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Clockwork Earth #3
Pinion
Her Imperial Majesty Queen Victoria still rules her empire, the Royal Navy challenges the Chinese in the skies with their mighty airships, and Earth still turns on God's great brass gears of heaven as it makes it orderly passage around the lamp of the sun frim midnight to midnight and year to year.
Rejoin the adventure in Lake's Clockwork Earth!
Paolina Barthes, young sorceress, is crossing the Equatorial Wall; since she cannot remove her magical talent from herself, she must remove herself from Northern Earth. She fears and hates the powerful men of the empires of the North who have tried to use her instead of teach her. She hopes to find a home.
Emily Childress is still aboard the renegade Chinese submarine, along with the British chief petty officer, Angus al-Wazir. They are being pursued most urgently by the powers that secretly rule Northern Earth—the Silent Order and the White Birds. Childress, who assumed the identity of a Mask of the White Birds to save her life, is growing into that power. Every day she wields it, it becomes more truly her own.
The mechanical man of Ophir, christened Boaz by Paolina, was abandoned on the coast of Africa and is held captive by castaway Chinese airmen. He desires only to find Paolina, but instead, the deepst memories of his Brass kind are being triggered by the place in which he finds himself. He is compelled to recover a long-hidden treasure and return it to Ophir.
And in Southern Earth, a new power has its eye on Paolina; she will not be allowed to bring the political turmoil of the North into the more mystical South.
Rejoin the adventure in Lake's Clockwork Earth!
Paolina Barthes, young sorceress, is crossing the Equatorial Wall; since she cannot remove her magical talent from herself, she must remove herself from Northern Earth. She fears and hates the powerful men of the empires of the North who have tried to use her instead of teach her. She hopes to find a home.
Emily Childress is still aboard the renegade Chinese submarine, along with the British chief petty officer, Angus al-Wazir. They are being pursued most urgently by the powers that secretly rule Northern Earth—the Silent Order and the White Birds. Childress, who assumed the identity of a Mask of the White Birds to save her life, is growing into that power. Every day she wields it, it becomes more truly her own.
The mechanical man of Ophir, christened Boaz by Paolina, was abandoned on the coast of Africa and is held captive by castaway Chinese airmen. He desires only to find Paolina, but instead, the deepst memories of his Brass kind are being triggered by the place in which he finds himself. He is compelled to recover a long-hidden treasure and return it to Ophir.
And in Southern Earth, a new power has its eye on Paolina; she will not be allowed to bring the political turmoil of the North into the more mystical South.
348 pages, Hardcover
First published March 30, 2010
7 people are currently reading
509 people want to read
About the author
Jay Lake
239 books254 followersJay Lake lived in Portland, Oregon, where he worked on multiple writing and editing projects. His 2007 book Mainspring received a starred review in Booklist. His short fiction appeared regularly in literary and genre markets worldwide. Jay won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, Endeavour Award, and was a multiple nominee for the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
July 19, 2013
It's still the Jay Lake Pre-Mortem Readathon, and this is the fourth review I've made for Shelf Inflicted in honor of Jay's impending death. This book wraps up a trilogy, and does it in a moving and satisfying way.
Go have a gander. It won't kill you.
Go have a gander. It won't kill you.
March 11, 2011
I seldom read an entire trilogy consecutively. Although it's nice to read the books relatively close together, I usually intersperse a series with other books, just to give me time to absorb the latest instalment. I didn't do that with the Clockwork Earth trilogy, and that has thrown a certain emphasis on the series I might otherwise have missed. It has made more stark the separation between Mainspring and the final two books; Pinion as a direct sequel to Escapement makes Mainspring seem that much more like some kind of distant prequel. Furthermore, the entire trilogy just seems lighter—in terms of plot, not mood—than your average fantasy series. My experience overall, despite the utter failure of Mainspring, has been positive. Yet I have to complain about how little happens in these books.
In Pinion, Jay Lake continues with his multiple third-person perspectives that he began in Escapement. In addition to following Paolina, Childress, and al-Wazir, we follow Wang, Boaz, and Kitchens. There's an entirely new character, Gashansunu, who comes from Southern Earth. Oh, and Hethor's back—but don't worry, he's just an NPC! As a wise mentor figure, he's less annoying; maybe it's the added amount of cynicism about God's involvement in the world. The character perspectives may have multiplied, but the amount of action has not.
Once again, the characters are bouncing back and forth across and around the world, at the mercy of a slightly hyperactive plot. Paolina arrives in Southern Earth but promptly returns to find Boaz, commandeer another airship, and help Kitchens with his particular duty. Childress, al-Wazir, and Wang are the most purposeful of all the characters. The former two are still aboard the Five Lucky Winds, bluffing their way toward Valetta and the council of the Feathered Masks. Wang is following them in a ship crewed by "dead men" while he's plagued by a "ghostly" monk. Boaz, like Paolina, is a little bit all over the place. He's near Mogadishu, then he's back near the drilling station … he's found the Sixth Seal, and he considers bring it to Ophir, but then he reunites with Paolina. I don't insist on having a linear plot, or even a plot that makes much sense. But I need something that doesn't feel like a pseudo-random patchwork quilt, and Pinion doesn't deliver that.
Getting inside the perspective of Gashansunu, a woman of the Southern Earth raised to be a sorceress since birth, couldn't have been easy. She is the Other, but unlike the Correct People from Mainspring, we aren't learning about her through the perspective of another Northern Earth inhabitant like Hethor. Nevertheless, she reminded me too much of Arellya, Hethor's lover and resident Correct Person smartass from Mainspring. Both are smug and sure of their own mystical models of the world, which causes a certain amount of insouciance toward naive Northern Earthers. Both attach themselves to a wielder of power from Northern Earth, Arellya to Hethor and Gashansunu to Paolina, mentoring that person even as they themselves learn about their worlds through the eyes of aliens. And again, there's that uncomfortable vibe—in Gashansunu's case, she is literally subsumed into Paolina. That's a little creepy.
I think my favourite parts were those with Kitchens. He was a very minor character in Escapement, and I really didn't give him a second thought. It was a surprise to see him have a major role. He's more than just a bureaucrat; he also works with a blade, if you catch my drift. Maybe it's just my penchant for absurd British humour, but I love his interactions with Boaz once they're aboard the Erinyes and later the Chinese airship they rename Stolen. And Kitchens is a perfect example of something I began to appreciate in Escapement that became integral to Pinion.
All the characters in this book have one thing in common: they are thrust totally, hopelessly outside their milieu. With Paolina it's obvious; she leaves the only home she has ever known for an inclement outside world that cares more about wielding her power than teaching her how to control it. Childress has spent the past decades as a university librarian. She serves the white birds in a minor capacity—and now she finds herself impersonating a Mask, learning Chinese, and persuading a Chinese captain to go AWOL for the sake of seeking peace. Talk about a turnaround! Wang the Cataloger, also a librarian of a kind, turns into a kind of bounty hunter searching for Childress and chatting up ghosts.
Kitchens is emblematic of being pushed beyond his ordinary boundaries. He's a special clerk for the Admirality, and we learn he has some skills beyond pushing papers. Yet he's never left England, much less gone to the Wall. He's not a smooth political operator, nor is he much of a leader, as we see from his interactions with Boaz and McCurdy. Then, of course, there's Kitchens' meeting with Queen Victoria and the chain of events set into motion by that.
I knew there had to be something weird going on with Victoria the moment Kitchens visited Blenheim. And when the started talking about the smell of morgues, it was obvious something ickily steampunkish was involved. I was already picturing tanks and cables and oddly-coloured fluids. Still, Lake does a great job capitalizing on this anticipation and realizing it in words. Kitchens' meeting with Victoria is one of the deepest, most dramatic moments in the book. And it highlights how different this Clockwork Earth is from our own.
That being said, I really would have liked to learn more about who made the decision to prolong Victoria's life in such a ghastly way. It's implied (or at least I inferred) that the Prime Minister, while aware of the status quo, was not the prime architect of it. Once again, the details that I yearn for about this alternative Earth are missing, and I have to make do with what Lake gives me. It's frustrating, especially because what he does make available is just so good, so tantalizing.
Pinion has a lot of good qualities going for it, and it also suffers from flaws similar to the previous two entries in this trilogy. It's almost tied with Escapement for my favourite of the three books, but if I had to choose, Escapement would win, because Pinion's conclusion is hurried and disappointing. It doesn't strike the right tone. Instead of being triumphant, it's messy. Instead of being tense or suspenseful, it's boring. Lake scattered plenty of foreshadowing throughout the book, but when we finally realize the culmination of all the hints, I was just waiting for the story to finish.
I wish I could be head-over-heels about the Clockwork Earth. It's a lovely premise, but like so many premises, the actual execution is lacking. It's about a divided planet, a war between the rational and the spiritual in a world where the craftsmanship of a Creator is apparent. And some of Lake's characters—Paolina, Childress, al-Wazir, Kitchens—are entertaining and manage to earn my sympathy. I liked the characters, and I liked the world … but those alone did not manage to carry me through a less-than-satisfying story. Escapement and Pinion entertained me, but they didn't really engage me. Your mileage might vary, though.
My Reviews of the Clockwork Earth series:
← Escapement
In Pinion, Jay Lake continues with his multiple third-person perspectives that he began in Escapement. In addition to following Paolina, Childress, and al-Wazir, we follow Wang, Boaz, and Kitchens. There's an entirely new character, Gashansunu, who comes from Southern Earth. Oh, and Hethor's back—but don't worry, he's just an NPC! As a wise mentor figure, he's less annoying; maybe it's the added amount of cynicism about God's involvement in the world. The character perspectives may have multiplied, but the amount of action has not.
Once again, the characters are bouncing back and forth across and around the world, at the mercy of a slightly hyperactive plot. Paolina arrives in Southern Earth but promptly returns to find Boaz, commandeer another airship, and help Kitchens with his particular duty. Childress, al-Wazir, and Wang are the most purposeful of all the characters. The former two are still aboard the Five Lucky Winds, bluffing their way toward Valetta and the council of the Feathered Masks. Wang is following them in a ship crewed by "dead men" while he's plagued by a "ghostly" monk. Boaz, like Paolina, is a little bit all over the place. He's near Mogadishu, then he's back near the drilling station … he's found the Sixth Seal, and he considers bring it to Ophir, but then he reunites with Paolina. I don't insist on having a linear plot, or even a plot that makes much sense. But I need something that doesn't feel like a pseudo-random patchwork quilt, and Pinion doesn't deliver that.
Getting inside the perspective of Gashansunu, a woman of the Southern Earth raised to be a sorceress since birth, couldn't have been easy. She is the Other, but unlike the Correct People from Mainspring, we aren't learning about her through the perspective of another Northern Earth inhabitant like Hethor. Nevertheless, she reminded me too much of Arellya, Hethor's lover and resident Correct Person smartass from Mainspring. Both are smug and sure of their own mystical models of the world, which causes a certain amount of insouciance toward naive Northern Earthers. Both attach themselves to a wielder of power from Northern Earth, Arellya to Hethor and Gashansunu to Paolina, mentoring that person even as they themselves learn about their worlds through the eyes of aliens. And again, there's that uncomfortable vibe—in Gashansunu's case, she is literally subsumed into Paolina. That's a little creepy.
I think my favourite parts were those with Kitchens. He was a very minor character in Escapement, and I really didn't give him a second thought. It was a surprise to see him have a major role. He's more than just a bureaucrat; he also works with a blade, if you catch my drift. Maybe it's just my penchant for absurd British humour, but I love his interactions with Boaz once they're aboard the Erinyes and later the Chinese airship they rename Stolen. And Kitchens is a perfect example of something I began to appreciate in Escapement that became integral to Pinion.
All the characters in this book have one thing in common: they are thrust totally, hopelessly outside their milieu. With Paolina it's obvious; she leaves the only home she has ever known for an inclement outside world that cares more about wielding her power than teaching her how to control it. Childress has spent the past decades as a university librarian. She serves the white birds in a minor capacity—and now she finds herself impersonating a Mask, learning Chinese, and persuading a Chinese captain to go AWOL for the sake of seeking peace. Talk about a turnaround! Wang the Cataloger, also a librarian of a kind, turns into a kind of bounty hunter searching for Childress and chatting up ghosts.
Kitchens is emblematic of being pushed beyond his ordinary boundaries. He's a special clerk for the Admirality, and we learn he has some skills beyond pushing papers. Yet he's never left England, much less gone to the Wall. He's not a smooth political operator, nor is he much of a leader, as we see from his interactions with Boaz and McCurdy. Then, of course, there's Kitchens' meeting with Queen Victoria and the chain of events set into motion by that.
I knew there had to be something weird going on with Victoria the moment Kitchens visited Blenheim. And when the started talking about the smell of morgues, it was obvious something ickily steampunkish was involved. I was already picturing tanks and cables and oddly-coloured fluids. Still, Lake does a great job capitalizing on this anticipation and realizing it in words. Kitchens' meeting with Victoria is one of the deepest, most dramatic moments in the book. And it highlights how different this Clockwork Earth is from our own.
That being said, I really would have liked to learn more about who made the decision to prolong Victoria's life in such a ghastly way. It's implied (or at least I inferred) that the Prime Minister, while aware of the status quo, was not the prime architect of it. Once again, the details that I yearn for about this alternative Earth are missing, and I have to make do with what Lake gives me. It's frustrating, especially because what he does make available is just so good, so tantalizing.
Pinion has a lot of good qualities going for it, and it also suffers from flaws similar to the previous two entries in this trilogy. It's almost tied with Escapement for my favourite of the three books, but if I had to choose, Escapement would win, because Pinion's conclusion is hurried and disappointing. It doesn't strike the right tone. Instead of being triumphant, it's messy. Instead of being tense or suspenseful, it's boring. Lake scattered plenty of foreshadowing throughout the book, but when we finally realize the culmination of all the hints, I was just waiting for the story to finish.
I wish I could be head-over-heels about the Clockwork Earth. It's a lovely premise, but like so many premises, the actual execution is lacking. It's about a divided planet, a war between the rational and the spiritual in a world where the craftsmanship of a Creator is apparent. And some of Lake's characters—Paolina, Childress, al-Wazir, Kitchens—are entertaining and manage to earn my sympathy. I liked the characters, and I liked the world … but those alone did not manage to carry me through a less-than-satisfying story. Escapement and Pinion entertained me, but they didn't really engage me. Your mileage might vary, though.
My Reviews of the Clockwork Earth series:
← Escapement
May 24, 2024
Quite spectacular. Recommended.
November 2, 2021
It would probably have been better not to have waited so long to read this, or failing that, to have re-read the first two in the series again before diving into this one. It’s very much a continuation of the many threads of the story, and the reader is expected to be familiar with the returning characters without much introduction. Since my memories were vague, it took longer than it should have for me to re-identify with the goals and motivations of Childress, Paolina, and Boaz. Adding Wang to the mix along with new characters Kitchens and Gashansunu made things a bit too hectic to follow at times - especially given Lake’s style of keeping POV sections quite short before shifting.
Having said that, I’d also forgotten the impressively stylish writing - it’s elegant and poetic, with striking turns of phrase at least every couple of pages. It makes for an enjoyable read, even as Lake revels overmuch in his clever linguistic convolutions at times. As Wang says to a port master, “Speaking with you is like braiding the tails of three cats.” (p. 224). The writing actually reminded me of Natasha Pulley, although of course it should be the other way around since hers are more recent.
The story itself is fast-paced, but seemingly intentionally a bit obscure, with the characters’ actions being unpredictable enough that it’s not clear where things are going for much of the book. The resolution was more violent than necessary in my opinion, and somewhat unsatisfying, but overall it’s a decent conclusion to the trilogy.
Having said that, I’d also forgotten the impressively stylish writing - it’s elegant and poetic, with striking turns of phrase at least every couple of pages. It makes for an enjoyable read, even as Lake revels overmuch in his clever linguistic convolutions at times. As Wang says to a port master, “Speaking with you is like braiding the tails of three cats.” (p. 224). The writing actually reminded me of Natasha Pulley, although of course it should be the other way around since hers are more recent.
The story itself is fast-paced, but seemingly intentionally a bit obscure, with the characters’ actions being unpredictable enough that it’s not clear where things are going for much of the book. The resolution was more violent than necessary in my opinion, and somewhat unsatisfying, but overall it’s a decent conclusion to the trilogy.
Read
July 21, 2012Great view of a "steampunk" world, and I love how the chapters are broken into characters, much like George R.R. Martin writes his novels. The creepy introduction of the Queen of England made me cringe, but was awesome all the same and reminded me of some of the Anime I've watched, the way Jay Lake wrote it. Love it thus far.
June 28, 2023
The final book of the Clockwork Earth trilogy. Jay Lake ties it all together. At times it is a little choppy as he hops from one storyline to another but overall it has been a good read.
November 12, 2013
After dragging myself screaming and kicking to the end of this trilogy I'd have to conclude Jay Lake is a light-weight writer who came up with one heavy weight idea and didn't have the expertise to stretch it across three novels. The first book was nearly unreadable, he fluked the second one - that was a fun read - but number three was just dreadful. I am guessing he could be OK as a short story writer - coming up with a few big ideas to drive a plot, but this is not enough to justify writing a long-form novel - let alone a trilogy.
One of the biggest problems with this one was its Attention Deficit Disordered structure. I am guessing that after book 2 his fans said they loved the point of view alternating between three characters. Lake decided you can never have enough of a good thing, doubled his POVs, and halved their effectiveness. Many of the chapter sections are less than a page long and few exceed two pages. This is not enough space to write a scene that involves a reader emotionally. Kitchens and Wang really don't add anything meaningful to the story - as characters, they are barely ciphers so it's hard to know why he went down this road. The fragmented structure only highlights the deep flaws in the plot.
The main plot device in this series is literally a deus ex machina - the "gleam". With her magical clockwork devise, Paolina can do literally anything she thinks of, so the plot is utterly arbitrary. One moment we have life and death airship battles, the next she remembers she is the little finger of god and can teleport the opposing team half way around the world. This is the superman without Kryptonite problem. The only thing you can do with this type of "drama" is to give the protagonists some emotional problems to wrestle with - but when you are limited to scenes of a page, "character" is reduced to a cartoon trait. Lake feels he needs to mention the traits once per scene. Paolina hates men every 12 pages, Boaz's gut quotes the bible out of context, Wang chases Childress, Childress pretends she's a mask, Gashansunu does something cryptic with her Wa, and Kitchens fiddles with dusty bowler and reads his cyborg queens soggy note. Add random scenery and repeat like clockwork.
This arbitrariness is also found in the connections between the characters. We are told Boaz loves Paolina, Wang is attracted to Childress, al-Wazir is deeply fond of Paolina ....the list goes on .... but we are never given a scene where we get to see the dynamics of these relationships in action - it's all tell and no show. When you couple this emotional superficiality to a totally arbitrary plot, it makes a deeply foolish novel.
There are flashes of interesting writing - Lake's prose is descriptive, at it's best when describing big dumb objects, and there are a few memorable scenes such as Queen Victoria in her Steam Punk sarcophagus. I'll give my one star for dropping a (yellow?) submarine on Blenheim Palace - that was almost worthy of a Terry Gilliam Monty Python sketch.
One of the biggest problems with this one was its Attention Deficit Disordered structure. I am guessing that after book 2 his fans said they loved the point of view alternating between three characters. Lake decided you can never have enough of a good thing, doubled his POVs, and halved their effectiveness. Many of the chapter sections are less than a page long and few exceed two pages. This is not enough space to write a scene that involves a reader emotionally. Kitchens and Wang really don't add anything meaningful to the story - as characters, they are barely ciphers so it's hard to know why he went down this road. The fragmented structure only highlights the deep flaws in the plot.
The main plot device in this series is literally a deus ex machina - the "gleam". With her magical clockwork devise, Paolina can do literally anything she thinks of, so the plot is utterly arbitrary. One moment we have life and death airship battles, the next she remembers she is the little finger of god and can teleport the opposing team half way around the world. This is the superman without Kryptonite problem. The only thing you can do with this type of "drama" is to give the protagonists some emotional problems to wrestle with - but when you are limited to scenes of a page, "character" is reduced to a cartoon trait. Lake feels he needs to mention the traits once per scene. Paolina hates men every 12 pages, Boaz's gut quotes the bible out of context, Wang chases Childress, Childress pretends she's a mask, Gashansunu does something cryptic with her Wa, and Kitchens fiddles with dusty bowler and reads his cyborg queens soggy note. Add random scenery and repeat like clockwork.
This arbitrariness is also found in the connections between the characters. We are told Boaz loves Paolina, Wang is attracted to Childress, al-Wazir is deeply fond of Paolina ....the list goes on .... but we are never given a scene where we get to see the dynamics of these relationships in action - it's all tell and no show. When you couple this emotional superficiality to a totally arbitrary plot, it makes a deeply foolish novel.
There are flashes of interesting writing - Lake's prose is descriptive, at it's best when describing big dumb objects, and there are a few memorable scenes such as Queen Victoria in her Steam Punk sarcophagus. I'll give my one star for dropping a (yellow?) submarine on Blenheim Palace - that was almost worthy of a Terry Gilliam Monty Python sketch.
Read
October 26, 2012The third (and conclusion?) to the Mainspring series. I adore Jay's clockwork earth, and the characters. This one introduces the stoic, loyal, and dangerous Bernard Forthright Kitchens. (That name is second in wonderful only to Threadgill Angus al-Wazir.)[return]I think the mysterious monk is new, too, though I suppose I might have forgotten her in the year or more since I read Escapement. I love the strong women in these books. In addition to the monk, Paolina Barthes and Emily McHenry Childress are both back -- the teenager and the older librarian who are changing the world. Not to shortchange the men, which are interesting, too. Cataloger Wang is another librarian caught up complex politics and war, doing the best he can. Boaz the Brass is wonderfully realized whatever-he-is, transforming into a something richer (I hesitate to say human), and falling in love with Paolina. There's a climactic battle that is too, too wonderful, but I don't want to reveal any spoilers. BTW, these books have the most beautiful damn covers out there. Of course, the artist had good material to work with. Cliffs! Dirigibles! Robots!
December 15, 2011
1 Book three in a series, none of which I'd read before this one
2 Steampunk
3 Fantasy
4 Romance
I gotta say, if I'd known it was all that before I got it, I probably wouldn't have bought it. But in spite of all that I did really enjoy it. Heck, I might even read the first book or two....
The fantasy steampunk thing really doesn't work for me. I can accept ice breathing dragons a lot quicker than steam powered submarines capable of 30 knots for days at a time (yeah, I'm weird that way) but never ever knowing where the heck the plot was leading kept me almost engrossed enough not to care. My only real complaint was the the large number of characters and sub plots made it long winded without spending enough time with the characters I liked.
If any or all of points one thru four sound appealing, you'll likely really enjoy this. Or maybe you'll like it in spite of them. Either way, probably worth your time.
2 Steampunk
3 Fantasy
4 Romance
I gotta say, if I'd known it was all that before I got it, I probably wouldn't have bought it. But in spite of all that I did really enjoy it. Heck, I might even read the first book or two....
The fantasy steampunk thing really doesn't work for me. I can accept ice breathing dragons a lot quicker than steam powered submarines capable of 30 knots for days at a time (yeah, I'm weird that way) but never ever knowing where the heck the plot was leading kept me almost engrossed enough not to care. My only real complaint was the the large number of characters and sub plots made it long winded without spending enough time with the characters I liked.
If any or all of points one thru four sound appealing, you'll likely really enjoy this. Or maybe you'll like it in spite of them. Either way, probably worth your time.
February 3, 2011
Another good read from Jay Lake, but not without its problems. The writing is, as always, gorgeous. Lake always manages to strike just the right balance between being poetic and being overly ornate or flowery, and his imagery and world-building are just as good. However, as compelling as his cast of characters is, the rapid pace at which he flickers back and forth between them, especially in the second half of the book, gets a little irritating after a while. I did like how the many narrative threads he's maintained throughout the books come together at the end, but I feel like it ended too tidily, with the remaining characters coming together in a scene of all-inclusive rejoicing straight out of a Shakespeare comedy. Given how broodiness and the grittiness that has characterized this series, it just seems a little pat.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2010
It's too ambitious. It relies on too many implausible concepts. It ... oh, what the heck, it was a great read.
Only at the end do we realize just how huge a canvas Lake has been painting all along. It's not only a steampunk adventure, but also a great heap of metaphors and examinations of what humanity and society are all about.
Occasionally I was annoyed that the characters' feeble ploys to fool others were always successful, and that (as in any adventure story) the main characters are bulletproof.
I'll forgive that because of Lake's refusal to let "the gleam" become too much of a factor. I won't say more than that for the sake of those who haven't resd this yet.
Only at the end do we realize just how huge a canvas Lake has been painting all along. It's not only a steampunk adventure, but also a great heap of metaphors and examinations of what humanity and society are all about.
Occasionally I was annoyed that the characters' feeble ploys to fool others were always successful, and that (as in any adventure story) the main characters are bulletproof.
I'll forgive that because of Lake's refusal to let "the gleam" become too much of a factor. I won't say more than that for the sake of those who haven't resd this yet.
October 11, 2012
Definitely the weakest of the trilogy. Nothing is brought to a particularly satisfying conclusion, and the chapters blend into each other and get repetitive after a while. Paolina and Boaz, in particular, become insufferable and dull due to their newfound co-dependence. It had some highlights -- as always, Lake writes well and I appreciate his ability to conjure scenes and play with alternate versions of our world. However, he is a bit heavy handed when dealing with the "big issues" themes in this book -- especially gender and religion.
October 22, 2014
The second half of this books would get a 4 or maybe even a 5, since the ending was really good. The struggle I had with this book was that it at no place mentioned on the cover that it was the third in a trilogy. I even had read the first book in the series, but missing the second book made the first 100 pages drag and be too confusing. Even if I had known this was the third in a trilogy, many other trilogies I have read do a better job of grounding and explaining the world, since one can not assume that every person who picks up a book has read all of the others in the series.
June 9, 2011
I read this book for the Endeavour award. It is book 3 of a series of which I read #2 and enjoyed it. So I was greatly disappointed. Perhaps the world is explained more in the first book - but I accepted the vaguely steampunk Earth with a huge wall separated the Northern Earth from the Southern Earth and all the various strangenesses. But in this book I just found it confusing and annoying. It took me over a month to read as I kept putting it down to read anything else. Not recommended. 2.5 of 5.
April 1, 2015
My opinion of this book is most likely colored by the fact that it's been quite a while since I read the first two books in the series and that I don't remember the previous book at all. But even taking that into consideration, this book was really difficult to get into. I think that may have been due to the extremely short sections that didn't allow you time to get to know any particular character. Also some of them felt like they were more checking in with the character because we have to then anything the character actually had to do.
July 1, 2012
The third installment of the 'Clockwork Earth'. It ties up most of the loose threads of Escapement well enough, but the unknown fate of one character leaves a gaping hole. Perhaps that hole will be explored in some further volume...
While I liked the character of Paolina in the first book, by the end of this one she had begun to grate on me. Also, I found the abilities she gains from her 'gleam' to be stretching my credulity into stranger and stranger shapes...
While I liked the character of Paolina in the first book, by the end of this one she had begun to grate on me. Also, I found the abilities she gains from her 'gleam' to be stretching my credulity into stranger and stranger shapes...
May 25, 2016
All in all a good trilogy. I'm disappointed there wasn't more exploration of the mechanisms of the world, and the story got thin several times, lost in detail and negotiations. It ended strong though, and I am thankful.
And Paolina, the primary protagonist, was too smart. Plus she built a tool that could do anything, to anyone or anything, at anytime. That's not a great mechanisms to have in a story. It takes away a lot of the suspense. Which is too bad, she could have been a great character, but instead she became very much a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sue.
And Paolina, the primary protagonist, was too smart. Plus she built a tool that could do anything, to anyone or anything, at anytime. That's not a great mechanisms to have in a story. It takes away a lot of the suspense. Which is too bad, she could have been a great character, but instead she became very much a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sue.
October 3, 2010
Great setting, see my reviews of the previous books in the series. I enjoyed this one more than the other two, because it finaly felt like the series is developing. The ending was fast paced and felt complete, although there are potential hooks for a sequel. I particularely enjoyed Childress's development throughout this book.
October 11, 2010
Jay Lake somehow ties the multiple threads of his two previous novels in this series in a neat bow by the end of this third volume. Along the way, his characters develop, new wonders unfold, plots thicken without congealing. I prefer hard science fiction to fantasy, but these three books are favorites of mine.
April 5, 2014
The latter two novels in Lake's Clockwork Earth series are closely tied, following the story of the same characters in an extended story arc and rarely draw upon events from the debut novel mainspring. You will need to read Escapement prior to this novel to understand the storyline. Very enjoyable books that adeptly mash-up steampunk and magic.
October 25, 2011
Kind of disappointed by the ending, I kept on thinking to myself "where is this story going?" Its an awesome world though, and a very exciting story, so I was happy to be along for the ride. The ending seemed very final, so its likely there will be no sequel.
What was with the fossils? Wha?
What was with the fossils? Wha?
June 25, 2014
It's rare to read a trilogy where all three books are of equal quality.... Lake's clockwork Earth ends a lovely ripping adventure trilogy, with a ripping end, and a rotj like epilogue. These characters will be with me a long time.
September 26, 2015
Lake's final story in the series is told from multiple viewpoints.
Much of the action echoes WWI, with changes made to primary location and parties involved.
Lake uses elements from: L. Frank Baum and Pinocchio blended with Asimov.
Much of the action echoes WWI, with changes made to primary location and parties involved.
Lake uses elements from: L. Frank Baum and Pinocchio blended with Asimov.
January 4, 2016
This was a fun journey with some interesting overlap in the different stories. I wasn't as engaged as I was in book two but I really wanted to finish the series. Not a bad journey but not my favorite either.
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June 26, 2010Not a great book, but some interesting concepts. Waaaaay too much switching from character to character to really care about any of them.
August 21, 2010
The best of all the Clockwork universe!
January 26, 2013
A good wrap up to the series.
June 6, 2015
I loved this series. Wonderful characters, interesting plot twists without being arcane, and a neat concept.
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