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The Steam Clock Legacy #1
Prehistoric Clock
Airship officer Verity Champlain is well-respected by her crew. But after a vital mission nearly goes wrong, she is having second thoughts about her career.
Lord Garrett Embrey is on the run. The Leviacrum Council, the secretive scientific body that holds sway over the Empire, executed his father and uncle and now they want him dead too.
Professor Cecil Reardon is consumed by grief. Since his wife and son died he's been obsessed with his work, and now he is on the verge of an extraordinary scientific breakthrough: his machine is about to breach time itself, to undo fate's cruel taking of his loved ones.
But the time jump doesn't go according to plan, and part of London winds up millions of years in the past. Verity and her crew--Lord Embrey, Professor Reardon and others stranded with them--must pull together to survive in a world ruled by dinosaurs...and to somehow get home.
59,000 words
Lord Garrett Embrey is on the run. The Leviacrum Council, the secretive scientific body that holds sway over the Empire, executed his father and uncle and now they want him dead too.
Professor Cecil Reardon is consumed by grief. Since his wife and son died he's been obsessed with his work, and now he is on the verge of an extraordinary scientific breakthrough: his machine is about to breach time itself, to undo fate's cruel taking of his loved ones.
But the time jump doesn't go according to plan, and part of London winds up millions of years in the past. Verity and her crew--Lord Embrey, Professor Reardon and others stranded with them--must pull together to survive in a world ruled by dinosaurs...and to somehow get home.
59,000 words
241 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 6, 2012
9 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Robert Appleton
63 books70 followersRobert Appleton is a British science fiction and adventure author partial to tales of survival in far-flung locations. Many of his sci-fi books share the same universe as his popular Alien Safari series, though tend to feature standalone storylines. His rebellious characters range from an orphaned grifter on Mars to a lone woman gate-crashing the war in her biotech suit. His sci-fi readers regularly earn enough frequent flyer miles to qualify for a cross-galaxy voyage of their choosing. His publishers include Harlequin Carina Press, and he also ghost-writes novels in other genres. In his free time he hikes, plays soccer, and kayaks whenever he can. The night sky is his inspiration.
His work has been nominated for several awards, and in 2011 he won the EPIC Award for Best Historical Fiction.
Be sure to follow Robert on BookBub for the latest on sales: https://bit.ly/3qLWVHu
His work has been nominated for several awards, and in 2011 he won the EPIC Award for Best Historical Fiction.
Be sure to follow Robert on BookBub for the latest on sales: https://bit.ly/3qLWVHu
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 30, 2016
Sooner or later, clockwork requires each piece to accept its nature or break. Hearts are no different.
I have limited experience with steampunk. Most of what I've stumbled across has been romance of some sort or other, which is fine in its way. But that's why I kept expecting someone to leap into bed with someone in this book. There is a romance element - but a PNR this ain't. (*muted rejoicing*)
What this is is the story of Professor Cecil Reardon, whose wife and young son were killed in a terrible accident - and he wants them back. He has been working to conquer all obstacles to the time travel necessary to go back and save them. The work is kept undercover; to keep them from interfering, he is happy to allow the Leviacrum Council to see him as having become a doddering old codger broken by his tragedies. He is getting close, when one night -
The same night that Lord Garrett Embrey goes on the lam from the Leviacrum Council. He took the floor to protest, in the strongest terms, the unjust executions of his father and uncle, and when his vocal dissent accelerates the Council's intentions to put him out of the way, he runs out into the night -
Which is also the same night that sees Airship Officer Verity Champlain into the port of London. She and her crew have seen some harrowing action, leaving her the senior officer aboard, and she and her largely African crew are looking forward to decompressing and untangling exactly what has happened to them and to the Empire, and what will happen next. And ice cream. Their airship sails into London's night -
And the night is split by a massive concussion, a blinding light. When people gradually come to, they discover that they are where they had been, in the heart of London - but they are no longer when they had been. The blocks of London town where they happened to be have been excised and transported back - to the age of dinosaurs..
The result is the best dinosaurs vs. humans story I've ever read.
Not that there have been so very many of those.
