Dystopian Fiction Books Everyone Should Read: Explore The Darker Side of Possible Worlds and Alternative Futures At its considerable heart, The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudsley is a novel that examines, with great empathy and understanding what it means to be connected, not in a charming send a Christmas card once a year kind of way, but in an everything on the line fashion. When his father, Abel, has no choice but to travel to the enigma of a place far away, Constantinople, Zachary cannot help but worry and feel troubled for he can sense betrayal, anger, danger and fear that await his father, hidden amongst the city’s bazaars, palaces and mosques. Abel has no say and no choice, he must leave London and his beloved Zachary. Soon, much treasured and anticipated letters cease to arrive and whispers reach Zachary that his father has gone missing within the city. I cannot believe I am telling you of it now, but to convince you that Zachary is remarkable, gifted in ways even the child himself cannot perceive.’ A beautifully crafted historical mystery that will take the reader from 18th century London, across Europe and, finally, to the bustling city of Constantinople.

Growing up amongst the cogs and springs of his father's workshop, Zachary is intensely curious, ferociously intelligent, unwittingly funny and always honest - perhaps too honest. But when a fateful accident leaves six-year-old Zachary nearly blinded, Abel is convinced that the safest place for his son is in the care of his eccentric Aunt Frances and her menagerie of weird and wonderful animals. And so the makers of automata found themselves urged to make ever more human androids, leading to Von Kempelen’s chess playing automaton, ‘The Turk,’ seemingly able to think through the complexities of a chess game and play the world’s grand masters. That this automaton turned out to be a fraud is perhaps less surprising than that for almost 80 years many of the world’s cleverest people believed in its remarkable abilities. Why did they do so? The answer, I think, is because they wanted to believe that an automaton was capable of rivalling, even exceeding human intelligence.A beautifully crafted historical mystery that will take the reader from 18th century London, across Europe and, finally, to the bustling city of Constantinople." also isn't entirely accurate because Constantinople again plays a fairly minor role in the grand scheme of the book. It's not finally ends in Constantinople, mystery solved and the story wraps up. That's almost a mid point and after they return to England. I would say the book spends more time discussing Mrs Morley on Lundey than in Constantinople.

Zachary is a gifted, brilliant little boy, the kind of child who will read anything he can find and probably remember most of it. The publicity for the story reveals that Zachary later loses the sight in one eye and develops a kind of clairvoyance, although he never seems quite certain what is true or not. All manner of adventures ensue, including spying on the sultan, infiltrating the harem, and forming helpful alliances against terrifying opponents. The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudsley, a lushly involving, resonant historical mystery with modern relevance and sensibility, sings the joys of loving so completely, regardless of how threatening or challenging life may be, that every moment feels epic even in its mundanity, every connection vibrantly necessary and every threat to those bonds a time to see how far you will go to save and uphold them. When a life-changing accident happens to Zachary, Abel blames himself but, it leaves Zachary with yet another gift, one where he can see the future. To protect his son Abel makes a bad choice that is jumped upon by someone in high government and puts Abel in a terrible position. The particular delight of Sean Lusk’s The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudsley is that it manages to be all those things in one captivatingly alive book, marrying many of the staples of life such as great grief, loss, joy and first love with a story that’s thrillingly expansive and rich with intrigue and set in mid-eighteenth century London, Europe and the glitteringly exotic climes of Ottoman-era Constantinople.Abel is away in the workshop much of the day, nd Frances begins to think it might not be so difficult to persuade him that it will be best for Zachary to come home with her to Tring. If needs be Mrs Morley and her noisy daughter with her spotty face and bilious inclination can come too.” (P. 49)