Mech – Heart & Soul is the first book of The Mech Trilogy by Ken Deeprose. In this installation, Orin, Gigahertz, Juna and their friends attempt to save the people from Cambria from aliens called Marans.
I adored the world-building and story of the book. Ken integrated AI and humans into a fantasy planet in an innovative and one-of-a-kind way. It is well-thought-out and reading about such a distinct universe was very refreshing.
There are several characters, but each one is well-crafted. The children in the story are clever for their age, and each kid has their own strength. If they don’t know what their strength is, they are willing to try new things and discover what it is. If they are good at something, they want to be helpful. Each character serves a specific purpose for the plot, which is difficult to achieve with many characters, but Ken has done a great job.
The book is written well. There was a fluidity in the writing style, which made me want to keep reading. Moreover, the target audience will enjoy the excellent vocabulary in this book. There is also a lot of detail that helps with picturing the scene in your mind. Many scenes demonstrate that the author has done his research before writing. The plot had technical aspects explained more in-depth than I expected for a middle-grade book. The planet’s landscapes and the effect its two moons have on it were described well. The battles were different to what I usually read in books as they incorporated machines. So, that was a positive new experience.
I did feel that the book could have been edited a bit better. I would also mention a trigger warning for young readers because slavery, human sacrifice and killing aliens/humans are mentioned.
One of the biggest comforts in reading a book is being able to escape the present world and become engulfed in a fantasy universe. It was achieved in this book. Pick this book up if you want a unique story, interesting characters, and the excitement of looking forward to the next book.
The Rising Tilde 