Conspiracy, top-secret government plots, dinosaurs stampeding through London streets; factions emerging and lives coming under threat in the heat of emotion; loyalty and betrayal and, yes, a romance - all the folk dropped together in the midst of the prehistoric jungle don't quite get along, and even the prospect of getting back home doesn't pull them together. And if they do get home ... then what? The velociraptor is out of the bag, the experiment in time travel has gone beyond the drawing board, and the government is going to be all over it.
Skillful writing, nice characterizations, a really wonderful airship, and some truly awful dinosaurs and people both: well done.
Received from Netgalley for review - thank you!
I have limited experience with steampunk. Most of what I've stumbled across has been romance of some sort or other, which is fine in its way. But that's why I kept expecting someone to leap into bed with someone in this book. There is a romance element - but a PNR this ain't. (*muted rejoicing*)
What this is is the story of Professor Cecil Reardon, whose wife and young son were killed in a terrible accident - and he wants them back. He has been working to conquer all obstacles to the time travel necessary to go back and save them. The work is kept undercover; to keep them from interfering, he is happy to allow the Leviacrum Council to see him as having become a doddering old codger broken by his tragedies. He is getting close, when one night -
The same night that Lord Garrett Embrey goes on the lam from the Leviacrum Council. He took the floor to protest, in the strongest terms, the unjust executions of his father and uncle, and when his vocal dissent accelerates the Council's intentions to put him out of the way, he runs out into the night -
Which is also the same night that sees Airship Officer Verity Champlain into the port of London. She and her crew have seen some harrowing action, leaving her the senior officer aboard, and she and her largely African crew are looking forward to decompressing and untangling exactly what has happened to them and to the Empire, and what will happen next. And ice cream. Their airship sails into London's night -
And the night is split by a massive concussion, a blinding light. When people gradually come to, they discover that they are where they had been, in the heart of London - but they are no longer when they had been. The blocks of London town where they happened to be have been excised and transported back - to the age of dinosaurs..
The result is the best dinosaurs vs. humans story I've ever read.
Not that there have been so very many of those.
Conspiracy, top-secret government plots, dinosaurs stampeding through London streets; factions emerging and lives coming under threat in the heat of emotion; loyalty and betrayal and, yes, a romance - all the folk dropped together in the midst of the prehistoric jungle don't quite get along, and even the prospect of getting back home doesn't pull them together. And if they do get home ... then what? The velociraptor is out of the bag, the experiment in time travel has gone beyond the drawing board, and the government is going to be all over it.
Skillful writing, nice characterizations, a really wonderful airship, and some truly awful dinosaurs and people both: well done.
Received from Netgalley for review - thank you!
April 11, 2022
Confession: I'm a huge steampunk fan, so I was really looking forward to reading this book. There were 3 main characters: Airship officer Verity Champlain, Lord Garrett Embrey, and Professor Cecil Reardon. I had a little bit of trouble at the beginning of the book because we were just dropped right into the middle of what felt like a story that had been ongoing, without getting to know the characters first. Luckily, by about 1/3 of the way in, things had evened out, and I was able to get drawn fully into the story. A series of unfortunate events occurs to bring our 3 main characters together, and they are thrown headlong into a rift in time caused by Professor Reardon's time machine going a bit haywire. There they have to fight for their lives against dinosaurs, which was an interesting twist on your usual steampunk adventure.
I found myself enjoying this book very much. I liked the characters and the way they interacted with each other. The story itself was interesting and attention grabbing, and after the initial choppiness, the pacing evened out nicely. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series, and am therefore giving this book 4/5 stars.
I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.
I found myself enjoying this book very much. I liked the characters and the way they interacted with each other. The story itself was interesting and attention grabbing, and after the initial choppiness, the pacing evened out nicely. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series, and am therefore giving this book 4/5 stars.
I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.
March 20, 2021
Couldn't get into this book. The story rolls out way too fast and throws a bunch of characters and actions with no time to establish a link with the characters or story line. As a stand alone book it fails.
In order to engage readers the authors needs to first get you invested in the characters. This never really happened.
In order to engage readers the authors needs to first get you invested in the characters. This never really happened.
February 8, 2012
Steampunk. Time travel. Dinosaurs.
These three things make Robert Appleton's Prehistoric Clock a book after my heart. And does it capture it? Does the book provide a fun and engaging story along with its interesting premise?
Yes. Yes it does.
