The Clockwork Sky, Volume One

The Clockwork Sky #1

by Madeleine Rosca

From the award-winning creator of Hollow Fields comes the start of an all new, steampunk adventure trilogy! London, 1895: Riots in the streets! Erasmus Croach’s miraculous factory, Ember, has flooded London with steampowered automatons. The already suffering working class take to the streets to protest the jobs lost to these machines, and to quell the riot, Captain Thorn of Scotland Yard calls in Ember’s latest and greatest creation, the automatic police boy, Sky! Meanwhile, Sally Peppers, Croach’s headstrong and brilliant niece, dreams of a life beyond manners and marriageability. When she escapes her overbearing governess on a motorized velocipede and joins a no-rules road rally through the slums, Croach sends Sky to bring her back, preferably alive. Together, the impulsive Sally and the naive Sky crash headlong into a mystery involving rogue automatons prowling the sewers, children disappearing without a trace, and a dark secret so big it could overturn all of London. But the biggest mystery of all is why Sky is the first robot who can dream....

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels, Steampunk, Comics, Mystery, Middle Grade, Young Adult

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2012

About the author

Madeleine Rosca is an Australian based manga creator who is well known for her award winning, completed, series Hollow Fields. She has a 37 page short story titled Haunted Housecall that can be found on YenPlus and is currently working on her next project.

You can keep up to date with the mangaka through her twitter, livejournal, and DeviantArt journal updates.

Reviews

[Elizabeth (Elzburg) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a charming little steampunk graphic novel about a world slowly converting to an all automaton workforce. I never read or watch steampunk stories so everything was pretty new for me, and it was interesting. I'd be interested in picking up the next volume should it cross my path.

From the first page the art is standout, and it's one of the things I liked best.

[Grzegorz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I noticed it in our library only because I really like her "Rise from Ashes".
It's ok, but I recommend you see her other work:
https://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/r...

[Kirstie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately I wasn’t invested until the last page. Just not enough for me to want to read the next volume…at least not anytime soon. Hollow Fields is much more enjoyable by this author!

[Jordan Isaacson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall pretty boring boring, with uninteresting dialogue. The twist was very predictable, and the ending felt like it was just there to try to keep you reading for the next volume. The art is decent, but there is nothing to rave about, and the setting is personally one of my favorites. If you like steampunk and thriller, you may find an interest, but there are definitely better options.

[k.c.(Kthinker)]

This is a great book set in Victorian London circa 1895 where the Ember company produces steam driven robots that have replaced most London's working class. Children from the lower class have been disappearing at a high rate the adults of the lower class believe they are running away however since the police refuse to investigate knowing that lower class children often go missing. Now enter our lead female protagonist Sally Peppers the niece to Erasmus Croach founder and chairmen of the Ember company Sally is mischievous and a thrill seeker her favorite thrill racing and just riding velocipedes fast. Because of Sally's reckless behavior her parents sent her to a boarding school but when she drove a velocipede threw the school dining hall her parents, who were rarely ever around, decided to send her to her uncle who only agreed to take her in because Sally's father is the owner of the company that provides the Ember company with the steel it needs to manufacture its steam bots. When Sally breaks out of her private class she goes to a velocipede race in the lower class district of London and races her velocipede which she keeps hidden in one of her uncles old warehouses. Sally's uncle, Erasmus Croach sends Sky,London's only steam bot police officer, to go get her but when part of the race track breaks Sky and sally are sent falling down into the sewers and Sky's flying mechanism is broken. The pair wonder through the sewers together only to uncover a gruesome secret of the Ember company. All in all this is a great book with great art and a great storyline. I would recommend this book to anyone who is into steampunk, Victorian London, action, and/or mystery stuff.

[Bruce Gargoyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ten Second Synopsis:
Teenaged Sally Peppers is sent to stay with her Uncle, London’s foremost provider of steampowered automatons, after some anti-social behaviour at her school. After managing to escape from the clutches of her odious governess, Sally reluctantly teams up with steampowered police-bot Sky and uncovers some sinister facts about her Uncle’s business

If you enjoy steampunk, you’ll enjoy the rich world that Rosca has created here. Steambots aside, the story itself is fast-paced with Sally’s headstrong thoughtlessness balanced by the overly cautious, right-thinking Sky. The story ends on a cliff-hanger, leaving us hanging just as the meat of the story is revealed but there is at least one clue to how things might turn out partway through. The art style is manga and the story is easily short enough to be read in one sitting. I’m hanging out to see how the series develops. Oh, and did I mention that Rosca is Australian? Bonus points!

