The Doomsday Vault: A Novel of the Clockwork Empire [Mass Market Paperback]

Steven Harper (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 1, 2011 | Series: The Clockwork Empire

In a clockwork Brittania, Alice's prospects are slim. At 21, her age and her unladylike interest in automatons have sealed her fate as an undesirable marriage prospect. But a devastating plague sends Alice off in a direction beyond the pale-towards a clandestine organization, mad inventors, life-altering secrets, and into the arms of an intrepid fiddle-playing airship pilot.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Steven Harper was born in Saginaw, Michigan, but he moved around a lot and has lived in Wisconsin, Germany, and (briefly) Ukraine.  Currently he lives with three sons near Ann Arbor, Michigan.
      Mr. Harper teaches high school English in southeast Michigan.  His students think he’s hysterical, which isn’t the same as thinking he’s hilarious.  When not writing, he plays the folk harp, dabbles in oral storytelling, and spends more time on-line than is probably good for him. 

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Roc; First Edition edition (November 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 045146429X
• ISBN-13: 978-0451464293
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 1.2 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #726,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steven Harper Piziks was born in Saginaw, Michigan, but he moved around a lot and has lived in Wisconsin, Germany, and (briefly) Ukraine. Currently he lives with his sons in southeastern Michigan.

His novels include In the Company of Mind and Corporate Mentality, both science fiction published by Baen Books. Writing as Steven Harper, he has produced the Silent Empire series and has written books based on Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and The Ghost Whisperer. He recently finished the four-book series the Clockwork Empire steampunk for Roc Books and is now hard at work on other projects.

Booklist calls his novels "fast, furious, and absorbing," and "intelligent enterntainment." Strange Horizons says his work is filled with "fast-paced adventure filled with intrigue and populated with characters you care about," and The Romantic Times writes that "Harper . . . creates a compelling universe."

Mr. Piziks currently teaches high school English in southeast Michigan. His students think he's hysterical, which isn't the same as thinking he's hilarious. When not writing, he plays the folk harp, dabbles in oral storytelling, and spends more time on-line than is probably good for him. Visit his web page at http://www.theclockworkempire.com or his blog at http://spiziks.livejournal.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the Steampunk I've been looking for! December 30, 2011

By D. C. Brotherton

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Doomsday Vault is a rollicking good adventure that takes place in Harper's very own Steampunk universe, the first novel of The Clockwork Empire trilogy. I've felt for some time that Steampunk has enormous untapped potential, and this is the first novel I've come across that I feel truly makes this emerging genre shine.

This adventure story has it all--airship battles, Victorian political intrigue, secret police, conspiracy, clockwork automatons of all sorts, mad scientists, amazing Steampunk retro-futuristic gadgets, a surprisingly good romance, and, lest I forget, zombies!

While I personally felt the first chapter was the lowest point of the whole book, the novel really takes off at chapter two and just keeps getting better. Both of the main characters are very likable and well-realized, and you really get into their personal motivations and want them to succeed. There are some fantastic twists towards the end of the book that really set up well for the sequel, The Impossible Cube, that's coming out in May 2012.

I've not written an online book review before, but I don't see this great novel getting the attention I feel it deserves and I want to spread the good word so other folks can have the chance to enjoy it as much as I did. Highly recommended!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Steampunk! April 8, 2012

By Stephanie Leroux

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Is it just me or is the steampunk genre becoming more popular these days? I'm not very familiar with the genre since I've only read a few books, but I think I'm becoming a true fan. So far, I've enjoyed all of the steampunk novels that I've read, and The Doomsday Vault is no exception.

Obviously set in a Victorian London, this novel takes us on an adventure through balls, pirate attacks, zombie attacks and crazy clockworker meltdowns. When I first started reading this book, I thought it was going to be a mix of steampunk and pure paranormal but the paranormal aspect is limited to zombies. The clockwork plague is what created these zombies, infecting people on contact and spreading the disease through the streets of London. However, some of the infected people don't become zombies. Quite the opposite - they become clockworkers, geniuses with great analytical skills and the ability to create and invent remarkable things. In this world, Mozart was actually a clockworker, creating the most amazing music while infected by the disease in the last year of his life. Automatons, the many robots encountered in this book, were also invented by clockworkers. These geniuses remind me of autistic children who are evaluated as savants. Almost to intelligent, the clockworkers end up going through a meltdown as the disease kills them after a few years of being infected.

I truly enjoyed the idea of the plague and the clockworkers, but I think it's the main characters that really brought the story together. Soon to be Baroness Alice Michaels would love to be an independent, free thinking woman, but at twenty-one, she's not getting any younger. Pressured by her father to look for a wealthy husband, she acts as the dutiful daughter and accepts the first marriage proposal she is offered. However, the only things that Alice likes about her new fiancé, Norbert, is his ability to pay off her father's debts. Deep down, she knows her heart belongs to Gavin Ennock, a poor American airman stranded in London, that she saved from her aunt Edwina's strange and dangerous house. The ever absent Edwina, who inspired Alice's unrefined interest in automatons and engineering, has gone missing and Alice feels it's her duty to find her.

But overall, my favorite character has to be Click, one of Alice's automatons. In the shape of a cat, Click has humanlike qualities even if you find him licking his paws and illuminating dark halls with his bright green lights for eyes. Rarely saying anything, he still has a big part in this story. Automatons and machinery play a big part in the novel and Steven Harper had done a wonderful job in describing everything. Also, I believe he has thoroughly researched the physics of sound and music, a reoccurring and important element in the book.

Because I love the colours of this cover, I just need to say a few things about it. It's actually the main thing that drew me to the book while I was browsing my library. I think the contrast between the yellow London fog and the sharp blue of her dress was a good choice. Of course the little elements like the automaton cat and the strange pistol are positive additions. I especially like the foggy background that includes the ever popular airship (dirigible) that seems to dominate the steampunk genre.

This novel has many layers and it guarantees you non-stop action. From science, to dirigibles, to politics, to social norms of Victorian England, I believe this book is the true definition of steampunk. A great start to an imaginative series, I strongly suggest this book to fans of the genre. Its sequel, The Impossible Cube, comes out in May 2012.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Steam powered fiction April 11, 2012

By mjgriffor

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Zombies, mad scientists, clockwork cats, giant robots, dirigibles, air pirates, and dozens of inventions that could destroy the world many times over. What more could you want from a steampunk novel?

Alice Michaels is in a life or death struggle to save her social life. At twenty-one, her age, her unladylike interest in automatons, and the unfashionable annulation of most of her family and her poor fiancé from the clockwork plague have fated her to be a less than desirable marriage prospect.

Gavin Ennock is a seventeen year-old cabin boy, on the USS Juniper airship, with a talent for music. Gavin can't imagine any other life other than that on an airship, but after his ship is attached by pirates Gavin finds himself alone and destitute on the streets of London. By playing his violin in the park Gavin manages to make enough money to feed himself, and hopefully enough to eventually get him back home. But Gavin's talent gains him unwanted attention and once again he finds himself captured, and at a stranger's mercy.

Naturally these two are fated to get together and fated to do something about the menacing clockwork plague. AN illness that turns most of its victims into shambling zombies but will also rarely gift incredible scientific genius (and madness) to an unlucky few.

I'm not sure what it is about Victorian England but for some reason I really enjoy reading stories that take place in that time and setting and The Doomsday Vault was no exception. The Doomsday Vault was a fun and thrilling fast-paced adventure full of engaging characters and plenty of surprises. I particularly enjoyed all the interesting and unexpected twists that kept popping up, just when I thought I had the story figured out another surprise revelation comes along.

Highly recommended