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The Switch II: Clockwork
Includes the Switch and The Switch II: Clockwork. Look for The Switch in the groundbreaking anthology: Steamfunk!
"As she looked on, the target unzipped his jumpsuit and pushed it down. His blond companion sauntered over to his desk, and slipped off her pants. She straddled him, curling an arm about his neck. With her other hand she unzipped her tunic to bare her plump breasts. Moans of pleasure filled Z100’s apartment.
Z100 watched them, arousal spreading down her pelvis. She cut the tape off, got up and poured herself another glass of wine. She’d planted the tiny cameras in the men’s offices. They were later retrieved by spies posing as under dweller janitors."
York is a city of contradictions. Women are hard-pressed for lovers, because lovemaking can be dangerous. The upper city is powered by computers, the underground by steam. And the wealthy don't work for a living, underdwellers do it for them.
But certain underdwellers have a big problem with this arrangement. And so does the time keeper.
Welcome to the Revolution...
Cover art and design by Quinton Veal
"As she looked on, the target unzipped his jumpsuit and pushed it down. His blond companion sauntered over to his desk, and slipped off her pants. She straddled him, curling an arm about his neck. With her other hand she unzipped her tunic to bare her plump breasts. Moans of pleasure filled Z100’s apartment.
Z100 watched them, arousal spreading down her pelvis. She cut the tape off, got up and poured herself another glass of wine. She’d planted the tiny cameras in the men’s offices. They were later retrieved by spies posing as under dweller janitors."
York is a city of contradictions. Women are hard-pressed for lovers, because lovemaking can be dangerous. The upper city is powered by computers, the underground by steam. And the wealthy don't work for a living, underdwellers do it for them.
But certain underdwellers have a big problem with this arrangement. And so does the time keeper.
Welcome to the Revolution...
Cover art and design by Quinton Veal
Nook
First published April 7, 2011
103 people want to read
About the author
Valjeanne Jeffers
52 books100 followersValjeanne Jeffers is the author of the award winning Immortal series which includes: Immortal, Immortal II: The Time of Legend, Immortal III: Stealer of Souls, and Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds.
She is also the author of The Switch II: Clockwork (includes The Switch I and II), Colony: Ascension An Erotic Space Opera, Mona Livelong: Paranormal Detective, and Voyage of Dreams, as well as The Story of Eve (nonfiction).
Her novels are available at
http://www.vjeffersandqveal.com
and http://tehotep.wixsite.com/immortalii...
Valjeanne is a graduate of Spelman College and has been published in Steamfunk!, Genesis: An Anthology of Black Science Fiction, Griots II: Sisters of the Spear, Possibilities, Revelry, Drumvoices Revue, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, Liberated Muse: How I Freed My Soul, Pembroke Magazine Vol 39, Say it Loud: Poems about James Brown, PurpleMag, The City and more recently, Fitting In, Sycorax's Daughters (nominated for the Bram Stoker Award) and Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia Butler (winner of the Locus Award, nominated for the Hugo Award).
She also writes under the pen name Valjeanne Jeffers-Thompson and Valijeanne Jeffers.
She is also the author of The Switch II: Clockwork (includes The Switch I and II), Colony: Ascension An Erotic Space Opera, Mona Livelong: Paranormal Detective, and Voyage of Dreams, as well as The Story of Eve (nonfiction).
Her novels are available at
http://www.vjeffersandqveal.com
and http://tehotep.wixsite.com/immortalii...
Valjeanne is a graduate of Spelman College and has been published in Steamfunk!, Genesis: An Anthology of Black Science Fiction, Griots II: Sisters of the Spear, Possibilities, Revelry, Drumvoices Revue, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, Liberated Muse: How I Freed My Soul, Pembroke Magazine Vol 39, Say it Loud: Poems about James Brown, PurpleMag, The City and more recently, Fitting In, Sycorax's Daughters (nominated for the Bram Stoker Award) and Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia Butler (winner of the Locus Award, nominated for the Hugo Award).
She also writes under the pen name Valjeanne Jeffers-Thompson and Valijeanne Jeffers.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 7, 2012
I've never read any steampunk before -- not that I'm not interested in the genre, it's just that a guy only has so many hours in a day! So Valjeanne Jeffers' THE SWITCH II: CLOCKWORK, is my first dip in the steampunk pool. And it was a nice swim, to be sure. It kept me turning pages to find out what would happen next, what surprises would be lying in wait for me.
This is a difficult one to describe. It's character-driven, that's for sure. With some nice Machiavellian twists and turns in the plot. There's plenty of action, and the whole story moves like a locomotive. Jeffers wastes not a word. The story centers around a group of rebels attempting to overthrow a corrupt world government by replacing them with doubles -- the Switch, of the title, in a race against the clock. The characters are all well-drawn and very real, from Z100, a rather cold, distant and somewhat ruthless woman, to the heroic Carlos, sweet and capable Lotus, and the enigmatic Ripple, Guardian of the world of Tundra. It's set in a future world, in a city called York, where the wealthy, upper-class live above-ground in a world powered by computers, while the poor underdwellers, who do all the work, live in a subterranean world powered by steam. Sex is a dangerous business in this world, especially for women. So there are special clubs and an assortment of androids willing to serve your every need. Identity and identity-theft is at the core of this unique and fast-paced novel: who is real, and who is an impostor. Jeffers, (poet, and author of the excellent 4-volume Immortal series) has written one sexy, steamy (no pun intended) novel here -- a novel where you never know what's coming at you next. Just when you think you've made a left turn -- you've actually turned right. The best comparison and the highest praise I can give it is to say that she has walked boldly into territory mapped out long ago by Phillip K. Dick, and if he were alive and writing steampunk today, this is a book that would make him smile. So check out this novel of plot, counter plot, masquerade, robots, Revolution, quirky and likable characters, and some rather nasty villains. And while I'm at it, let mention that it has a totally unique, wonderful wrap around cover painted by Quinton Veal.
