Steamborn (Steamborn Series Book 1)

Being more than tired of the Potter wanabes, this book gives what it promises. Take a look into the world of steampunk that tells a story of betrayal, escape, inventions and friendship. This is the one you'll kick yourself for missing.

The first book in a new steampunk trilogy by Eric R. Asher, Steamborn was an exciting and fast-paced read, and I honestly can’t remember the last time I had that much fun reading a book. With the release of Jack Campbell and Jim Butchers new steampunk books this year I didn’t think anything else would really meet the bar they set, but Steamborn is as good as, if not better than either of them. I can’t count the number of times I found myself on my feet pacing around my room — which is something I do when I am really amped up by the book I am reading.

Most books I’ve read with war torn or post apocalyptic worlds are much too dark and depressing for my liking, but I found Steamborn to be a much more hopeful story. I was also really happy to discover that the technical aspects of the book weren’t too difficult to follow as well. I’m not a very mechanically minded person so I can struggle at times when a story gets too much into the details of the machines, but this book kept things simple without dumbing it down at all.

My favorite part of the book however were the characters, the relationships Jacob had with his mentor Charles, and his friend Alice really made the story for me. I had to restrain myself from rushing through the story and missing things to find out just how everything turned out between them all.

I already can’t wait for the next book in the series, and I can’t describe the excitement I felt when I found out the next two books both come out in 2016. I’ll be counting down the days until I can find out what is going to happen to Jacob and his friends next.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Originally posted at www.archeddoorway.com

Note: In exchange for an unbiased review, the author, publisher, and/or narrator were kind enough to provide an audio version of this book at no charge via AudiobookBlast.

I'm very late getting this review in, and for that I apologize. I actually finished this about three months ago or more, but didn't get around to writing this until now. So, some of my memories of this story are dimmed now. I remember that I enjoyed it OK. It wasn't anything spectacular, but I did like the unique world the characters lived in. I also remember liking the narrator. She reminded me a bit of Lucy Lawless (that only stuck out to me because I'd recently watched a documentary series that Lawless narrated), and she did a good job of distinguishing the various characters and such. Overall, though, there really didn't feel like enough compelling things were going on to make the story super-interesting. Adequate, enough to enjoy in the moment, but not necessarily enough to continue with the series.

As a young adult (YA) book, “Steamborn” by Eric R. Asher, the first in the Steamborn Series, is a delightful read and perfect for any junior high to high school age readers. Asher’s post-apocalyptic story suffers from some small-scale issues, but turns on fun inventions and decent characters.

Asher’s story is an adventure story of Jacob, a sometimes thief, but mostly engineer’s apprentice and the struggles he faces in a world of overgrown insects. Jacob is from Ancora, a mountain city that is divided between literal Lowborn, those born in the lowlands, and Highborn, those born within the higher, more protected areas.

Told more as a series of one-off adventures, the arc of the story doesn’t really start to get going until about midway through. Jacob is something of a lovable rascal, but he’s also a good kid. Alice, his best friend, is a sweet, always-do-right girl who sometimes acts as Jacob’s companion. Charles, Jacob’s engineering master, serves as guide through the history of Ancora and the various incidents that resulted in the current conflicts.

While almost all the conflicts in “Steamborn” are external, with very little issue between the main characters, this remains a truly steampunk story, with plenty of gadgets running on gears, springs and the inventiveness of their creators. For YA readers, this is a plot-driven story that is fun and enjoyable.

Steamborn is a futurist steampunk type story with giant bugs, action, a little romance, and lots of inventive machines. The story doesn't end in a conclusive ending but leaves it open for the next story, so if you are one that like closure...
The plot is good, the characters are great, lots of action and emotion. It seemed to be a teen book but some adults might like it too. I like my stories to end conclusively and then tease me about a next book so this was a bummer for me, I guess you can't please everyone. I received this book for a honest review from NetGalley.

