Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
I read Boneshaker a while ago, and we received an ARC of Dreadnought just last week from the fine folks here at Goodreads.
This book... wow, it outdoes Boneshaker by a long shot. Characters are amazing, even if the Texian Ranger is kinda... very... stereotypic Texas. There is a real investiture in a world with zombie drug users and a drawn-out US Civil War into the early years of the 20th century.
I intended to use this book as my weekly train-reading, but it was just so good, the pacing just right and full of excitement, that I ended up reading it straight through in one night. Finally slept at 5 AM.
So I lost sleep? So what. This book is very much worth it.
This book... wow, it outdoes Boneshaker by a long shot. Characters are amazing, even if the Texian Ranger is kinda... very... stereotypic Texas. There is a real investiture in a world with zombie drug users and a drawn-out US Civil War into the early years of the 20th century.
I intended to use this book as my weekly train-reading, but it was just so good, the pacing just right and full of excitement, that I ended up reading it straight through in one night. Finally slept at 5 AM.
So I lost sleep? So what. This book is very much worth it.
I did enjoy this book, but it was more history and less steampunk for me, which brought it down to 3 stars. However, it is an excellently written book, and does advance the world building. I was just in the mood for more gadgets!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"Dreadnought" is, at it's core, the story of Mercy Lynch and her journey from a field hospital in an alternate-history Civil War to her far-off estranged father dying in Seattle, and the adventures she had along the way. (Which include the Steampunk standard airships and massive battle machines, along with other stuff.)
So in essence, this is a travel adventure. Now, I've read a number of travel adventures, and except for a small few (The Lord of the Rings comes to mind), they've been pretty lousy. That's because they're a collection of nearly unrelated episodes, which works all right for a television show, but not generally for a novel. Priest avoids that gimmick, and actually gives us an exciting journey.
The protagonist, Mercy Lynch, a confederate nurse, is smart, capable, and fun to learn about. The war machines and people she meets are all compelling and interesting. Her goal, reaching the west coast, is neither a Union or Confederate goal, and so who the "bad guys" are keeps changing, which is an neat twist.
Much of the difficulty I had with Priest's earlier novel in this world, "Boneshaker", which basically amounted to confusion in the chaos of battle, is much reduced in "Dreadnought". When the action gets heaviest, it's still a bit difficult to follow the action, but the less chaotic stuff is much better this time around.
This was a fun read, and if you're at all interested in the growing Steampunk mini-genre, you should give this book a shot.
4.5 of 5 stars.
So in essence, this is a travel adventure. Now, I've read a number of travel adventures, and except for a small few (The Lord of the Rings comes to mind), they've been pretty lousy. That's because they're a collection of nearly unrelated episodes, which works all right for a television show, but not generally for a novel. Priest avoids that gimmick, and actually gives us an exciting journey.
The protagonist, Mercy Lynch, a confederate nurse, is smart, capable, and fun to learn about. The war machines and people she meets are all compelling and interesting. Her goal, reaching the west coast, is neither a Union or Confederate goal, and so who the "bad guys" are keeps changing, which is an neat twist.
Much of the difficulty I had with Priest's earlier novel in this world, "Boneshaker", which basically amounted to confusion in the chaos of battle, is much reduced in "Dreadnought". When the action gets heaviest, it's still a bit difficult to follow the action, but the less chaotic stuff is much better this time around.
This was a fun read, and if you're at all interested in the growing Steampunk mini-genre, you should give this book a shot.
4.5 of 5 stars.
It's been years since I read the first book in this series and I was initially concerned - did I need to reread it before going to this one? Luckily that wasn't the case and I happily sank into the world of Mercy Lynch, a nurse traveling from Virginia to Seattle, crossing war-torn states via dirigible, boat, and train. It was thoroughly exciting and had such a great strong main charcter.
I really enjoyed listening to this book. The main character was great - I liked that she was a strong female, but that she wasn't a complete Mary Sue - she was just doing the best she could as each situation arose. I loved the little links at the end to [b:Boneshaker|1137215|Boneshaker (The Clockwork Century, #1)|Cherie Priest|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1375931979s/1137215.jpg|1124460], too.
It's another one of those "the writing is really good but it kind of drags on" type of deals for me. I love Mercy, the protagonist, and always enjoy Cherie Priests Kick-ass Historically accurate take on steam-punk (a very cool traditional sci-fi/historical fiction take on the steampunk genre).
Despite all that, I feel it's almost too bogged down with the technical (I mean as in writing and research and structure, not the machines the book)that it was hard for me to feel wrapped up in the story.
Despite all that, I feel it's almost too bogged down with the technical (I mean as in writing and research and structure, not the machines the book)that it was hard for me to feel wrapped up in the story.
A likeable protagonist in an interesting era in a fun world the author created. I liked this more than the first book of the series.
Cherie Priest's books are really interesting and her diction and syntax excellently crafted. I have now read three of her books and I still feel like there is something missing. Maybe it's that there is never a single bit of romance; there are not even any married couples still happily together. I do not think every book needs romance, but it does seem odd that in a series of three books there would not be a single instance of attraction or a relationship. The closest to a relationship is Mercy and her husband, who never makes an appearance except in death. The main characters do not even have to be the ones; how about a couple of side characters leaving together or hooking up or something? It just struck me as weird.
Or maybe what's missing, in this book for certain, is the overarching plot. Technically, there is one: Mercy journeying to her father's bedside. Except that the book does not feel like it is actually in any way about that. At all. When Mercy arrives at said bedside, the book ends promptly. And by promptly, I mean in a page and a half. All of the drama was supposed to be to bring these two characters back together, but obviously it wasn't. It makes it quite apparent that the frame was tacked on at the end as an excuse to make the character take this trip across country. Is that bad? I think so, because it lends the whole book a sense of unreality. What was the point?
Characters from Boneshaker make an appearance in this book, although I would say it's more of a cameo than even a supporting role. As with the previous books, the women are strong, the men are too, the zombies are hungry and the scientists are crazy. While I like these books, I cannot pretend that I don't wish they were just a little bit better.
Or maybe what's missing, in this book for certain, is the overarching plot. Technically, there is one: Mercy journeying to her father's bedside. Except that the book does not feel like it is actually in any way about that. At all. When Mercy arrives at said bedside, the book ends promptly. And by promptly, I mean in a page and a half. All of the drama was supposed to be to bring these two characters back together, but obviously it wasn't. It makes it quite apparent that the frame was tacked on at the end as an excuse to make the character take this trip across country. Is that bad? I think so, because it lends the whole book a sense of unreality. What was the point?
Characters from Boneshaker make an appearance in this book, although I would say it's more of a cameo than even a supporting role. As with the previous books, the women are strong, the men are too, the zombies are hungry and the scientists are crazy. While I like these books, I cannot pretend that I don't wish they were just a little bit better.
I liked this book better than the first in the series. The first third is a little weaker as she bounces from one situation to the next and characters come in and out of the story, but once she gets on the train the story gets very exciting and builds wonderfully to the climax.