[Zoe I.L.K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the Plot of this manga becomes clear, this has a lot of potential. Unfortunately, this does not happen until the end of the manga… Nothing really gripped me until the end. Sky, and Sally were both okay as characters but they felt a little stale… The cover art is … well it’s better than Vampire High, but the way their mouth are open looks ridiculous, I was worried about whether the art work on the inside would look just as silly. Luckily, I really enjoyed the art work, both the characters grew on me especially when they know what’s being used for “Spare Parts” by Ember, but until that moment I nearly lost interest. So um yay for a potentially awesome plot line?

[Fade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and fast-paced, with plenty of gigantic clockwork and steam-powered machines (and no small number of clanking robots) to keep things exciting. I had a little trouble following some of the action scenes, and the characters aren't terribly complex at this stage, but it was totally worth pre-ordering a copy. The protagonist is just shy of being a brat, but at her age, that's still endearing rather than annoying; and Sky, the robotic policeman (police boy?), is absolutely adorable in his brainwashed Protect The Upper Class way. A good first volume all around.

[Magenta Cooly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was alright. The mystery part of it is horrifying to be sure, it's just that steampunk is more of a type of style for me than it is reading material, and the book was 93% of that story wise. Hollow Fields is steampunk in a way, but is set in more of the Hogwarts genre and, hello, had a Maleficent-like villain in the mix!
The characters are cute, but barely two-dimensional, and I paid way too much for the reluctant amount of mass I received!
The cliffhanger was interesting enough so that I'll continue reading, but I'm in no hurry to do so.

[Norman Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a promising beginning. It's a bit slow in spots, but establishes an interesting world and characters. I'll have to wait and see if future volumes deliver on this promise. The drawing style is quite professional, but some of the panels are a bit muddled as to what is going on. The lettering is sometimes a little too small to comfortably read. If you like Agatha Heterodyne, Girl Genius, by Phil and Kaja Foglio, you'll probably like The Clockwork Sky.

[Jessica Lower · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun!
It is a steampunk story in manga form following a young headstrong girl named Sally Peppers. She is trying to escape from her uncle who has kept her locked in his house in an agreement with her father, and quickly learns things at his factory aren't as they seem.
Considering how short this is, the plot was surprisingly well done. Though, it did leave on a cliffhanger just as things were starting to get really interesting.
I will have to pick up the nxt volume soon.

[Holly Letson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one started really slow, but picked up right about the middle of the book. I almost gave up on it during the slowness, but I'm really glad I didn't, as I ended up really enjoying it. Would love to read the next volume.

[Zach Sparks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't really enjoy this as much as I liked the Hollow Fields series, but I'm willing to get the next volume to see if it picks up the pace.

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Concept is interesting but the drawing is a bit messy. Not sure yet if I like it.

[P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

international steampunk manga with a heston-worthy twist (that you probably will figure out before all of the characters)

[Bunny]

great story. cant wait for the next one.

**full review to come**

[Lillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it, it isn't as good a as hollow fields but its only the first book so my opinion might change, but like hollow fields, very creepy!!!!!!!!!

[Shauntil · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was cute and interesting

[Joseph Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a little predictable and the soylent twist seems kinda dumb, but I like the futuristic vision and art, tinged with optimistic revolution.

[Rusty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a steampunk graphic novel about a world that is slowly converting to an all automaton workforce. The location is Victorian London, 1895 and the author uses wonderful artwork that drew me to select this book in the first place. It's delightful. The book is the first in an interesting new series by the author of the award winning Hollow Fields series which I have not yet seen let alone read. Perhaps I should check it out.

In this book and this time period lower class children are disappearing faster than their adults. The key character, Sally Peppers, is niece to Erasmus Croach, founder and chairmen of the Ember company. Sally is a rebellious and thrill seeking child whose parents worry about her behavior so much so that they send her off to live with her uncle. Then Sally goes off riding her velocipede and seeking adventure in a lower class neighborhood. Sky, London's only steam bot police officer, is directed to locate Sally. The two find themselves paired in an unusual set of circumstances where they accidentally discover a dark secret about Sally's uncle's steamboat factory and they have to decide whether or not to tell the world about it. It's a fun read coupled with wonderful colorful artwork.