I enjoyed the steampunk novel set in the medieval time period. The characters were well developed and the plot was non stop action. I could not put the book down. I am looking forward to sequel by Turner.

Steampunk meets Chivalry in this adventure story of Theo Paxton a mechanically gifted youth, working for a Greedy shop owner. Then during on the eve of the Steam Knight tournament, a villainous dragon swoops into town and kidnaps the Princess. This book was fantastic and would also be a great graphic novel adaptation or movie. I liked that the characters developed a great friendship and learned to trust each other., they were willing to listen to another point of view and then make wiser decisions.
#Theopaxstone #NetGalley #ARC

While I enjoyed this book's descriptive scenes and settings, I felt a sense of "familiarity" that often gave me a 'liked it but didn't love it' impression. Theo is a good protagonist though with an interesting voice - but the rest of it felt middling to me unfortunately. Definitely not the worst read though.

Well, I did get passed the first few pages of the story. It was incredibly dull, boring, and had no sense of what was happening. I got about half-way, and I just couldn't read anymore. I had a hard time picturing it in my mind.

As my 5th grade son and I read this one together we quickly realized it was tailored to him perfectly. We both loved the steampunk world and the details really immersed us into the story. Theo was beyond amazing for a main character and as an aspiring creator and engineer my son found his hero in Theo with all his machine building skills. He was brave and smart and kind and everything you want kids this age reading about. I also loved many of the supporting characters and appreciated that while there were deaths they weren't overly done in a gruesome way. The lessons throughout the story were perfect for the middle age group. I truly adored the knight and dragons theme within the steampunk world it was unique and fun and built the perfect setting for adventure. It was charming and very well written, I'm hoping there are more of Theo's adventures to enjoy in the future.

I really enjoyed this book, I think that it had a good balance of heavy and lighthearted moments. I personally think this is a good book for middle school aged children, as I also let my brother who is in middle school read it and he absolutely loved it and even recommended it to his friends.

Got this free from NetGalley and to be fair I don’t really like Middle Grade or Steam Punk. Loved a lot of the world building, but in the end the beginning moved too slowly for me to get into it. My kids wanted me to keep reading but I veto’d them and started a new one.

Really imaginative, extraordinary and good written thing, full of creativity. I could buy this to kid, also I recommend to any alduts there who like adventure stories. Map was cool. I enjoyed this more than I was expecting.

For my first ever Steampunk story, Theo Paxstone and the Dragon of Adyron was a good introduction to the genre, particularly for the middle grade audience. The characters were so likable, and the book was just an enjoyable read.

The title belies a more complex plot, as Theo-though the titular character-is not the most important character in the story. He meets up with an old knight and his squire after an unexpected attack on the kingdom, and the trio set off to thwart disaster.

I definitely liked that the steampunk technology was not a main character. Turner does a fantastic job not boring his readers with overly long pontifications about the steam mechs in the story, and he does not lazily rely on the sparkly terminology for all of the gadgets to fill in space and make for a longer narrative. There is no assumption that the reader is ignorant, and the world building is seamlessly interwoven in the plot to quicken the pace of the story.

This book is perfect for any reader from about 4th to 6th grade that likes adventure stories with no mush. The only negative thing I have to say is that there is no hard copy available. If there were, I would have already bought a couple of copies for my local library.

This is an imaginative adventure full of detail and creativity. I would gladly share this text with readers, old and young. Engaging!

Located in a sort of post-apocalyptic fantay world, with steam engines, knights and kingdoms, dragons and all sorts of dangerous creatures, and mecha (ie a robot that works steam piloted by a gentleman who is a noble) this is a fun adventure.

Imagine mutant evil things as bad consequences of a magical war and forgotten tech extracted from buried buildings.

Theo Paxstone is an orphan who, at the age of 13, works as an apprentice in a junkyard shop under the orders of an abusive Master Grimes. He does not remember parents or living in the street, only the workshop and all the other kids living like him, fixing and polishing machinery to sell it.

But Theo's dreams are of knights, of his hero Sir Drake, and of handling a robot invented by himself, and living adventures according to the code of honor.



His best friend is a cockatiel that serves as a seeker of machine parts for the workshop. It is a bird that longs for his life as a messenger and a more comfortable life where you can eat to your liking. More sensible than Theo, however, has great loyalty for his friend.

The tournament where the royal family comes, which brings the arrival of a great dragon that sows chaos, comes to change Theo's life, because there he helps an old knight and his squire. His adventure time has arrived!


But, well, maybe not everything is what it seems ....

It is interesting, on the other hand, the glimpses of a world that existed before, of old buildings buried where spirits inhabit, of technology forgotten with 900 years of antiquity, where instead of radioactive mutations, corruption is spoken of by magical wars. Monsters lurk in the world, and it seems a very difficult life. Here the political intrigues are a fact. As well as the prejudices against witches.

