There's a lot to love in this not-quite-steampunk novel. Jani is a delightful heroine, whip-smart and wise beyond her years, torn as she is between India and England in the days of the British Raj. The other POV characters are also a lot of fun, even if some of them border on caricature at times.

I do wish that the traipse through the subcontinent were more drawn out, even as the high speed of the mechanical transportation is a plot point as well as a part of the worldbuilding. The pacing, plus the relative lack of character development and the plentiful moments of Deus Ex Machina, mark this as standard modern YA, though little else is "standard". I'd also have expected an author with as many novels under his belt as Eric Brown to come up with slightly more complex and varied language. There's a moment when Jani "smiles through her tears", and a few sentences later... "she smiles through her tears." To be fair, it's possible that some of this has been changed for the final publication.

This is the first book in a series, and its conclusion is only somewhat satisfying because a few too many things are left open. But I definitely plan to read the sequel!