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2.93 AVERAGE
2.93 AVERAGE
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A very creative setting that could best be described as "clock punk", this book tells the hero's tale of a young boy setting out to rewind the mainspring of the world - and, as crazy as it sounds, that's literal. I recommend checking this one out, even though the ending felt a little bit like a deus ex machina - and again, I mean that literally.
I'm so glad I've been taking the train lately, I was able to finish this book in four days. Here's to more reading!
I'm so glad I've been taking the train lately, I was able to finish this book in four days. Here's to more reading!
Jay Lake wrote one of my favourite short stories in the Steampunk anthology, so I was really expecting better from this book -- but unfortunately, it really didn't do it for me. Hethor is your standard intrepid boy hero with hardly any characterisation, there's no smooth character development, his love interest is preternaturally supportive and understanding and flawless, the ending left me unfulfilled, the writing felt stilted and overly-formal at times, and I had a really hard time just grasping some of Lake's description and exactly how his world fits together. And in a world based entirely on clockwork and precision gears, that's pretty awfully important.
Very weird and marvelous. The prose/world fusion reminded me at times of Clark Ashton Smith, which is a good thing indeed.
There are great alien cultures, and wonderful moments of terror and beauty.
And its got steamy ewok on human action!
There are great alien cultures, and wonderful moments of terror and beauty.
And its got steamy ewok on human action!
Blah. Never ending tragedy with bizarre religion woven in. At least librarians are revered.
Everything in this book comes down to Deus Ex Machina. Some of it more literal than others.
There were parts of this book that I really liked. The world was very imaginative and interesting. Though I found the mixture of interesting imaginative world and real world history, plus the heavy dose of real world Christianity a bit weird. It just didn't quite work for me.
But the book was rather lacking in some areas. The main character, Hethor, was pretty much passive the whole time, events were only driven forward by Deus Ex Machina. I felt like he was basically sitting around while people threw him forward and died around him. And I never really understood the motivations of any of the other major characters, who tended to be overly opaque, and then leave or die.
I was hoping that the end would tie it together, but it didn't come through. And the last bit seemed really tacked on.
All-in-all I really wanted more.
There were parts of this book that I really liked. The world was very imaginative and interesting. Though I found the mixture of interesting imaginative world and real world history, plus the heavy dose of real world Christianity a bit weird. It just didn't quite work for me.
But the book was rather lacking in some areas. The main character, Hethor, was pretty much passive the whole time, events were only driven forward by Deus Ex Machina. I felt like he was basically sitting around while people threw him forward and died around him. And I never really understood the motivations of any of the other major characters, who tended to be overly opaque, and then leave or die.
I was hoping that the end would tie it together, but it didn't come through. And the last bit seemed really tacked on.
All-in-all I really wanted more.
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.
I truly enjoyed this book. I'd been looking for a solid "steampunk" novel for a while and this one was very good. It was nothing like I was expecting when I picked it up. Hethor's travels on his quest to wind the mainspring of the Earth are very interesting and by the end of the novel, we have a very good view of Lake's clockwork Earth.
Additional note: I see that I'm fairly alone in liking this book. I'm glad I didn't read the reviews before picking up the book. That said - reviews are opinions. And honestly, I learned a long time ago that my tastes aren't the same as others. I'm not sure who said it, but "Opinions are like assholes. We've all got one and they all stink."
Additional note: I see that I'm fairly alone in liking this book. I'm glad I didn't read the reviews before picking up the book. That said - reviews are opinions. And honestly, I learned a long time ago that my tastes aren't the same as others. I'm not sure who said it, but "Opinions are like assholes. We've all got one and they all stink."
A very, very, very odd steampunk quest novel. I was not as taken by the plot—basic boy’s adventure/quest story, and I got rather tired of the hero—as by a character (librarian!) who appeared briefly at the beginning and then vanished. I’ll probably read the sequel just for her further appearances. The setting was interesting, but I wasn’t quite as taken with it as I might have expected to be, I’m not sure why.
The story is interesting. It revolves around Hethor, apprentice to a New Haven CT clockmaker in an alternate Earth steampunk society. The Earth here rotates around the sun on a gigantic brass gear system. Hethor is visited by an entity claiming to be the Angel Gabriel and is told the mainspring of the world is running down and Hethor must find the Key Perilous and rewind it.
It's a different take on the classic quest story. The steampunk elements are done well, with air ships and many other things you would expect in a story of this type. The problem I had with it was that the style made the book read slowly to me. It was a bit stilted and stiff, which I think was meant to evoke the strict Puritan-like upbringing Hethor has had until his visitation. But I found it awkward and slow going.
One of the problems I had with the story is that there seemed to be a real lack of tension. Despite running into roadblocks and malicious opponents, it never really felt like Hethor was in true danger or that he would not, in the end, fulfill his quest. That left the second half of the book feeling a bit flat.
There are some original ideas here, and the world-saving quest is a tried-and-true story foundation, but the language and some pacing problems left me a little disappointed in the end.
It's a different take on the classic quest story. The steampunk elements are done well, with air ships and many other things you would expect in a story of this type. The problem I had with it was that the style made the book read slowly to me. It was a bit stilted and stiff, which I think was meant to evoke the strict Puritan-like upbringing Hethor has had until his visitation. But I found it awkward and slow going.
One of the problems I had with the story is that there seemed to be a real lack of tension. Despite running into roadblocks and malicious opponents, it never really felt like Hethor was in true danger or that he would not, in the end, fulfill his quest. That left the second half of the book feeling a bit flat.
There are some original ideas here, and the world-saving quest is a tried-and-true story foundation, but the language and some pacing problems left me a little disappointed in the end.
I wanted to like this book more than I did, because I like Jay so much. Basically, I guess, as wonderful as the scenery is, there's too much scenery and not enough plot.