And thank goodness for that. When I read the synopsis, I so wanted to like the book, but I worried it wouldn't live up to its potential.
Set in 1908, Prehistoric Clock is told from the perspectives of three main characters, Verity Champlain, an acting captain of an airship, Lord Garret Embrey, an aristocrat wrongly accused in a conspiratorial trial, and Cecil Reardon, the inventor who creates the time machine that drives the plot behind the novel.
Though Reardon's scientific experiments are sponsored by a shady organisation called the Leviacrum (which we are given to suspect also controls the British empire), he secretly builds a time machine which he intends to use to go back in time to save his wife and son from dying seven years earlier.
Of course, something goes wrong, and instead of sending Reardon back in time, the time machine sends a large chunk of London back in time. Not just seven years, but to the prehistoric age. Champlain's airship and Lord Embrey get caught in this time bubble as well, and not long after arriving in their new era, they unite to try survive and find a way back to their own time, but not without some initial misgivings.
The story starts by focusing on the survivors but as they explore their surroundings using Champlain's airship, the author pulls back the curtains just a tiny bit to let us know that this prehistoric land is hiding something much more sinister than just dangerous reptiles.
The characters are commendable. Verity Champlain is a no-nonsense female who knows how to gets things done and commands respect from her crew. She harbours a great regret, in that she wasn't around to save her beloved sister from a rebellion in Angola, a rebellion that incidentally, Embrey, along with his father and uncle, is accused of starting.
That provides some tension between the two and though Garrett Embrey maybe a toff, he is also tough, being somewhat of a seasoned gentleman explorer. Armed with two steam-powered pistols, Embrey is the typical macho hero of pulp adventures who can do no wrong. He is the lovable rogue of the story and there's nothing wrong with that.
Cecil Reardon starts out as somewhat of a foolish and selfish character, but we soon become sympathetic with him as the story moves along. What I really liked about him is that he becomes much more important later in the story than is let on, but I'll let you discover that one out for yourself.
Prehistoric Clock is a wonderful novel in the spirit of pulp adventures by H. Rider Haggard and Edgar Rice Burroughs and is the first book of a series. If you love page-turning thrills with a dash of romance, here's a book for you.
But really, you should have bought it the moment you read "steampunk, time travel and dinosaurs".
These three things make Robert Appleton's Prehistoric Clock a book after my heart. And does it capture it? Does the book provide a fun and engaging story along with its interesting premise?
Yes. Yes it does.
And thank goodness for that. When I read the synopsis, I so wanted to like the book, but I worried it wouldn't live up to its potential.
Set in 1908, Prehistoric Clock is told from the perspectives of three main characters, Verity Champlain, an acting captain of an airship, Lord Garret Embrey, an aristocrat wrongly accused in a conspiratorial trial, and Cecil Reardon, the inventor who creates the time machine that drives the plot behind the novel.
Though Reardon's scientific experiments are sponsored by a shady organisation called the Leviacrum (which we are given to suspect also controls the British empire), he secretly builds a time machine which he intends to use to go back in time to save his wife and son from dying seven years earlier.
Of course, something goes wrong, and instead of sending Reardon back in time, the time machine sends a large chunk of London back in time. Not just seven years, but to the prehistoric age. Champlain's airship and Lord Embrey get caught in this time bubble as well, and not long after arriving in their new era, they unite to try survive and find a way back to their own time, but not without some initial misgivings.
The story starts by focusing on the survivors but as they explore their surroundings using Champlain's airship, the author pulls back the curtains just a tiny bit to let us know that this prehistoric land is hiding something much more sinister than just dangerous reptiles.
The characters are commendable. Verity Champlain is a no-nonsense female who knows how to gets things done and commands respect from her crew. She harbours a great regret, in that she wasn't around to save her beloved sister from a rebellion in Angola, a rebellion that incidentally, Embrey, along with his father and uncle, is accused of starting.
That provides some tension between the two and though Garrett Embrey maybe a toff, he is also tough, being somewhat of a seasoned gentleman explorer. Armed with two steam-powered pistols, Embrey is the typical macho hero of pulp adventures who can do no wrong. He is the lovable rogue of the story and there's nothing wrong with that.
Cecil Reardon starts out as somewhat of a foolish and selfish character, but we soon become sympathetic with him as the story moves along. What I really liked about him is that he becomes much more important later in the story than is let on, but I'll let you discover that one out for yourself.
