Boneshaker (Sci Fi Essential Books) (Paperback)

A great steampunk novel.
It won't shock or anything, and it does not hide amazing surprises in the folds of its pages, but all the characters fit like clockwork in the casing of the walled city, and the writing makes them go tick tock smoothly.
I personally am no big fan of zombies, but the ones in here are not overwhelming, and are more a part of the story's background than the plot proper.
Of course the novel does not answer all the questions it leads the reader to pose, which is only fair, really.

Briar Wilkes and her son, Ezekiel, live in The Outskirts -- the closest habitable land to what used to be Seattle. The granddaughter of an esteemed law-man and the wife of a reviled scientist, Briar has attempted to sink into the background for the rest of her life after her husband, Leviticus Blue, destroys Seattle with his "Boneshaker." There are many theories surrounding why Levi chose to test run the Boneshaker in Seattle and how the toxic Blight was released into the air, but Briar tries to avoid any mention of her past. Given the chance, Briar would have spent the rest of her life cleaning up after her husband's mistake, without any more distinctions, but Ezekiel changes that course when he sneaks behind the wall into the ruined city in the attempt to clear his father's name.

What follows is an exciting jaunt into a world of dirigibles, mechanized suits, rabid (rapid) zombies and the love between a mother and son.

The strength of this story is the focus of Briar as she enters into Seattle in search of her son. She is an incredibly strong woman who stands up to a horde of zombies and shoots into them with the accuracy of a marksman. There are no fripperies in Cherie Priest's writing -- every diversion in the story serves a purpose -- and I thanked goodness that she made no attempt to find a romantic interest for Briar. The story didn't need one and neither did Briar.

The bond between Zeke and Briar is complex and compelling. Briar holds herself apart from everybody in her daily life, including Zeke, but her mission causes her to confront the intense love she has for her son. He, in turn, is a believably flawed teenaged boy. His foray into the wall surrounding Seattle is foolhardy as you might expect (he crawls into the city with his gun packed away in a backpack), and quickly because flotsam that is pulled along by other character's manipulations.

Cherie Priest admits that she took liberties with the history of Seattle, but it doesn't matter. I live in Seattle, and the dates she skewed are not well-known (who remembers when skyscrapers were built?). I cannot see any enjoyer of fiction being turned off by the digressions.

Zombie western steampunk - try not to take view the racist attitudes concerning the Chinese, Indigenous Americans and ad Blacks though contemporary social lens.....although this can be hard cause the ladies are allowed to be super respected bad asses. Oh well... It's exiting, colorful and fun......even if it it does involve WAY TOAY DTAIRS AMD TOTALY CONFUSING LANDSCAPE. I L❤️ve Briar!

Cherie Priest's Boneshaker is first and foremost a great read. For those fans of steampunk, Boneshaker has that in a unique setting: Old West Seattle in the late 1870's, a town transformed by twin disasters into a walled city, but one in which the dangers lie inside the wall instead of out. For fans of zombies, it has that in a unique way as well in the form of "rotters" (the word "zombie" never appears in the novel), people turned into the ravenous decaying undead by the deadly yellow gas called "Blight" that the wall keeps contained. And for the fans of airships, Boneshaker has them in vivid detail, magnificent and make-shift that as one would expect in the early stages of their development.

But all that aside, it's the characters you meet in Boneshaker that hold it all together, that make it all believable and keep you reading. Priest clearly knows her characters, intimately, and makes them live and breathe for you. Briar Wilkes, daugher of a sheriff, Maynard Wilkes, whose last act in the disaster made him a legend; widow of Leviticus Blue, the inventive genius blamed for the disaster; and mother of Zeke Wilkes, a fourteen year-old boy who, trying to reconcile these twin legacies, goes into the walled-up zone in search of the past his mother has kept secret from him. And Briar, when she finds out what he's done, must go in after him:

"She wasn't worried about her father's house; it had withstood worse. And when she got there, she wasn't even relieved to find it standing without any obvious damage. Nothing short of finding Zeke on the porch could have slowed her down.
--She burst in the door and into the cold, dry interior that was every bit as empty as she'd left it.
--Her hand stopped at the knob to her father's room.
--There was a brief instant of hesitation, a resistance to the breaking of long-established habit.
--Then she seized the knob and shoved it.
--Inside, all was dark until she brought the lantern around. She left it on the bedside table and idly noted that the drawer was still open from where Zeke had stolen the old revolver Rector had mentioned. She wished he'd taken something else. The gun was an antique that had belong to Maynard's father-in-law. Maynard himself had never used it and it probably didn't even work, but, of course, Zeke wouldn't have known that.
--Again she felt that stab of regret and she wished she'd told him more. Something. Anything.
--When she got him back, then.
--When she got him home, she'd tell him anything he wanted to know -- any story, any fact. He could have it all if he'd just make it home alive. And maybe Briar had been a terrible mother, or maybe she'd only done the best she could. It didn't matter now, when Zeke was in that toxic, walled-up city where undead Blight victims prowled for human flesh and criminal societies lurked at the bottom of rigged-up homes and cleaned-out basements.
--But for all the things she'd botched, screwed up, lost, forgotten, lied about, or misled him on... she was going in there after him."

In addition to the characters, Priest does an excellent job of keeping the action going, an important factor as the story takes place over just a handful of days. The pace is fast and her descriptions are vivid, lending an immediacy to things that happen as can be seen in this bit:

"The sound of something clacking outside relieved everyone inside. "Did that do it? Are we loose?" Mr. Guise demanded, as if anyone knew any better than he did.
--The ship itself answered them, shifting in the hole it'd broken into the side of the half-built tower. It settled and listed to the left and down. Zeke felt less like the Clementine had disengaged than that it was falling out of place. The boy's stomach sank and then soared as the airship tumbled away from the building and seemed to freefall. It caught and righted itself, and the dirigible's lower decks quit rocking like a grandmother's chair.
--Zeke was going to throw up.
--He could feel the vomit that he'd swallowed after watching the Chinaman's murder. It crept up his throat, burning the flesh it found and screaming demands to be let out.
--"I'm going to--" he said.
--"Puke in your mask and that's what you're breathing till we set you down, boy," the captain warned. "Take off your mask and you're dead."
--Zeke's throat burbled, and he burped, tasting bile and whatever he'd last eaten, though he couldn't remember what that might have been. "I won't," he said, because saying the words gave his mouth something to do other than spew. "I won't throw up," he said to himself, and he hoped that he gave that impression to the rest of the men, or that they could ignore him, at least.
--A left-facing thruster fired and the ship shot in a circle before stabilizing and rising.
--"Smooth," that captain accused.
--Parks said, "Go to hell."
--"We're up," Mr. Guise announced. "We're steady."
--The captain added, "And we're out of here."
--"Sh[expletive]," said one of the Indian brothers. It was the first English Zeke had heard from either of their mouths, and it didn't sound good.
--Zeke tried to stop himself, but he couldn't.
--He asked, "What's going on?"
--"Jesus," Captain Brink blasphemed with one eye on the rightmost window. "Crog and his buddy have found us. Holy hell, I figured it'd take him a little longer. Everybody buckle down. Hang on tight, or we're all of us dead."

Highly recommended for fans of steampunk, zombies and airships, and for anyone who just enjoys a really good read.

This is a smart, fun adventure that combines several interesting elements in ways I hadn't seen before. We have zombies, mad scientists, dirigibles, an alternate history where the Civil War rages on for years and years, and we have a vision of 1880 Seattle that has been walled off and abandoned--except by the die-hards still scraping by inside.

The plot centers around a teenage boy who sneaks into the city to discover the truth about his father, the man generally blamed for the destruction of the city, and also around his mother's efforts to free him. The mother, Briar, is the heart and center of the book, and a terrific character.

