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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
After reading the first two parts of this series (plus a couple of novellas) I found myself engaged enough to continue on. That turned out to be an excellent decision on my part.
The writing in this book is very well done, especially in the realm of the characters however the story in this book is absolutely action packed from start to finish.
This is my first foray into a true steampunk novel and series and although I was pleased with the early work, this novel really blew my socks off. I've seen some complaints about the ending but I can’t disagree more. I felt it concluded perfectly because this is a story about journey.
The writing in this book is very well done, especially in the realm of the characters however the story in this book is absolutely action packed from start to finish.
This is my first foray into a true steampunk novel and series and although I was pleased with the early work, this novel really blew my socks off. I've seen some complaints about the ending but I can’t disagree more. I felt it concluded perfectly because this is a story about journey.
So far so good. We've just run into some restrained Sap Addicts at a Salvation Army! Eep!
Awesome book! Not as good as Boneshaker (zombie town + underground city), but still entertaining, steampunky, goodness. Having the end do what it did, was quite lovely. Nonsensical statements go at the end of badly written blocks of worthless text.
Awesome book! Not as good as Boneshaker (zombie town + underground city), but still entertaining, steampunky, goodness. Having the end do what it did, was quite lovely. Nonsensical statements go at the end of badly written blocks of worthless text.
In an alternate history in which the Civil War is still raging after 20 years, cross-country dirigible transport is picking up steam (ahem) and a mysterious yellow gas is turning people into flesh-craving zombies, widowed nurse Mercy Lynch is traveling from a military hospital in Virginia to see her dying father in Washington. Her transport is the Union military steam engine, the Dreadnought, carrying a mysterious cargo that attracts Rebels and bandits... and perhaps a spy?
This sequel to Boneshaker (which I loved) was a little disappointing. The historical details were brilliant, and Mercy was a great character: intelligent and self-sufficient. The cast of supporting characters was varied and colorful. Unfortunately, in spite of taking place on a speeding train, the story moved very slowly, as the author choreographs every move made in each confrontation; and the dialogue uses dialect to great effect but there's just so *much* of it. Fantastic ending, though. 3-1/2 stars, really.
This sequel to Boneshaker (which I loved) was a little disappointing. The historical details were brilliant, and Mercy was a great character: intelligent and self-sufficient. The cast of supporting characters was varied and colorful. Unfortunately, in spite of taking place on a speeding train, the story moved very slowly, as the author choreographs every move made in each confrontation; and the dialogue uses dialect to great effect but there's just so *much* of it. Fantastic ending, though. 3-1/2 stars, really.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore
I actually enjoyed it even more than Boneshaker and I can't wait for the next book.
Dreadnought is another Cherie Priest steampunk novel with a strong woman protagonist. Mercy Lynch is a nurse at the Robertson Hospital in Richmond, Virginia in 1867. She's just found out that her husband is dead when her father summons her out to Seattle. With nothing left for her in Virginia, Mercy packs her meager belongings and heads out to see him before he dies.
The adventure starts pretty much as soon as Mercy leaves. She's in the frontline of the war, and has to try to stay ahead of the fighting--or at least survive any firefights she's caught in.
I really liked Mercy. She's strong and brave--you'd have to be to head from Virginia to Washington all by yourself in the middle of the Civil War! She doesn't take flak from anyone, and she tries to not let anything faze her. She's also willing to lend a hand to those in need, regardless of whether they're in gray or blue.
The storyline moves from one situation to the next pretty smoothly, and you won't believe the shenanigans that Mercy gets involved in. When the only way out West is on the train fronted by the dreaded engine Dreadnought, she finds that there is definitely more than meets the eye--in the soldiers, the passengers, and the lone Ranger who gets on the train.
Will Mercy make it to Seattle? You'll have to read Dreadnought and find out...
The adventure starts pretty much as soon as Mercy leaves. She's in the frontline of the war, and has to try to stay ahead of the fighting--or at least survive any firefights she's caught in.
I really liked Mercy. She's strong and brave--you'd have to be to head from Virginia to Washington all by yourself in the middle of the Civil War! She doesn't take flak from anyone, and she tries to not let anything faze her. She's also willing to lend a hand to those in need, regardless of whether they're in gray or blue.
The storyline moves from one situation to the next pretty smoothly, and you won't believe the shenanigans that Mercy gets involved in. When the only way out West is on the train fronted by the dreaded engine Dreadnought, she finds that there is definitely more than meets the eye--in the soldiers, the passengers, and the lone Ranger who gets on the train.
Will Mercy make it to Seattle? You'll have to read Dreadnought and find out...