Prehistoric Clock is a wonderful novel in the spirit of pulp adventures by H. Rider Haggard and Edgar Rice Burroughs and is the first book of a series. If you love page-turning thrills with a dash of romance, here's a book for you.
But really, you should have bought it the moment you read "steampunk, time travel and dinosaurs".
February 19, 2012
I had read Appleton's previous novel The Mysterious Lady Law and was sufficiently entertained to want to check out this new story. I began the story confused as the characters burst onto the page with strong personalities and fully formed backgrounds. I was trying to figure out how everything went together in this alternative world as we jumped around three different perspectives: airship captain Verity Champlain who mourns the loss of her sister; Lord Garrett Embrey, whose father and uncle were executed as traitors and now finds himself on the chopping block; and Professor Cecil Reardon who is planning to travel back in time in order to be reunited with his deceased wife and son. I found it very jarring at first but soon all of those plus more converged on one spot and traveled back in time. Not the few years that Reardon had anticipated but back to prehistoric times with dinosaurs. Needless to say this results in chaos as they scramble to return while battling an evil secret government agency.
Personally I'm not a big fan of the dinosaur ages so that was not a draw to me; it wasn't even something I thought about. Still it's not something featured often in books so the uniqueness did appeal to me. I was much more interested in the secret agency which is incredibly powerful and has a very hidden agenda that will presumably be unraveled in future books as this is a start to a series.
I am guessing that since we are at the beginning of series, that explains the lack of romance. I wanted much more in that regard and there is some sexual tension between Verity and Embrey but not as much as I would have liked. I am betting that more is to come though.
Overall: Interesting characters and a promising premise bode well for the future of this series!
Personally I'm not a big fan of the dinosaur ages so that was not a draw to me; it wasn't even something I thought about. Still it's not something featured often in books so the uniqueness did appeal to me. I was much more interested in the secret agency which is incredibly powerful and has a very hidden agenda that will presumably be unraveled in future books as this is a start to a series.
I am guessing that since we are at the beginning of series, that explains the lack of romance. I wanted much more in that regard and there is some sexual tension between Verity and Embrey but not as much as I would have liked. I am betting that more is to come though.
Overall: Interesting characters and a promising premise bode well for the future of this series!
January 8, 2022
Could not finish, didn't grab me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2012
See all my reviews at http://www.readingreality.net
Prehistoric Clock by Robert Appleton is a steam-powered adventure story of the Jules Verne school of adventuring. Not to mention the Jules Verne era of scientific knowledge. But as an adventure story, it's definitely great fun.
Prehistoric Clock is Victorian-inspired steampunk, so it is set in an alternate British Empire on which the sun has not set, and does not look likely to. The year is 1908, but it is definitely not our 1908. The world is powered, not just by steam, but also by an energy called psammeticum. Great airships rule the skies. And the secretive scientific gents (and a few ladies) of the Leviacrum Council, are the ones who really run the Empire.
Two seemingly unrelated events collide, rather spectacularly. Lieutenant Verity Champlain has promised the loyal crew of the Empress Matilda that she will get them to London, even if it's a place that she barely remembers and that most of them have never seen. The Empress is an airship of the British Air Corps, and she has been ordered to London from her base in Africa. Her orders are to "protect the pipeline at all costs".
Lord Garrett Embrey is in London, standing before a Star Chamber within the deep recesses of Grosvenor House. The supposedly "august gentlemen" are Government bureaucrats, but Embrey knows they are merely puppets of the Leviacrum Council. It has only been 18 months since his father and uncle were convicted of trumped-up charges of treason, and these same "gentlemen" have manufactured evidence against him as well.
Embrey whisks the forged letters away from the blackguards and flees the premises, one step ahead of the steam-powered Black Maria dogging his steps. He has a yacht at the marina, and he's planning to leave England, hopefully for good. Now he knows there's nothing left for him.
Professor Cecil Reardon manages to fool the Leviacrum Council's inspection one last time. As soon as he has ushered their harridan of an investigator, Miss Polperro, out the door, he stops caring. All of his supposed work for the Council has been a grand hoax.
