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The Star Clock Chronicles #1
Dawn Bringer
In a world where the sun is a myth, dawn is coming.
Bertram Orren expected trouble with both the Time Keepers and faeries if he got caught in the faerie woods. He didn’t expect to get trapped in an abandoned faerie court deep underground while trying to save airship captain Marianna Bowditch from a will-o’-the-wisp. Nor did he expect he and Marianna to discover an ancient treasure that could help free the world from the Time King’s control, one that could bring back the people’s ability to navigate for themselves in a world where sun and moon, east and west are myths hidden by the faerie queen’s Star Veil. Even if Bertram and Marianna escape the caves, they’ve no way to navigate themselves to an airship port and safety, and if the Time Keepers find them, the world will never see the dawn.
DAWN BRINGER is a steampunk adventure-romance novelette. It is book 1 of The Star Clock Chronicles, a collection of standalone, connected novelette- and novella-length stories telling of the defeat of the Time King and the coming of dawn.
Bertram Orren expected trouble with both the Time Keepers and faeries if he got caught in the faerie woods. He didn’t expect to get trapped in an abandoned faerie court deep underground while trying to save airship captain Marianna Bowditch from a will-o’-the-wisp. Nor did he expect he and Marianna to discover an ancient treasure that could help free the world from the Time King’s control, one that could bring back the people’s ability to navigate for themselves in a world where sun and moon, east and west are myths hidden by the faerie queen’s Star Veil. Even if Bertram and Marianna escape the caves, they’ve no way to navigate themselves to an airship port and safety, and if the Time Keepers find them, the world will never see the dawn.
DAWN BRINGER is a steampunk adventure-romance novelette. It is book 1 of The Star Clock Chronicles, a collection of standalone, connected novelette- and novella-length stories telling of the defeat of the Time King and the coming of dawn.
75 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 16, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 5, 2023
What an absolute delight! I adore Captain Marianna, Bertram, and their banter. The steampunk world is fascinating (with a touch of faerie) and I am so excited to continue the series! So much packed into one novella. I also super enjoyed reading this aloud to my siblings. On to the next one!
May 23, 2023
This was a fun romp in a fantastical, gaslampy type world of automatons and fae.
February 3, 2024
This lil read made me laugh and I loved the worldbuilding concept of what it would be like if we didn't have access to navigation and was forced to rely on a powerful and magical being's navigation system who is anti-believer.
I did enjoy the characters and world!
Being picky, I didn't feel there was a character arc/growth or prominent theme and I felt the end might have been rushed/could have been worse for the characters, but it was a fun read and I love the cover!
I did enjoy the characters and world!
Being picky, I didn't feel there was a character arc/growth or prominent theme and I felt the end might have been rushed/could have been worse for the characters, but it was a fun read and I love the cover!
October 30, 2022
My only complaint is that it was to short!
May 2, 2024
Very short but lots of fun!
February 12, 2021
Received as a review copy, this an honest review. I really enjoyed the concept of this book and how its described; sadly reading it wasn't easy as it should have been. The author's writing is beautifully eloquent but sometimes the author would use too descriptive words rather than simpler words.
November 16, 2020
Dawn Bringer is the first book in a new steampunk series from author E J. Kitchens.
Right off the bat I was hooked by this interesting premise. A veil covers the planet and man can no longer navigate using the stars.
The hook gets better though, apparently this veil is a curse. No one can know where they are going beyond a three mile radius. Thus preventing men from finding alternatives to stellar navigation.
This was a fascinating bit of world building. As I had already thought of ways to navigate without the sky. But limiting a person's own sense of direction to three miles-- caused great story problems for the characters to overcome.
And Marianna and Bertram are nothing if not overcomers. The intrepid airship captain and the humble teacher, made a great pair.
There was always some new conflict that kept the story moving.
Marianna Bowditch detests the automated navigators she is forced to use on her airship. For the very fact that they can't think or react when things go wrong. So of course thing go wrong.
Bertram hates the government issued navigators because now the government know where you are and where you are going. And he hates the Fae that demand worship in place of the true God and who take every opportunity to mess with the humans going so far as to ruin crops and even take lives.
Well paced action, engaging characters, and a mystifying hook all make, the star clock chronicles a series that you keep coming back to with each new release.
*I was given an advance copy of this story for the purpose of review. The opinions expressed above are my own and are given willingly and honestly.*
Right off the bat I was hooked by this interesting premise. A veil covers the planet and man can no longer navigate using the stars.
