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Clockwork Calamity #1
Aether Spark: Book One of the Clockwork Calamity
Two covet the prize, but only one can hold the power.In a world where clockwork mechanisms hold the fascination of the meritocracy, it's a struggle for the ancient crafts to survive. But when an alchemist succeeds in creating raw Aether, an energy coveted for its eternal gift, it’s a fight to safeguard their secret and earn the recognition they deserve.
Who will harness its power? And at what cost?
Full of discovery, desperation, and disaster, Aether Spark is a compelling first installment that shows just how far-reaching and destructive man’s ambitions can be.
Who will harness its power? And at what cost?
Full of discovery, desperation, and disaster, Aether Spark is a compelling first installment that shows just how far-reaching and destructive man’s ambitions can be.
448 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 14, 2018
11 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 23, 2018
My favorite description of this book is simply: A Clockwork Les Mis.
The writing is powerful and the world and characters layered and interesting. This is a great example of showing how everyone can believe they are the hero in their own story and how the brilliance of man can go so very tragically wrong. It's a great read and I'm looking forward to book 2 and seeing what happens as the Clockwork Calamity continues.
The writing is powerful and the world and characters layered and interesting. This is a great example of showing how everyone can believe they are the hero in their own story and how the brilliance of man can go so very tragically wrong. It's a great read and I'm looking forward to book 2 and seeing what happens as the Clockwork Calamity continues.
April 30, 2018
Aether Spark provides an intriguing and thought provoking story set in a complex world. The characters are all very unique and realistically flawed, which made it fun getting to know them all. I'm excited to see what happens in the next installment.
April 14, 2018
This is the world you’ve been waiting for!
I first saw the cover for this book at a conference several months ago and have been anxiously waiting to read it ever since. It did not disappoint! The world is complex and layered, the characters are real and relatable, and the villains are both too real and frightening! If you are looking for a story that will lead you into a great adventure then you have found it! What an amazing book from a new author and I am anxiously waiting for book 2.
I first saw the cover for this book at a conference several months ago and have been anxiously waiting to read it ever since. It did not disappoint! The world is complex and layered, the characters are real and relatable, and the villains are both too real and frightening! If you are looking for a story that will lead you into a great adventure then you have found it! What an amazing book from a new author and I am anxiously waiting for book 2.
May 28, 2018
This is an engaging story with unique characters, set in a well developed world. Clockwork mechanisms can be integrated with human flesh, making truly functional prosthetics possible. The secret to making this work has been lost. Will it be found, and can it be protected?
The story kept me involved, and the book came to a rather surprising conclusion. I look forward to a continuation of the story in future volumes.
The story kept me involved, and the book came to a rather surprising conclusion. I look forward to a continuation of the story in future volumes.
June 2, 2018
A compelling setting and fascinating, nuanced characters. I'm going to miss them while I wait for the next installment, you can be sure. The plot is exploratory, which matches well with the thoughtful tone, and "ends" in a way that leaves you feeling the story has only just begun. I especially appreciated the serious way in which Petrarch grapples with issues that range from the sociopolitical to the spiritual, shifting his lens almost effortlessly from the personal to the grandiose. If you're looking for meaningful steampunk and some of the best indie work out there, don't miss your Chance to experience it here!
March 28, 2019
Very worth reading
The author does a great job of crafting the main elements of the world and people. He then sets them off to follow their own madness. Overall it is a great read!
The author does a great job of crafting the main elements of the world and people. He then sets them off to follow their own madness. Overall it is a great read!
February 29, 2020
I thought Aether Spark was a good debut novel, promising more good things to come. It had an interesting premise -- I liked the various tensions explored between alchemists vs. mechanists, Basin vs. Spire, commons vs. meritocracy. I also liked how the author set up parallel storylines, with Chance & Stoddard's twin obsessions, their relationships with Rhett & Margarete, and Arden & Emmaline respectively. The characters were mostly effectively developed, dialogue was solid, the plot was interesting, the pacing was satisfying.
A few things that I think could have been improved: Some characters and relationships definitely had better development than others. Stoddard, despite his importance, felt a little flat to me, and his relationship with Emmaline could have been really interesting but didn't, in my opinion, get enough genuine development. (For example, their past dalliance was hinted at but never really explored, so some of the dynamics of that relationship remained unclear.) When Emmaline was first introduced, she had sort of a mysterious air that I thought was going to blossom into something interesting, but she ended up being a pretty one-note, background character, and the few scenes with her and Stoddard near the end lacked pathos as a result. I did also feel like the plot with the aether sort of petered out and got replaced with the revolution of the Basin-dwellers plotline pretty abruptly. So I was sort of dissatisfied that the plot we were most invested in early on didn't go anywhere in this volume (I'm sure it will come back later in the series), and the plot that become crucial to the climax and resolution of the book didn't feel like it had as much rich development early on.
