, but not too complex for readers 10+, with lots of his own word-morphs along the way. Also as before, the world building is exquisite, putting me smack centre into a life of steam, gadgets, harnessed electricity, trains and weaponry. Loved it.

Author – Gareth Ward

Age – 10+

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(2019, Walker Books, Steampunk, Series, Prejudice, Differences, Acceptance, Courage, Gadgets, Good vs Evil, Monsters, Other dimension, Tension, Humour, Sarcasm, Trust, Friendship, Grief, Loss)