The hook gets better though, apparently this veil is a curse. No one can know where they are going beyond a three mile radius. Thus preventing men from finding alternatives to stellar navigation.
This was a fascinating bit of world building. As I had already thought of ways to navigate without the sky. But limiting a person's own sense of direction to three miles-- caused great story problems for the characters to overcome.
And Marianna and Bertram are nothing if not overcomers. The intrepid airship captain and the humble teacher, made a great pair.
There was always some new conflict that kept the story moving.
Marianna Bowditch detests the automated navigators she is forced to use on her airship. For the very fact that they can't think or react when things go wrong. So of course thing go wrong.
Bertram hates the government issued navigators because now the government know where you are and where you are going. And he hates the Fae that demand worship in place of the true God and who take every opportunity to mess with the humans going so far as to ruin crops and even take lives.
Well paced action, engaging characters, and a mystifying hook all make, the star clock chronicles a series that you keep coming back to with each new release.
*I was given an advance copy of this story for the purpose of review. The opinions expressed above are my own and are given willingly and honestly.*
March 4, 2021
The concept behind this series is just so cool! A world where the sun and stars have been hidden behind a veil and people have no means of navigating themselves? Definitely a great setup for adventure! Bertram and Marianna had such a fun chemistry, and I liked the combination of steampunk with faerie influences. Dawn Bringer was fairly short, but it made for a great lead-in to the rest of the series!
*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.*
*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.*
June 1, 2024
This was a fantastic mix of steampunk fantasy and futuristic fantasy with a unique take on fae. There was a ton of fun banter and a mystery to solve. It's clear this series of novellas are all very closely tied together, so I'm eager to find out what happens in the rest.
Great for people looking for clean fantasy and sweet romance.
You can listen to it for free on the Finding Fantasy Reads podcast here: https://www.findingfantasyreads.com/d...
Great for people looking for clean fantasy and sweet romance.
You can listen to it for free on the Finding Fantasy Reads podcast here: https://www.findingfantasyreads.com/d...
July 4, 2021
A fascinating tale of suppression in the guise of protection. The moon and stars have been hidden, and it seems, only a schoolteacher and an airship captain, have what it takes to Winn the day.
May 3, 2024
A good shorter and fast paced story. I'm ready for the next one!
January 2, 2022
This is a really fun Steampunk+Magic world with some super cool world building. It's also all short works which means I have read like three of them fairly quickly. The first is my favorite so far, though.
This is a world with a blocked out sky and with a curse that prevents people from navigating on their own or knowing directions. Maps and compasses are outlawed. Travel and navigation is controlled by the Fae tyrants and regulated via robot. Just a lot going on, but easily understood in the world and not info dumpy.
It's a "romance" series, but the romance is pretty light. Like the book is mainly the two learning to work together and growing to care about each other and it's nice and extremely slow, but you basically end the book at the very beginning of a potential relationship. There's not even a kiss at the end, just kind of an idea that they are together. I probably would've moved it up a star had there been more payoff to the relationship. I thought at first that maybe this would carry on in book 2 and we'd see the relationship grow there, but three stories in, each story covers a separate couple with the previous couple mentioned due to shared connections but not actively in the story.
If you REALLY like your romance slow and chaste, this might not be an issue for you. If you are more about the "post falling in love" pay off in your romance, it might feel a little disappointing.
That said, it's one of the more interesting worlds I've read in the past several years, and I would recommend it just on that alone.
This is a world with a blocked out sky and with a curse that prevents people from navigating on their own or knowing directions. Maps and compasses are outlawed. Travel and navigation is controlled by the Fae tyrants and regulated via robot. Just a lot going on, but easily understood in the world and not info dumpy.
It's a "romance" series, but the romance is pretty light. Like the book is mainly the two learning to work together and growing to care about each other and it's nice and extremely slow, but you basically end the book at the very beginning of a potential relationship. There's not even a kiss at the end, just kind of an idea that they are together. I probably would've moved it up a star had there been more payoff to the relationship. I thought at first that maybe this would carry on in book 2 and we'd see the relationship grow there, but three stories in, each story covers a separate couple with the previous couple mentioned due to shared connections but not actively in the story.
If you REALLY like your romance slow and chaste, this might not be an issue for you. If you are more about the "post falling in love" pay off in your romance, it might feel a little disappointing.
That said, it's one of the more interesting worlds I've read in the past several years, and I would recommend it just on that alone.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews