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nation's review against another edition
1.0
Lake has, I'll admit, created a wonderfully interesting world, and oftentimes interesting worlds are at the heart of the fantasy/adventure genre. I want to explore it. But not like this.
What Lake seems frustratingly, maddeningly incapable of here is providing us with any reason to care about the people and situations occurring in his interesting world. I don't care if the Mainspring is rewound. I don't care if Hethor dies in the attempt. I don't care if his enemies thwart him, because I have as little reason to dislike them as I have to like Hethor. I don't care about the Chosen People, other than to be mildly repulsed by the seemingly casual racism with which they are portrayed**. I just don't care.
This book was too disappointing too many times. Its premises hit me on a lot of levels: Victoriana, airships, and steampunk? Check. Divides of power along hemispherical lines (otherwise known as imperialism)? Check. Religious/spiritual/magical schisms? God's language? Angels? Checkity check check. I'm even an amateur watch collector for chrissakes. If Lake can't get me into this book, I don't see how anybody could enjoy it.
**Tiny black apes who play drums and make big fires and teach our White scion invaluable lessons about spirituality and love while still regarding him as the leader of their life's quest? Come on. That's pretty repulsive.
What Lake seems frustratingly, maddeningly incapable of here is providing us with any reason to care about the people and situations occurring in his interesting world. I don't care if the Mainspring is rewound. I don't care if Hethor dies in the attempt. I don't care if his enemies thwart him, because I have as little reason to dislike them as I have to like Hethor. I don't care about the Chosen People, other than to be mildly repulsed by the seemingly casual racism with which they are portrayed**. I just don't care.
This book was too disappointing too many times. Its premises hit me on a lot of levels: Victoriana, airships, and steampunk? Check. Divides of power along hemispherical lines (otherwise known as imperialism)? Check. Religious/spiritual/magical schisms? God's language? Angels? Checkity check check. I'm even an amateur watch collector for chrissakes. If Lake can't get me into this book, I don't see how anybody could enjoy it.
**Tiny black apes who play drums and make big fires and teach our White scion invaluable lessons about spirituality and love while still regarding him as the leader of their life's quest? Come on. That's pretty repulsive.
quietdomino's review against another edition
2.0
This book clearly demonstrates that steampunk is a genre for whackdoodles. I mean, it's not that I have a problem with the idea that England and China are locked in a battle to control the globe, which is literally a piece of machinery within the universe's giant clockwork. But the appearance of Brass Christ and the master clockmaker might have been a little much.
manzabar's review
2.0
Conceptually, a very interesting world but the weak or rather non-existent character development really ruins it.
tzurky's review against another edition
1.0
Great potential entirely wasted. No redeeming qualties. Both characters and story were lackluster. I read on in the hopes that the end would offer some kind of pay-off, but was sorely disappointed.
shane_tiernan's review against another edition
1.0
Actually started this one about six weeks ago but forgot to add it. Unfortunately neither of us are really digging it and we're more than half way through.
If anything it got worse. I know that Mr. Lake has a reputation for great short stories and I would like to check some of those out but this novel didn't do anything for me. The main character seemed to have a personality in the beginning of the book but lost it somewhere around the middle. His ill-defined powers made everything seemed like dues ex machina. There was a problem, he waved his hand and it was solved.
The main character's choice of bed companions was kinda disturbing on a bestiality/pedophilia level and I sometimes just couldn't picture the descriptions of the environments.
If anything it got worse. I know that Mr. Lake has a reputation for great short stories and I would like to check some of those out but this novel didn't do anything for me. The main character seemed to have a personality in the beginning of the book but lost it somewhere around the middle. His ill-defined powers made everything seemed like dues ex machina. There was a problem, he waved his hand and it was solved.
The main character's choice of bed companions was kinda disturbing on a bestiality/pedophilia level and I sometimes just couldn't picture the descriptions of the environments.
malus23's review against another edition
1.0
DNF. I almost always can push through quickly even in a book I'm not really into. Not this time. So incredibly boring. Hit about 50%, returned to library.
eososray's review against another edition
1.0
Hmm, not sure what to say about this book. I didn't personally like it that much but I don't have any specific reason. So other than saying I got bored with reading it there isn't anything else to say.
abigcoffeedragon's review against another edition
2.0
SPOILERS KIND OF -
Not what I was looking for - I enjoy the clockwork elements of the story, but this does what many writers do that I hate - they have a main character who goes from point A to B to C to D, in a forced direction, and could not possibly have made the trip without going through certain steps - example, your hero starts in a clock-makers shop - then he goes to a library instead of a school, and then he is fired as a clock-maker's assistant so he go to see a priest - then is thrown in jail - and then ends up on a pirate ship - wait, huh? - how does that happen? - it happens because the writer FORCES the character to go through all of these points, and by the way - knowing how to fix and repair clocks and knowing how to navigate a ship - they are in no way similar enough to go from one to the other - sorry, but I cannot stand when a character is pushed into a situation that no one in their right mind would allow them to do - this book fails to deliver anything more than an interesting and beautiful world with contrived characters.
Not what I was looking for - I enjoy the clockwork elements of the story, but this does what many writers do that I hate - they have a main character who goes from point A to B to C to D, in a forced direction, and could not possibly have made the trip without going through certain steps - example, your hero starts in a clock-makers shop - then he goes to a library instead of a school, and then he is fired as a clock-maker's assistant so he go to see a priest - then is thrown in jail - and then ends up on a pirate ship - wait, huh? - how does that happen? - it happens because the writer FORCES the character to go through all of these points, and by the way - knowing how to fix and repair clocks and knowing how to navigate a ship - they are in no way similar enough to go from one to the other - sorry, but I cannot stand when a character is pushed into a situation that no one in their right mind would allow them to do - this book fails to deliver anything more than an interesting and beautiful world with contrived characters.
ginnikin's review against another edition
A pretty interesting world with some potentially neat stuff going on, but again, didn't hold my interest.