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom. Both my twelve year old daughter and I listened to this audiobook. We both enjoyed it and look forward to the other two books in the series coming to audiobook. The author, Eric Asher did a great job creating a Steampunk World that not only pre-teens/YSA's can enjoy, but the older generations too. He did a great job with the character development and introduction to a fantasy apocalyptic world that's not too dark and doesn't have too much negative conflicts. I also appreciated how he wrote in 3rd person and set up the manuscript so that a single narrator could perform the book so there is not a bunch of back and forth with multiple POV's. Saskia Maarleveld is an excellent narrator and performs this book perfectly. I love her voice and accents she performs for the different characters in 3rd person. This is a great start for a new series and I look forward to where the next two books take us. Highly recommend for all ages.

Stormborn by Eric Asher

Young adult steampunk adventure. After the war. Walls are built to keep out the bugs. Giant deadly bugs. Electronic bugs like you and I have never seem.
Light bulbs: imagine that every house used to have them. Now they use candles, lanterns and the occasional glowworms. A picture maker that can take photos in under a minute.
A tinker: an inventor of mechanical items.

In a way, this could be historical fiction from a hundred years ago when electronics were just emerging but is actually an aftermath of a war that threatens to reemerge.
Book 1 of 3.
War, fighting, enemies and power. A language of animals, and beings all of its own.
A little slow towards the end but that may be my impression waiting for the sure-to-be cliffhanger
Not exactly a cliffhanger, but more the end of a chapter. I feel like I haven't read the full story. Definitely short you have the full trilogy available when starting this adventure.

Steamborn is the interesting story of Jacob, a 16 yr old tinker's apprentice in the walled city of Lowlands. Lowlands is home to the poorer of the people, while the inner walled city of Highlands is home to the rich and powerful. Jacob resorts to pick pocketing to get money to help his family and sick father. When an apparently concerted attack of monstrous spiders brings down the Wall killing many, the rest flee to the safety of Highland.

Charles, the old tinker, suspects the attack may not be planned and this makes him, Jacob, Jacob's friend Alice and a spider knight named Samuel, a threat to those behind it. .

If the title is a hint, this is the opening book of a series. As such, it lays the background but gives no answers. I would have liked a little more explanation of the war that resulted in the city being as it is. It appears based on a remark by Charles about a lightbulb, that they live in the future. Overall, it is a good start to an enjoyable story. The characters are developed and the imagery powerful.

Full disclosure - I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Stormborn by Eric Asher

Young adult steampunk adventure. After the war. Walls are built to keep out the bugs. Giant deadly bugs. Electronic bugs like you and I have never seem.
Light bulbs: imagine that every house used to have them. Now they use candles, lanterns and the occasional glowworms. A picture maker that can take photos in under a minute.
A tinker: an inventor of mechanical items.

In a way, this could be historical fiction from a hundred years ago when electronics were just emerging but is actually an aftermath of a war that threatens to reemerge.
Book 1 of 3.
War, fighting, enemies and power. A language of animals, and beings all of its own.
A little slow towards the end but that may be my impression waiting for the sure-to-be cliffhanger
Not exactly a cliffhanger, but more the end of a chapter. I feel like I haven't read the full story. Definitely short you have the full trilogy available when starting this adventure.

Steamborn is the interesting story of Jacob, a 16 yr old tinker's apprentice in the walled city of Lowlands. Lowlands is home to the poorer of the people, while the inner walled city of Highlands is home to the rich and powerful. Jacob resorts to pick pocketing to get money to help his family and sick father. When an apparently concerted attack of monstrous spiders brings down the Wall killing many, the rest flee to the safety of Highland.

Charles, the old tinker, suspects the attack may not be planned and this makes him, Jacob, Jacob's friend Alice and a spider knight named Samuel, a threat to those behind it. .

If the title is a hint, this is the opening book of a series. As such, it lays the background but gives no answers. I would have liked a little more explanation of the war that resulted in the city being as it is. It appears based on a remark by Charles about a lightbulb, that they live in the future. Overall, it is a good start to an enjoyable story. The characters are developed and the imagery powerful.

