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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
Not BAD. Not by any means... I just didn't find it entirely engrossing, much like the other books in this "series". A fun little tale but I hardly found myself eagerly devouring each chapter.
Mercy Lynch works as a nurse at Robertson Hospital, where they heal more patients than they loose. She will will patch up anyone put in front of her, whether Confederate, Yankee, or Reb. In rapid succession Mercy finds out that her husband died in the war, and her father, who she hasn't seen since she was girl, is out west in Tacoma on his deathbed. Suddenly free of ties, she decides to make the dangerous trek across the continent to reach her father.
On her way, she finds herself aboard a train pulled by the Dreadnought, a heavily armored terror of a steam engine, which soon meets harsh resistance from rebels and pirates and something even more dangerous, something inhuman. Mercy can't help but wonder why the train it meeting such resistance, and begins to unravel the mystery of the second and last rail cars with their secret cargo.
I loved Boneshaker, Priest's foray into steampunk, and Dreadnought is an excellent companion novel and fills you in on what some of the characters you loved from the first book are now up to. The book definitely picked up more steam, as the elements of espionage and mystery entered into the story, at which point I didn't want to put it down. Priest does steampunk right, presenting a torqued view of history and a fun ride through an imagined wild west.
On her way, she finds herself aboard a train pulled by the Dreadnought, a heavily armored terror of a steam engine, which soon meets harsh resistance from rebels and pirates and something even more dangerous, something inhuman. Mercy can't help but wonder why the train it meeting such resistance, and begins to unravel the mystery of the second and last rail cars with their secret cargo.
I loved Boneshaker, Priest's foray into steampunk, and Dreadnought is an excellent companion novel and fills you in on what some of the characters you loved from the first book are now up to. The book definitely picked up more steam, as the elements of espionage and mystery entered into the story, at which point I didn't want to put it down. Priest does steampunk right, presenting a torqued view of history and a fun ride through an imagined wild west.
A strong 3.5 I think. The first half of the book was quite slow and spent a lot of time talking more than actually showing and was a bit drudgy to get through. But then the last 1/3 of the book was full of action and exciting turns of events. The book almost felt like a set up, which is strange because it is the second one in the series.
Despite the slow start I really love the setting: steampunk western with a spicy surprise. The main character, Mercy Lynch, is a capable woman who take most things in stride and I am really excited to continue the series.
Despite the slow start I really love the setting: steampunk western with a spicy surprise. The main character, Mercy Lynch, is a capable woman who take most things in stride and I am really excited to continue the series.
When people think of steampunk, I assume they imagine high flying, fast moving adventure stories filled with a good deal of swash and buckle. And one could certainly argue that there are high flying, fast moving moments of adventure in Cherie Priest's Dreadnought. However, those moments are sandwiched in between long passages of dialogue, description, and somewhat mundane moments. Many would consider that slow moving and boring. I consider it mastery of restraint and slow build. Priest does not write riveting page turners. She writes thoughtful counterfactual explorations of the lives of women and people of colour in a time when neither were given much voice. Mercy Lynch, the Civil War nurse is taking a journey West to see her estranged father, who may be dying. That journey contains adventure, a sort of steampunked Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, only with Airships, Trains, and Zombies. But those are like carrots before our readerly horses. While Priest clearly enjoys her moments of close calls with undead hordes or bandits, her focus is far more often on what it would have been like to travel as a widowed, 20-something female across her alternate version of the American West. What it would be like to be a nurse who treats blacks as quickly as she would whites. A nurse who sympathizes with both sides of the Civil War. Think of Dreadnought as a character-driven adventure story and you'll find a real treat. Think of it as a rollicking zombie steampunk adventure, and you're likely to be bored early on, which would be a real shame, because you'd miss the part where the zombie hordes attack A Locomotive in Winter.
Dreadnought was truly a one wild adventure after another. Mercy is one month a widow when she is then told her estranged father wishes to see her before he dies. She is a war nurse on the east coast and her father is an enigma located in Seattle. With her life so topsy turvy, Mercy decides what the heck and leaves her nursing post to travel west. That is when the real adventure begins. She first flies in a dirigible and then a boat up the Mississippi where she meets a Ranger Horatio Korman. From there she travels on a massive Union war train, she was a Confederate nurse married to a Union solider. Oddly enough she is joined again by the ranger, this peeks her interest, because there seems to be many suspicious things going on, on the Dreadnought. Along the way she is asked to give dire medical treatment, she's shot at a small war breaks and all hell breaks loose. Now you need to read the book to see if she ever reaches her destination and if she makes it there is time to see her dying father.
Dreadnought is, to a certain degree, a book about the Civil War. Mercy Lynch is a Confederate nurse working in a Virginia war hospital when she learns that her husband - who happens to have been a Union soldier - has died in a prison camp. Almost immediately after receiving this news, she receives a telegram from her long-estranged father; he's dying in Seattle and wants to see his little girl before he dies. Concluding that she has no real reason to stay put, Mercy heads west - a woman alone on a long journey across a wartorn land.
Except, as it turns out, the Civil War's been going on for over twenty years, with no real sign of stopping. Part of the problem is that the Union and Confederacy are engaged in an arms race, fueled in no small part by Texas and its diesel resources. Both sides have developed "walkers" (think Avatar or Return of the Jedi) and use dirigibles for air travel. Moreover, the Union has the Dreadnought - a terrifying locomotive such as has never been seen before (except perhaps in the classic slapstick western-steampunk movie venture, Wild Wild West). In her efforts to get to Washington as rapidly as possible, Mercy finds herself a passenger on the Dreadnought as it makes a mysterious trip west with a very peculiar cargo.
Oh, and it turns out that there are zombies.
So... yeah.
The thing about Dreadnought is that it's really very good. Mercy's character rings true, sympathetic, and appropriate both to historic sensibilities and to the quasi kickass-in-corsets ideal of steampunk. Many books in this subgenre go overboard with trying to replicate a Victorian style in their writing, but Dreadnought leans more toward the straightforward Western style and benefits from it. That plainspoken prose adds considerable versimilitude to a story that might otherwise collapse under the weight of its ridiculousness; up until the last fifty pages or so, a reader could easily forget that they weren't reading a historically accurate tale.
Consequently, I think this book could appeal to readers even if they weren't a fan of fantastical fiction; you don't have to love steampunk or alternative history to get wrapped up in Mercy's story. Although Priest's wild West is, apparently, infested with zombies, this isn't a "zombie book" (which is good, because I am not interested in zombie books) and you can read it without too much fear of being grossed out or horrified by the undead. I mean, they're there, but only really in the last fifty pages, and it's not too graphic. It's also interesting and well-written enough to, in my opinion, bridge the genre gulf for people who might not be terribly interested in Civil War-era America. This book is many things, all of which are satisfying. The only thing that I felt was absent - and I'm not at all sure that the story needed it - was a little bit of romantic interest. Priest kept hinting at the possibility of chemistry, but Mercy never takes the bait. I also kept expecting a dramatic development about another female traveler on the Dreadnought, but if that development is coming, it must be coming in another book.
Two more things I liked about this book: Although it is the third in a series, it works as a standalone novel (obviously, since I got halfway through the book before realizing that it was in a series at all). And it's printed in brown ink on creamy paper. How cool is that?
Overall, as long as the zombies don't take too much of a central role, I'm excited to read more of the books in this series and would recommend Dreadnought in particular to anyone who likes Civil War fiction, steampunk, adventure, interesting female protagonists, or good literary diversions.
Except, as it turns out, the Civil War's been going on for over twenty years, with no real sign of stopping. Part of the problem is that the Union and Confederacy are engaged in an arms race, fueled in no small part by Texas and its diesel resources. Both sides have developed "walkers" (think Avatar or Return of the Jedi) and use dirigibles for air travel. Moreover, the Union has the Dreadnought - a terrifying locomotive such as has never been seen before (except perhaps in the classic slapstick western-steampunk movie venture, Wild Wild West). In her efforts to get to Washington as rapidly as possible, Mercy finds herself a passenger on the Dreadnought as it makes a mysterious trip west with a very peculiar cargo.
Oh, and it turns out that there are zombies.
So... yeah.
The thing about Dreadnought is that it's really very good. Mercy's character rings true, sympathetic, and appropriate both to historic sensibilities and to the quasi kickass-in-corsets ideal of steampunk. Many books in this subgenre go overboard with trying to replicate a Victorian style in their writing, but Dreadnought leans more toward the straightforward Western style and benefits from it. That plainspoken prose adds considerable versimilitude to a story that might otherwise collapse under the weight of its ridiculousness; up until the last fifty pages or so, a reader could easily forget that they weren't reading a historically accurate tale.
Consequently, I think this book could appeal to readers even if they weren't a fan of fantastical fiction; you don't have to love steampunk or alternative history to get wrapped up in Mercy's story. Although Priest's wild West is, apparently, infested with zombies, this isn't a "zombie book" (which is good, because I am not interested in zombie books) and you can read it without too much fear of being grossed out or horrified by the undead. I mean, they're there, but only really in the last fifty pages, and it's not too graphic. It's also interesting and well-written enough to, in my opinion, bridge the genre gulf for people who might not be terribly interested in Civil War-era America. This book is many things, all of which are satisfying. The only thing that I felt was absent - and I'm not at all sure that the story needed it - was a little bit of romantic interest. Priest kept hinting at the possibility of chemistry, but Mercy never takes the bait. I also kept expecting a dramatic development about another female traveler on the Dreadnought, but if that development is coming, it must be coming in another book.
Two more things I liked about this book: Although it is the third in a series, it works as a standalone novel (obviously, since I got halfway through the book before realizing that it was in a series at all). And it's printed in brown ink on creamy paper. How cool is that?
