Agatha H. and the Siege of Mechanicsburg

Girl Genius Series, Book 4

By: Phil Foglio, Kaja Foglio

Narrated by: Angela Dawe

Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

In a time when the Industrial Revolution has become an all-out war, mad science rules the world - with mixed success.

In Agatha H and the Siege of Mechanicsburg, Agatha Heterodyne, the last of the Heterodyne family, has returned to her family's hereditary town with the might of the Wulfenbach Empire hot on her heels. The only thing holding off an outright attack is Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, the heir to the Empire, who has joined Agatha and her friends inside the great artificially intelligent fortress of Castle Heterodyne. Now they must race to repair the mechanisms that once allowed the Castle to defend Mechanicsburg, before the rest of Europa shows up to take all the revenge the mad Heterodynes of the past so richly earned.

©2020 Phil & Kaja Foglio (P)2021 Tantor

Better on Audiobook

I am a long time fan of the Girl Genius comic and read this novelization when it was first released. At the time, I was underwhelmed. I got the audiobook version anyway and have to say, I think this book works better as an audiobook than it did in print. The pacing seems to flow better and doesn’t feel as rushed, the narrator does an excellent job, and overall I enjoyed it far more.

Great listen!

A delight

Ok, you know the writing is going to be a blast - this is the fourth book, not to mention the source material and all that the Professors have written before. Footnotes have never been so useful or so fun (well, on par with Terry Pratchett, god rest his soul)! But it’s been so long since the earlier books I’d forgotten what an incredible joy it is to listen to Angela Dawe read them. Though “read them” doesn’t scratch the surface of what she does here. The voices are not simply identifiable and well acted, they are vivid Characters, performed by a master. She’s gone all in, and the marriage of her performance with the excellent material is simply a pleasure.

This book, like the others, is full of over-the-top struggles by believable-in-the-context characters in a fully realized alternative, ok gaslamp, world - though the bad guys (gals) are so bad they would make Darth Vader blush, and the Hero is so over-the-top you have to be a better person than I to wish him well. Really good fun, and very well done.

Fan-tas-tic!

As always, an amazing novel by the Professors Foglio. Can't wait for the next one in the series, as the world is further fleshed out here when compared to the original Girl Genius webcomic! I can't wait to see what insights are provided by the next entry!

Steampunk at its absolute best!

FOOTNOTE - even better than the amazing Girl Genius comics, which is HIGH praise! The "footnote" style allows the writers to indulge in hilarious world-building, while also preventng new readers from getting bogged down or confused by previous events.
Weather you've read every frame of the comic, or are completely unfamiliar, this series is WONDERFUL!

Question

Very enjoyable storyline/storytelling with the foot notes giving more context to the over all story and world mechanics
Can’t wait to enjoy the next text book for this class I am keeping up with the weekly classes by the posted notes on line

Typically joyous Heterodyne romp

Adventure! Romance! Mind control!Biomechanical nightmares! Subterranean mecha-narwhals! And a mischievous, murderous castle. Another joyful, ridiculous tale of the adventures of Agatha Heterodyne from Studio Foglio, extending and deepening the narrative in the eponymous graphic novels, expertly and delightfully narrated by the wonderful Angela Dawe. I'd buy it again on the strength of the narwhals.

Great book - Well adapted from the comic.

I was worried when this audiobook didn't come out at the same time as the hardback. I love this series. I've been a fan of the comic since it first appeared in print, and then became a webcomic. There are slight differences between the comics and the books, but they both have there own charm. The books give you a chance to get a lot of information that just hasn't fit into the comic format. In this book for example, you get the full backstory of a side-character who has not even been given a name in the comic. It really adds depth to the story.

the Foglios have done it again!

I love this series! humorous and fast paced, I missed hearing the jaegermonsters! I hope the next book comes out swiftly

Best Audible I've listened to

While the story was filled with wonderful imagination the narration brought it alive. To anyone who enjoys fantasy and steam punk worlds, this is super.

As great as the beginning first three

Well It didn’t have as many of the Jagers as the first 3 books. It still matches the beginning of the series and continues forward on its zany twists of logic and mad science. It’s a great steam and mad science style series with more mad science than most and the castle is finally seen at the height of it’s power. Hoping for still more of the series!