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A review by msraborn
The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross
3.0
I was actually taken by surprise while reading The Girl in the Clockwork Collar. I think Kady Cross has come into her own as a writer. TGCC still has the same playfulness and aesthetic as [b:The Girl in the Steel Corset|9166877|The Girl in the Steel Corset (Steampunk Chronicles, #1)|Kady Cross|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1297987541s/9166877.jpg|14046028], but these things don't seem to overwhelm everything else in this novel. The novel moved along much more quickly and smoothly without the page long asides about what everyone was wearing or tinkering with, but clothes and devices were still in the forefront. She also dropped a lot of the allusions and parallels to X-Men and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which added authenticity and originality to her voice.
The characters, too, seemed to take on additional complexity and sophistication in TGCC. Many of the characters are actually called out on their flaws by other characters. Sam becomes less broody, Emily becomes better at communicating, Griffin learns to show a little weakness and take himself less seriously, Finley learns to be less of a maverick, and Jasper becomes a fully formed character. (Perhaps a large part of my increased enjoyment of TGCC also come from the fact that Cordelia is not present!)
The mystery/adventure in The Girl in the Clockwork Collar was also substantially better. Cross did a good job of subtly laying out hints and clues, slowly building to the final big reveal -- I picked up on where she was going, but a lot slower than I would like to admit. All the different pieces of the puzzle actually made sense in the context of the story.
The Girl in the Clockwork Collar was not perfect; Cross still describes poor Emily's hair as "ropey," "ropes" or "rope-like" an absurd number of times. Girls still have instant distrust and dislike of each other simply because they are girls. Cross takes a few too many liberties with some historical figures; and for a series that appropriates so much from Asian culture, it really sucks that the only Asian character -- she who appears on the cover and for whom the book was named -- lacks the same nuance and complexity afforded to the other characters. However, I enjoyed reading The Girl in the Clockwork Collar a lot more than The Girl in the Steel Corset, and think The Steampunk Chronicles may shape up to be a pretty good series.
Actual Rating 3.5
Review also appears on Chronicles of a Book Evangelist; a review copy was provided by the publisher.
The characters, too, seemed to take on additional complexity and sophistication in TGCC. Many of the characters are actually called out on their flaws by other characters. Sam becomes less broody, Emily becomes better at communicating, Griffin learns to show a little weakness and take himself less seriously, Finley learns to be less of a maverick, and Jasper becomes a fully formed character. (Perhaps a large part of my increased enjoyment of TGCC also come from the fact that Cordelia is not present!)
The mystery/adventure in The Girl in the Clockwork Collar was also substantially better. Cross did a good job of subtly laying out hints and clues, slowly building to the final big reveal -- I picked up on where she was going, but a lot slower than I would like to admit. All the different pieces of the puzzle actually made sense in the context of the story.
The Girl in the Clockwork Collar was not perfect; Cross still describes poor Emily's hair as "ropey," "ropes" or "rope-like" an absurd number of times. Girls still have instant distrust and dislike of each other simply because they are girls. Cross takes a few too many liberties with some historical figures; and for a series that appropriates so much from Asian culture, it really sucks that the only Asian character -- she who appears on the cover and for whom the book was named -- lacks the same nuance and complexity afforded to the other characters. However, I enjoyed reading The Girl in the Clockwork Collar a lot more than The Girl in the Steel Corset, and think The Steampunk Chronicles may shape up to be a pretty good series.
Actual Rating 3.5
Review also appears on Chronicles of a Book Evangelist; a review copy was provided by the publisher.