A review by robertrivasplata
The Clockwork Man by E.V. Odle

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Humorous & philosophical proto-feminist(?) time-traveling cyborg story from 1923. Even having first read the introduction, which really gave everything away, this story still kept me guessing to the very end. Even so, I advise saving the introduction & forward until after you've read the book. Has many quotable quotes and humorous observations about 1920s British society, so it's kind of a cross between PG Wodehouse & Star Trek (TNG). In a way, the anachronistic comparison I just made illustrates how the Clockwork Man can be used (reverse-engineered?) as a metaphor for how a century of mass media & retro/nostalgia-based marketing has rewired our brains to bring us closer to the clockwork man's multiform world, which he inhabits at all times all at once.