Sign in with Facebook
Felicia's Reviews > Boneshaker
Boneshaker (The Clockwork Century, #1)
by
by
1) Best cover art I've seen in a LONG TIME!
2) Very specific style of writing that too a while to hook me. It reminded me of Red Dead Redemption in book form with Steampunk. I definitely got into it when all the zombie stuff took off, cool details there.
3) All the Steampunk stuff was awesome, and well detailed and realized. The world definitely grew on me a lot.
4) Main problem was that the characters didn't hook me until WAAAY into the book. I really feel like the main character could have been fleshed out more, maybe it was the spare prose style that kept me a bit distanced from caring enough? I dunno. I never really felt like her backstory with her dad and husband was filled to my satisfaction, it almost felt coincidental that she was tied to two such famous people in this world, maybe it's my fault and I skimmed too much though. I did love the fact that she wasn't a cliched "peppy go-getter lady lead who meets a dreamy airship captain". So kudos for a different woman lead there.
Definitely recommended for an interesting, Western-style Steampunk extravaganza.
2) Very specific style of writing that too a while to hook me. It reminded me of Red Dead Redemption in book form with Steampunk. I definitely got into it when all the zombie stuff took off, cool details there.
3) All the Steampunk stuff was awesome, and well detailed and realized. The world definitely grew on me a lot.
4) Main problem was that the characters didn't hook me until WAAAY into the book. I really feel like the main character could have been fleshed out more, maybe it was the spare prose style that kept me a bit distanced from caring enough? I dunno. I never really felt like her backstory with her dad and husband was filled to my satisfaction, it almost felt coincidental that she was tied to two such famous people in this world, maybe it's my fault and I skimmed too much though. I did love the fact that she wasn't a cliched "peppy go-getter lady lead who meets a dreamy airship captain". So kudos for a different woman lead there.
Definitely recommended for an interesting, Western-style Steampunk extravaganza.
Sign into Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ to see if any of your friends have read
Boneshaker.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
Comments Showing 1-29 of 29 (29 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Christopher
(new)
-
rated it 4 stars
Jan 11, 2010 02:21PM
Just finished it...soooo good.
reply
|
flag
I am actually going to be reading this in about a week once I finish Under the Dome. I hear it's a great read.
I'm stuck about a third in. Reader's block. It's got good characters and sets up well, but it's a bit too slow for me. Too easy to put down. I hope to get back to it when I have a bit more time on my hands. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.
My geekboy is currently reading this. I saw this and sort of snagged it off the shelf. I'll admit, I liked the cover art. So far, he's lovin' it.
Wild flesh chomping fun!
I had the same problem, started slow for me, then I finally got hooked in the middle and finished strong. The characters were very cool and I could picture them very easily in my mind.
And the steampunk goes: Choo-choo! (bottles breaking).
I agree, it does take a awhile to get started, but I remember moments where I was reading and actually getting tense....zombies do that to me, I guess.
A friend loaned it to me and I'd half given up on it. I'll have to try again! Slow starts are so misleading for me.
slow to start but finishes strong... zip.
Maybe I'm the weird one here, but I liked it from the start. I also dug the Jacqueline Carey reference - an airship named the Naamah Darling? So much win.
@Christy: That is not actually a Jacqueline Carey reference. That is a reference to the author's friend, who goes by naamah_darling on LiveJournal and picked the username before Carey's books became popular. :)
@Nonny: Ah, interesting. I suppose that's what I get for making assumptions ;)
as a native of seattle, i was lovin' it. i'm a bit prejudiced, i suppose. steampunkishness + seattle = awesomess.
Wil Wheaton reads in the audiobook! I loved this book - and even more so loved the sepia text.
Doesn't pass the 100 page test. Maybe I'll pick it up again one day.
What's the 100 page test, as opposed to the first five pages test?Tamahome wrote: "Doesn't pass the 100 page test. Maybe I'll pick it up again one day."
I guess so, or the 1st chapter test?
@Katharine: it's a formula that Nancy Pearl, Librarian Supreme talks about: you take 100, subtract your age from it-- that's how many pages you give a book to reel you in. So I'm 30, thus giving books 70 pages to get me interested.
That's a good idea. But I actually went the whole 100 pages, which seemed like a waste of time. I think readers are patient.
That's not a bad formula. I tend to give a book 50 pages, if we're talking a 400+ page book. Shorter books get less pages. I used to finish everything -- not anymore! Too much to read. But sometimes you have to give a style done for a specific effect a chance. My skull almost split trying to read SPEED OF DARK, but Elizabeth Moon is a friend, so I persisted, and it finally settled in for me. A good book, but the style tossed me out a few times.Jessica wrote: "@Katharine: it's a formula that Nancy Pearl, Librarian Supreme talks about: you take 100, subtract your age from it-- that's how many pages you give a book to reel you in. So I'm 30, thus giving b..."
I certainly agree that it took a while to get hooked. I also had a hard time early on determining the relationship between Briar and Levi and ? (I'm not at home, and I can't recall the grandfather's name), but once I got past that point, I was okay. The detail is what was a real treat. Priest made it "feel" gritty and dark, like I was really there. We've got "Clementine" in the store where I work, but I'm not sure if I'll jump on it right away. Too many others to choose from right now.
I Did not care for it. I stuck through the entire book because I'd heard from may sources that it was good. I couldn't get into the characters, except for a couple of the Sky Pirates. And the lead villain was very bland. First Steampunk book for me though, so it may not be my thing. *Shrug*
@Gene - try "The Anubis Gate" by Tim Powers. It's not full on "steampunk" but it's a nice intro and it's a very entertaining story to boot.
@James, Thanks, I'll take a look.
I read it because it was nominated for the Hugo award, but definitely didn't care enough about it to read the following books in the series/trilogy.
It took me a while to care about the characters too. And I thought that the main baddie would be...well...worse. LOL
I agree with your view of this book. I am not finished, yet...but I feel distanced from the protagonist. Also, this is my first zombie book...not my thing. I do like the steampunk, though (another first). I hope it finishes strong.
