Escapement (Hardcover)

by Jay Lake (Author)
Key Phrases: southern earth, steam borer, winged savages, Praia Nova, Five Lucky Winds, Silent Order (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Bookmarks Magazine
Escapement is a more ambitious, and, in many ways, a more complex book than its predecessor, Mainspring. Though both books are clever combinations of steampunk (SF elements translated to the Victorian era), alternate history, and fantasy, Lake hits his stride here, neatly balancing intriguing characters with the sort of clear, driving plot (and a few important subplots) and world building that keeps readers in the game. Lake’s star is on the rise in the science fiction and fantasy genres, and critics believe that this book is strong enough to warrant consideration for a Hugo. A cliffhanger ending almost certainly ensures another book in this remarkable cycle.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

From Booklist
Paolina Barthes, raised in a village on the Wall in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, wants to escape the small-minded confines of her elders. Thanks to a ship’s boy and the few books in town, she knows England rules much of the world and believes that there she’ll find wizards like Newton to teach her more of the world’s working. An arduous journey ensues, only to the conclusion that her genius is too great for the politics of England and the peril of secret societies wanting to harness her power. Meanwhile, the librarian Childress (from Lake’s Mainspring, 2007) is ordered aboard a ship that is attacked by the Chinese. By coincidence, she is the sole survivor and to survive takes on a high-ranking role among her captors. The other side of the Wall continues a point of contention, but fortunately for Paolina, not everyone is obsessed with power to the exclusion of all else. With its airships, submarines, world-spanning gears, and fantastic creatures, Lake’s clockwork world continues to be a fantastic place to visit. --Regina Schroeder

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (June 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765317095
• ISBN-13: 978-0765317094
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #434,766 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Free SF Reader, January 15, 2009

By	Blue Tyson "- http://freesf.blogspot.com" - See all my reviews

A novel in three strands, unlike the first.

Also unlike the first, it has the opposite problem, with the start being weaker than the end.

The three characters, a young girl genius, a dodgy petty officer, and a librarian find themselves in over their heads, and danger.

It appears in the background multiple secret societies that cross national boundaries are at work (e..g England, China, etc. all have agents of such) although you know little about them other than the general aims. E.g. Religious crazies, Rationalists, and a 'Middle Path' bunch trying to balance.

There are airships (and airships vs submarines), and Brass Men and chases and slaughter galore later on, but it is certainly a bit tedious in the beginning. For a secret society conspiracy piece it certainly lacks tension and atmosphere of that sort.

A book that can't make up its mind completely about what it wants to be, much like the first.

The front cover is great, the back cover with the usual blurb hyperbole not such - for example, Boing Boing delusionally compares the first book Mainspring to the best of Leiber and Howard - clearly they were smoking some of the opium to be found in Escapement to come up with that one.

When you begin to realise why the secret society interest the book comes together pretty well, but certainly a slog at times to get there, while the three main characters are separated. Because of that, better than a 3. Call it a 3.25 with some Martiniere art bonus to round it up.


3.5 out of 5

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book! Vastly Superior To Mainspring, September 25, 2008

By	J. Cordes - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Escapement is a great book. All of the good parts of its predecessor Mainspring are present with none of the bad parts. Because of Mainspring, I picked up and started Escapement with caution and low expectations. Now that I'm done, I can't wait for the next book in the series. This is some tasty fantasy!

My only complaint would be that we only got a glimpse of the many exciting and interesting locations and people our protagonists encounter. Hopefully Jay is planning to make this a long series with many installments, because he's created a world that deserves and supports many more adventures.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Escapement, sequel to Mainspring, needs a sequel itself, August 26, 2008

By	DC (NYC) - See all my reviews

Escapement is a better book than its predecessor Mainspring because it explores its mechanically driven universe, evidenced by planets and moons driven by gears and clockworks, through the fascinating viewpoints of the three main characters with a richness of vision that is quite compelling.

Lake manages to create a world with mystery and mechanism, while exploring theology and human behavior, that promises the thrill of discovery that great sci-fi/fantasy delivers.

However, like Mainspring, which follows one character across a fascinating landscape only to descend into mysticism by its conclusion, Escapement offers loads of moral dilemmas and action by its ending without any more understanding of the fundamental workings of the universe that kept us reading all along.

Knowing that there must be another book to follow would have helped me to understand Escapement's place as a middle book in a trilogy. Now that you know, you may be able to enjoy even more than I did.