Overall, as long as the zombies don't take too much of a central role, I'm excited to read more of the books in this series and would recommend Dreadnought in particular to anyone who likes Civil War fiction, steampunk, adventure, interesting female protagonists, or good literary diversions.
The Second (or third, depending on who you ask) in Ms. Priest’s Clockwork Century Novels is very nearly a standalone novel in and of itself. You could pick up this novel, and read it before Boneshaker and have no problems whatsoever keeping up.
Though she alters history to her own timeline, Ms. Priest creates a world that feels so real, you may question whether the idea that either side could have had lumbering, steam-powered leviathans.
All in all, I find this second a mite better than the first.
Though she alters history to her own timeline, Ms. Priest creates a world that feels so real, you may question whether the idea that either side could have had lumbering, steam-powered leviathans.
All in all, I find this second a mite better than the first.
This novel can be read as a stand alone, if you have not yet had the pleasure of reading Boneshaker or Clementine, have no fear (but, really, go get them they are fabulous). This story belongs to the main character, and although her story is tied to some of the characters in Boneshaker, this tale belongs to Mrs. Mercy Lynch alone.
Mercy is fabulous. She is strong, logical, and more than a little kick-ass. She has received the notice that her husband has died and her father is ailing. The problem of traveling from Virginia to Tacoma, Washington is greatly hampered by the Civil War. Mercy must take several modes of transport in order to cross the continent in order to reach her father's deathbed. Missing from this part of the story are the air pirates, but that is okay as we had just been served up a heaping helping of pirate goodness in Clementine.
There is no end to the action in Dreadnought. It is page after page of excitement. Several nights this week, I was unable to sleep due to the peril I left the characters in by closing the covers. Sometimes the action was so heart pounding, I actually had to look up for a while.
As usual with Priest's writing, there is magic in the secondary characters as well, none fall prone to stereotypes, and all of them have little surprises up their sleeves that make the plot that much more interesting. Throughout the novel there is a large cast of characters (some historically famous! Many of them are memorable.
Mercy is fabulous. She is strong, logical, and more than a little kick-ass. She has received the notice that her husband has died and her father is ailing. The problem of traveling from Virginia to Tacoma, Washington is greatly hampered by the Civil War. Mercy must take several modes of transport in order to cross the continent in order to reach her father's deathbed. Missing from this part of the story are the air pirates, but that is okay as we had just been served up a heaping helping of pirate goodness in Clementine.
There is no end to the action in Dreadnought. It is page after page of excitement. Several nights this week, I was unable to sleep due to the peril I left the characters in by closing the covers. Sometimes the action was so heart pounding, I actually had to look up for a while.
As usual with Priest's writing, there is magic in the secondary characters as well, none fall prone to stereotypes, and all of them have little surprises up their sleeves that make the plot that much more interesting. Throughout the novel there is a large cast of characters (some historically famous! Many of them are memorable.
This was a fantastically page-turning read. It is a sequel to the excellent Boneshaker and yet a book that introduces a new heroine and takes place almost entirely out of sight of the setting of the first book. Mercy Lynch, the main character, is a nurse at a Confederate hospital during the ongoing (for 20 years now) Civil War. Her husband has just died fighting for the Union and she gets a summons to Seattle to visit her estranged father on his death bed. So she has to travel across country during a war by airship, steamboat, and train. There's one problem and excitement and danger after another. The constantly shifting cast of surrounding characters is both enchanting and overwhelming. All things done, this is a fantastic adventure novel, but I wish the author spent more time on the characters and the interpersonal stuff. Such great characters beg to be seen in more depth. (I'm particularly interested in the Republic of Texas Ranger.) And I haven't even mentioned the zombies. I'm dying to see where this series goes next. It's certainly the best steampunk literature I've yet read.
This one wasn't as wonderful as the original Boneshaker, but it was still fun. Priest links the two novels together at the end, which was fun to see some of the original characters.
Mercy Lynch is a nurse in the South during the Civil War and receives a telegram telling her to come and see her long-lost father before he passes. So she takes passage on a dirigible and soon a train bound for the West...along the way she meets quite the characters and zombies! Will she survive and make it to see her father? Well, I'm sure you can guess that but it's about the journey!
Mercy was a fun heroine. She is tough and smart and quick on her feet and yet still has her weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
Priest always paints a wonderful alternative history here in the States. The Civil War is going on forever and Texas is its own country.
Overall a great addition to the series!
Mercy Lynch is a nurse in the South during the Civil War and receives a telegram telling her to come and see her long-lost father before he passes. So she takes passage on a dirigible and soon a train bound for the West...along the way she meets quite the characters and zombies! Will she survive and make it to see her father? Well, I'm sure you can guess that but it's about the journey!
Mercy was a fun heroine. She is tough and smart and quick on her feet and yet still has her weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
Priest always paints a wonderful alternative history here in the States. The Civil War is going on forever and Texas is its own country.
Overall a great addition to the series!