The Leviacrum Council has been building two great Leviacrum Towers, one in London, and another on the Benguela Plateau. Verity Champlain's airship came from Benguela. Garrett Embry's family was sacrificed on the altar of secrecy because they asked questions about that tower.
Cecil Reardon was supposed to be working on methods of harnessing Leviacrum power, in anticipation of a great event. Instead, he worked on something of his own. As soon as Miss Polperro left his factory, he flipped the switch on his Time Clock, in hopes of returning to the time before his wife and son died.
Professor Reardon's invention works spectacularly but not accurately. London is cleaved in two. Big Ben is carved through the middle, and time is symbolically, as well as literally, shattered. The district surrounding Reardon's factory is transported, not just a few decades back in time, but centuries, back to the Cretaceous period. Dinosaurs roam the earth.
Some humans survive the transition to this world of adventure. The Professor is at the epicenter. Unfortunately for him, Miss Polperro and her band of Inquisitors are trapped within the cone of transferrance. Verity Champlain's airship is dragged out of the sky by the storm the time slip produces.
As for Garrett Embry, he is caught just barely inside the blast range with the young son of an ice cream truck driver. The boy's father was killed in the separation. To Embry, the brave new/old world is a much better adventure than the trial he barely escaped, even with pterodactyls swooping out of the sky at every turn.
But the intrepid band of time wanderers cannot survive long in the terrifying past. The Professor must find a way to reverse the time clock's trajectory, but he will only have one opportunity to get it right. And only if the dinosaurs don't eat them first!
Escape Rating B: Jules Verne and H.G. Wells would be so proud! Prehistoric Clock reads very much like something of the Verne school of adventure writing, and there is a definite nod to Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth at the end. Of course the Clock itself is a time machine of the Wells' persuasion, without the Eloi and Morlock, but Wells' time traveler doesn't suffer the same sad backstory as motivation as Professor Reardon.
The truly fascinating character in Prehistoric Clock is Verity Champlain. A female airship officer wasn't usual, but her crew did not merely respect her, but found her so compelling that they gave her a particular honorific title, Eembu. It means "trousers". Meet her and you'll find out why.
The ending is open enough that there could be a sequel. I sincerely hope so.
Prehistoric Clock by Robert Appleton is a steam-powered adventure story of the Jules Verne school of adventuring. Not to mention the Jules Verne era of scientific knowledge. But as an adventure story, it's definitely great fun.
Prehistoric Clock is Victorian-inspired steampunk, so it is set in an alternate British Empire on which the sun has not set, and does not look likely to. The year is 1908, but it is definitely not our 1908. The world is powered, not just by steam, but also by an energy called psammeticum. Great airships rule the skies. And the secretive scientific gents (and a few ladies) of the Leviacrum Council, are the ones who really run the Empire.
Two seemingly unrelated events collide, rather spectacularly. Lieutenant Verity Champlain has promised the loyal crew of the Empress Matilda that she will get them to London, even if it's a place that she barely remembers and that most of them have never seen. The Empress is an airship of the British Air Corps, and she has been ordered to London from her base in Africa. Her orders are to "protect the pipeline at all costs".
Lord Garrett Embrey is in London, standing before a Star Chamber within the deep recesses of Grosvenor House. The supposedly "august gentlemen" are Government bureaucrats, but Embrey knows they are merely puppets of the Leviacrum Council. It has only been 18 months since his father and uncle were convicted of trumped-up charges of treason, and these same "gentlemen" have manufactured evidence against him as well.
Embrey whisks the forged letters away from the blackguards and flees the premises, one step ahead of the steam-powered Black Maria dogging his steps. He has a yacht at the marina, and he's planning to leave England, hopefully for good. Now he knows there's nothing left for him.
Professor Cecil Reardon manages to fool the Leviacrum Council's inspection one last time. As soon as he has ushered their harridan of an investigator, Miss Polperro, out the door, he stops caring. All of his supposed work for the Council has been a grand hoax.
The Leviacrum Council has been building two great Leviacrum Towers, one in London, and another on the Benguela Plateau. Verity Champlain's airship came from Benguela. Garrett Embry's family was sacrificed on the altar of secrecy because they asked questions about that tower.
Cecil Reardon was supposed to be working on methods of harnessing Leviacrum power, in anticipation of a great event. Instead, he worked on something of his own. As soon as Miss Polperro left his factory, he flipped the switch on his Time Clock, in hopes of returning to the time before his wife and son died.
Professor Reardon's invention works spectacularly but not accurately. London is cleaved in two. Big Ben is carved through the middle, and time is symbolically, as well as literally, shattered. The district surrounding Reardon's factory is transported, not just a few decades back in time, but centuries, back to the Cretaceous period. Dinosaurs roam the earth.
Some humans survive the transition to this world of adventure. The Professor is at the epicenter. Unfortunately for him, Miss Polperro and her band of Inquisitors are trapped within the cone of transferrance. Verity Champlain's airship is dragged out of the sky by the storm the time slip produces.
As for Garrett Embry, he is caught just barely inside the blast range with the young son of an ice cream truck driver. The boy's father was killed in the separation. To Embry, the brave new/old world is a much better adventure than the trial he barely escaped, even with pterodactyls swooping out of the sky at every turn.
But the intrepid band of time wanderers cannot survive long in the terrifying past. The Professor must find a way to reverse the time clock's trajectory, but he will only have one opportunity to get it right. And only if the dinosaurs don't eat them first!
Escape Rating B: Jules Verne and H.G. Wells would be so proud! Prehistoric Clock reads very much like something of the Verne school of adventure writing, and there is a definite nod to Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth at the end. Of course the Clock itself is a time machine of the Wells' persuasion, without the Eloi and Morlock, but Wells' time traveler doesn't suffer the same sad backstory as motivation as Professor Reardon.
The truly fascinating character in Prehistoric Clock is Verity Champlain. A female airship officer wasn't usual, but her crew did not merely respect her, but found her so compelling that they gave her a particular honorific title, Eembu. It means "trousers". Meet her and you'll find out why.
The ending is open enough that there could be a sequel. I sincerely hope so.
January 9, 2015
Re-read. 1908 steampunk London "roughly a square quarter of a mile" p 39 explodes back to Cretaceous dinosaur era. Front half of Big Ben clock tower stops at 20 past eight, "derelict remains of Whitehall and Westminster .. recognizable" p 35. Prof Cecil Reardon invented a time machine aimed at 1901, before his beloved wife and son died, that misfires, bringing along evil Miss Agnes Polperro and cronies mid-inspection.
Thankfully more "blinding purple flash blazed" p 29 and lilac haze predominate over gabblegook "psammeticum transfer process .. Hilary magno-abacus .. hub" p 26, Harrison "celestial chronometer .. temporal differentiator" p 28, and steam-pistol innard operation.
Airship Empress Matilda brings courageous Captain Verity Champlain, who questions lives sacrificed for the Empire - her sister, captain, comrades, fleet, and nearly her own. Loyal coxswain Tengeni and African crew call her Eembu, for her trouser outfit. Lord Garrett Embrey, on the run from the corrupt Leviacrum Council who framed and executed his father and uncle for treason, is saved from drowning in disaster by Billy 10ish, "Manchester" "Lancashire" accent, thereby orphaned.
Actions bear out simplistic superficial assumptions, on appearances, political affiliations, age. Whoever looks good is good. Child is good. Whoever opposes good is bad.
Agnes has - "thick spectacles .. snooty .. thin lips curled cruelly .. schoolmarm [repeated insult] face" p 27. Verity is cute, red-hair cropped short, shapely in jhodpurs, "ample bosom" p 61, "elfin" p 115. Garrett is blond "glistening Adonis physique" p 117.
Cecil is typecast mad scientist. "Let God stop it if He must" p 25, repeats. Obsessed recluse accomplishes impossible. He is "shortish, slightly overweight, middle-aged .. [eccentric] maroon dinner jacket .. shock of silver hair resembled an upended petrified mop and emphasized his thin square-jawed face and receding hairline" p 39, "bushy silver-white beard" p 183. He sees Reardon features in son Edmond's photo - "black curly hair .. thin face .. square chin .. button nose .. eyes .. close" p 25. He theorizes Billy, preoccupied with picture book of dinosaurs, diverted their destination.
Danger only comes from dinosaurs, different than kinds we know. Almost all are carnivorous, hungry, drawn by blood, only one vegetarian, shy. Same reasons TV UK Primeval cancelled NA New World. Best show was UK funny silly Diictodons http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTZbjt...
Humans divulge natures under crisis. First Agnes points out Reardon so cronies and drunks lynch him, saved by Embrey. In past, rusted fallen ruins are like Leviacrum towers, only taller, reach for purple energy from soon passing comet. Mystery remains for rest of series.
Thankfully more "blinding purple flash blazed" p 29 and lilac haze predominate over gabblegook "psammeticum transfer process .. Hilary magno-abacus .. hub" p 26, Harrison "celestial chronometer .. temporal differentiator" p 28, and steam-pistol innard operation.
Airship Empress Matilda brings courageous Captain Verity Champlain, who questions lives sacrificed for the Empire - her sister, captain, comrades, fleet, and nearly her own. Loyal coxswain Tengeni and African crew call her Eembu, for her trouser outfit. Lord Garrett Embrey, on the run from the corrupt Leviacrum Council who framed and executed his father and uncle for treason, is saved from drowning in disaster by Billy 10ish, "Manchester" "Lancashire" accent, thereby orphaned.
Actions bear out simplistic superficial assumptions, on appearances, political affiliations, age. Whoever looks good is good. Child is good. Whoever opposes good is bad.
Agnes has - "thick spectacles .. snooty .. thin lips curled cruelly .. schoolmarm [repeated insult] face" p 27. Verity is cute, red-hair cropped short, shapely in jhodpurs, "ample bosom" p 61, "elfin" p 115. Garrett is blond "glistening Adonis physique" p 117.
Cecil is typecast mad scientist. "Let God stop it if He must" p 25, repeats. Obsessed recluse accomplishes impossible. He is "shortish, slightly overweight, middle-aged .. [eccentric] maroon dinner jacket .. shock of silver hair resembled an upended petrified mop and emphasized his thin square-jawed face and receding hairline" p 39, "bushy silver-white beard" p 183. He sees Reardon features in son Edmond's photo - "black curly hair .. thin face .. square chin .. button nose .. eyes .. close" p 25. He theorizes Billy, preoccupied with picture book of dinosaurs, diverted their destination.
Danger only comes from dinosaurs, different than kinds we know. Almost all are carnivorous, hungry, drawn by blood, only one vegetarian, shy. Same reasons TV UK Primeval cancelled NA New World. Best show was UK funny silly Diictodons http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTZbjt...
Humans divulge natures under crisis. First Agnes points out Reardon so cronies and drunks lynch him, saved by Embrey. In past, rusted fallen ruins are like Leviacrum towers, only taller, reach for purple energy from soon passing comet. Mystery remains for rest of series.
March 25, 2024
I requested this book for review based on the interesting cover and premise, and was excited to get to read it. The first thing I noticed about Prehistoric Clock was that it was surprisingly well-written. Although I am a big fan of steampunk books, I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to get from a London-based steampunk novel with time travel and dinosaurs. It could be great fun, executed smoothly like Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century series, or it could have left much to be desired. I am happy to report that Prehistoric Clock was far from a disappointment.
The novel follows the stories of three different protagonists, each very different from the next. First, you have your the strong female figure, captain of an airship in a time when male dominance presides. She is beginning to question the motives behind some of her life decisions, and whether she truly wants to follow in the footsteps of her family. Then, there's the son of a marquess. His uncle and father were executed after a false trial rife with judicial conspiracy and forged evidence. He is doing his best to keep his enemies at bay and find out the truth behind the secret that led to his father's death. Finally, you have a jaded scientist devoting his time into developing a method of time manipulation to save his family à la The Butterfly Effect. Their paths become intertwined through a simple case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Prehistoric Clock has a lot going for it. The action scenes are heart-pounding. The suspenseful sequences are thrilling, leaving the reader with an appreciable growth of dread to rival the characters'. The mysterious elements of the plot leave you with niggling questions pricking at the back of your mind . The romantic scenes are sweet, not unnecessarily forced or over-the-top. It is a well-crafted, adeptly compiled and thoroughly entertaining novel. Fans of science fiction, steampunk, and time travel will delight in this wonderful gem. I know I am anxiously awaiting the next installment in the series.
