A land rife with magic and political intrigue, Renaissance-era Bohemia is the setting for The Cabinet of Wonders. Able to mould and manipulate metal into animate objects, Mikal Kronos is famed for the metallic pets that he concocts using only the power of his mystical silver eyes.
Hearing of Mikal’s extraordinary talent, Prince Rodolfo, the young ruler of Bohemia, commissions the metallurgist to build him a clock, this being the preface to his more sinister ambitions. As jealousy stirs within the confines of Prince Rodolfo’s Salamander Castle, Mikal Kronos is swiftly sent home before completing the magical clock, and without his famous silver eyes.
The Cabinet of Wonders follows Mikal’s daughter Petra as she sets out for Prague with only Astrophil – her insomniac tin spider – and a couple of magical marbles to keep her company along the way. Spurred by her fierce need to avenge the violent crime that befell her father, Petra will stop at nothing to steal her father’s eyes back and bring them home.
Blurring historical fact with fantasy, first-time author Marie Rutkoski has successfully managed to create a fantastical realm where animate tin spiders interact with alchemists and plucky 12 year old girls alike. Based on the legend surrounding the famous astronomical clock in Prague’s Old Town Square, The Cabinet of Wonders will leave readers of all ages enchanted and most certainly gasping for more.

By Marie Rutkoski
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 258 pages, $16.95

-Courtesy of Raya Jalabi