Full disclosure - I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Having not read much in the Steampunk genre, I was truly delighted with the first novel in the Steamborn series. Mr. Asher’s masterful use of the language stimulates young and not so young minds alike. His descriptions of the mechanisms and machines are inventive without being overly technical.
From the first paragraph the reader is immediately drawn into the action of the young hero Jacob. Along with his friend Alice and her take no guff attitude, the pair find themselves on an adventure that takes them from their small town to a larger one, and beyond. With the help and advice of Jacob’s mentor Charles and other friends, Jacob learns that there is more than one side to history and plenty of ways to show kindness during harsh times.
From beginning to end, I thoroughly enjoyed this exquisite tale. I laughed, shed a tear a time or two and have a new appreciation for spiders. I look forward to reading more novels in this series.

This YA steampunk series is exciting from the beginning, although I’m not a lover of giant insects stories. However, it captivated me and went on reading The struggles of the Lowlands people versus Highlanders, a secret discovery, and the characters resistance to survive the persecution is actively described and overwhelming! I’ll definitely read the rest of the series!

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.
I was delighted when Eric contacted me and asked me to review Steamborn. The cover was great and I’ve been on a YA trip for a while. While Fantasy isn’t my go-to genre, I was willing to give the book a shot.
People live in the Highlands and Lowlands, but both are under daily threat from a variety of very large spiders from the Deadlands. Jacob, the main protagonist in the story, is a tinker’s apprentice. But he’s also a petty thief who steals to help out his sick father. But when a swarm of spiders breaches the Highlands wall, the attack puts everyone on alert.
I liked the overall premise of the book and the spiders were well described and terrifying in parts. Then there were the multitude of inventions involving steam. This is definitely Steampunk!
What I struggled a little with was the lack of conflict between the characters. While they were developed, the nice people were always nice. Never a cross word said. Jacob is fifteen, but he goes to cotillions with his best friend Alice and likes really sweet candy. The candy seems more like something a younger boy might like. And fifteen year olds rarely go to dances with their female friends and not have any feelings beyond platonic ones. I would have liked Jason and Alice to have argued a little more like the hormonal fifteen year olds I imagined them to be.
Overall, four stars.

A Rousing Adventure in a future where modern technology has been all but extinguished and the surviving populations live behind walls for protection where Jacob, a tinker's apprentice with an aptitude for machines and a curiosity for the past has to use his wit to find the answers A great Read well told story in the steampunk world of antique machines Highly Recommend reading

Steamborn is the first book I've enjoyed so thoroughly in quite a long time. The characters are compelling and easy to relate to. You witness most of the story through the eyes of a bright, young protagonist, Jacob, and discovering the world alongside him keeps the pages turning.

Asher is quite the storyteller, keeping the plot moving forward without getting into too much of a hurry. As a fellow author of a fantasy series, I truly admire his skill and talent, and strongly recommend this book. I know I'll be reading the second and third installments in this series shortly.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story so much I purchased the trilogy. I li'li'e the writing and characters and cat wait to read the rest of the story. The detail is awesome, the characters are so full of fun, it makes me wish I could be there with them. Well done Eric 5 stars plus

Having not read much in the Steampunk genre, I was truly delighted with the first novel in the Steamborn series. Mr. Asher’s masterful use of the language stimulates young and not so young minds alike. His descriptions of the mechanisms and machines are inventive without being overly technical.
From the first paragraph the reader is immediately drawn into the action of the young hero Jacob. Along with his friend Alice and her take no guff attitude, the pair find themselves on an adventure that takes them from their small town to a larger one, and beyond. With the help and advice of Jacob’s mentor Charles and other friends, Jacob learns that there is more than one side to history and plenty of ways to show kindness during harsh times.
From beginning to end, I thoroughly enjoyed this exquisite tale. I laughed, shed a tear a time or two and have a new appreciation for spiders. I look forward to reading more novels in this series.

This YA steampunk series is exciting from the beginning, although I’m not a lover of giant insects stories. However, it captivated me and went on reading The struggles of the Lowlands people versus Highlanders, a secret discovery, and the characters resistance to survive the persecution is actively described and overwhelming! I’ll definitely read the rest of the series!