This book was obtained freely from the publisher, Carina Press, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The novel follows the stories of three different protagonists, each very different from the next. First, you have your the strong female figure, captain of an airship in a time when male dominance presides. She is beginning to question the motives behind some of her life decisions, and whether she truly wants to follow in the footsteps of her family. Then, there's the son of a marquess. His uncle and father were executed after a false trial rife with judicial conspiracy and forged evidence. He is doing his best to keep his enemies at bay and find out the truth behind the secret that led to his father's death. Finally, you have a jaded scientist devoting his time into developing a method of time manipulation to save his family à la The Butterfly Effect. Their paths become intertwined through a simple case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Prehistoric Clock has a lot going for it. The action scenes are heart-pounding. The suspenseful sequences are thrilling, leaving the reader with an appreciable growth of dread to rival the characters'. The mysterious elements of the plot leave you with niggling questions pricking at the back of your mind . The romantic scenes are sweet, not unnecessarily forced or over-the-top. It is a well-crafted, adeptly compiled and thoroughly entertaining novel. Fans of science fiction, steampunk, and time travel will delight in this wonderful gem. I know I am anxiously awaiting the next installment in the series.
This book was obtained freely from the publisher, Carina Press, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 30, 2019
Worst story EVER!!!
Holy crap! This is one of the worst books I’ve ever read and I’ll never read this author again if that the kind of endings he writes. WTF?
I’m not even going to tell you what it’s about I’m so pissed off.
No sex, no swearing, no nothing. A total waste of my time.
As to the narration: This was an old narration of Polly Lee (Ashford McNab) and she did a pretty good job with the voices, but she sucked when it came to reading with any emotions. I mean, when your about to be attacked by a dinosaur and someone yells at you you’d think the narrator would “act” a little differently than just reading the words in the book. BUT, she’s now one of my top five favorite narrators so she’s come a long way.
February 8, 2013
3.5 stars.
I've enjoyed a few other Steam Punk novels, this one felt a little different to me, and did take a while to get into. The characters drew my interest, but I also felt like there could have been more to them. They were a little too much on the surface.
It was a fun adventure, even though it was filled with death and deceit. I enjoyed the prehistoric aspect, it's not the usual time frame for steam punk and was used very well in the plot.
This is a series, but I don't think I'll read any more, even though I did enjoy this one, it still wasn't great. It seems like series only disappoint as they continue, so I'll leave with only the first book read.
I've enjoyed a few other Steam Punk novels, this one felt a little different to me, and did take a while to get into. The characters drew my interest, but I also felt like there could have been more to them. They were a little too much on the surface.
It was a fun adventure, even though it was filled with death and deceit. I enjoyed the prehistoric aspect, it's not the usual time frame for steam punk and was used very well in the plot.
This is a series, but I don't think I'll read any more, even though I did enjoy this one, it still wasn't great. It seems like series only disappoint as they continue, so I'll leave with only the first book read.
August 1, 2012
Steampunk AND dinosaurs. Airships AND time travel. Robert Appleton has this way of building big worlds and populating them with a complex ensemble cast of characters. I am never disappointed with his stories. Fun, adventure and originality await!
Unlike his "Sparks in Cosmic Dust," this is one I can share with my 12yo. There is a (small) romantic element to the story, but no sexual content.
Unlike his "Sparks in Cosmic Dust," this is one I can share with my 12yo. There is a (small) romantic element to the story, but no sexual content.
August 21, 2013
Epicness, this has it.
Check out the full review over at Pure Textuality.
http://puretextuality.com/2012/03/08/...
Check out the full review over at Pure Textuality.
http://puretextuality.com/2012/03/08/...
February 14, 2012
I really enjoyed this story. The dinosaurs were every bit as frightening as they should have been, there was a touch of romance, a touch of mystery and lots of interesting characters.
February 10, 2012
Great world-building, likeable characters and dinosaurs rampaging through steampunk London. What else can you ask for? I'll be waiting for book two.
September 20, 2013
3 1/2 STARS
Note: I hope to continue the adventures & exploring the world found in this series.
I also hope to see Verity & Embrey again.
Note: I hope to continue the adventures & exploring the world found in this series.
I also hope to see Verity & Embrey again.
November 5, 2013
Thought this was a really good Steampunk book especially liked the characters involved and the plot. Really can't wait to read the other two books in the series.
August 31, 2014
enjoyable steampunk. Will definitely re-read!
April 19, 2013
I could not finish this. Characters too wooden and uninteresting.
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