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badseedgirl's review
4.0
Fiddlehead is the fifth and, according to the author Cherie Priest, final novel in her “Clockwork Century Novels”. Scientist and inventor Gideon Bradley has created the first “Calculating Engine” which he has put to the task of calculating who will win the American Civil War which in this alternate reality has been waging in a virtual stalemate for 20 years. The shocking answer is, the zombies. That’s right, because a drug created in the Washington territories is creating zombies, and this drug is sweeping through the war ravaged lands.
That being said, there are no zombies in this zombie novel. This is a novel about trying to get the warring factions to see that continuing the war will endanger the entire world. Matters are not helped by the fact that there is an evil war monger trying to sell the union an “ultimate weapon”, which is ironically made up of the poison drug in its original gas form.
It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye to this alternate world. Through 6 novels/novellas we saw the Clockwork Century unfold before us, not through a single hero/heroine, but instead through a series of individuals. Each novel highlighted different characters, and the main character of one novel may only be a secondary novel in the next book. This allowed the series to stay fresh.
In Fiddlehead we are reintroduced to Maria “Belle” Boyd, a former confederate spy and now a detective for the Pinkerton Agency out of Chicago. Belle was first introduced in Ms. Priest’s novella Clementine. Maria is easily the most complicated character of the series. Her loyalties by birth are to the South and their slaveholding beliefs, and as a Confederate spy she actively participated in furthering the cause of the south. In this novel we find that Belle left for Chicago not by choice, but because after marrying and Yankee soldier who was ultimately killed in the war, the Southern leaders no longer trust her and her motives and she is forced to accept the job with the Northern detective agency or starve in the South. Her interactions with other characters are a complicated one to say the least. For those who read Clementine, she showed in that novel that her beliefs in slaveholding are minimal but her love for her native land is undeniable.
As is true of most of Cherie Priest’s Clockwork series, the female characters are the most interesting and this is more than true with Fiddlehead. The villain in the novel is none other than Katharine Haymes, who is so evil, if she was able to grow a mustache, would have been twirling it the entire novel while laughing maniacally and petting a hairless cat while sitting in her secret lair. There is no cat, no mustache and no maniacal laughter, but there is a lair.
I will be sorry to see Cherie Priest leaving the Clockwork Century, but if she had to end it, I’m glad she ended it with Fiddlehead.
That being said, there are no zombies in this zombie novel. This is a novel about trying to get the warring factions to see that continuing the war will endanger the entire world. Matters are not helped by the fact that there is an evil war monger trying to sell the union an “ultimate weapon”, which is ironically made up of the poison drug in its original gas form.
It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye to this alternate world. Through 6 novels/novellas we saw the Clockwork Century unfold before us, not through a single hero/heroine, but instead through a series of individuals. Each novel highlighted different characters, and the main character of one novel may only be a secondary novel in the next book. This allowed the series to stay fresh.
In Fiddlehead we are reintroduced to Maria “Belle” Boyd, a former confederate spy and now a detective for the Pinkerton Agency out of Chicago. Belle was first introduced in Ms. Priest’s novella Clementine. Maria is easily the most complicated character of the series. Her loyalties by birth are to the South and their slaveholding beliefs, and as a Confederate spy she actively participated in furthering the cause of the south. In this novel we find that Belle left for Chicago not by choice, but because after marrying and Yankee soldier who was ultimately killed in the war, the Southern leaders no longer trust her and her motives and she is forced to accept the job with the Northern detective agency or starve in the South. Her interactions with other characters are a complicated one to say the least. For those who read Clementine, she showed in that novel that her beliefs in slaveholding are minimal but her love for her native land is undeniable.
As is true of most of Cherie Priest’s Clockwork series, the female characters are the most interesting and this is more than true with Fiddlehead. The villain in the novel is none other than Katharine Haymes, who is so evil, if she was able to grow a mustache, would have been twirling it the entire novel while laughing maniacally and petting a hairless cat while sitting in her secret lair. There is no cat, no mustache and no maniacal laughter, but there is a lair.
I will be sorry to see Cherie Priest leaving the Clockwork Century, but if she had to end it, I’m glad she ended it with Fiddlehead.
abigcoffeedragon's review
3.0
This was a disappointing end to the series - The usage of Mr Lincoln and President Grant was over used and unnecessary in my opinion, and the main characters had a subdued use except for Belle from Clementine and Troost from Ganymede - but even so, the Fiddlehead had little to no actual need in this book, as it was broken from the beginning - not a fan of the ending of this at all - so, I kind of wish that this series would have finished at Ganymede.
markarubin's review
3.0
Definitely the weakest entry in the series, which is a shame if this is in fact the last story of the Clockwork Century. It's possible that I may have enjoyed this more had I read Clementine first, but I haven't. There are too many characters doing not enough interesting things. Why does Belle need a marshall companion if she's so capable? Why doesn't anyone actually do anything besides her? And there wasn't nearly enough of her or her touted detective skills on display. This isn't a bad book and it doesn't diminish the rest of Priest's works, but I've come to expect more from this series.
jacieandbooks's review
5.0
Excellent conclusion! I loved the new characters and the nods to the older characters. All around great wrap up of all the lose ends, while leaving a vague ending.
tacanderson's review
5.0
I bought this book when it first came out almost a year ago and I put off reading it because I didn't want the series to end. I loved these books and this last book was an excellent finish. Highly recommended to anyone who loves steampunk, alt-fiction or even just really good sci-fi.
mzdeb's review
4.0
First of all, I did not realize this was the end of the series; second of all, I did NOT see what the culmination of six books’ worth of zombie hordes would lead up to—I’m almost afraid what to say about how that build-up has culminated here. Granted, you find out all of 40 pages in, but still I was OH HELL NO.
So, the story ends up divided between two areas opposite the Mason-Dixon line: Washington D.C. and Chattanooga down into Atlanta. If you were to film some of the action sequences, they would no doubt be exhilarating; here, the non-stop back and forth dragged it out, IMO. Again, Cherie’s characters are strong (if not annoying; I’m looking at you, angry Gideon Bardsley), although, for the end of a series, you kinda wish you got a finish for each of them (a sort of “where are they now?”). This is true steampunk—not gears and gadgets for gears and gadgets’ sake—and it’s one of my favorite series ever.
So, the story ends up divided between two areas opposite the Mason-Dixon line: Washington D.C. and Chattanooga down into Atlanta. If you were to film some of the action sequences, they would no doubt be exhilarating; here, the non-stop back and forth dragged it out, IMO. Again, Cherie’s characters are strong (if not annoying; I’m looking at you, angry Gideon Bardsley), although, for the end of a series, you kinda wish you got a finish for each of them (a sort of “where are they now?”). This is true steampunk—not gears and gadgets for gears and gadgets’ sake—and it’s one of my favorite series ever.
morepagesplease's review against another edition
Great Conclusion to a good series
I really enjoyed this conclusion to the clockwork century series. I felt that this was a very satisfying read and tied together the series as a while. If you like zombies and steampunk but can't stand gore, this is the series for you.
I really enjoyed this conclusion to the clockwork century series. I felt that this was a very satisfying read and tied together the series as a while. If you like zombies and steampunk but can't stand gore, this is the series for you.
madeyesjojo's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25