--- Joe Bonadonna, author of MAD SHADOWS: THE WEIRD TALES OF DORGO THE DOWSER
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a difficult one to describe. It's character-driven, that's for sure. With some nice Machiavellian twists and turns in the plot. There's plenty of action, and the whole story moves like a locomotive. Jeffers wastes not a word. The story centers around a group of rebels attempting to overthrow a corrupt world government by replacing them with doubles -- the Switch, of the title, in a race against the clock. The characters are all well-drawn and very real, from Z100, a rather cold, distant and somewhat ruthless woman, to the heroic Carlos, sweet and capable Lotus, and the enigmatic Ripple, Guardian of the world of Tundra. It's set in a future world, in a city called York, where the wealthy, upper-class live above-ground in a world powered by computers, while the poor underdwellers, who do all the work, live in a subterranean world powered by steam. Sex is a dangerous business in this world, especially for women. So there are special clubs and an assortment of androids willing to serve your every need. Identity and identity-theft is at the core of this unique and fast-paced novel: who is real, and who is an impostor. Jeffers, (poet, and author of the excellent 4-volume Immortal series) has written one sexy, steamy (no pun intended) novel here -- a novel where you never know what's coming at you next. Just when you think you've made a left turn -- you've actually turned right. The best comparison and the highest praise I can give it is to say that she has walked boldly into territory mapped out long ago by Phillip K. Dick, and if he were alive and writing steampunk today, this is a book that would make him smile. So check out this novel of plot, counter plot, masquerade, robots, Revolution, quirky and likable characters, and some rather nasty villains. And while I'm at it, let mention that it has a totally unique, wonderful wrap around cover painted by Quinton Veal.
--- Joe Bonadonna, author of MAD SHADOWS: THE WEIRD TALES OF DORGO THE DOWSER
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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January 6, 2013The beautiful assassin expected it to be the end of just another long day, a time to relax. But nothing ever happens as you expect!
"The Switch" by Valjeanne Jeffers will keep you engrossed from the start. Well written and with an attention to detail which makes the characters and the places they exist in come to life. A great read and highly recommended.
"The Switch" by Valjeanne Jeffers will keep you engrossed from the start. Well written and with an attention to detail which makes the characters and the places they exist in come to life. A great read and highly recommended.
May 3, 2011
Great read! Valjeanne does what she does best, blending genres to create interesting worlds populated with compelling and sexy characters. Very much worth the read.
December 31, 2013
Enjoyable story and suspenseful.
December 13, 2015
Futurist and Teampunk
Jeffers does a great job mixing steampunk and futuristic worlds. I have not read her other books in this series but I certainly will now.
Jeffers does a great job mixing steampunk and futuristic worlds. I have not read her other books in this series but I certainly will now.
October 14, 2012
The Switch II: Clockwork takes place in the city of York on a world called Tyrol, which has dimensional connections with Tundra and Tyrol. Tyrol represents an extreme version of the economic inequality that besets the earth we know. People in the privileged "one per cent" live lives of lavish futuristic luxury, complete with high-speed transportation pods, houses and condos that provide for every domestic need, androids that fulfill "other" desires, and a holographic spying system that keeps everyone in line...
-Charles Saunders, author of the Imaro series
From the review "Sister Moon Rising"
Read the rest at http://www.charlessaunderswriter.com/
Click "Recommended" and then "Sister Moon Rising"
-Charles Saunders, author of the Imaro series
From the review "Sister Moon Rising"
Read the rest at http://www.charlessaunderswriter.com/
Click "Recommended" and then "Sister Moon Rising"
October 14, 2012
The Switch II: Clockwork takes place in the city of York on a world called Tyrol, which has dimensional connections with Tundra and Tyrol. Tyrol represents an extreme version of the economic inequality that besets the earth we know. People in the privileged "one per cent" live lives of lavish futuristic luxury, complete with high-speed transportation pods, houses and condos that provide for every domestic need, androids that fulfill "other" desires, and a holographic spying system that keeps everyone in line...
-Charles Saunders, author of the Imaro series
From the review "Sister Moon Rising"
Read the rest at http://www.charlessaunderswriter.com/
Click "Recommended" and then "Sister Moon Rising"
-Charles Saunders, author of the Imaro series
From the review "Sister Moon Rising"
Read the rest at http://www.charlessaunderswriter.com/
Click "Recommended" and then "Sister Moon Rising"
October 14, 2012
The Switch II: Clockwork takes place in the city of York on a world called Tyrol, which has dimensional connections with Tundra and Tyrol. Tyrol represents an extreme version of the economic inequality that besets the earth we know. People in the privileged "one per cent" live lives of lavish futuristic luxury, complete with high-speed transportation pods, houses and condos that provide for every domestic need, androids that fulfill "other" desires, and a holographic spying system that keeps everyone in line...
-Charles Saunders, author of the Imaro series
From the review "Sister Moon Rising"
Read the rest at http://www.charlessaunderswriter.com/
Click "Recommended" and then "Sister Moon Rising"
-Charles Saunders, author of the Imaro series
From the review "Sister Moon Rising"
Read the rest at http://www.charlessaunderswriter.com/
Click "Recommended" and then "Sister Moon Rising"
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews