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The Clockwork Dark #1
The Nine Pound Hammer
What if John Henry had a son?
Twelve-year-old Ray is haunted by the strangest memories of his father, whom Ray swears could speak to animals. Now an orphan, Ray jumps from a train going through the American South and falls in with a medicine show train and its stable of sideshow performers. The performers turn out to be heroes, defenders of the wild, including the son of John Henry. They are hiding the last of the mythical Swamp Sirens from an ancient evil known as the Gog. Why the Gog wants the Siren, they can’t be sure, but they know it has something to do with rebuilding a monstrous machine that John Henry gave his life destroying years before, a machine that will allow the Gog to control the will of men and spread darkness throughout the world.
Twelve-year-old Ray is haunted by the strangest memories of his father, whom Ray swears could speak to animals. Now an orphan, Ray jumps from a train going through the American South and falls in with a medicine show train and its stable of sideshow performers. The performers turn out to be heroes, defenders of the wild, including the son of John Henry. They are hiding the last of the mythical Swamp Sirens from an ancient evil known as the Gog. Why the Gog wants the Siren, they can’t be sure, but they know it has something to do with rebuilding a monstrous machine that John Henry gave his life destroying years before, a machine that will allow the Gog to control the will of men and spread darkness throughout the world.
384 pages, Paperback
First published August 25, 2009
51 people are currently reading
1073 people want to read
About the author
John Claude Bemis
14 books62 followersFrom the author website;
I’ve always been fascinated by trains. My grandfather hopped trains all over the country in his “hobo days” and filled my head with curious stories of America’s lost past. Those stories, I suppose, were the beginnings of my first novel, The Nine Pound Hammer.
I grew up in rural eastern North Carolina by a swampy creek on the Neuse River. Yes, I’ve been bitten by a water moccasin, but fortunately not by an alligator. When you live in a county with just one stoplight, you learn how to entertain yourself. As a kid, I read a lot, played in tobacco barns, swam in the river when the jellyfish weren’t too thick, and learned violin and guitar.
Eventually playing classical violin in youth orchestras and playing electric guitar in a bunch of terrible rock and punk bands led me to American roots music. I’m partial nowadays to vintage country or blues, Cajun or bluegrass, anything with a fiddle or a musical saw. Some friends and I formed a band Hooverville and put out a pair of CDs of original songs. They’re fun to listen to if you like that kind of music.
At UNC-Chapel Hill, I studied Art History and Elementary Education. I taught elementary school for twelve years, mostly 4th and 5th grades as well as being a Gifted Education resource teacher. I got a chance in the classroom to teach the books I loved so much as a kid and discovered a lot of incredible new children’s literature along the way. But something seemed to be missing from my class’s bookshelf: fantasy based on America’s folklore.
Through old-timey music, I became fascinated with the way America’s myths have been passed down through songs. Drawing on the legend of John Henry’s struggle against the steam drill, I thought about how Southern folklore could be turned into epic fantasy. This passion grew into my first novel, The Nine Pound Hammer, a story set in a mythical 19th-century America full of traveling hoodoo conjurers, cowboys, swamp mermaids, and steamboat pirates. The adventures continue in The Wolf Tree and The White City, the other books in the Clockwork Dark trilogy.
I live the small-town life in Hillsborough, North Carolina with my wife, Amy, and daughter, Rose. We spend a lot of time hiking on the trails around our house, going into town for chocolates and coffees, or encouraging our overweight cat Max to run around some.
I’ve always been fascinated by trains. My grandfather hopped trains all over the country in his “hobo days” and filled my head with curious stories of America’s lost past. Those stories, I suppose, were the beginnings of my first novel, The Nine Pound Hammer.
I grew up in rural eastern North Carolina by a swampy creek on the Neuse River. Yes, I’ve been bitten by a water moccasin, but fortunately not by an alligator. When you live in a county with just one stoplight, you learn how to entertain yourself. As a kid, I read a lot, played in tobacco barns, swam in the river when the jellyfish weren’t too thick, and learned violin and guitar.
Eventually playing classical violin in youth orchestras and playing electric guitar in a bunch of terrible rock and punk bands led me to American roots music. I’m partial nowadays to vintage country or blues, Cajun or bluegrass, anything with a fiddle or a musical saw. Some friends and I formed a band Hooverville and put out a pair of CDs of original songs. They’re fun to listen to if you like that kind of music.
At UNC-Chapel Hill, I studied Art History and Elementary Education. I taught elementary school for twelve years, mostly 4th and 5th grades as well as being a Gifted Education resource teacher. I got a chance in the classroom to teach the books I loved so much as a kid and discovered a lot of incredible new children’s literature along the way. But something seemed to be missing from my class’s bookshelf: fantasy based on America’s folklore.
Through old-timey music, I became fascinated with the way America’s myths have been passed down through songs. Drawing on the legend of John Henry’s struggle against the steam drill, I thought about how Southern folklore could be turned into epic fantasy. This passion grew into my first novel, The Nine Pound Hammer, a story set in a mythical 19th-century America full of traveling hoodoo conjurers, cowboys, swamp mermaids, and steamboat pirates. The adventures continue in The Wolf Tree and The White City, the other books in the Clockwork Dark trilogy.
I live the small-town life in Hillsborough, North Carolina with my wife, Amy, and daughter, Rose. We spend a lot of time hiking on the trails around our house, going into town for chocolates and coffees, or encouraging our overweight cat Max to run around some.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews
March 31, 2019
Quite a unique world that was very intriguing at first. It's steampunk peopled by heroes & legends of folklore set in the late 1800s in the US. For instance, John Henry beat the steam drill, but it was just a machine of the Gog & he's still out there. (Besides, that's not what really happened, just the story the public knows.) John Henry was one of the Ramblers, heroes of the wild that fight evil. His son was possibly the best character in this book, although not the main one. We get to follow the renewed wrath of the Gog with the Rambler's children learning of him & taking up their role in the fight.
The book was really good most of the way through, but kind of lost it toward the end. The author started putting in the dumb stuff that ruins so many YA books. Obvious connections are suddenly great mysteries to the heroes, so we get a 'startling' revelation. Sigh. It's insulting. Still, the very end redeemed the book somewhat. The last fight was pretty mean.
Well narrated & it is a cool world. It was a 4 star read for at least half, but really slumped badly, so this just gets 3 stars. I believe this is a trilogy & I might read the next book sometime.
The book was really good most of the way through, but kind of lost it toward the end. The author started putting in the dumb stuff that ruins so many YA books. Obvious connections are suddenly great mysteries to the heroes, so we get a 'startling' revelation. Sigh. It's insulting. Still, the very end redeemed the book somewhat. The last fight was pretty mean.
Well narrated & it is a cool world. It was a 4 star read for at least half, but really slumped badly, so this just gets 3 stars. I believe this is a trilogy & I might read the next book sometime.
June 20, 2021
A really neat, really new... really fresh premise, merging American folklore with Clockpunk Fantasy! There's was a bit in the end battle that I felt a tad overlong (and as a result skimmed through) but it was still a very unique read. I am intrigued to read the next one, and might even see my way to re-read this again when the sequel gets published (in 2010, likely). The bits I liked the best were with Jolie, Ray, and the characters in the Ballyhoo trying to get to know one another, that is where Bemis' strength lies, character interaction. He can craft a hell of an interesting plot, but his strength are his characters and how they develop.
Fans of fantasy won't want to miss this one. Unique, bizarre, oddball, eccentric, and very much it's own singular piece of work. Enjoy it with a relish, because you won't ever find anything like this. Trust me.
Fans of fantasy won't want to miss this one. Unique, bizarre, oddball, eccentric, and very much it's own singular piece of work. Enjoy it with a relish, because you won't ever find anything like this. Trust me.
July 17, 2009
Finally, a young adult book about American mythology! This book explores a younger America on the brink of industrialization. Many of the book’s themes involve the myth of John Henry and the costs of modernization. However, the book also covers topics that many young readers will relate to: alienation and acceptance, family conflicts, and the struggle for self-confidence, to name a few. All of this is packed into a fast-paced and exciting story that is well worth the read.
August 27, 2009
Can't wait to read this book. I had the pleasure of having "first read" while John Bemis was writing the first of "The Clockword Dark" trilogy and it was a fun read.
Looking forward to reading the completed work and the sequels.
Looking forward to reading the completed work and the sequels.
January 8, 2011
The Nine Pound Hammer is a fun and exciting steampunk adventure that is equal parts funny, scary, and awesome—especially the many action sequences sure to keep readers on the edge of their seat. Full confession: the Ninja is old and out of touch and has never read steampunk before now. Yes, you are right to condemn me, Esteemed Reader. But if the rest of steampunk is anywhere near as good as this book, you can bet I will be reading more.
It’s a little bit difficult for me to review this book as a story because it’s the first in a trilogy and though I’ve started reading the second, the third isn’t out yet and until it is, it’s hard for me to judge the plot as it is incomplete. But The Nine Pound Hammer certainly gets the series started out on the right track.
Meet twelve-year-old Ray. He’s got a little sister, no mom, and a dad whom he hasn’t seen for years, but who left him a magic lodestone Ray is convinced will lead him to something great, possibly an adventure, and possibly back to dad (the lodestone has magical GPS properties, you see). The novel starts with Ray making the decision to leave little sister to a foster family and to jump off a moving train toward adventure. Writers take note, this is a very exciting way to start a novel: a gut-wrenching decision and an exciting action indicating that Ray is either very brave, or not very bright (he's brave).
Ray has some adventures in the woods with poison acorns—it would take too long to explain—some pirates (poison Arghcorns?), a bear, and then, ironically, he boards another train. This time Ray’s riding a traveling medical show train filled with a cast of marvelous characters we just know are going to accompany Ray for the next two books.
There’s something odd and dare I say magical about this train. One of the performers in the medicine show is a blind sharpshooter and just how does that work without magic? From one of the train cars, Ray hears a song that drives him mad with desire old school Odysseus style. Ray investigates and finds something there that changes everything. I’m not going to tell you what, but if you’ve read your Homer, you can probably guess. And if by Homer, you thought I meant Simpson, this will all come as quite a surprise to you.
Speaking of mythology, The Nine Pound Hammer is all about it. The story takes place at a time in America when folks like Paul Bunion and Johnny Appleseed were about. But in Bemis’s when, these folks aren’t just mythological, but real and acting in the world—and yes, I know Johnny Appleseed was always real, but there’s a more fantastic version of him that never existed and that’s the sort you’ll find roaming the pages of The Nine Pound Hammer. The myth you need to know for sure going in is the myth of John Henry, who might have been real.
Who is John Henry? If you know, skip to the next paragraph, but if you’re like me and it’s been a while, you might need a refresher. For the record, Mrs. Ninja was appalled that I didn’t remember John Henry, but I far prefer modern American mythology in which the heroes sling webs and batarangs. Here is a nice John Henry myth summary from John Bemis you’ll want to know going into The Nine Pound Hammer:
The song’s hero, John Henry, is an ex-slave who works on the railroad, a “steel-drivin’ man” who lays tracks and digs tunnels through the mountains. One day, a steam drill is brought in to replace the men digging the tunnels. In an attempt to save the men’s jobs, John Henry challenges the steam drill to see who is faster: man or machine. With Li’l Bill, his shaker (the man who holds the drill bit for the steel driver to hit with his hammer), John Henry carves out more rock than the steam drill. But as everyone cheers, he collapses with his nine-pound hammer still in his hands. The mighty steel driver’s huge heart bursts from exertion. Whether or not John Henry really existed, he is a powerful symbol of our humanity: the self-sacrificing hero who fights the soulless machine until his heart bursts.
I see I am already going to break my resolution of shorter reviews and we can’t have that. So I’ve got two points for writers this week, an angry rant, and some favorite passages to share, and after that, we’ll call it a review. But first, I must say how much I loved the Hoarhounds, which are ferocious beasts, and they alone are worth reading this book even if it weren’t great in so many other respects. Here is a lovely description of the darling Hoarhounds:
Breaking from the forest, the monster was more terrifying than Ray remembered from his dream. Larger than a bull, the Hound bristled with frost-hardened spikes of fur. Long, terrible fangs crowded its mouth, and as it swung its head, the deathly, bitter cold breath whipped out from its snout.
My first point for writers comes not from the text, but from the acknowledgements that follow the book: Enormous thanks go out to my critique group—Jennier Harrod, Stephen Messer, and Jen Wichman—talented writers who helped shape this book in so many ways. You remember our old friend Stephen Messer, don’t you? The PUBLISHED author of Windblowne. That must have been some critique group! This here point makes itself: if you are serious about your writing, get yourself a critique group. If you don’t have time for one, start a blog, reach out to other amazing bloggers and swap critiques with them:) Speaking of which, Michael, if you’re reading this, I’ve started your manuscript and I will totally have notes for you in a week or two.
My second point to writers is that if racism is required in your story, don’t try to clean it up or airbrush over it. Write the racism. Please note, I am not advising the writing of racists things—you’re on your own if you decide to go there—but if you’re writing about a situation in which racism should be present, leave it in. Here is an example from the text:
Having been introduced to the crowd as the pitchman, Nel began. Ray recognized that, although ceremonial, this gesture by Mister Everett was intended to legitimize Nel to an audience that might not otherwise accept the Negro pitchman.
Ninja, you might ask, in a story about magical rocks and pirates that takes place in a fantastical alternate history that never happened, why not leave out the racism? Excellent question, Esteemed Reader! In an alternate history, it might be okay, but if your novel is going to center around the myth of John Henry, it is not okay. I’m not going to tell you how John Henry plays into the book as that would be spoiling, but trust that the title The Nine Pound Hammer signifies his importance.
John Henry is two things: really strong and a slave. To leave out the slavery part is to betray who he is at his core, and you can’t have American slavery without racism (although corporations and credit card companies are fast figuring out a workaround). Similarly, you can’t have American history without racism as it is who we have been. Never mind that we wish we hadn’t been, we were, and to go forgetting it ensures that we shall be again.
You wouldn’t depict a famous battle without American soldiers dying as to deny that reality denies their sacrifice. Well I say to you that denying a history of disgusting, hideous racism denies the sacrifice of those who have worked to bring us where we are: not an un-racist utopia, but in a spot where with our President and that fact that Mrs. Ninja and I can be married without a hanging posse showing up we can maybe start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
All this brings me to my angry rant: who the heck thinks they have the right to edit Mark Twain? Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, one of my most favorites, is not a racist book, though it contains racist characters from a racist time. Defending this stance is the subject of another post. I know the N-word is nasty and hard to read, but it’s also a word people actually said the way Twain depicts them saying it in that novel. More, Twain knew it was a nasty and hard-to-read word and used it accordingly. Mark Twain is perfectly capable of making his points about the foolishness and horror of racism within the text itself. His book is its own defense. He doesn’t need us cleaning up his language. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a literary masterpiece, not a Disney Cartoon, and we writers need to protest this affront. If they start editing Twain, what will they take out of your books long after you’re dead or before? We’ll have none of this Orwellian double-speak, thank you very much.
In conclusion, The Nine Pound Hammer is a marvelous book and you should buy yourself a copy:) Be sure to check back Thursday when John Claude Bemis will be here at this very blog to face the 7 Questions and on Saturday when our mystery literary agent will be revealed. And now, as always, I will leave you with some of my favorite passages from the book:
“You’re nuts, Lenny,” his friends laughed and goaded from the crowd.
“Not as batty as him.” Lenny pointed at Buck and sniggered. “Get it? Batty.”
His friends contorted their faces in confusion.
“Bats is blind,” Lenny explained.
His friends howled.
“Come to me, Hoarhound!” he cried. (I have always wanted to cry this myself—MGN)
Si fell at his side, kissing his brow and cheeks and wiping the sweat from his face.
“Conker!” she cried. “Are you alive? Say something!”
He smiled weakly. “I must be dead if you’re kissing on me.”
The locomotive reversed and began to slink away in the dark like a viper curling back into its den.
To read an interview with author John Claude Bemis or to read interviews with other writers and literary agents, check out my my blog at www.middlegradeninja.blogspot.com
It’s a little bit difficult for me to review this book as a story because it’s the first in a trilogy and though I’ve started reading the second, the third isn’t out yet and until it is, it’s hard for me to judge the plot as it is incomplete. But The Nine Pound Hammer certainly gets the series started out on the right track.
Meet twelve-year-old Ray. He’s got a little sister, no mom, and a dad whom he hasn’t seen for years, but who left him a magic lodestone Ray is convinced will lead him to something great, possibly an adventure, and possibly back to dad (the lodestone has magical GPS properties, you see). The novel starts with Ray making the decision to leave little sister to a foster family and to jump off a moving train toward adventure. Writers take note, this is a very exciting way to start a novel: a gut-wrenching decision and an exciting action indicating that Ray is either very brave, or not very bright (he's brave).
Ray has some adventures in the woods with poison acorns—it would take too long to explain—some pirates (poison Arghcorns?), a bear, and then, ironically, he boards another train. This time Ray’s riding a traveling medical show train filled with a cast of marvelous characters we just know are going to accompany Ray for the next two books.
There’s something odd and dare I say magical about this train. One of the performers in the medicine show is a blind sharpshooter and just how does that work without magic? From one of the train cars, Ray hears a song that drives him mad with desire old school Odysseus style. Ray investigates and finds something there that changes everything. I’m not going to tell you what, but if you’ve read your Homer, you can probably guess. And if by Homer, you thought I meant Simpson, this will all come as quite a surprise to you.
Speaking of mythology, The Nine Pound Hammer is all about it. The story takes place at a time in America when folks like Paul Bunion and Johnny Appleseed were about. But in Bemis’s when, these folks aren’t just mythological, but real and acting in the world—and yes, I know Johnny Appleseed was always real, but there’s a more fantastic version of him that never existed and that’s the sort you’ll find roaming the pages of The Nine Pound Hammer. The myth you need to know for sure going in is the myth of John Henry, who might have been real.
Who is John Henry? If you know, skip to the next paragraph, but if you’re like me and it’s been a while, you might need a refresher. For the record, Mrs. Ninja was appalled that I didn’t remember John Henry, but I far prefer modern American mythology in which the heroes sling webs and batarangs. Here is a nice John Henry myth summary from John Bemis you’ll want to know going into The Nine Pound Hammer:
The song’s hero, John Henry, is an ex-slave who works on the railroad, a “steel-drivin’ man” who lays tracks and digs tunnels through the mountains. One day, a steam drill is brought in to replace the men digging the tunnels. In an attempt to save the men’s jobs, John Henry challenges the steam drill to see who is faster: man or machine. With Li’l Bill, his shaker (the man who holds the drill bit for the steel driver to hit with his hammer), John Henry carves out more rock than the steam drill. But as everyone cheers, he collapses with his nine-pound hammer still in his hands. The mighty steel driver’s huge heart bursts from exertion. Whether or not John Henry really existed, he is a powerful symbol of our humanity: the self-sacrificing hero who fights the soulless machine until his heart bursts.
I see I am already going to break my resolution of shorter reviews and we can’t have that. So I’ve got two points for writers this week, an angry rant, and some favorite passages to share, and after that, we’ll call it a review. But first, I must say how much I loved the Hoarhounds, which are ferocious beasts, and they alone are worth reading this book even if it weren’t great in so many other respects. Here is a lovely description of the darling Hoarhounds:
Breaking from the forest, the monster was more terrifying than Ray remembered from his dream. Larger than a bull, the Hound bristled with frost-hardened spikes of fur. Long, terrible fangs crowded its mouth, and as it swung its head, the deathly, bitter cold breath whipped out from its snout.
My first point for writers comes not from the text, but from the acknowledgements that follow the book: Enormous thanks go out to my critique group—Jennier Harrod, Stephen Messer, and Jen Wichman—talented writers who helped shape this book in so many ways. You remember our old friend Stephen Messer, don’t you? The PUBLISHED author of Windblowne. That must have been some critique group! This here point makes itself: if you are serious about your writing, get yourself a critique group. If you don’t have time for one, start a blog, reach out to other amazing bloggers and swap critiques with them:) Speaking of which, Michael, if you’re reading this, I’ve started your manuscript and I will totally have notes for you in a week or two.
