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| The Cabinet of Wonders: The Kronos Chronicles: Book I (The Kronos Chronicles) | 
 enlarge | Author: Marie Rutkoski
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $7.08
You Save: $9.87 (58%)
New (42) Used (15) from $6.55
Avg. Customer Rating:  24 reviews
Sales Rank: 39760
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.9 x 1
ISBN: 0374310262
EAN: 9780374310264
ASIN: 0374310262
Publication Date: August 5, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Petra Kronos has a simple, happy life. But it’s never been ordinary. She has a pet tin spider named Astrophil who likes to hide in her snarled hair and give her advice. Her best friend can trap lightning inside a glass sphere. Petra also has a father in faraway Prague who is able to move metal with his mind. He has been commissioned by the prince of Bohemia to build the world’s finest astronomical clock. Petra’s life is forever changed when, one day, her father returns home – blind. The prince has stolen his eyes, enchanted them, and now wears them. But why? Petra doesn’t know, but she knows this: she will go to Prague, sneak into Salamander Castle, and steal her father’s eyes back. Joining forces with Neel, whose fingers extend into invisible ghosts that pick locks and pockets, Petra finds that many people in the castle are not what they seem, and that her father’s clock has powers capable of destroying their world. This startling debut novel, about the risks we take to protect those we love, brims with magic, political intrigue, and heroism.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 19 more reviews...
Don't know why I waited so long to start reading... November 20, 2008
I've had this book a month or more, and never quite got around to reading it until last week. I was afraid it would be too similar to The Golden Compass or The Chronicles of Narnia, but it was neither. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. For me, it was one of those books that you can read and actually picture the story unfolding like a movie in your mind. The story is of a young girl, Petra, whose artisan father is used and then maimed by the prince. She feels that she must travel to the castle to avenge her father. Petra begins her journey with the company of her pet spider, one of the many mechanical toys created by her father before he was injured. Along the way, she meets a young pickpocket who quickly becomes her friend and ally, and helps her with her mission. The story ends very nicely...it doesn't leave you hanging like so many series books. Even though the book is targeted to 9-12 year olds, I enjoyed it as an adult.
 Mind Over Metal October 24, 2008
THE CABINET OF WONDERS is the first book in what appears to be a projected series called THE KRONOS CHRONICLES. As Marie Rutkoski's freshman effort, THE CABINET OF WONDERS bodes well for the later volumes: the writing is fresh and natural, and the story holds the reader's interest.
The story is set in Renaissance Bohemia, much of it taking place in Prague. The plot centers about a twelve-year old girl's mission to retrieve her father's eyes, which were stolen from him by the ruler, Prince Rodolfo. The girl, Petra, is assisted in her quest by a village friend, Tomik Stakan, a gypsy boy named Neel, and a robot spider called Astrophil. Astrophil was one of many robots created by Petra's father, a famous inventor named Mikal Kronos. Master Kronos was invited by Prince Rodolfo to build a clock for Prague; before its completion the Prince had Kronos's eyes removed so that he could not build another one. Using Kronos's eyes, the Prince himself hoped to finish the clock which, completed correctly, had the secret capability to control the weather.
Magic permeates the book; many of the characters seem to have or be developing some kind of magical skills. Master Kronos, for instance, is able to move metal with his mind, which is how he built his mechanical pets and the fabulous clock. Aside from being a plot device, the magic helps lighten what otherwise could be a rather grim tale.
Although written in an intelligent and literary manner, with attempts to sensitively introduce cultural history, particularly with respect to the gypsies (Roma), the book at first suffers from a rather leaden story line. There isn't a lot of tension or anticipation built in the first half of the story. Fortunately, the author hits her stride in the second half, and there is a much more enjoyably pronounced sense of dread and excitement in the near final chapters.
My nine-year old daughter enjoyed the book very much and thought, with its magic, it might appeal to the Harry Potter fans. It certainly falls within the fantasy genre, and young fans of that sort of story would very likely have fun reading this book.
