What do you think?
Rate this book
Brofman #1
Chenda and the Airship Brofman
When wealth and charm fail, an airship and the gods prevail... Chenda Frost lived as a spectator in her own life until the murder of her recluse war hero husband. Caught in a mystery about her destiny, she boards an airship with Geologist Candice Mortimer for an adventure in the air, across a desert, through a mountain and under the sea. Along the way, she loses everything she's ever known, but gains true friendship and a formidable gift from the gods.
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 29, 2013
Today's post is on 'Chenda and the Airship Brofman' by Emilie P. Bush. It is an independently published by the author. It is 315 pages long. The cover is white with outline of a woman dressed in a steampunky way. There Be Spoilers Ahead.
From the back of the book- When Wealth and Charm Fail... An Airship and the Gods Prevail!
Chanda Frost happily lived as a spectator in her own life until her husband Edison, a recluse war hero, was murdered. Caught in a mystery about her destiny, she boards an airship with Geologist Candice Mortimer for an adventure in the air, across a desert, through a mountain and under the sea. Along the way she loses everything she's ever known but gains true friendship and a formidable gift from the gods.
Review- Okay first things first. Bush is an independent author, I know that some people look down on them. Unfortunately this book does nothing to help indie authors and books. The plot is not bad. Really it is okay but it needs help. The whole book needs help. Bush wants to do something big and great to make her name as an author but as she was writing and (I think) editing this book she did some mistakes. Now I cannot prove this but I do not believe that she had someone edit her book who does not care about how she feels. Now I do not mean in the way 'Oh this is another human being with feelings and a life and so on and so forth'. I mean someone who is willing to tell her where the problems in the book are. The biggest problem in the book is word choice. Normally I would never question an author's right to have anything in their books that they want but in this case I do. The reasons are these. The setting to be a victorian-like steampunk world, so some words would not be in the character's dialog. For example when Chenda has a vision and her husband visits her to help with some plot questions he kisses her. No problem but when the two other main male characters are asking her about this they describe it as 'Yummy sounds.' Just let that sink in. Bush does that very bad word choice happen again and again. Next problem she uses contractions in description paragraphs. Never, ever use contractions in the non-dialog parts of the story. Ever. Next Chenda gets too much power. By that I mean she is a human god by the end of the book. It is plot based but it is just too much and she does nothing for this power. It is her literally god given right. Not good. But I think that again is because Bush is trying to make herself known by doing something too big too soon. Bush is just trying too hard and it shows. I want to like this book but I really cannot. There are too many mistakes. In addition I truly feel that this is a Mary Sue. Everyone loves the heroine. The only people we meet who do not are only on scene for just a moment to try and kill her, fail, and then die for trying. I feel bad about this review, I really do; but if I said anything less or else I would be lying. As always, dear reader, do not take my word for it. Go to amazon or your library and read it for yourself. I may just not be the intended reader or have the needed mindset to enjoy this book.
I give this one star because it really needs help. I get nothing for this review and I bought this book. Sadly.
From the back of the book- When Wealth and Charm Fail... An Airship and the Gods Prevail!
Chanda Frost happily lived as a spectator in her own life until her husband Edison, a recluse war hero, was murdered. Caught in a mystery about her destiny, she boards an airship with Geologist Candice Mortimer for an adventure in the air, across a desert, through a mountain and under the sea. Along the way she loses everything she's ever known but gains true friendship and a formidable gift from the gods.
Review- Okay first things first. Bush is an independent author, I know that some people look down on them. Unfortunately this book does nothing to help indie authors and books. The plot is not bad. Really it is okay but it needs help. The whole book needs help. Bush wants to do something big and great to make her name as an author but as she was writing and (I think) editing this book she did some mistakes. Now I cannot prove this but I do not believe that she had someone edit her book who does not care about how she feels. Now I do not mean in the way 'Oh this is another human being with feelings and a life and so on and so forth'. I mean someone who is willing to tell her where the problems in the book are. The biggest problem in the book is word choice. Normally I would never question an author's right to have anything in their books that they want but in this case I do. The reasons are these. The setting to be a victorian-like steampunk world, so some words would not be in the character's dialog. For example when Chenda has a vision and her husband visits her to help with some plot questions he kisses her. No problem but when the two other main male characters are asking her about this they describe it as 'Yummy sounds.' Just let that sink in. Bush does that very bad word choice happen again and again. Next problem she uses contractions in description paragraphs. Never, ever use contractions in the non-dialog parts of the story. Ever. Next Chenda gets too much power. By that I mean she is a human god by the end of the book. It is plot based but it is just too much and she does nothing for this power. It is her literally god given right. Not good. But I think that again is because Bush is trying to make herself known by doing something too big too soon. Bush is just trying too hard and it shows. I want to like this book but I really cannot. There are too many mistakes. In addition I truly feel that this is a Mary Sue. Everyone loves the heroine. The only people we meet who do not are only on scene for just a moment to try and kill her, fail, and then die for trying. I feel bad about this review, I really do; but if I said anything less or else I would be lying. As always, dear reader, do not take my word for it. Go to amazon or your library and read it for yourself. I may just not be the intended reader or have the needed mindset to enjoy this book.
I give this one star because it really needs help. I get nothing for this review and I bought this book. Sadly.