A few things that I think could have been improved: Some characters and relationships definitely had better development than others. Stoddard, despite his importance, felt a little flat to me, and his relationship with Emmaline could have been really interesting but didn't, in my opinion, get enough genuine development. (For example, their past dalliance was hinted at but never really explored, so some of the dynamics of that relationship remained unclear.) When Emmaline was first introduced, she had sort of a mysterious air that I thought was going to blossom into something interesting, but she ended up being a pretty one-note, background character, and the few scenes with her and Stoddard near the end lacked pathos as a result. I did also feel like the plot with the aether sort of petered out and got replaced with the revolution of the Basin-dwellers plotline pretty abruptly. So I was sort of dissatisfied that the plot we were most invested in early on didn't go anywhere in this volume (I'm sure it will come back later in the series), and the plot that become crucial to the climax and resolution of the book didn't feel like it had as much rich development early on.
March 25, 2019
While I enjoy a good Faustian myth set in the steampunk era, I was 38% through when I failed to engage with the characters. I have to admit that I was primarily concerned that the female characters had a minimal role to play. Since abandoning the book, I see that the second novel in this series is named for female characters and focuses on them more. Maybe I'll pick this back up again. I do think the idea of biomechanical prosthetics and alchemy is super interesting. A couple of months back, I finished binge watching _The Frankenstein Chronicles_ on Netflix, and that had a similar mood. Or maybe I'll read the second novel featuring female characters and then decide whether to go back and finish this one.
February 23, 2019
Original
Have the book 5 stars primarily for the originality of the story. Specifically, the alchemy and mechanics alonh with the take on intelligence. However, the pacing was slower that I'd like in a number of places. Also, a certain main character kept up with the poor me attitude just a bit too much. And having him accidentally kill the other guy at the very end... Not cool. And sad or disappointing. It felt like throwing away perfectly good characters.
Have the book 5 stars primarily for the originality of the story. Specifically, the alchemy and mechanics alonh with the take on intelligence. However, the pacing was slower that I'd like in a number of places. Also, a certain main character kept up with the poor me attitude just a bit too much. And having him accidentally kill the other guy at the very end... Not cool. And sad or disappointing. It felt like throwing away perfectly good characters.
September 30, 2019
I enjoyed this book very much. There was a lot of character building in this one because it is the first of the series, but the characters are certainly ones I find myself invested in. I enjoyed the imaginative setting as well. Having grown up in the East it was fun to imagine my old stomping grounds as something so different. I really think this is worth a read.
April 30, 2019
This feels like it has some golden ideas in it that just need a bit more development. The pacing felt a bit off, sometimes things moved too slowly, yet in other places you jump from general despair to large scale uprising in 3 pages and find yourself wondering how you got there. Chance was a curious protagonist, but I feel like I never figured out what his story was. Why was he so whiny all the time? How did he meet Ringold? What were his golden dreams that Margaret liked so much? And it sounds like I might never fill in those gaps.
It felt very much like a setup for a sequel, and I knew there was a sequel. Then I got to the end and...was left with a lot of questions that I'm not sure will ever be answered. It sounds like there may be many more pieces that make up this story.
Doctor Stoddard was my favorite character. Yeah he turned out a bit ruthless, but I could find something admirable in his yearning to discover. It complicated the usual power hungry thing. Anyway, when most of the characters felt like they needed a bit more development he came out pretty complex.
Aether....I was intrigued by the concept but didn't quite get enough of it to get it. Maybe the sequel will help.
It felt very much like a setup for a sequel, and I knew there was a sequel. Then I got to the end and...was left with a lot of questions that I'm not sure will ever be answered. It sounds like there may be many more pieces that make up this story.
Doctor Stoddard was my favorite character. Yeah he turned out a bit ruthless, but I could find something admirable in his yearning to discover. It complicated the usual power hungry thing. Anyway, when most of the characters felt like they needed a bit more development he came out pretty complex.
Aether....I was intrigued by the concept but didn't quite get enough of it to get it. Maybe the sequel will help.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews