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Boneshaker Paperback – September 29, 2009

by
Cherie Priest (Author)
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Cherie Priest (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars 333 customer reviews
Book 1 of 6 in the Clockwork Century Series
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Product Details

  • Series: Clockwork Century (Book 1)
  • Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Tor Books; Original edition (September 29, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0765318415
  • ISBN-13: 978-0765318411
  • Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1.1 x 8.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (333 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,212 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsNot sure what book the 5-star reviewers are reading...
By EB on February 6, 2010
Format: Paperback
Now I know by giving 3 stars, many readers will ask "did you hate it?" No, I didn't hate this book, but I must say I was unimpressed by it. Steampunk designs, airships, and zombies...how can one go wrong? Well, the answer is to make the plot wandering and the characters not that interesting.

I won't offer a summary of the book, because nearly every other reviewer has done the same. I'll start by saying that the synopsis on the back cover is kind of misleading, especially about the part regarding "rewrite history." It's a shame that portion is nowhere to be found in the novel. By that token, I was expecting the characters to come to some certain uncovering of secret history, and also come to some inner realization about themselves. Sadly, they don't. Zeke's request to clear his father's name unfortunately falls into a simple tale of "overthrow the bad guy." And as the story ends, the world they inhabit isn't changed in the slightest between the beginning and the end of the story.

The characters of Briar and Zeke aren't that compelling, either. Their only purpose in the story seems to be transitioning the reader from Plot Point A to B to C--which is *part* of the reason characters exist, but it shouldn't be the main portion of who they are. Why do they do what they do? What drives them? We don't get much internal dialogue or conflict, everything they feel is spoken.

In the same vein, they don't affect change within the story at all; everything seems to happen without them doing anything or contributing to the goings-on, like they're part of the scenery as opposed to full-fledged characters. So if they don't really *do* anything except move around as per the author's directions, then are they even really empathetic at all?Read more ›
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2.0 out of 5 starsapparently I'm the voice of dissent
By NickelDiamer on January 30, 2010
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Pros:

Compelling setup and central mysteries. Thought the story between the lead protagonists was reasonably well done.

Cons: Author did not care to develop her world.

Example - Head villain has a scary right hand man, as is typical of adventure stories. He strikes fear into the hearts of the locals. Yet in the final battle, he appears briefly and avoids the final confrontation. Why introduce him? The secondary characters are compelling, until they're abandoned. The lead fighter amongst the good guys appears to be dying, yet we're led to believe he might be saved by 19th century medicine?

Additonally, the central threat within the town (the zombies dubbed rotters) are never well developed. Minnericht can send them at his enemies, but loses control of them in the end. Why? They run the streets of the city, forcing the human residents into a subterranean existence, yet they can be repelled by bonfires? Moving a block or two in the city calls up hordes of rotters, yet the leads can linger in a house for nearly an hour? And what of the citadel like fort within the walls? Everyone agrees it's safe from the rotters, yet it's abandoned.

But the biggest problem with the story: it hints early on that living within the city walls is near suicidal (and even life in the outskirts is pretty illogical), yet no compelling reason is ever provided for why the residents stay. It's apparently not too difficult for humans to leave the city. Yet many reasonably upright citizens have spent a decade or more running for their lives from the rotters while being manipulated by a mad professor. Say what? I know the setting is an alternate history where the civil war rages on, but America is a big and open country in the late 19th century.Read more ›
2 Comments 126 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
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3.0 out of 5 starsMediocre adventure story, promises more than it gives
By L. Pieroni on February 28, 2010
Format: Paperback
This is an adventure story told from the varying point of views of a mother and son. The son, Zeke, goes into a walled in city of toxic gas, zombies, and dangerous people to learn more about his scientist father. The mother, Briar, goes in after him to save him. Both wander through the city (a post-apocalyptic 1800's Seattle) encountering the many dangers while making some new friends.

At a thick 414 pages, you would think the story would be pretty complex. It isn't. It's really a pretty basic story about a mother and son trying to survive a dangerous world and make it out alive. Any questions the reader has are answered in a couple pages at the very end, a quick wrap up, and then it's over.

This is the first "steampunk" novel I have read, and it's not as out there as I anticipated. Priest alters history for her own purposes, moving events like the civil war and the invention of electricty around to suit her purposes, which is no problem in my opinion. Fiction is fiction, do what you need to.

Generally this novel was just alright. A warning to zombie novel lovers: it's not really a zombie novel. Zombies play a role but they function as background scenery more than anything else.
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2.0 out of 5 starsWho is this for? Where is it going?
By G. Smith on July 7, 2010
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
As a native Seattlite I really wanted to like Boneshaker, but it's a frustrating book. It starts very strong, then drags as the narrative restrictions of the environment become clear, then ends with a whimper, and is punctuated by a defensive author's note that comes off as a whine (put your disclaimers at the beginning!) The world Priest imagines is rich and intriguing and seemingly primed for a terrific alt-history adventure/mystery, but it feels like that world was much easier to construct than to set into motion. The writing itself is solid but, after the initial novelty, the story ends up being really conventional, and there are so many plot points left dangling that this feels like a deliberate effort to kickstart a series. That's fine, but a series for whom? Sometimes it feels like an adult-oriented genre thriller, other times a basic adventure for teens (Zeke is a big reason for this vibe.) Or, ahem, a sketch for a video game world. Someone here said this book needed another year to cook and another hundred pages. I agree with that.

Edit: Per Wikipedia this is part of a planned three-book series in this particular alternative-history setting. That could explain some of the danglers, especially in re the war.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

Good, quick read. Fun and entertaining world. Steampunk-zombies-civil war era fun

Published 7 days ago by Skye Wathen
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat writing. Strong heroines who aren't pamby namby that ...

Great writing. Strong heroines who aren't pamby namby that go googly eyed at a male character and vice versa for the Hero. I thought the book was very well written. Read more

Published 1 month ago by SummerSkies
5.0 out of 5 starsAwesome

This book was recommended to me by a friend, and I'm very impressed by it. Probably the closest you can really get to reality in such an outlandish genre. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Randomnerd
3.0 out of 5 starsOk

This was a steampunk novel that takes place during the 1800s. It had some great imagery and the characters were interesting. I did find myself getting bored at times. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Kora87
3.0 out of 5 starsA mixed bag of a Steampunk novel

I read this book because I saw it on a couple of lists of the "best Steampunk novels". It does have most of the prerequisites of good Steampunk fiction--lots of gadgets and... Read more

Published 5 months ago by Jim Lester
4.0 out of 5 starsI enjoyed it

I really quite enjoyed this. I liked that it wasn't all action and blowing stuff up. I liked that there was a 35-year-old, tired out mother as a heroine. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Sadie Forsythe
2.0 out of 5 starsBriar Wilkes is a moron

two things: spelling, grammer, and punctuation have never been my strong suit. That being said I will try my best here. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 starsSteampunk and Zombies what else to you need?

Steam-punk and Zombies what else to you need?

The story moves along at a reasonable clip, and the characters are interesting with a little development over the course of... Read more

Published 5 months ago by Mark
4.0 out of 5 starsVery engaging and interesting story in alternate history 19th century...

This is a fun read, set in a very interesting alternate history. The story switches between the two main characters, although I would say that the son character is not as clearly... Read more

Published 5 months ago by K Butler
2.0 out of 5 starsNix

I liked this book to begin with, a strong female protagonist, steam-punk, zombies, air-ships - what's not to like? But the oppressive atmosphere wore me down. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Baffled

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