The Clockwork Bluebird

The Clockwork Courts #1

by Ravven

London, 1897: Maia and her brother Tyler find themselves in the midst of a war between the Faerie Courts on Christmas Eve. Accompanied by a talking dog, a clockwork kitchen servant and Fox the stable boy, they embark on a quest to save their lost parents and find the Bluebird.

The palace of Night and the Land of the Dead. Skyships. The Goblin Market. A black wolf and the Huntsman who pursues him. A gang of clockwork-enhanced children living in the lost Underground tunnels under the city.

This is The Children’s Bluebird as you’ve never imagined it.

Genres: Steampunk, Fairies, Middle Grade, Fantasy

198 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Ravven is an author and artist, originally from the US but now living permanently in the UK. She lives with her husband in a tall, skinny house in a Staffordshire market town, with too many cats and far too many books. They both do a lot of gaming. The Clockwork Bluebird is her first book.

Likes: vodka and Pepsi, all-black clothing, reading on rainy days, the smell of a horse’s neck, Zoe from Firefly and eating raw chocolate chip cookie dough. Dislikes: epeen, reality TV, cigarettes and rudeness.

Reviews

[S.M. Blooding · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Lovely Children's Story

I loved this book. My sister didn't. I loved the characters. She found them to be a tad irritating. I adored the plot. She found it unbelievable. I deeply enjoyed the voice. SistaPITA found it "charming", which is her way of saying it wasn't for her.

So! Here we go with a review of two very differing opinions.

Apparently, this is based off of a fairy tale. I've never heard of it or read it. I don't think I missed anything by it, but now I'm intrigued. SistaPITA felt like she missed a big piece of the puzzle by not having read the story this book was based off of. Personally, I didn't feel as though there was anything I missed. I felt as though I caught the feel of the background, the history, the world. I really enjoyed the premise. It felt original to me.
I also really liked the characters. Okay. Okay. So they weren't the strongest characters ever, but the entire world isn't full of heroically strong people either. I enjoy reading stories about people I can relate to. I'm not saying I'd be all damsel-in-distress all the time, but it was nice to read about a little girl who really was a little girl and who didn't have all the answers all the time. In that, SistaPITA and I agreed.

I really enjoyed the pacing. It was a wild adventure to go from one place to the next, discovering all sorts of things and places. SistaPITA would have liked to sit and really discover each location. It wasn't until her and I were discussing the book (Okay. So, she was talking and I was glaring. That's how our conversations work. No. Really.) that I realized that, yeah, we really didn't spend a lot of time in each location. While I was reading it, I didn't care, but after she mentioned that, I was like, "Huh, it would have been cool to spend a bit more time in each location."
All in all, I found this to be a great book. SistaPITA found it to be a good story. We both agreed we'd read it again. So, I gave it five stars. She gave it three. Between the two of us, we're giving the book four. *grin* Great job!

[Amy Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. The worldbuilding was great - loved the concept of the fog, and of one of the two protagonists being a survivor of polio. There was a strong thread of good vs. evil in there that every kid needs, and a few bits that made me giggle - the dog and cat characters' attitudes to the world, especially. So true!

The plot point around the children's mother was really well done, and I enjoyed that part especially. The concept of kids hanging out in a certain place waiting to be born, fully aware of the lives they're going to have, is also fantastic. Lovely detail about the kids' lips - that one was great!

I think partly I'm only rating the book a 3 is that I've never read/heard the story it's based on. I feel like maybe there's a dimension I'm missing that maybe would have been there if I'd known the source material.

I also found that the book started off at a good pace, but when they embarked on their quest everything seemed to become quite speeded up, so they'd only spend a short of time in a place searching for the Bluebird. It was an epic quest that could probably have spanned two or three books, but was very condensed. For example, at one point they have to face ordeals behind doors. From the sounds of it, there's a whole vast place behind each door, yet they don't really go very far into it before they declare it searched and leave again, after something upsetting happens.

Since everything does only seem to happen in a brief time period, there isn't much room for the characters to react and interact with each other emotionally, which is a shame.

Overall, it's definitely worth a read, and kids will love it. Adult readers might be divided, but the worldbuilding alone makes it worth checking out.

[Jade Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do you get if you mix the fantasy adventure of Alice in Wonderland, add in some clockwork and airships and put in some fairy queens and talking animals? The answer is The Clockwork Bluebird... this book is a mixture of all the things I would have loved to read when I was twelve years old and reading this book took me back to that age where I didn't need any romance, all I needed was a good adventure with some fun characters and a slightly scary bad guy.

I felt a little bit out of the loop with this book because I haven't read the children's book that this was based on, so I think that I missed out on a few references and stuff that made it a tiny bit less awesome for me. I did really enjoy the story on it's own though, it was short and a complete story and the writing and descriptions were absolutely beautiful, I was really impressed by how Ravven managed to combine the whole steampunk and the fantasy together in this amazing London setting.

Maia and Tyler were both tough, adventurous characters. I loved spunky Maia from the start, but by the end she was such a tough fighter, the type of character I really would have connected with as a younger reader. Tyler started out more meek and mild, but he got a lot braver during this story - I loved him to pieces. The other characters were also fantastic - the treacherous Zazu, the loyal Pip, the faithful Bread and the cunning Fox - every single one of them added a dynamic to the story.

Overall, fans of classical children's books by Lewis Carroll and C.S. Lewis and Enid Blyton will love this book, it will take you back to your younger years. This is one book that you would like to read and then give to your kids in the future.

Overall Rating: A-

[Sonya Loveday · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off I want to say thank you to the author, Ravven. It's been a while since I read something that reminded me of the stories my father read to me as a child.
I LOVED the clockwork characters and wish I had my very own Bread!
Sorry everyone, but no spoilers from me (as always). But I will say this, if the cover doesn't grab you (and I don't see how that would even be possible)then the blurb will.
Amazing job Ravven! Can not wait until book 2!

[Hannah ⚔️ Jaedia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book in the same vein as many old fashioned children's fantasy stories such as Alice. Loved it.

Review to come.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book when I first read it. I'm glad to see it out there for others to read. A delightful adventure through the darker side of faery tales and mystery.

[Zvi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book. The female protagonist was weak and seemed to keep having to be saved all the time. The entire book was dull and seemingly endless,with too many easy solutions.