They're all terrific characters. Buy the book. Read it. You'll be glad you did.

Zombies, steampunk and Seattle. What more could you ask for in a book? I found this book to be a quick entertaining read. Some people say it was very descriptive, I found it just descriptive enough to keep me engaged. It wasn't really steampunk in my mind, more just a gritty zombie fiction than anything with five or six references to steam driven machines.
I hope that Cherie Priest continues to explore her sci-fi side more because she has the talent to weave a good tale, but her style needs to be polished.

Cherie Priest is an artisan of American History, this book is a steampunk treasure, as are all the books in the series. She is a formidable author and her words transport you to a dirtier, smeller America where there has been a natural disaster. Where a civil war has brought a country to its knees, where a woman and her son try desperately to live down the sins of her husband, and the glories of her father. I love fantasy and this is a fantasy based on our own human history, perfect in every detail.

This was one of my first steampunk books and overall I'm quite pleased! The book would've had 5 stars had it not been for these slight issues:

* It took a bit to get into the story... it was somewhat slow at the beginning and I wish Leviticus would've had a bit more space. I constantly heard of his legacy and understand his impact on the story, but I really wish this character would've been given more depth.

* The constant switching of perspectives between Briar and Zeke was somewhat unwelcome. In my opinion Briars chapters were written better than Zekes' and overall, the Zeke character was a bit flat.

* I didn't like the convenient removal of characters only to have them show back up at the end. Too contrived.

* Why did the people continue to live in the city? No plausible explanation was given.

Now, these may seem like substantial issues, but I assure you, if you're into sci-fi, steampunk, alternate history or good old fashioned adventure novels that you can sink a few hours into, you'll love this.

The concept is intriguing, the setup effective, and it's well written, but this book suffers from a couple serious flaws. Primarily, the main characters are remarkably passive, spending the vast majority of the book being led by the nose by secondary characters. They bumble from one crisis to the next, only to be rescued in the nick of time by someone more capable. Second, the great mystery turns out not to be a mystery, and is resolved perfunctorily at the end of the book without almost no fanfare or consequence.

It's too bad; the setting is intriguing and some of the secondary characters quite interesting, but the book doesn't live up to its potential.

I am an eclectic reader. Just recently I dipped into the steam punk genre and was pleasently surprised. Boneshaker was awesome. A little crazy Stephen King mixed with a great story. After I finished, I looked up Cherie Priest to see if this book had a sequel; I was dissapointed to discover it's a stand alone. Hopefully, Cherie will bring us back to her world soon.

I guess zombies aren't really my thing, after all.

The premise is interesting and the story is reasonably well told, but I was disappointed that the main antagonist was just "some guy." Hope this doesn't spoil it for anyone.

As to the book: The first four chapters seemed a rather slow start, but then the young protagonist starts his adventure and the story does pick up nicely. I appreciated the strong, female protagonist--the boy's mother--but I did really expect more of an heroic stance from her. Perhaps I'm nitpicking. I also expected more of a challenge from the antagonist, but I believe the author's main "bad guy" is the deadly situation in the city. All in all, it never felt (to me) like either of the protagonists were in mortal danger (or, not enough mortal danger) to make the whole experience exciting and worthwhile, to me.

I liked the whole "airship and Victorian technology" aspect to the story, but sadly I think zombies have been very much overdone. Next time, let's come up with something a tad more original. Bats from hell, perhaps?

Inventive, fast paced, and thoroughly enjoyable. Priest has created a compelling world that you will want to linger in. I hope there are more books to come that will flesh out more of the walled in city of Seattle...

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest was just an alright read. I felt it moved to slowly and at times the descriptive voice seemed to lack appeal. I would not say it was the worst read but it was not the best, it falls somewhere in the middle.

I just finished Boneshaker and have to say it wasn't up to par for me. I enjoyed some of the steampunk visuals but the story was lacking. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen and then the story just fizzled and ended. The groundwork the author laid for the story had so much potential but she didn't achieve it. Its on my 'garage sale' pile.

This book has been an awesome read so far! Cherie Priest's characters are so multi-faceted, and the books imagery is so real you can almost smell the dank, stale air of Seattle's Underground and feel the gas-mask on your face as you run through the thick "Blight" in streets of the city ....one suggestion though, don't read this before bed, those "Rotters" are NOT sweet dream material!

This book is dense with fun: there's zombies, airships, a strong female protagonist, a demonized mad scientist, a heroic lawman, family secrets, love, loyalty, excitement, adventure, and really wild things. On the surface of it, it's the story of a woman going into a wasteland to retrieve her wayward son, but the delights are in the details.

Priest's writing is evocative; there are a couple sequences involving gas masks where I had to put it down because I was having flashbacks to boot camp. The story seduces you gently at first, then grabs you by the front of the shirt and drags you into the thick of things. The world is well thought out and the exposition discreet, it frames the characters nicely without being obtrusive.

Two enthusiastic thumbs up.

Zombies and Steam Punk, two once fabulous playgrounds, have now grown creaky and threadbare from too much use. Good thing Priest cashed in when she could. Hopefully we're past peak production on these two sub genres.

I have been lucky enough to enjoy just about every book I've picked up in the last year or so. Except for Boneshaker. It's terrible. I honestly have to question the tastes (along with reading acumen) of anybody who reviewed this book so favorably- and there have been plenty to do so. I won't go on elaborating as to why this book is so bad. Why waste the effort on something lukewarm at best? If you enjoy good world-building, dynamic characters, and some substance beyond the basic plot, this book is not for you....

Boneshaker is supposed to be quite good. It may well be. I bought the book and found the type face to have very thin lines, no problem usually. However, it's printed in sepia. It's almost impossible for me to read. I should have bought an digital edition, just black and white. I'm criticizing the medium, not the message. I still want to read Boneshaker, but I'll likely borrow a digital version at my local library.

The book might be fine for some people, but my advice is to look at a copy before you buy. Can you read it?

Conservation of characters at the expense of plot.
Clear positioning of secondary plot lines to drive sequels.
Inability to describe city in any way which might make sense to anyone who had ever been to Seattle, or even looked at a map of the current city.
Characters incompletely fleshed out.
Lack of background of certain types of memes such as "Maynard's Mark" to explain how people know who is a "good guy" etc.
Irrelevant zombie subplot, possibly for marketing purposes?

Please re-draft and resubmit for extra credit and a passing grade.

Do not buy!. My family were Seattle pioneers and I grew up learning local history. This book ignores local history, the geography of the area, essentially everything that makes Seattle Seattle. The book revolves around a huge wall surrounding most of the downtown area approximately half the size of Manhattan. Also included are a number of hills that were so steep that early orchestra members used to haul their instruments uphill on a pulley! But somehow Seattle prior to the Civil war managed to construct a 200 foot high wall around the area! If poison gas had begun to spew from the ground in Seattle circa 1867, instead of building a 200 ft high wall,the 300 people who lived here would have packed their bags and moved to Bellingham or Tacoma. LOL. I doubt that such a wall could be built today. This is just the practical side of things, add to this a mystery gas that creates zombies, a civil war that lasts over 18 years...There's just no end to it. Steampunk is really a sort of Alternate history novel in which steam and mechanics were developed rather than electricity. The fun, for me at least , is to see how history would look if this path had been taken. Opportunities for adventure, intrigue, etc would certainly be present, and the elements of a novel. This book is just so far removed from all reality that it might have been better just to call the place "Oz" and have done. The formulaic quality of the book was pretty horrible too. People like zombie books now? Well, lets mix in some zombies! It's like adding chocolate chips to fried chicken. I tried to imagine if the book would have bothered me so much if it had been set in say... St Louis, and I suspect that it would not have. Would I have liked it better? Sadly, the answer is "NO". I don't know how any author can put in so many weird elements and still create a yawner, but the author achieved it.

Pros:

Compelling setup and central mysteries. Thought the story between the lead protagonists was reasonably well done.

Cons: Author did not care to develop her world.

Example - Head villain has a scary right hand man, as is typical of adventure stories. He strikes fear into the hearts of the locals. Yet in the final battle, he appears briefly and avoids the final confrontation. Why introduce him? The secondary characters are compelling, until they're abandoned. The lead fighter amongst the good guys appears to be dying, yet we're led to believe he might be saved by 19th century medicine?

Additonally, the central threat within the town (the zombies dubbed rotters) are never well developed. Minnericht can send them at his enemies, but loses control of them in the end. Why? They run the streets of the city, forcing the human residents into a subterranean existence, yet they can be repelled by bonfires? Moving a block or two in the city calls up hordes of rotters, yet the leads can linger in a house for nearly an hour? And what of the citadel like fort within the walls? Everyone agrees it's safe from the rotters, yet it's abandoned.

But the biggest problem with the story: it hints early on that living within the city walls is near suicidal (and even life in the outskirts is pretty illogical), yet no compelling reason is ever provided for why the residents stay. It's apparently not too difficult for humans to leave the city. Yet many reasonably upright citizens have spent a decade or more running for their lives from the rotters while being manipulated by a mad professor. Say what? I know the setting is an alternate history where the civil war rages on, but America is a big and open country in the late 19th century. People set out for the plains and southwest on a regular basis. Yet cleaning contaminated water all day or relying on filter masks to step outside is the best existence these people can imagine?

The beauty of sci-fi/fantasy as a genre is the ability of authors to create worlds that operate on their terms. But there need to be terms. The whole project feels adrift.

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest is my first foray into the steampunk genre and the first book I'd ever read by Priest. While I have a few gripes, I was not disappointed. Boneshaker is a fun adventure, full of zombies (in this alternate history tale they're called 'rotters'), airships, mad scientists, and flawed heroes.

Boneshaker was selected as one of the store's Best Books of 2009 as well as a Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2009. It is also a Barnes & Noble November Feature Book. In addition, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association awarded Boneshaker a PNBA Book Award for 2010.

The background we are given for the story is this: While the American Civil War rages on, prospectors flock to the Pacific Northwest pursuing rumors of gold discovered in the frozen Klondike. In an effort to reach this gold, an inventor, Dr. Leviticus Blue, is commissioned to create the Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine, or Boneshaker for short. But, on its maiden test run, the Boneshaker goes out of control, devastating downtown Seattle and releasing a noxious vein of Blight gas that turns any who breathe it into mindless flesh-eaters. In the mishap, Dr. Blue goes missing and is presumed dead, leaving his pregnant widow, Briar Blue, to fend for herself. Much of central Seattle is abandoned, left to the rotters as a hundred foot wall is built around the city center in order to contain them.

Briar escapes to the outside, making a home for herself and her soon-to-be born son, Ezekiel. Life is not easy for either of them, and as we enter the story sixteen years after the Boneshaker incident, we find Briar working a difficult industrial job, scorned by most, and with no friends but her own son. Zeke, who has grown up without a father and, worse, grown up listening to the accusations that float along with the mysterious tale of what happened that fateful day, nevertheless maintains faith that the incident was an accident, and that his father had nothing nefarious in mind when he inadvertently released the Blight gas into the city. So begins the story, with Zeke sneaking beneath the wall and into the Blight-infested Seattle, intent on finding evidence his father is innocent of people's many suspicions. Briar, upon learning of her son's dangerous adventure, has no choice but to follow.

Boneshaker is full of goodness: zombies, airships, polarized goggles (whose purpose is to detect Blight gas), gas masks, steampunk weapons (what better way to kick rotter ass?), a particularly mad and devious scientist/inventor, and a strong female lead who doesn't know when to quit. The story is fairly straightforward: boy gets himself into trouble, mom has to bail him out. Along the way, adventure ensues as one tries to find the other. Things get a bit more complicated when they each find that the city has not been abandoned completely, and that there is, in fact, a whole society of sorts who still call Seattle home. Not all of these denizens are friendly, either.

