Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

Being a relative newcomer to the genre, I was delighted to be able to read such an engaging story. Castle in the Stars: The Space Race of 1869 follows Séraphin and his father as they travel to a castle in Germany to retrieve the journal of Séraphin’s mother. And possibly find out her fate. You see, she was traveling in a hot air balloon in search of Aether, a substance needed for air travel – but hard to come, when disaster struck and she was never seen again. Only her logbook has surfaced. As expected, the journey of father and son is not without its troubles. It was an enjoyable read.

The illustrations are captivating and certainly captured the essence of what the author was trying to portray (at least I think so).

This novel brought in the past and the future with a flavor of steampunk all in one story. As Séraphin races to get the balloon functional while at the castle, the reader is introduced to a number of engaging characters, whom I hope are in any future books, as they added some depth and humor into the story.

Castle in the Stars: The Space Race of 1869 was translated originally from French into English. I found this translation seamless, which makes me happy as at times one can lose the essence of a story that is translated – but not in this case.

The story left enough for this reader to look forward to the second book in the series.

This is a stunning graphic novel with an alternate history and a unique take on the space race. With some real aspects of Germany paired with a scientific substance, aether, this is a story that anyone can hooked into.

While I was reading Castle in the Stars: The Space Race of 1869 I couldn't help but think that this series would be the perfect inspiration for an anime series. I suspect that might have been what author and artist Alex Alice may have been going for when he created the book. Castle in the Stars blends an alternative history with steampunk influences and a gorgeous art style with subtle Japanese influences to create a captivating story. (If you want to see for yourself, you can check out an excerpt over on Tor.com.)

Set in Germany in a past fueled by aeronautic exploration, Castle in the Stars follows a young boy named Seraphin who along with his father find themselves in the service of a mysterious, brooding Bavarian prince. Seraphin's mother died in her pursuit of a substance called aether which could hold the future of not just flight but potentially travel among the stars. Along the way he meets some new friends and realizes his own potential while helping his father in service to the prince. But things aren't always so simple and Seraphin, his father, and his friends quickly find themselves wrapped up in court intrigue and espionage at the start of Otto von Bismarck's move to unify Germany.

It's an incredibly unique story set in a time and place that offer up an abundance of storytelling potential. Alex Alice does a great job of setting the historical stage as well as showing it all through the eyes of young Seraphin and his friends, Sophie and Hans. The author also expertly builds up his steampunk world and makes it feel believable while still maintaining the reader's sense of wonder. 

My biggest complaint is that the book ends too soon. I'm being up front about this because I think it will be most people's biggest complaint. The first volume is great but it's only 64 pages long and the later volumes aren't any longer. It doesn't help that this first volume ends on a very abrupt cliffhanger. Personally, I'd have almost preferred for them to collect the volumes into one, larger release.

Over all, though, I really enjoyed Castle in the Stars: The Space Race of 1869.

It just a really fun story with a unique setting and a loveable cast of characters. Sophie was an absolute joy and I loved seeing her not just included but bucking expectations of young ladies at the time. And Hans was the perfect comedic foil to the rest of the story. When you're dealing with spies and potentially deadly situations sometimes all you need is a goofy boy and his dog.

Castle in the Stars: The Space Race of 1869 is an incredibly fun read with gorgeous artwork and an engaging story. Anime and manga fans especially are going to enjoy this book and I suspect they'll see some Japanese influence not just in the artwork but the story as well. I highly recommend it - as long as you don't mind a seriously jarring cliffhanger ending. 

A REVIEW COPY WAS PROVIDED FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS REVIEW

Excellent piece of steampunk for the 8-12 age range! Set in an alternate version of 1869's German Empire this is an exciting story of spies, air flight and derring-do. We are given a brief synopsis of the German states at the time, specifically Bavaria, Prussia, Austria and Germany, so as to understand the political espionage going on. Three children find there is a Prussian spy amongst the Bavarian court and the "Knights of Aether" are trying to lure him out. Meanwhile, a great ship is being constructed for the Bavarian king to find the invisible land of Aether. And that's just a brief summary of the intricate plot! I loved all the main character, two boys and a girl. And the secondary ones also: the villain and the father. Well written, I totally enjoyed the book and look forward to the sequel. The art, on the other hand, was not the greatest for me. Sketchy watercolours were hidden and hard to see with the plethora of speech bubbles crowding most frames.

A mother balloons up to the edge of atmosphere to see if Aether exists. A year later the husband, engineer Archibald Dulac and his son Seraphin are sent a ticket to Bavaria where King Ludwig has found the logbook Claire Dulac had returned to the ground. Thing do not go easy since the Prussians are after them and the Bavarian plans for Aether powered airships. Plenty of intrigue and skulking about leading to the final confrontation. Will the King Ludwig get his swan-shaped airship launched or will the Prussians place their jack-boots on everyone's necks? Read and find out!

If you're big on atmosphere, this is the graphic novel for you. Especially if you're also a fan of steampunk. The art style is fantastic, soft and incredibly detailed. Adding to the appeal is the highly innovative plot. It's a tad on the wordy side, relying heavily on narration even more than dialogue. With a little patience, though, it's a delight.

Beautiful water-color style artwork blended with action, adventure, history, and science. Is aether real? What if it was?! The story keeps building to the end, which leaves the reader wanting the next installment right away.

Castle in the Stars: The Space Race of 1869 #1 is the beginning of an epic tale. It's a searching for the impossible, full of hopes and dreams and sorrow. It's a young boy missing his mother and willing to journey as close as he can to her.

Seraphin is a smart, lonely boy dreaming of the impossible. Of one day flying through the sky using aether, of continuing the work of his mother before her disappearance. His father is a practical man. He holds no illusions as to the fate of his late wife, but Seraphin still dreams. When the letter arrives, speaking of his mother's logbook, Seraphin knows they have to go. And so he and his father end up on an unexpected journey to a Bavarian castle full of secrets and wonder.

The art is wonderfully detailed. The delicate lines that make up the characters' faces, the buildings and castles. The blueprint of the aethership. And the landscapes, the train station and the castle's surrounding trees and mountains, look more like watercolour paintings. The beautiful artwork serves to enhance an already captivating story.

This is the start of something epic and wondrous. A journey through the skies, hopefully up into the stars. The practically and reasoning of science and real life colliding with the magical nature that is aether. I would certainly recommend this to kids interested in epic stories of science, impossibility, and steampunk-esque sensibilities.

Castle in the Stars: The Space Race of 1869 by Alex Alice is a graphic novel currently scheduled for release on September 12 2017. It was originally published in 2014 in French. In search of the mysterious element known as aether, Claire Dulac flew her hot air balloon toward the edge of our stratosphere—and never returned. Her husband, genius engineer Archibald Dulac, is certain that she is forever lost. Her son, Seraphin, still holds out hope. One year after her disappearance, Seraphin and his father are delivered a tantalizing clue: a letter from an unknown sender who claims to have Claire’s lost logbook. The letter summons them to a Bavarian castle, where an ambitious young king dreams of flying the skies in a ship powered by aether. But within the castle walls, danger lurks—there are those who would stop at nothing to conquer the stars.

Castle in the Stars: The Space Race of 1869 is a graphic novel that caught my attention first with the water color style artwork, and then kept my attention with the steam punk or alternative history style story. It manages to have the feel of a children's story, while still being entirely appealing to teens and adults as well. This historical fantasy includes a coming of age story with challenging family dynamics and the adventure of travelling to space via the aether in 1869 rather than our technology in 1969. The artwork is simply beautiful, and worth exploring even without the story. Readers that get bogged down in text or history rich stories might struggle a bit with this read, however I think the artwork and adventure of the story balances that out nicely. My only complaint is one that is common in many books, that it seemed to end at the more interesting point, and I was left wanting so much more.

Castle in the Stars: The Space Race of 1869 is a graphic novel that I can recommend to children through adults. I am very glad that this was translated into English so that I could enjoy it.

History that invites you into the action and engages the reader in a way that promotes not only literacy but stimulating curiousity for learning about the larger world.

His mother is an adventurer and she takes off in her air balloon in search of aether. She finds it but she loses her life...

First Second Books and Net Galley allowed me to read this graphic novel for review (thank you). It will be published September 15th.

He and his father are deeply saddened and move on with their lives but it's not the same. They are still working with hot air balloons. When someone asks them to meet them in another location to get the wife's logbook, they go. Then they find out the Prussians are after them!

Escaping takes a lot of work but escape they do. Then they go to the Prince's castle. He's also interested in hot air balloons and gives them an assignment. They recognize one of the Prussians who tried to detain them as a member of the household but they can't accuse him. There's no proof. They do create false architectural designs to throw him off. Soon there's mutiny in the castle and the only way to get away is on the air balloon...

This is first book in the series and it's entertaining. I'll be watching for the next novel.

Seraphin is a young boy who loses his brilliant scientist mother, Claire Dulac, on her aether-seeking expedition. He's being raised by his genius engineer father, Archibald, when the summons comes from the Bavarian king: he's building a ship and he wants it powered by aether. Seraphin and his father narrowly duck a kidnapping attempt at the train station, arriving in Bavaria to discover a king who secludes himself from his people, consumed by his obsession, and betrayal within the castle walls.

This first volume of Castle in the Stars spends time setting up the story and developing characters. It's nice to see both parental figures involved, with a female character every bit as intelligent and accomplished as the male character. The art has a touch of manga inspiration, particularly with the character, Hans, who's drawn to communicate his mischievous side. There's a Jules Verne feel to the story; intrigue mixes with the race to explore the unknown, and with Seraphin's heartfelt belief that his mother is still alive, we have a bit of mystery thrown in.

Beautifully illustrated, and a fun book for steampunk and aviation fans. Castle in the Stars was first published in French in 2016.

What an amazing book! I thought the cover looked interesting when I started to read this, but did not realize the extent of the story in this gorgeous graphic novel. In parts, steampunk, historical fiction and beautifully illustrated graphic novel. The beginning was interesting and I thought it would be a pleasant graphic novel to read. As I read the book though, I was greatly surprised to find myself immersed in the story and the German and Bavarian history. I do admit that for a graphic novel there is a lot of reading and dialogue, but also enough action. The basic story...Seraphin’s mother goes missing on a hot air balloon mission looking for “aether.” A year later, Seraphin and his father get a message regarding his mother’s logbook and they leave in search of the logbook and information about his mother’s possible fate. On the way to Bavaria from France, they are almost kidnapped by Prussians and their adventure starts. This is a quicker read as the book is only 60 pages or so, but it does end with a cliffhanger. I for one cannot wait to read the next installment and would highly recommend it.

This book was lovely. It was so beautifully illustrated, and it carried a message and a tone of mystery, magic, and adventure that I see more in film than in graphic novels--it was wonderful to see it on the page.

I would absolutely adopt this text for my classroom. I think that it would make a wonderful long-term text: we would work together through concepts and vocabulary terms, and there are countless mini projects we could do leading up to a major graphic novelization project. I think this would be an amazing text to carry any visual arts class through a graphic novel unit.

A motherless boy. An accidental journey. An isolated king with a hobby others don't understand. All of these elements have played a part in other stories, but they combine to form the basis of Castle in the Stars.

Seraphin's mother, Claire, was determined to uncover the secret of aether. She went aloft in a balloon an incredible 11,000 meters into the atmosphere, but never returned. Now a year has passed, and her logbook has been found by none other than King Ludwig of Bavaria, who is also interested in the possibilities of aether. Before they even reach Bavaria Seraphin and his father realize there is some sort of plot going on. As the story unfolds the reader learns that someone plans to sabotage the king, his experiments, or both.

The book is done in gorgeous watercolor illustrations with the feel of a Jules Verne adventure. The setting is obviously our world in 1869, but an alternate history with a bit of steampunk vibe. The characters are easy to distinguish by their appearance and their personalities. Seraphin is a fair-haired young boy, idealistic, and still devoted to his mother. His father is a balding, austere engineer who is a strict taskmaster. And the individuals they meet in Bavaria are either loyal to the king or plotting against him, but it takes time to figure out whose side everyone is on.

The action is full of dangerous balloon ascents, explosions, chases, near escapes, and humorous accidents. And the ending will leave everyone eagerly waiting the next volume to see what happens next.