My second point to writers is that if racism is required in your story, don’t try to clean it up or airbrush over it. Write the racism. Please note, I am not advising the writing of racists things—you’re on your own if you decide to go there—but if you’re writing about a situation in which racism should be present, leave it in. Here is an example from the text:
Having been introduced to the crowd as the pitchman, Nel began. Ray recognized that, although ceremonial, this gesture by Mister Everett was intended to legitimize Nel to an audience that might not otherwise accept the Negro pitchman.
Ninja, you might ask, in a story about magical rocks and pirates that takes place in a fantastical alternate history that never happened, why not leave out the racism? Excellent question, Esteemed Reader! In an alternate history, it might be okay, but if your novel is going to center around the myth of John Henry, it is not okay. I’m not going to tell you how John Henry plays into the book as that would be spoiling, but trust that the title The Nine Pound Hammer signifies his importance.
John Henry is two things: really strong and a slave. To leave out the slavery part is to betray who he is at his core, and you can’t have American slavery without racism (although corporations and credit card companies are fast figuring out a workaround). Similarly, you can’t have American history without racism as it is who we have been. Never mind that we wish we hadn’t been, we were, and to go forgetting it ensures that we shall be again.
You wouldn’t depict a famous battle without American soldiers dying as to deny that reality denies their sacrifice. Well I say to you that denying a history of disgusting, hideous racism denies the sacrifice of those who have worked to bring us where we are: not an un-racist utopia, but in a spot where with our President and that fact that Mrs. Ninja and I can be married without a hanging posse showing up we can maybe start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
All this brings me to my angry rant: who the heck thinks they have the right to edit Mark Twain? Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, one of my most favorites, is not a racist book, though it contains racist characters from a racist time. Defending this stance is the subject of another post. I know the N-word is nasty and hard to read, but it’s also a word people actually said the way Twain depicts them saying it in that novel. More, Twain knew it was a nasty and hard-to-read word and used it accordingly. Mark Twain is perfectly capable of making his points about the foolishness and horror of racism within the text itself. His book is its own defense. He doesn’t need us cleaning up his language. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a literary masterpiece, not a Disney Cartoon, and we writers need to protest this affront. If they start editing Twain, what will they take out of your books long after you’re dead or before? We’ll have none of this Orwellian double-speak, thank you very much.
In conclusion, The Nine Pound Hammer is a marvelous book and you should buy yourself a copy:) Be sure to check back Thursday when John Claude Bemis will be here at this very blog to face the 7 Questions and on Saturday when our mystery literary agent will be revealed. And now, as always, I will leave you with some of my favorite passages from the book:
“You’re nuts, Lenny,” his friends laughed and goaded from the crowd.
“Not as batty as him.” Lenny pointed at Buck and sniggered. “Get it? Batty.”
His friends contorted their faces in confusion.
“Bats is blind,” Lenny explained.
His friends howled.
“Come to me, Hoarhound!” he cried. (I have always wanted to cry this myself—MGN)
Si fell at his side, kissing his brow and cheeks and wiping the sweat from his face.
“Conker!” she cried. “Are you alive? Say something!”
He smiled weakly. “I must be dead if you’re kissing on me.”
The locomotive reversed and began to slink away in the dark like a viper curling back into its den.
To read an interview with author John Claude Bemis or to read interviews with other writers and literary agents, check out my my blog at www.middlegradeninja.blogspot.com
April 28, 2018
Never judge a book by its cover, or you will never read this one! (Or any of the others in this series?) They seriously are begging for new cover art; these are so ugly! Moving on, these are more American folklore/fable really than fantasy, but as they contain fantastical elements I stuck them on my fantasy shelf.
Okay, quick detour for a personal pet peeve; skip this paragraph if you want as you have been warned. Why do juvenile authors feel compelled to put swear words in their books?! Why? Don't kids grow up fast enough? Aren't they hearing those words enough in the "real world;" why do we need to put it in their books too? They get PLENTY of it all around them all the time. Can't they still have one place that is safe? Isn't it enough to say that a character swore, and then leave it up to the readers' imagination? Must the actual words be included in kids' books? Can't that be left alone till at least they hit the teen books? *sigh* Why Bemis, did you have to include one swear throughout your book? You said that characters swore; and then you actually had to have the characters swear. I'm disappointed and vexed and frustrated with this.
Other than that, I was surprised at how much I really loved this book (because of the ugly cover issue that had me pre-judging) and by how I was really not buying the concept when I first picked it up. Fortunately after the MC threw himself (literally) into action, I was hooked from that moment on and had the hardest time putting this down. Every time I thought that I knew where this was going to end up--usually quite badly for our heroes!--nope! plot twist and excitement and new peril to the rescue.
I haven't read this kind of storyline before. Yeah! I'm excited to see where it goes. It's funny that I'm planning on cheating on BOB reading with a series from BOB.
Okay, quick detour for a personal pet peeve; skip this paragraph if you want as you have been warned. Why do juvenile authors feel compelled to put swear words in their books?! Why? Don't kids grow up fast enough? Aren't they hearing those words enough in the "real world;" why do we need to put it in their books too? They get PLENTY of it all around them all the time. Can't they still have one place that is safe? Isn't it enough to say that a character swore, and then leave it up to the readers' imagination? Must the actual words be included in kids' books? Can't that be left alone till at least they hit the teen books? *sigh* Why Bemis, did you have to include one swear throughout your book? You said that characters swore; and then you actually had to have the characters swear. I'm disappointed and vexed and frustrated with this.
Other than that, I was surprised at how much I really loved this book (because of the ugly cover issue that had me pre-judging) and by how I was really not buying the concept when I first picked it up. Fortunately after the MC threw himself (literally) into action, I was hooked from that moment on and had the hardest time putting this down. Every time I thought that I knew where this was going to end up--usually quite badly for our heroes!--nope! plot twist and excitement and new peril to the rescue.
I haven't read this kind of storyline before. Yeah! I'm excited to see where it goes. It's funny that I'm planning on cheating on BOB reading with a series from BOB.
Read
May 14, 2012Most of the book is told from the POV of Ray Cobb, an orphan of 12, with occasional flashes of omniscience, although I can't tell if these were intentional or the result of a first-time writer losing momentary control of viewpoint. This is enjoyable steampunk fantasy for a middle-grade audience, and a great way to introduce that audience to characters, such as John Henry, from the pages of America's tall tales.
The premise is that those tall-tale legends were a loosely organized group called the Ramblers, who drew their power from America's wilderness and protected people from malevolent forces. As the book opens, the Ramblers are all dead or presumed dead after a battle with their arch-enemy, the Gog. The story shows a new generation of future Ramblers, including John Henry's son, coalescing around a traveling medicine show as the Gog rises again.
This villain can be thought of as the personification of greed and of capitalism's dark underbelly--the use of machines and timetables, not to help people and make their lives better, but for the opulence and wealth and power of a few. Thus, sweatshops and child labor and dangerous working conditions and so forth. There are some terrific action scenes involving a biomechanical Hoarhound, imaginative use of Americana such as nation sacks, bottle trees, and root work, and enough good character development to carry a reader past the sometimes clunky prose and make it worthwhile to pick up the second book of Bemis's Clockwork Dark series.
The premise is that those tall-tale legends were a loosely organized group called the Ramblers, who drew their power from America's wilderness and protected people from malevolent forces. As the book opens, the Ramblers are all dead or presumed dead after a battle with their arch-enemy, the Gog. The story shows a new generation of future Ramblers, including John Henry's son, coalescing around a traveling medicine show as the Gog rises again.
This villain can be thought of as the personification of greed and of capitalism's dark underbelly--the use of machines and timetables, not to help people and make their lives better, but for the opulence and wealth and power of a few. Thus, sweatshops and child labor and dangerous working conditions and so forth. There are some terrific action scenes involving a biomechanical Hoarhound, imaginative use of Americana such as nation sacks, bottle trees, and root work, and enough good character development to carry a reader past the sometimes clunky prose and make it worthwhile to pick up the second book of Bemis's Clockwork Dark series.
August 14, 2013
If I hadn't given so many other books four stars today in my flurry of reviews (catching up with my vacation reads) I might have given this four instead of three. I'll qualify my rating to a three point five.
This is an interesting and engaging fantasy steeped in Americana, which is a nice change of pace from the many excellent fantasy stories that are so strongly British. Start with this example: the legendary John Henry didn't die from overexertion while proving that manpower beats steam, he was a rambling protector of the people and land who died while fighting and destroying the mechanical beast created by the evil Gog, who wants to conquer the land and build an empire. The themes are the same, but the journey is much more magical and heroic.
Orphaned Ray learns the truth first about John Henry then about the entire affiliation of Ramblers, American myths who were secretly much more than their legends imply, while wandering the wild countryside in the hopes of finding clues about his missing dad. He takes up with a train-traveling sideshow of odd performers, and finds he feels at home with them despite their almost magical abilities. The longer he stays, the more secrets he learns, including about his dad and himself. The older generation of Ramblers may be dead or scattered, but the Gog is still out there and it might be time for a new generation to take up the fight.
The narrative gets a bit rambling at times, but it's an exciting adventure.
This is an interesting and engaging fantasy steeped in Americana, which is a nice change of pace from the many excellent fantasy stories that are so strongly British. Start with this example: the legendary John Henry didn't die from overexertion while proving that manpower beats steam, he was a rambling protector of the people and land who died while fighting and destroying the mechanical beast created by the evil Gog, who wants to conquer the land and build an empire. The themes are the same, but the journey is much more magical and heroic.
Orphaned Ray learns the truth first about John Henry then about the entire affiliation of Ramblers, American myths who were secretly much more than their legends imply, while wandering the wild countryside in the hopes of finding clues about his missing dad. He takes up with a train-traveling sideshow of odd performers, and finds he feels at home with them despite their almost magical abilities. The longer he stays, the more secrets he learns, including about his dad and himself. The older generation of Ramblers may be dead or scattered, but the Gog is still out there and it might be time for a new generation to take up the fight.
The narrative gets a bit rambling at times, but it's an exciting adventure.
June 20, 2012
Finished this on the drive home yesterday. No, I was not behind the wheel. And only in short spurts. Can't read too many print books anymore or I get carsick.
Anyway. Totally unrelated. This book ...
I liked it. I like the characters and I think there is possibility.
But I also felt like something just wasn't quite ... there. I found myself skimming rather than deeply reading. Some of the mythology just didn't ... work.
So we'll see. Haven't checked yet to see if book 2 is finished (this was just an impulse pick off of the shelf).
Anyway. Totally unrelated. This book ...
I liked it. I like the characters and I think there is possibility.
But I also felt like something just wasn't quite ... there. I found myself skimming rather than deeply reading. Some of the mythology just didn't ... work.
So we'll see. Haven't checked yet to see if book 2 is finished (this was just an impulse pick off of the shelf).
September 3, 2010
I was dithering between two and three stars and went on the high end. This is a children's book and it is grounded in the folk tales of America, especially some from the South. I hope in future books of the series we will see some of the heroes of the West, too. The story was a little clunky in places, and I am hoping that some of the characters who apparently died at the end are really only missing.
November 5, 2010
Local Hillsborough author (and nice guy). The first of a YA adventure trilogy that pulls inspiration and references from American folk tales. I think people have been calling it steam-punky, that may be a stretch, but a train is heavily featured in the plot. I'll read the next one, The Wolf Tree, which came out at the end of this Summer.
September 12, 2012
I listened to this, which made the book very accessible. I especially liked the musical interludes between chapters. It help set the time and place of the book. The story is about children of ramblers who had hoo-doo magic and charms. The ramblers helped people. John Henry and his son are worked into this.
February 10, 2012
Entertaining, but I was pissed at Conker's death. All I could think was, of COURSE the Black kid dies. They could possibly bring him back, because they never found his body, but I don't even think that would be a good idea. I did like the idea of a melting pot of mystical people coming together to make a sort of American magic.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2017
If you liked this book, you might also enjoy:
✱ The Half-Made World
✱ His Dark Materials
✱ The Half-Made World
✱ His Dark Materials
February 24, 2010
I thought this was a really fun fantasy book. I'm planning on recommending it to the fans of the Percy Jackson series that were drawn into the mythology aspect of the series- it might spark their interest in American folklore.
November 3, 2011
More Americana than the steampunk it's marketed as, this book overcomes a rambling plot and way too many adults by the sheer power of its funky American coolness, with John Henry, riverboat pirates, dueling steam trains and a medicine show.
September 24, 2017
I reread this book so that I could finish the trilogy, and I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time. A well-plotted, action/adventure story set in the late 1800's that includes Sirens, a blind sharpshooter, the ancestor of John Henry, and so much more that I had to barrel on to the finish.
August 3, 2011
Wonderful little book. I will be looking for more of these by this author for the middle graders and for my own child.
April 3, 2012
A sophisticated story weaving together pieces of Americana and folk magic to make an enthralling adventure. Great characters who felt like family, and I loved everything about the Ramblers.
January 18, 2013
The Nine Pound Hammer is set in a world of myths and magic. The main character, Ray Fleming, is dragged into the mysteries and adventures of this new world, uncovering secrets at each turn. I decided to read this book when my sister recommended it to me, and it was surprisingly interesting and well-written! There are very few faults that I found with this book.
The book starts when Ray thinks he needs to leave his little sister. He thought that she could possibly have a better chance of finding a new home without him -- and because of this small possibility, he jumps off the train, tumbling into a forgotten forest and leaving the other orphans behind.
When Ray was young, his father mysteriously disappeared and had left him with a special lodestone that was supposed to guide him. Ray hadn't really thought much of this and had kept the lodestone simply as another memory of his father. However, the lodestone soon begins pulling Ray in different directions, appearing to be leading him somewhere. Ray starts to have strange dreams and nightmares that seem to be signs. He follows the pull of the lodestone and eventually ends up with a group of people on a train that call themselves a medicine show. However, they are not all who they say they are, and Ray finally discovers a secret about his father that he never would have expected.
I liked this book because the author created a very unique plot. There is foreshadowing, and twists and surprises. However, the characters are not very original. The reader is not told much about Ray, aside from facts such as he is an orphan and has a sister. The orphans don't seem to be very believable, and the only orphan described briefly is Sally, Ray's sister. We also never hear much from the Gog, the unknown evil that everyone seems to be against because of an incomplete plan he supposedly has to control mankind. I enjoy books where I read about the main characters and really come to understand them, where there is a lot of detail describing everything about them. It is also interesting to read from the villain's perspective, to have a background story of why he is evil and what his plans are.
However, this was meant to be more of a quick read. As a shorter story, it was great! I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick read of fantasy packed with action. Overall, this was an interesting book with a fascinating plot!
The book starts when Ray thinks he needs to leave his little sister. He thought that she could possibly have a better chance of finding a new home without him -- and because of this small possibility, he jumps off the train, tumbling into a forgotten forest and leaving the other orphans behind.
When Ray was young, his father mysteriously disappeared and had left him with a special lodestone that was supposed to guide him. Ray hadn't really thought much of this and had kept the lodestone simply as another memory of his father. However, the lodestone soon begins pulling Ray in different directions, appearing to be leading him somewhere. Ray starts to have strange dreams and nightmares that seem to be signs. He follows the pull of the lodestone and eventually ends up with a group of people on a train that call themselves a medicine show. However, they are not all who they say they are, and Ray finally discovers a secret about his father that he never would have expected.
I liked this book because the author created a very unique plot. There is foreshadowing, and twists and surprises. However, the characters are not very original. The reader is not told much about Ray, aside from facts such as he is an orphan and has a sister. The orphans don't seem to be very believable, and the only orphan described briefly is Sally, Ray's sister. We also never hear much from the Gog, the unknown evil that everyone seems to be against because of an incomplete plan he supposedly has to control mankind. I enjoy books where I read about the main characters and really come to understand them, where there is a lot of detail describing everything about them. It is also interesting to read from the villain's perspective, to have a background story of why he is evil and what his plans are.
However, this was meant to be more of a quick read. As a shorter story, it was great! I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick read of fantasy packed with action. Overall, this was an interesting book with a fascinating plot!
February 21, 2010
This should be three and a half stars (I don't know why I am so perpetually annoyed by not having half stars on goodreads, but whatev).
I very much liked the set-up here, American fantasy set in the late 19th century and very much drawn from actual American tropes, both mythological and real -- the rise of the railroads and steam engines and John Henry and Indians and medicine shows and bottle trees and mechanical engineering and robber barons and the Mississippi and orphan trains and more.
It opens with Ray, one of the orphans on the orphan train, deciding to take his chances on his own, and he meets up with a traveling medicine show made up of an interesting cast of performers and workers, and other orphans. They are being pursued by an Evil Mastermind and his giant mechanical hunting dog, and the kids gradually come to realize that they are the children and potential heirs of the Ramblers, a roving band of preternatural folk heroes who were dedicated to fighting evil.
So, love the Americana because that's awesome. Not convinced this needs to be an entire trilogy with a funky name, though. Putting my frustration with the proliferation of fantasy series with cryptic titles aside, and looking at this rationally, the book could have done with a fair amount of editing down and would have been a perfectly serviceable stand-alone fantasy story.
Grade: B
Recommended: This will probably hit with boys who like adventure and fantasy, although it isn't as compelling as some of the other stuff out there, and it isn't trying to be funny. It maybe reads a little long for a book that has a lot of action scenes, seemingly for the sake of having a lot of action scenes.
I very much liked the set-up here, American fantasy set in the late 19th century and very much drawn from actual American tropes, both mythological and real -- the rise of the railroads and steam engines and John Henry and Indians and medicine shows and bottle trees and mechanical engineering and robber barons and the Mississippi and orphan trains and more.
It opens with Ray, one of the orphans on the orphan train, deciding to take his chances on his own, and he meets up with a traveling medicine show made up of an interesting cast of performers and workers, and other orphans. They are being pursued by an Evil Mastermind and his giant mechanical hunting dog, and the kids gradually come to realize that they are the children and potential heirs of the Ramblers, a roving band of preternatural folk heroes who were dedicated to fighting evil.
So, love the Americana because that's awesome. Not convinced this needs to be an entire trilogy with a funky name, though. Putting my frustration with the proliferation of fantasy series with cryptic titles aside, and looking at this rationally, the book could have done with a fair amount of editing down and would have been a perfectly serviceable stand-alone fantasy story.
Grade: B
Recommended: This will probably hit with boys who like adventure and fantasy, although it isn't as compelling as some of the other stuff out there, and it isn't trying to be funny. It maybe reads a little long for a book that has a lot of action scenes, seemingly for the sake of having a lot of action scenes.
April 9, 2011
Hey! Here's the first review for The Clockwork Dark Experience. Today I'm reviewing The Nine Pound Hammer by John Claude Bemis. One word......AMAZING! Here's an summary:"What if John Henry had a son? Twelve-year-old Ray is haunted by the strangest memories of his father, whom Ray swears could speak to animals. Now an orphan, Ray jumps from a train going through the American South and falls in with a medicine show train and its stable of sideshow performers. The performers turn out to be heroes, defenders of the wild, including the son of John Henry. They are hiding the last of the mythical Swamp Sirens from an ancient evil known as the Gog. Why the Gog wants the Siren, they can’t be sure, but they know it has something to do with rebuilding a monstrous machine that John Henry gave his life destroying years before, a machine that will allow the Gog to control the will of men and spread darkness throughout the world." (Barnes and Noble)
This is one of the best books I ever read! There are many twists and turns throughout the novel that kept me on the edge of my seat. Once I started I couldn't put it down until I was finished. I love the budding relationship between Ray and Conker. I love that this book also has some historical aspects because it makes the book even better than it already is. It helps add to the sense of mystery throughout the novel. This book also has a great sense of adventure. Ray and his newfound friends end up going on many adventures as the novel progresses. My favorite part of the book is the end. It was so intense and surprising. Overall, this is a great novel!! You should definitely go pick it up at your local bookstore.
This is one of the best books I ever read! There are many twists and turns throughout the novel that kept me on the edge of my seat. Once I started I couldn't put it down until I was finished. I love the budding relationship between Ray and Conker. I love that this book also has some historical aspects because it makes the book even better than it already is. It helps add to the sense of mystery throughout the novel. This book also has a great sense of adventure. Ray and his newfound friends end up going on many adventures as the novel progresses. My favorite part of the book is the end. It was so intense and surprising. Overall, this is a great novel!! You should definitely go pick it up at your local bookstore.
August 31, 2014
The Nine Pound Hammer by John Claude Bemis is the first of the Clockwork Darkness Series. In this story, Ray and his sister, Sally, are on an orphan train headed south from New York City to place the orphans with good families. Ray, who is twelve, gets the idea that Sally would find a better family on her own than she would if they had to find a family that would be willing to take the two of them, so he jumps off the train. Uncertain about what to do, Ray wanders a bit and meets a man, Peter Hobnob, who was changed to a tree by a Pirate Queen for stealing her dagger. They are in an area known as the Lost Wood, and the dagger is missing as is the key to the lock holding Peter’s chains. Ray finds the key and sets Peter free, whereupon Peter give Ray a dandelion fluff and tells him that if he ever needs Peter’s help to blow on the flower, clap his hands and call Peter’s name. Ray continues wandering and eventually comes across a traveling Medicine Show operated by Pegleg Nell. Nell is a former Rambler and his show features the children of other Ramblers, who have been lost or killed. These children include Conker who is the son of the famous John Henry and he has his father’s famous hammer. There are many adventures and Ray learns a bit more about his own missing (presumed dead) father as the people of the Medicine Show try to fight the forces of evil being directed by the GOG and his mechanical beasts. The audio version finishes with a song about John Henry, adjusted from the traditional song to fit the premise of this story and there is a bit of music throughout the CDs that help blend folklore and fantasy into an intriguing story.
May 26, 2020
I love this book so much. I did not know how long this amazing book was out here. I was just in the library bored to death ( not as much as this quarantine though, am I right? ) and just looked at it. I looked at the cover and immediately got the book because as soon as I saw the boy on the train who looks like mini John Henry I got that thing quicker than you could get the corona🤣🤣. (I just love the story of John Henry and BTW, sorry about the corona joke) The reason it took me so long to read is because i set it off for lots of things. But I would have gave it 5 stars until at the end when SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!
PEOPLE START GETTING PICKED OFF ONE BY FREAKING ONE!! I'm like "what the heck, did Seth just die?" and sure enough..... HE DIED!!!!! But I got REAL screwed off when Conker just like EXPLODED!!! I'm like "OF course the black kid dies. especially when he was just getting good at being a Rambler." com'on man couldn't you've had a little mercy on the guy. just saved their butts and you couldn't at least let him be like badly injured? He couldn't have jumped at the last possible moment? I would totally recommend this book, just don't get your hopes high. This book would be 4.5 stars if i could. It gives us a reason to read the next book though. Good job Mr. Bemis. Mind tricks.
PEOPLE START GETTING PICKED OFF ONE BY FREAKING ONE!! I'm like "what the heck, did Seth just die?" and sure enough..... HE DIED!!!!! But I got REAL screwed off when Conker just like EXPLODED!!! I'm like "OF course the black kid dies. especially when he was just getting good at being a Rambler." com'on man couldn't you've had a little mercy on the guy. just saved their butts and you couldn't at least let him be like badly injured? He couldn't have jumped at the last possible moment? I would totally recommend this book, just don't get your hopes high. This book would be 4.5 stars if i could. It gives us a reason to read the next book though. Good job Mr. Bemis. Mind tricks.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2016
Full disclosure: the author is a neighbor and friend, and former teacher of the eldest.
Oh, but I loved this. The idea of taking American folklore as indicative of real heroes, super-heroes I guess, is genius. Remember, I loved Anne Ursu's The Shadow Thieves, The Siren Song, and The Immortal Fire. And the steampunk element here is kind of reversed: the good guys have magic and some sort of inherited genetic x factor, the bad guy is making evil machines. There are Pirate Queens and blind sharpshooters, a racially diverse cast of kids on a train, and a benevolent benefactor looking over and training them. So, I'd expect the series to please fans of Harry Potter and The X Men. Fair warning: there's a lot of backstory to set up, so the beginning is relatively slow, but once Ray starts having adventures they come thick and fast.
Oh, but I loved this. The idea of taking American folklore as indicative of real heroes, super-heroes I guess, is genius. Remember, I loved Anne Ursu's The Shadow Thieves, The Siren Song, and The Immortal Fire. And the steampunk element here is kind of reversed: the good guys have magic and some sort of inherited genetic x factor, the bad guy is making evil machines. There are Pirate Queens and blind sharpshooters, a racially diverse cast of kids on a train, and a benevolent benefactor looking over and training them. So, I'd expect the series to please fans of Harry Potter and The X Men. Fair warning: there's a lot of backstory to set up, so the beginning is relatively slow, but once Ray starts having adventures they come thick and fast.
January 16, 2011
--Review by my 12 year old brother--
It's been eight years since Ray Cobb's dad dissapeared on a "job of work". As an orphan, Ray has had much diffuculty surviving with his younger sister Sally and fears that she won't get a proper family with Ray hanging around and decides to leave her at an orphanage. Once he leaves her, Ray has no clue what to do, and gets lost in the woods. There, he meets a young giant and an escape artist.
Little did he know that meeting these two would be the start of one the most adventurous and daring stories ever to have been written. Ray figures out his true identity and the true identity of his father. He has his first feeling of being part of a family.
I would've have given this book 5 stars, hands down, if it hadn't been for one part at the end. Other than that, this story will always be one of my favorites. John Bemis puts together the old fables of John Henry and Johnny Appleseed in this first book of a series. I think that the author did a great job writing the book but could definitely use some improvements, but all in all this book was hard to put down and one of the best books I've ever read.
It's been eight years since Ray Cobb's dad dissapeared on a "job of work". As an orphan, Ray has had much diffuculty surviving with his younger sister Sally and fears that she won't get a proper family with Ray hanging around and decides to leave her at an orphanage. Once he leaves her, Ray has no clue what to do, and gets lost in the woods. There, he meets a young giant and an escape artist.
Little did he know that meeting these two would be the start of one the most adventurous and daring stories ever to have been written. Ray figures out his true identity and the true identity of his father. He has his first feeling of being part of a family.
I would've have given this book 5 stars, hands down, if it hadn't been for one part at the end. Other than that, this story will always be one of my favorites. John Bemis puts together the old fables of John Henry and Johnny Appleseed in this first book of a series. I think that the author did a great job writing the book but could definitely use some improvements, but all in all this book was hard to put down and one of the best books I've ever read.
May 3, 2011
John Claude Bemis's Clockwork Dark series is our May 2011 Book Buddies selection.
"Twelve-year-old Ray is haunted by the strangest memories of his father, whom Ray swears could speak to animals. Now an orphan, Ray jumps from a train going through the American South and falls in with a medicine show train and its stable of sideshow performers. The performers turn out to be heroes, defenders of the wild, including the son of John Henry. They are hiding the last of the mythical Swamp Sirens from an ancient evil known as the Gog. Why the Gog wants the Siren, they can’t be sure, but they know it has something to do with rebuilding a monstrous machine that John Henry gave his life destroying years before, a machine that will allow the Gog to control the will of men and spread darkness throughout the world."
Here are this month's Book Buddies discussion questions:
Who is The Gog, and what does he want?
Why do you think the author chose to depict the world of machines in such a negative light?
Where have all the Ramblers gone?
Why are the Ramblers important?
To win a free book, come into the Spanish Springs Library and answer this bonus question: Who is Conker’s father?
"Twelve-year-old Ray is haunted by the strangest memories of his father, whom Ray swears could speak to animals. Now an orphan, Ray jumps from a train going through the American South and falls in with a medicine show train and its stable of sideshow performers. The performers turn out to be heroes, defenders of the wild, including the son of John Henry. They are hiding the last of the mythical Swamp Sirens from an ancient evil known as the Gog. Why the Gog wants the Siren, they can’t be sure, but they know it has something to do with rebuilding a monstrous machine that John Henry gave his life destroying years before, a machine that will allow the Gog to control the will of men and spread darkness throughout the world."
Here are this month's Book Buddies discussion questions:
Who is The Gog, and what does he want?
Why do you think the author chose to depict the world of machines in such a negative light?
Where have all the Ramblers gone?
Why are the Ramblers important?
To win a free book, come into the Spanish Springs Library and answer this bonus question: Who is Conker’s father?
May 23, 2017
This was one of those books you fly through; the words go down like spring water.
One of the things I liked about it is how there isn't any explanation for why some things are as they are, they just are. It's that mindset of a child, where you just accept things. It's not a question of suspension of disbelief, either. There's a man who wears a hat that allows him to become a cloud of dandelion seeds. There's a band of pirates on a riverboat who are good to kids and a blind man who is an expert marksman. It's all strange and wonderful like the first time you read about owls delivering acceptance letters to a kid living under a staircase.
The protagonist is a young man who fate and his father's watch lead to his inherited destiny: to become someone who protects the natural beauty of the world from dark steampunk forces.
There are the usual and needed characters of wise, tired, and conflicted adults, new young friends who become family, and a host of dangers and traps that must be survived or avoided during the quest.
But they are interesting, fun, and not the usual in the way they're presented. This is a book that's delightful to read and would be even more delightful shared aloud with someone else.
One of the things I liked about it is how there isn't any explanation for why some things are as they are, they just are. It's that mindset of a child, where you just accept things. It's not a question of suspension of disbelief, either. There's a man who wears a hat that allows him to become a cloud of dandelion seeds. There's a band of pirates on a riverboat who are good to kids and a blind man who is an expert marksman. It's all strange and wonderful like the first time you read about owls delivering acceptance letters to a kid living under a staircase.
The protagonist is a young man who fate and his father's watch lead to his inherited destiny: to become someone who protects the natural beauty of the world from dark steampunk forces.
There are the usual and needed characters of wise, tired, and conflicted adults, new young friends who become family, and a host of dangers and traps that must be survived or avoided during the quest.
But they are interesting, fun, and not the usual in the way they're presented. This is a book that's delightful to read and would be even more delightful shared aloud with someone else.
August 3, 2013
Stars: 3.75 stars
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Did I like it? Yeah, it was pretty good.
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Six word summary: Gog is
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Rating: PG
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Complaints: My main complaint is about the audiobook narrator. His "Ray voice" sounds like Mr. Monopoly from the 199-whatever Hasboro Monopoly Junior computer game. It was really annoying.
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Praises: Has a cool legend-y feeling. Also, the geographical transition from north-eastern US to the South was great.
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Summary: Ray and his sister Sally are orphans on a train going to a new home. Ray decides to leap the train at the suggestion of the train's owner and finds himself alone in the woods of the Appalachian mountains. Luckily, another train is passing by: the Ballyou. Not sure about the spelling on that as I listened to the audiobook. The Ballyou is a medicine-show train: performer do tricks, and then potions and tonic are sold after the show to cure anyone's ails. Ray joins the medicine show train and finds there's more than meets the eye to Chi, Conker, and Nell.
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Ten words for the author: Great original idea. I'll be reading the second book soon.
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Did I like it? Yeah, it was pretty good.
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Six word summary: Gog is
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Rating: PG
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Complaints: My main complaint is about the audiobook narrator. His "Ray voice" sounds like Mr. Monopoly from the 199-whatever Hasboro Monopoly Junior computer game. It was really annoying.
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Praises: Has a cool legend-y feeling. Also, the geographical transition from north-eastern US to the South was great.
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Summary: Ray and his sister Sally are orphans on a train going to a new home. Ray decides to leap the train at the suggestion of the train's owner and finds himself alone in the woods of the Appalachian mountains. Luckily, another train is passing by: the Ballyou. Not sure about the spelling on that as I listened to the audiobook. The Ballyou is a medicine-show train: performer do tricks, and then potions and tonic are sold after the show to cure anyone's ails. Ray joins the medicine show train and finds there's more than meets the eye to Chi, Conker, and Nell.
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Ten words for the author: Great original idea. I'll be reading the second book soon.
October 26, 2014
I liked this book much better than I thought I would. It is touted as a "Steampunk" book and when I first began to read it I couldn't see that. But it does skirt along the edge of Steampunk and for some reason, I enjoy that genre a lot. I also like that the book incorporates American myths for a change. The characters are rather diverse but well drawn. Perhaps Ray, the progenitor, at age 12 is a little too strong and too savvy for his age but it just adds to the charm of the whole. And the story takes place in 1890 when children worked much younger and were not coddled much.
This is Book #1 of the Clockwork Dark series. Orphans are heading south on a very fancy train to be adopted. But Ray decides that his little sister Sally has a much better chance at adoption with him not around so he jumps off the train in the woods. All is normal until then. Ray keeps having dreams about his father being chased by a huge metal hound. The lodestone, that seems to lead him on, once belonged to his father. It leads him to another train with a cast of diverse characters who put on entertainment medicine shows in the towns they pass through. This is an adventure that has to be read!
This is Book #1 of the Clockwork Dark series. Orphans are heading south on a very fancy train to be adopted. But Ray decides that his little sister Sally has a much better chance at adoption with him not around so he jumps off the train in the woods. All is normal until then. Ray keeps having dreams about his father being chased by a huge metal hound. The lodestone, that seems to lead him on, once belonged to his father. It leads him to another train with a cast of diverse characters who put on entertainment medicine shows in the towns they pass through. This is an adventure that has to be read!
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