Agatha H. and the Airship City

Girl Genius, Book 1

By: Phil Foglio, Kaja Foglio

Narrated by: Angela Dawe

Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

The Industrial Revolution has escalated into all-out warfare. Sixteen years have passed since the Heterodyne Boys, benevolent adventurers and inventors, disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Today, Europe is ruled by the Sparks, dynasties of mad scientists ruling over - and terrorizing - the hapless population with their bizarre inventions and unchecked power, while the downtrodden dream of the Heterodynes’ return.

At Transylvania Polygnostic University, a pretty, young student named Agatha Clay seems to have nothing but bad luck. Incapable of building anything that actually works, but dedicated to her studies, Agatha seems destined for a lackluster career as a minor lab assistant. But when the university is overthrown by the ruthless tyrant Baron Klaus Wulfenbach, Agatha finds herself a prisoner aboard his massive airship Castle Wulfenbach - and it begins to look like she might carry a spark of Mad Science after all.

From Phil and Kaja Foglio, creators of the Hugo, Eagle, and Eisner Award-nominated webcomic Girl Genius, comes Agatha H. and the Airship City, a gaslamp fantasy filled to bursting with Adventure! - Romance! - and Mad Science!

©2011 Phil Foglio (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

loved it!

If you love the comic you will love this! it is a beautiful retelling of the beginning of agatha's journey. If you haven't read the comic yet I strongly suggest you do so. This book does make sense as a stand alone story but the comic will definitely heighten your experience.

Great Story

Initially, it took me a while to get into the book. Angela Dawe is a fantastic narrator, one of those who bring the characters to life. The real issue was the story was confusing to me at first, like I entered from midpoint, but also obviously a beginning. After a while, it became more interesting and eventually I could not put the book down until I knew it all my guesses worked out. This is a first book in a series, so I am looking forward to improvements over time from this one.

Despite that. If you ignore how slow and mildly confusing first part of the book is (reducing 5 stars to 4 stars for me), the overall story is great! I feel like this is a character set that will become very interesting.

Good story, engaging characters, exc narration

This book is great fun. The authors have created a very unique world populated with interesting characters and plot that moves along nicely and makes it hard to put down. Although it is a tough world, the book does not take itself too seriously, and it had me laughing out loud quite a few times. The narrator is really good with fitting voices for the various characters. In particular, it is hard to not smile whenever the Jeagermonsters (sp?) say anything. I heartily recommend this book for all ages, as it has a rating of about PG I think. I hope it isn't too long before the next book comes out and that Ms. Dawe will narrate it.

Excellent Companion to Webcomic

I discovered Agatha H on line some time ago - and as other reviewers have mentioned, this novel is pretty much the first few volumes, with a few deviations.

Angela Dawe is perfect, her voices utterly convincing, and suited to each character. She really must do any following narration - even if her prior commitments mean that the audiobook would be delayed. It would be a sin to replace her.

I resisted getting this audiobook at first, as I wasn't sure that I needed a retelling of what I'd already read (though, the blurb wasn't really clear enough that I could be sure that it would be a retelling of the story, at least to a certain point). However, I'm glad that I did, and it definitely augmented the webcomic. Further, it spurred me to re-read the entire story again online, which let me pick up things that I missed the first time around.

Wonderful story, Superb Narration

I knew nothing about this book and selected it based on the blurb. What a great find. I enjoyed the story, the fractured world, and the characters, which were brought to life by the wonderful narrator. At times, I laughed out loud. Agatha is a great character. Even the bad guys are fun. The Jaegermonsters are the best bad guys I've encountered in a long time.

I discovered after I had finished listening that the novel based on the compilation of three graphic novels about Agatha. And I think that explains the one major problem I had with the story and why I gave it a 4 overall instead of a 5. The book reads like a set of short stories, each complete unto itself and the transitions are abrupt. Characters come and go without explanation. When I was finished I was a bit confused by the end of the book, which kills off so many of the secondary characters I enjoyed.

Agatha is on my list for future listening. She has sparked my curiosity.

Rousing tale and lots of fun..

What did you love best about Agatha H and the Airship City?

I thoroughly enjoyed both the story and the narrator. The story was really well thought out, funny, adventurous and it had great timing. The cast of characters were all very original and interesting and it was simply a pleasure to listen to.

What did you like best about this story?

I love adventure stories and this one was a geniune page-turner. The characters were all different and most of them were so original and quirky. I really loved this book and was rather sad when I'd finished it. I'm a fan of steampunk, zeppilins and mad science, but the Foglios really nailed steampunk. The story was light-hearted, but full of danger and humor, with fast-paced action and really interesting backgrounds and mad science inventions. The Foglios have created a marvelous world with their story and characters.

What does Angela Dawe bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Angela Dawe did a simply awesome job of giving unique voices and accents to all her characters. She really amped up the humor with her voice characterizations. She definitely added to the enjoyment of the story beyond simply reading the book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely, but my life is too busy for that. I listened to it every chance I had.

Any additional comments?

Just a wonderful story with a great, very talented narrator. I've listened to both books now, and am anxiously awaiting the third installment.

LoL just as it became interesting, it ended.

LoL just as it became interesting, it ended. A good story none the less, There are too many events left without resolution.

Great Steampunk! Fun Diversion

Where does Agatha H and the Airship City rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Nice world building; Enjoyed the development of characters and races

What was one of the most memorable moments of Agatha H and the Airship City?

What about Angela Dawe’s performance did you like?

Did a multitude of voices very well - did not have that "shreeek" tone to her voice

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

no

Any additional comments?

Fun Diversion.

Girl Genius definitely worth the time!

If you could sum up Agatha H and the Airship City in three words, what would they be?

Science, laughter, fun.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character would be Gilgamesh, I think. Just a good combination of young man with tons of brains and exasperation at the insane situations around him. Very fun.

What does Angela Dawe bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her performance makes the book I think. The story is so fun I would enjoy it in print as well I'm sure, but Angela Dawe's performance just brings it to life. Rarely have I enjoyed the performance as well as this one. Usually, the narration is just voicing the story. As long as the narration isn't horrible, the strength of the story will usually be enough for me to give a good review. But Angela Dawe performance is just fun. Her different voices for the numerous characters and the pitch perfect timing for the jokes and humour just made the story that much more wonderful. I definitely recommend her as a narrator and as soon as I'm done with this series, I will be looking for more books performed by her.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, but I don't want to give anything away. But Agatha's closeness to her family and her fight to be reunited with them is involved. So a moment near the end did make me very sad. However, the story kept moving and soon I was swept up in fun and adventure again.

Grand fun!!

This book does a great job of being playful and fun without being dumb.

Though often very silly, the character development is excellent. The plot is solid and the tension of the story ebbs and flows well.

The narration is very strong - distinct voices, good accents, and no annoying mispronunciations.

Give it a try!! Life’s too short to miss out on a few good laughs.