If you enjoy steampunk, alternate history, or adventures like the writings of Jules Verne, then you need to pick up a copy of Castle in the Stars.

The artwork was gorgeous but the story ended up being kinda so-so. The premise was interesting enough but occasionally the story felt a little convoluted. The characters could've used a little more rounding out to help give them a bit more personality and individuality (I'm guessing that might come later but it's just a shame that most of these characters seemed a bit bland to me). I wouldn't mind seeing more of the series to find out what happens next; hopefully the story ends up feeling a little more solid than this first comic did.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Castle in the Stars: The Space Race of 1869 is a beautifully drawn graphic steampunk tale by author/illustrator Alex Alice, whose artwork alone makes the book worth picking up for a middle-grade reader (or relatively advanced younger reader). Luckily, the narrative/text half (translated from the original French by Anne and Owen Smith) has its own charm and strengths, even if it doesn’t quite match the quality of the illustrations.

The tale opens in 1868 with a young woman (Claire) preparing, to the inspiration of her young son (Seraphin) and the dismay of her worried husband (Archibald), to head aloft in a hydrogen-filled balloon to unprecedented heights in order to prove the existence of aether in hopes of turning it to an energy supply.

Unfortunately, the mission doesn’t fully succeed and our intrepid scientist/explorer is lost to her family. The tale then picks up a year later when a mysterious letter arrives announcing that its sender has found Claire’s logbook and asking Archibald to come to Bavaria to retrieve it. Thanks to the letter, young Seraphin (and his father albeit to a less active measure) gets caught up in the tense standoff between Prussia, led by Bismarck, and Bavaria, led by “Mad” King Ludwig. Which means he also gets mixed up with spies, kidnappings, attempted coups, and the construction of an aether-driven ship meant to reach the stars. He’s joined in the action by a pair of Ludwig’s servants: Hans and Sophie.

As mentioned, the artwork in Castle in the Stars is just lovely. The human figures are drawn with an attention to detail (save, oddly, for Hans) that I rarely see in graphics, with vivid, expressive faces. As well as some beautiful ones—when a character remarks that another must be “the most beautiful woman in the world,” the illustration supports the text fully. Landscapes and urbanscapes are similarly well done, whether it be soaring castles or a background of frozen mountains. My only complain about the art actually comes out of recognition of how good it is: each page is made up of a lot of panels and I really was longing for some larger use of the page — a full spread, a half page or quarter page illustration — so as to get a more full impact of the beautiful visuals. The same holds true with the number of speech bubbles; again I found myself wishing for a few panels devoid of speech so the visual could stand out all the more.

The narrative is solid. The beginning has a nice slow build, while the middle section is mostly well paced. One starts to feel though like things are starting to get a little rushed, a feeling that becomes more fully sensed in the last third of the book, which feels like it packs a bit too much action into too few pages. There are a few moments where the exposition feels a bit clunky or dense, especially in the discussion of the geo-politics, which is mainly why I thought it best suited for middle graders or more advanced younger readers. The dialog on the other hand is fluidly handled throughout. The characters are engaging if not greatly developed or detailed. One big plus is the portrayal of the women. We see three female characters, each portrayed as strong and smart but in their own fashion. Nicely done and some day soon perhaps I can review a book without noting how nice such characterization is to see.

Castle in the Stars ends with a bang and on a cliffhanger that leads into the promised next installment: Castle in the Stars: The Moon-King, a story that is teased by yet another beautiful piece of illustration (one that takes up half the page and lacks speech bubbles). My hope for that follow-up would be that it slows down a bit to let the story develop a little more, and that Alex Alice treat us to more expansive example of her beautiful drawings. Strongly recommended (4.5).

Short but exciting. I can't wait for the next installment!

Wonderful! This graphic novel is gorgeous! I only read a PDF version of it and can only imagine what the print version would looks like. Not only are the graphics stunning, but the story is interesting as well. It's set in 1868 Germanic regions: Bavaria and Prussia, is centered around aether/space travel, and has a very steampunk feel to it. It even ends on a cliff hanger that leaves you begging for more. (Frustrating, but not a bad thing.) I look forward to reading the next book.