The Emilie Adventures: Emilie And The Hollow World, Emilie And The Sky World by Martha Wells (book review)
‘The Emilie Adventures’ is a reissuing of Martha Wells’ two YA novels, ‘Emilie and the Hollow World’ and ‘Emilie and the Sky World.’ I’m going to review both stories here combined.
Emilie has run away. She just needs to find a way to stowaway on a steamship bound for Silk Harbor and then she’ll be able to get to her cousin’s school for girls. That’s all she wants, a life beyond what is proper for a young lady according to her uncle. Just because her mother ran away to become an actress, which is most definitely not a prostitute, before she got married. Running away to have more of a life than getting married or becoming a governess. She had planned it all out. Her clothes had been tied up into an innocuous parcel that the postman had taken without a blink. She had stolen the steamship timetables out of the trash and memorised them. She hadn’t planned for how hungry she would get on the two-day walk to town or how expensive food would be once she got there. Without enough money for a ticket, Emilie’s only choices are to give up and go home or to stowaway and Emilie refuses to fail now.
Her arrival at the docks coincides with a robbery and she is forced to jump into the ocean to escape the watch. When the random vessel she clambered aboard to escape the shooting is also attacked and heads out to sea, Emilie is stuck because this is no ordinary steamship. This is the submersible Sovereign. They are going to ride the aether currents to the world within their world to save the last expedition that tried it.
You will know Martha Wells as the author of the ‘Murderbot Diaries’, which you should read. Emilie, like Murderbot, is a character that is a delight to follow on adventures. While the narrative does is not in the first person so we don’t see directly into Emilie’s thoughts, her enthusiasm and adventurous spirit shine through and it was wonderful to be cheering her on. The classic steampunk elements of the quasi-Victorian era world do not feel forced and remind me of what I dimly know of classics like ‘1000 Leagues Under the Sea’ (which I haven’t read but has a definitely vibe). There are rival aetheric magicians, a Royal Society, submersibles, and airships. Yet, unlike many steampunk novels, there isn’t dark cobbled streets shrouded in fog. Wells has not infused steampunk with noir. Sherlock Holmes will not be making an appearance.
YA is a broad category. It can cover things from ‘Fourth Wing’ by Rebecca Yarros, a series that has some rather explicit sex scenes amid the dragons and war, to ‘Mister Monday’ by Garth Nix, a series too concerned with saving the known universe to get into sex scenes. Does this make ‘Fourth Wing’ more adult than young and ‘Mister Monday’ more young than adult? Not necessarily. If I was a parent, perhaps I would be more concerned, but as an adult reading YA, the differences are just books for different moods. ‘The Emilie Adventures’ is not concerned with sexual relationships. Emilie has a mission: to not suffer the life her uncle’s demands of her. To consider elopement would be proving her uncle right, which is something she will never do. Besides, her initial plans of attending classes at her cousin’s school seem so small now compared to the excitement and adventure of travelling with the Sovereign. Emilie is not going to pine herself into risk taking behaviour like Bella from ‘Twilight.’ Emilie is not a romantic heroine.
If you have fond memories of ‘Dealing With Dragons’ by Patricia C. Wrede and other books where a princess or other proper young lady walks out on their boring life of luxury to find something to do definitely give ‘Emilie’s Adventures’ a try. If you see YA and think Rebecca Yarros or Sarah J. Maas, you might be disappointed. This is not a love story or even love story adjacent. This is not a teenager saving the world while grappling with their new love life and burgeoning sexuality. The title tells you what these stories are ‘The Emilie Adventures’ and that’s what she does.
LK Richardson
July 2025
(pub: TORdotcom, 2025. 416 page enlarged paperback. Price: $30.00 (US), £15.00 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-25087-314-9)
check out website: https://torpublishinggroup.com/the-emilie-adventures/?isbn=9781250873149&format=trade