At times between the old gentleman and Theo's idealism, together with this image, they reminded me of Don Quixote. Where Sancho would be Ollie, of course; P

I like the squires. And the old gentleman, Bertham.

Did I already say there are dragons?



Warning: Warning: There are quite a few deaths right and left, to be a children's book-


ABOUT THIS ARC:
-There are about half a dozen editing problems in this e-arc copy, missing or excess-wrong letters, so I could realize.
-There is a change of name of the mare: from Pumpkin to Daisy at the end.



http://theopaxstone.blogspot.com/


+Digital arc gently provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review+

My girls really enjoyed reading this one with me. It's a little slow at times, but well worth the time invested. Steampunk fantasy at middle grade level perfectly suited for that age group. My girls want to read more by this author!

Thirteen year old Theo Paxstone repairs broken machinery, but hides the steam engine powered steed that he had built. When a dragon terrorizes the royal tournament, Theo saves Sir Bentham and helps his squire Riley out of the flames. The young princess was captured, and most of the steam knights have no interest in going up against a large dragon. Sir Bentham takes Theo on as another squire, and they set out to save the princess. Along the way, they realize that even the most trusted knights in the kingdom has secrets, and they're capable of far more than they thought they were.

This is a steampunk feudal society, with plenty of the classist and sexist features in such societies. It doesn't stop Theo from dreaming or trying to reach his goal, and it never makes him hard hearted or mean. He remains idealistic, even when he discovers the truth about his heroes, and doesn't back down when his quest is difficult or frightening. Riley, originally standoffish and not eager to make friends, has reason as well. The characters are all fairly likable, and the plot, once it really kicks in about half way through, sucks you in and takes off. The beginning is largely about setting the stage and introducing the characters, making you care what happens to them. It drags a bit in spots, but is still entertaining. Theo and Riley are great characters that middle grade readers can really connect with.

Unfortunately I did not finish this book. But I did enjoy the map and what I did read, I wished that I finished but my book expired before I could do so.

I am sorry to say that I started this book, put it down, and tried a few times to get back into it but never did. It just really wasn't my cup of tea.

You know those books that you just vibe with?Well this was %100 my cup of tea. It has just the right amount of grim, and plenty of action.

This story follows a young boy named Theo who is honestly too good for his world. I just wanted to hug him! Theo works on machine parts that are extremely old in a repair shop that is runned by Master Grimes and the world in which he lives is full of machines that cause chaos amongst anything they come across. The plot comes in when Theo creates his own machine and teams up with a duo of characters to save his own village from this terrible fate. This book has everything I could ever want in a book. Princesses, dragons, witty characters, fast paced action, steampunk elements!

I don't want to say anymore than that as I think this deserves a read where you go in with questions. The questions were what drew me along, anticipating more answers on every page. But I enjoyed the world, the clear-cut system of rules within it. A great and charming read for sure.

He's a mechanic at the local steam mech repair shop. He has books about a brave knight and dreams of becoming one himself. The fact that he's an orphan and poor has nothing to do with it. He's brave (almost) and has his dreams. While he focuses on being a hero, he's building himself his own steam machine. It looks odd and has his own engineering in the design so it's experimental for the most part. He hasn't run it yet. But he will soon...

The author and Net Galley shared a copy of this book with me for review (thank you). It has been published and you can grab a copy now.

With dragons and witches, knights and knaves, and a conspiracy against the king, this was a fun read. It's got just the right amount of steampunk, gives you characters to love and hate, and you get to watch Theo grow up right before your eyes.

When a dragon sets the royal tournament ablaze, Theo sees a way to realize his dreams. He'll slay the dragon and everyone will admire him. The fact that the dragon is huge is just coincidental. There must be some way to kill it.

He joins an old knight that gets around in a wheelchair and his squire. His machine was disabled in the disaster so they use Theo's unit. The knight even purchases Theo to go on the quest with him.

What Theo learns is that nobody is who they say they are and most have secrets. It's a good thing he's a tough kid or he wouldn't have made it.

This was a very good read. I admire Mr. Turner's world building and would read more in this series.

Knights in shining... steam mechs? I love the unexpected setting of this story! Theo is a creative, compassionate, and daring protagonist. I enjoyed reading about his adventures chasing the dragon to save the princess. This was a fun and exciting read!

This is a very unique book, the world and people that are created in the author’s mind will keep you guessing about the next event in the book!
Theo, a 13 year old teenager works on machine parts that are hundreds of years old, and they still work!
Theo lives in a world that is populated by soldiers with outlandish machines that they travel in and use for fighting, dragons that can eat up a whole town, farmers who try to make a living, and townspeople who try to go about their daily business.
Theo builds his own weaponized machine that needs a special type of engine that only wealthy people have, he and a young squire try to help a knight who is injured when a dragon terrorizes Theo’s village.
You will have to read the story for yourself to find out about what happens to Theo and his friends when they volunteer to go on a quest to rescue a princess from a dragon!