Uncrashable Dakota by Andy Marino

     I had the privilege of getting my hands on an advance reader's copy (ARC) of Uncrashable Dakota by Andy Marino (author of Unison Spark) thanks to my husband who picked it up at ALA in Chicago recently. The book is to be released November 12, 2013 and I urge any steampunk, historical fiction or Titanic fan to get out there and wrap their minds around this story upon its release.

     Uncrashable Dakota takes place post-Civil War along the East coast of the United States. Hollis Dakota, the main character, is grandson to the founder of Dakota Aeronautics, Samuel Dakota. Samuel discovered the secret of flight in moonshine, dirt and beetles. Having consumed the moonshine/dirt mixture, the beetles would literally inflate with a pungent gas capable of lifting whatever surface they happened to be on whether Abraham Lincoln's hat, a tree, a couch or an airship. The Civil War ended in favor of the Union much sooner than it would have had flight not been a variable exclusive to the Union. After the war, Samuel continued experimenting and tweaking formulas in solitude to create a ship to take him to the heavens. He disappeared soon after completion of his last ship.

     Hollis' father and son to Samuel, husband to Lucy Dakota, died in a tragic accident during construction of an airship owned by Dakota Aeronautics and Hollis' step-father, Jefferson Castor stepped in to help Lucy run the company and get the first "uncrashable" airship flying and safely across the ocean to Europe.

     The details and planning were impeccable. Nothing could possibly go wrong - unless not everyone aboard the ship had the same intention of travelling to Europe peacefully.

     Hollis, his stepbrother Rob and friends Delia, Maggie and Chester find themselves exploring all nooks and crannies of each passenger class, hold, kitchen and navigational areas of importance. They know something is not quite right and their friendships are tested throughout the book.

Author Andy Marino

     The book, partly inspired by Walter Lord's A Night To Remember (the classic Titanic tale), plays on the theme of an uncrashable/unsinkable ship that meets unexpected circumstances mid-voyage. It also reminded me just a bit of R.L. Stevenson's Treasure Island in the way that not all people aboard are just going to Europe or running an honest route but rather have an agenda of their own and plan to take hold of the ship.

     I can hardly stop typing. I'd love to spoil a little more for my readers, but the beauty of the story comes in the last half of the book when things that were once peculiar begin to make sense as history is taken into account. The way Marino inserts a chapter here and there to tell the tale of Samuel Dakota and the founding of Dakota Aeronautics brings light to the "modern" day tale of Hollis and what began as his father's uncrashable ship.

     This story will have you cringing at odors, flinching at action and cheering for characters who steal your heart. Marino's literary zest will enthrall your senses and engage your imagination from beginning to end.

Pre-Order Uncrashable Dakota as hardcover or for your kindle.