Title: Tanglefoot (Clockwork Century #1.5)

Author: Cherie Priest

Publisher: A Tor Book 2011

Genre: Steampunk; Zombie

Pages: 34

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Steampunk; Mount TBR; Fall into Reading; 52 Books - W51

How I Got It: I own it!

Stonewall Jackson survived Chancellorsville. England broke the Union’s naval blockade, and formally recognized the Confederate States of America. Atlanta never burned. It is 1880. The American Civil War has raged for nearly two decades, driving technology in strange and terrible directions. Combat dirigibles skulk across the sky and armored vehicles crawl along the land. Military scientists twist the laws of man and nature, and barter their souls for weapons powered by light, fire, and steam. But life struggles forward for soldiers and ordinary citizens. The fractured nation is dotted with stricken towns and epic scenes of devastation–some manmade, and some more mysterious. In the western territories cities are swallowed by gas and walled away to rot while the frontiers are strip-mined for resources. On the borders between North and South, spies scour and scheme, and smugglers build economies more stable than their governments. This is the Clockwork Century. It is dark here, and different.

This was a creepy creepy little story. I was expecting a steampunk adventure like Boneshaker. Instead, I got a steampunk horror story. This one definitely pushed my creep out buttons. It involved something that looks human, but isn't human. Holy crap! Nice little story, but I really would have liked more...

Clockwork Century

#1 Boneshaker
#1.1 Clementine
#1.2 Tanglefoot
#2 Dreadnought
#2.5 The Living Dead 2
#3 Ganymede
#4 The Inexplicables
#5 Fiddlesticks
#6 Jacaranda

Title: Boneshaker (Clockwork Century #1)

Author: Cherie Priest

Publisher: A Tor Book 2009

Genre: Steampunk; Zombie

Pages: 416

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Steampunk; Mount TBR; Fall into Reading

How I Got It: I own it!

Maternal love faces formidable challenges in this stellar steampunk tale. In an alternate 1880s America, mad inventor Leviticus Blue is blamed for destroying Civil War–era Seattle. When Zeke Wilkes, Blue's son, goes into the walled wreck of a city to clear his father's name, Zeke's mother, Briar Wilkes, follows him in an airship, determined to rescue her son from the toxic gas that turns people into zombies (called rotters and described in gut-churning detail). When Briar learns that Seattle still has a mad inventor, Dr. Minnericht, who eerily resembles her dead husband, a simple rescue quickly turns into a thrilling race to save Zeke from the man who may be his father. Intelligent, exceptionally well written and showcasing a phenomenal strong female protagonist who embodies the complexities inherent in motherhood, this yarn is a must-read for the discerning steampunk fan.

I had heard mixed things about this series, but I found that I really enjoyed the story of Briar and Zeke and their journey inside the wall. Somehow I didn't realize that each book in the series is set in the same world, but doesn't follow the exact same characters. My understanding is that characters overlap. Once I understood how the story was structured, I liked this one even better. I was afraid that there just wasn't enough story of Briar and Zeke to continue for six books and a novella. Thankfully that is not the case.

As for this volume, it started off a bit slow, but once the action started, it never stopped until the last pages. While the rotters were a good villain, they stayed mostly in the background. We quickly learn that the living inhabitants of the walled city are much more dangerous. I loved the simultaneous paths of Briar and Zeke. I loved when they eventually interacted with the same colorful characters. I was rooting for their success throughout the entire book. Overall, it was a very satisfying steampunk adventure novel. I've got the novella on tap for my next read!

Clockwork Century:

#1 Boneshaker
#1.1 Clementine
#1.2 Tanglefoot
#2 Dreadnought
#2.5 The Living Dead 2
#3 Ganymede
#4 The Inexplicables
#5 Fiddlesticks
#6 Jacaranda

Tanglefoot by Cherie Priest

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest