A review by continuity23
Mainspring by Jay Lake

3.0

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.