Fires of Invention (Mysteries of Cove Series #1)

by J. Scott Savage

Overview

Trenton Colman is a creative thirteen-year-old boy with a knack for all things mechanical. But his talents are viewed with suspicion in Cove, a steam-powered city built inside a mountain. In Cove, creativity is a crime and “invention” is a curse word.

Kallista Babbage is a repair technician and daughter of the notorious Leo Babbage, who died in an explosion—an event the leaders of Cove point to as an example of the danger of creativity.

Working together, Trenton and Kallista learn that Leo Babbage was developing a secret project before he perished. Following clues he left behind, they begin to assemble a strange machine that is unlike anything they’ve ever seen before. They soon discover that what they are building may threaten every truth their city is founded on—and quite possibly their very lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629720920
Publisher:	Shadow Mountain Publishing
Publication date:	09/29/2015
Series:	Mysteries of Cove Series , #1
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.20(d)
Lexile:	690L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

J. Scott Savage is the author of the Farworld middle-grade fantasy series and the Case File 13 middle-grade monster series. He has published more than seventeen novels, visited more than 1,400 schools, and taught dozens of writing classes. He has four children, five grandchildren, and lives with his wife, Jennifer, in a windy valley of the Rocky Mountains.

Read an Excerpt

By the time Kallista unfolded the paper, the document was nearly three feet wide and four feet tall. It looked like a schematic for some kind of machine.

"Was is it?" Trenton asked. "Did you discover you father really was building a giant . . ."

The words died in his mouth as he leaned closer to the light and saw what was on the paper. It was a set of plans all right. It was what her father had been working on. What they had been putting together.

It was a machine. But not only a machine. It was a weapon. But not only a weapon. It was . . . Well, he didn't know exactly what it was. If the plans had been drawn up by anyone other than Leo Babbage, Trenton would have considered them a joke. But if there was one thing he had learned about Kallista's father, it was that the man did not appear to possess a very refined sense of humor.

The plans were no joke. They were real. But why he would have drawn them up and what he expected his daughter to do with them was beyond understanding.

Because the plans on the page-shown in surprisingly great detail-were for building a creature that looked like it had come directly from the pages of one of the storybooks in Leo Babbage's workshop. Trenton studied the powerful clawed legs, broad wings, and sharp toothed mouth. "What is it?" he whispered.

Kallista held the plans up before her, eyes filled with wonder. "It's a dragon."

Editorial Reviews

★ 06/22/2015
Savage’s Mysteries of Cove series starts with a bang, as 13-year-old Trenton Coleman’s illegal invention is accused of causing a massive power outage in the sealed, steam-powered city of Cove. His discovery of the true cause, another unapproved device, leads him to Kallista Babbage, the creative daughter of a deceased (and disgraced) inventor, and a set of clues that her father left behind. As Trenton and Kallista evade the city government in search of her father’s legacy, Trenton balances school, friends, and his parents’ expectations with his need to discover the truth. Savage (the Case File 13 series) has created an ingenious steampunk world; features like coal chutes and hydroponics bays prove essential at key moments, but it’s the characters that make the world stand out, including Trenton’s anti-technology mother, whose legs were crushed in a mining accident, and his friend Clyde, an artist punished for his creativity. Trenton will be a firm friend to any readers who long to use their talents to make their world better. Ages 10–up. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

With fascinating and relatable characters, amazing mysteries, and incredible amounts of conflict, Fires of Invention is well-written and chock full of action. Kids are going to go crazy for this book!” 

Peggy Eddleman

2017-2018 Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award nominee

Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award

"Savage does a masterful job of weaving the believable and unique society for this coming of age story.  The post-apocalyptic, totalitarian society provides the perfect backdrop for Trenton's journey from child to young adult...The political commentary the story is laced with...provides a welcome added substance to the story which makes it appealing for older readers as well."

Compass Book Ratings

2016 Kansas State Reading Circle Recommendation

Kansas State Reading Circle

"First in a series and includes likable characters, themes of friendship and self-discovery, and enough mechanical parts to thrill the nerdiest science readers...Readers who like their dystopias flavored with steam engines will like what they find."

Booklist

"Engaging from the onset...Well-crafted and absorbing with characters a reader can quickly define as allies. The story is fast-paced and nimble. Although the story contains dystopian elements, the tone is not heavy or despair-driven. The heroes are optimistic and encouraging. The book is sure to be enjoyed by fans of the youth fantasy genre."

Deseret News

"Fires of Invention is an amazing adventure that will grab hold of you and never let go. With each surprising turn, the story builds a powerful story of courage, adventure, and friendship."

Jennifer A. Nielsen

"First in a series and includes likable characters, themes of friendship and self-discovery, and enough mechanical parts to thrill the nerdiest science readers...Readers who like their dystopias flavored with steam engines will like what they find."

Booklist