Great new series for kids October 23, 2008
I picked up this book because I was looking for another series to keep my kids engaged. They are ardent readers of fantasy novels and this one seemed to be right up their alley. I was extremely pleased with the book and thrilled with the response from the kids.
In this book, Rutkoski combines the historical, the magical, and the emotional for a touching and engaging book about a girl and her father. The characters are well developed. The story line is complex without tackling too much, and there is not the typical disconnect between worlds that is often found in childrens literature. Although there are a few minor instances in the book where descriptions seem recycled or typical for the genre, the use of real places and cultures helps to bring a feeling of possibility. This feeling only increases the magic Rutkoski builds.
After reading it, I handed it to my 13 year old girl, who passed it along to her 12 year old brother. Upon reading it, both of them asked for book 2. I call that a winning endorsement.
This book is appropriate for all ages, but sensitive readers might be dismayed by mild violence including intentional injury to other persons.
Three Cheers! A startling, fantastic debut fantasy novel! October 4, 2008
The Cabinet of Wonders is an amazing debut novel!
It's been a while since I was so captivated by a fantasy book that wasn't all "myths and monsters", (if you will).
Petra is a spunky 12-year-old girl who lives with her father, Aunt Dita annoying cousin David, and various magical, mechanical tin pets. Her favorite is a bookish tin spider known as Astrophil, who likes to hide under her tangled brown hair. Her father is off in faraway Prague because he has been commissioned to build the world's finest and most beautiful clock. (One that actually has powers that can be very dangerous in the wrong hands!)
As of this point in the story, her beloved father has been gone for six months, and is due to return anytime.
When he does return, we learn that the prince has removed his eyes(which is described very discreetly), magicked them and WEARS them. But why?
Petra is determined to find out, and at the same time, to get them back for her father. She decides to go to Prague, sneak into the castle, and steal back her father's eyes. However, no one is the castle is what they seem, and fewer can be trusted!
The story reads a little like an old-fashioned folk tale and a little like a strange fairy tale.
The characters and plot are what drive it forward. From Petra's best friend who can trap lightning in small, glass marbles, to Neel, the thieving gypsy boy she befriends to Astrophil, (probably the most wonderful and fun to read spider since Charlotte from Charlotte's Web), to Iris, of the Dye Works.
I'm glad this is the beginning of a series. Even though the story wraps up nicely in the end, I wanted to know more about Petra and Astrophil and her father.
I will be eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.
The horseshoe makes it's own luck (4 1/2 stars) September 22, 2008
When Petra's father, Mikal, returns from six months in Prague working for the prince, it's not quite the homecomming she had imagined. He'd just finished building a remarkable clock for Prince Rodolfo, when the prince had his eyes removed, which he kept for himself. Petra may be only 12 years old, but she determines to go and steal the eyes back, leaving without much of a plan but taking her pet tin spider, Astrophil, who was made by her father. Once in Prague she quickly befriends a young Roma (Gypsy) boy, Neel, who helps her get a job in the castle. She also learns that her father didn't finish one part of the amazing clock, a part which would allow the Prince to control the weather, a part which must be destroyed. By a stroke of luck she lands a job in the Dye Works working for Iris, the feared woman who drips acid from her skin, but it gives her access to some parts of the castle. But she'll need more than just luck to get past the guards and other obstacles between her and her father's eyes.
I was quite surprised by this charming little book. Initially, I thought the story started rather slow, and the magic was confusing - not your ordinary wizards and spells we've all come to expect since Harry Potter. My 9 year old daughter had the same complaints, and almost quit reading. But before long Ms. Rutkoski casts her own spell that hooks the reader with something better than magic: Petra herself. She's a stubborn and independent little girl, but fiercely faithful and devoted to her father and friends, and you can't help falling for her and her impossible quest. Add in some other totally charming characters: her friend Tomik who helps her sneak away, Neel the Gypsy boy, and especially Astrophil the brainy little metal spider, and the story quickly sucks you in.
I really enjoyed reading this little book. It's not too long and stays on a level that the younger kids will enjoy. I also liked the way she worked a lot of real history into the story, and the way she portrayed the Gypsies. I look forward to the continuation of the series.
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