Dreadnought. The very title of the book just made me start to love it, and then as I started reading it, I fell in love with it even more. This is the second installment of Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century series, starring Mercy Lynch, a Confederate nurse in the 1880's.
"Wait a minute," you say. "Did you just say Confederate? In the 1880's?"
Why, yes. Yes I did. You see, in this series, the Civil War never ended, and is still going on for the last two decades. At the start of this novel, Mercy Lynch is working in a war hospital in Richmond, Virginia, when she learns of her husband's death in a POW camp. To top this bit of news off, she then hears that her estranged father, whom she has not seen since she was a little tyke, is gravely ill, and wishes to see her to make amends. She then sets out for Seattle to see her father, since she has no reason to stay in Virginia, other than to keep working at the hospital, which she no longer has any desire to do. Thus starts off her harrowing ride across the United States, in which she takes a ride on a dirigible (flying airship), that crashes halfway to Fort Chattanooga, goes up the Mississippi River on a Texan steamship, and takes a deadly train ride to Salt Lake City on the Union-operated steam engine, the Dreadnought, for which this book is named.
This series was recommended to me by a librarian friend of mine, who loved this series, and I think I share the same sentiment at this point. Boneshaker was amazing when I read it, but this one takes the cake. Mercy is a bad-ass nurse, who takes no guff from anyone, and she’s a character I can get behind. I’ll admit, it started off a bit slow for me, but once I got into it, I was loathe to put it down to do daily things, like work. This book is one of my favorites now, and I wish I could be a bit like Mercy.
"Wait a minute," you say. "Did you just say Confederate? In the 1880's?"
Why, yes. Yes I did. You see, in this series, the Civil War never ended, and is still going on for the last two decades. At the start of this novel, Mercy Lynch is working in a war hospital in Richmond, Virginia, when she learns of her husband's death in a POW camp. To top this bit of news off, she then hears that her estranged father, whom she has not seen since she was a little tyke, is gravely ill, and wishes to see her to make amends. She then sets out for Seattle to see her father, since she has no reason to stay in Virginia, other than to keep working at the hospital, which she no longer has any desire to do. Thus starts off her harrowing ride across the United States, in which she takes a ride on a dirigible (flying airship), that crashes halfway to Fort Chattanooga, goes up the Mississippi River on a Texan steamship, and takes a deadly train ride to Salt Lake City on the Union-operated steam engine, the Dreadnought, for which this book is named.
This series was recommended to me by a librarian friend of mine, who loved this series, and I think I share the same sentiment at this point. Boneshaker was amazing when I read it, but this one takes the cake. Mercy is a bad-ass nurse, who takes no guff from anyone, and she’s a character I can get behind. I’ll admit, it started off a bit slow for me, but once I got into it, I was loathe to put it down to do daily things, like work. This book is one of my favorites now, and I wish I could be a bit like Mercy.
Our POV character, Mercy, isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. She’s a bridge character; a southern woman married to a union soldier; a nurse who has ferried her share of people across the rainbow bridge, a daughter of a dead man who isn’t so much. And she’s goin’ on a road trip. Well. She’s heading from a Confederate hospital to Tacoma via dirigible, civilian train, and that train being pulled by the REALLY BIG armored engine of the title. With mysterious armored cars. And a mad scientist. And lots of soldiers. Which keeps getting attacked. Mercy is the only medical professional they got. At some point, she’s bandaging the wounded with sleeper car curtains. Was that a spoiler?
I liked it more than Boneshaker. Maybe because the zombies weren’t as in my face, annoying me with the “people as things” thing. Don’t worry, they do show up rather dramatically. And in the valley of the shadow of zombies old enemies – oh, spoilers. Sorry.
There are lots of unresolved moral questions. Well, one got resolved. Resolved-ish. There aren’t that many ways to deal with mad scientists, I suppose. I’d be humming Bad Religion’s Biggest Killer in American History if I wasn’t listening to Wootstock audio.
Good bus book. My bus occasionally has strange smells and curious people, but we hardly ever get shot at, and never attacked by zombies. Yet.
I liked it more than Boneshaker. Maybe because the zombies weren’t as in my face, annoying me with the “people as things” thing. Don’t worry, they do show up rather dramatically. And in the valley of the shadow of zombies old enemies – oh, spoilers. Sorry.
There are lots of unresolved moral questions. Well, one got resolved. Resolved-ish. There aren’t that many ways to deal with mad scientists, I suppose. I’d be humming Bad Religion’s Biggest Killer in American History if I wasn’t listening to Wootstock audio.
Good bus book. My bus occasionally has strange smells and curious people, but we hardly ever get shot at, and never attacked by zombies. Yet.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No