December 11, 2009
This is the story of Chenda, a pampered young woman suddenly left alone in the world, who embarks on a journey of adventure and self-discovery. First she makes a new friend, a brilliant professor of geology who is able to arrange for the two of them to get passage aboard an airship bound across the sea. On the voyage Chenda acquires two more companions, and begins to find new capabilities within herself. She has been told she has a destiny to fulfill, but as its nature gradually reveals itself, she is more surprised than anyone.
I had high hopes for CHENDA AND THE AIRSHIP BROFMAN when I first heard of it, and I was not disappointed. This was a fast-paced read that I found hard to put down, always eager to find out what would happen to Chenda and her friends next--how they would meet their latest challenge or deal with their newest revelation. In all, I would characterize this as a very satisfying adventure story, mostly a light read but with occasional moments of startling depth and insight. Moreover, it was such a pleasure to spend time with these characters that I was sorry to say good-bye to them when the book ended--hopefully they'll be off on another adventure in the not-too-distant future!
I had high hopes for CHENDA AND THE AIRSHIP BROFMAN when I first heard of it, and I was not disappointed. This was a fast-paced read that I found hard to put down, always eager to find out what would happen to Chenda and her friends next--how they would meet their latest challenge or deal with their newest revelation. In all, I would characterize this as a very satisfying adventure story, mostly a light read but with occasional moments of startling depth and insight. Moreover, it was such a pleasure to spend time with these characters that I was sorry to say good-bye to them when the book ended--hopefully they'll be off on another adventure in the not-too-distant future!
December 23, 2011
This book really drew me in, and I found myself staying up until 1:30 a.m. on several occasions because I just couldn't put it down. Ms. Bush has done an excellent job building a believable world, where the steampunk elements fit seamlessly into the narrative. The back stories for the Republic and Empire, as well as for the characters themselves, lend an air of realism to the story. This book was a really fun adventure from start to finish, and Ms. Bush let us see Chenda's development from a naive, sheltered girl to a strong, confident woman. I've already bought The Gospel According to Verdu and look forward to reading it.
December 23, 2012
This book is such an adventure.And when you start to read it you feel like your right with the crew on there journey. its another book i loved reading. i love to read books that just take me right into there adventures. please keep writting such good books.
February 10, 2011
A fun ride! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, more than I expected. Steampunk, adventure, mystery and a bit of romance.
June 6, 2011
Fantastic! The characters are fleshed out enough that I began to care for them while the story kept things moving. Reminds me of The Golden Compass in a way but better.
October 17, 2014
Well... This one rates a resounding "Meh", I'm afraid. It started out well, but then everything went wrong. The writing is not great, the plot is a bit of a caricature, there's a lot of not-so(interesting stuff about "finding who you are" and everything (not that it's not an important topic in general, but I suppose it can always be done better than by having characters say "I need to figure out who I am" every other page), some rather horrendous stuff about the white protagonist going into a caricaturally savage and brutal Eastern empire White-saviour fashion (okay, I know that ), and I struggled to get to the end.
Which is too bad, because there was a kind of endearing enthusiasm to the whole, both writing and characters. Plenty more steampunk in the sea...
Which is too bad, because there was a kind of endearing enthusiasm to the whole, both writing and characters. Plenty more steampunk in the sea...
November 5, 2011
Too much romance and not enough substance. A good premise but seems a bit like a YA novel. A bit simplistic.
I have downloaded the book on both my PC and Laptop, but these are difficult to read propped up in my favorite chair. I hesitate to buy yet another gadget relying on the availability of electricity and batteries. I like the feel and smell of a book. I like reading in the bathtub, where I have occassionally dropped a book. I like my dogeared pages, underlining favorite passages, and lending/giving favorite books to friends. I like decorating with books, browsing the shelves at a friend's house, and watching a child discover the magic of words in a favorite story book. A thousand years from now, what artifacts will remain to disclose our civilization if it exists only in excited electrons?
I have downloaded the book on both my PC and Laptop, but these are difficult to read propped up in my favorite chair. I hesitate to buy yet another gadget relying on the availability of electricity and batteries. I like the feel and smell of a book. I like reading in the bathtub, where I have occassionally dropped a book. I like my dogeared pages, underlining favorite passages, and lending/giving favorite books to friends. I like decorating with books, browsing the shelves at a friend's house, and watching a child discover the magic of words in a favorite story book. A thousand years from now, what artifacts will remain to disclose our civilization if it exists only in excited electrons?
July 26, 2014
Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
October 4, 2011
I believe I would have rated this higher if I were a fan of romance novels, and so would highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of that genre. It moves along at a good pace, and the writing is enjoyable. I'll be reading the sequel "The Gospel According to Verdu".
October 27, 2013
I really liked this book. It was pure fun, nothing too serious, but also not annoying :) Only thing I wasn't so keen on was the mysticism, I prefer my steampunk more sciency, but all in all very enjoyable.
February 23, 2012
I really enjoyed this book! The end felt a bit rushed, though, and, while I know there's another book, there didn't seem to be any closure to this one.
May 21, 2012
Meh. In my opinion, mostly served to lend credence to self-publishing's poor reputation.
November 19, 2012
Even though it needs som general editing, the story kept me engaged, and I look forward to reading the second volume.
January 14, 2015
Loved it. I love the steampunk genre and this was an excellent example. It kept me wanting more. A fun read.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews