The novel is a fictionalized account of the founding of MIT. It has aspects of a mystery thriller in that a series of catastrophes are happening in Boston, and people are ready to blame the students and faculty of new school. Some students team up to try to find who's behind the strange calamities. The book is part steampunk, but steampunk fans will be left wanting more. In an effort to make the search for the perpetrator more interesting, the author has provided a large cast of characters; unfortunately that makes the book hard to follow at times. The author does a good job of conveying what it must have been like in the early days of the school, fighting against people's negative attitudes about science and technology, seeking legitimacy in a town with the already dominant Harvard University, etc. However, I think he tried too hard to stick to truth, but he could have brought out the fictional elements more, to keep it more interesting. A terrific historical thriller. It started off a bit slow building the world and establishing the relationships between the characters, but by the time the plot started to pick up I was completely invested in the characters. Pearl does a fascinating job of mixing historical details and real people with unforeseen plot twists. It was interesting to learn about the early days of MIT and the burgeoning field of engineering/mechanical sciences. While perhaps a little long, this was about as good as a thriller can get.
Do You like book Instytut Młodych Naukowców (2011)?
Just started this one. I'm... intrigued. I'll have to revisit this when I'm done.
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