While I did find Boneshaker enjoyable, don't expect a riveting page turner. There's little real suspense, and while the Boneshaker mystery hangs over the story right up until the end, the nicely done twist in those last few pages comes quick. The remainder of the story is basically Briar searching the city for Zeke, while Zeke initially is seeking his parents' old house and clues as to what really happened to his father.

The rotters are always there, and they force certain actions by the characters, but they're never really a huge threat. Yes, our heroes must run from them and, a handful of times, fight them off, but no damage is ever really done. If you're wary of zombie fiction because of the flesh-eating characteristic, fear not: No flesh is eaten in this book.

I do have one gripe in particular about the plot. Zeke uses an old abandoned sewer tunnel to get underneath the wall. No problem there. But when Briar traces his steps and attempts to enter the city the same way… Look out! Earthquake! And, with that, the sewer tunnel is blocked, forcing Briar to seek other options. In my opinion, this was a poorly chosen, ill-timed plot device, and a fairly unbelievable coincidence.

I will say this about Boneshaker, though: It's a fun read. There's enough going on with the gas masks and the inventions and a cast of seedy, not-sure-who's-side-they're-on characters that I didn't put the book down for long. The ending, too, has a bit of a twist, with Zeke's question about his father answered once and for all. Boneshaker is a fun read and, even better, the first in a series so you’ve got plenty more to explore in Priest’s dystopian, alternate history world.

In an alternate Seattle of the 1800's, an enormous drilling machine (nicknamed the Boneshaker) collapses half the city on its maiden voyage. As if the destruction wasn't enough, the Boneshaker releases a mysterious gas that transforms anyone who breathes it into a flesh-eating corpse. To prevent the gas from spreading, the city is walled in and abandoned. Sixteen years later, the son of the Boneshaker's inventor journeys into zombie-infested Seattle to find evidence of his father's innocence. His mother, Briar Wilkes, goes in after him to find a community of criminals and outcasts has made the city its home, along with an evil scientist with a mysterious connection to her husband.

A lot of modern sci-fi novelists are more interested with being scientifically accurate than fun, which is why I found 'Boneshaker' so refreshing. Priest really captures the spirit of adventure and delivers great thrills and chills without worrying about science. The novel wears its steampunk setting on its sleeve with crazy steam-powered machines, goggles, and of course, airships.

The reader is drawn into a fully-realized world. Hearing the characters describe the devastation of Seattle, it was hard to imagine anyone surviving inside its walls, much less living there. There was a sense of dread and excitement as Blair enters the walls, wondering what she would find. I won't say too much, because I don't want to spoil it, but Priest has done an excellent job of working out how and why society would survive inside the walls. You also get the feeling that there's more going on than just in Boneshaker. In the end, you're left wanting more, which is why I'm glad that Cherie Priest has written more novels set in the Clockwork Century universe, including 'Clementine' and 'Dreadnought.'

The characters are all very well-written. Briar Wilkes herself is a great heroine, ostracized for her association with her husband and the disaster, but strong and determined. We never really learn the background and motivations for most of the other characters, but they still ring true. The focus is always on the adventure, which is non-stop with gunfights, airship combat, and zombie attacks. My only complaint would be that I thought 'Boneshaker' didn't go far enough in its steampunk technology. No steam-powered computers or robots in this world.

In an industry where readers spend hours analyzing whether an author's fictional planet is the right distance to its fictional sun, I'm amazed a novel like 'Boneshaker' has not only been published, but embraced by the sci-fi community at large. The novel was actually a nominee for a Hugo Award for Best Novel. It gives me comfort that a great novel like this got the attention it deserved, and the speculative fiction industry hasn't completely lost its way.

In her novel Priest has brought Steam Punk to the Pacific Northwest. Here we have all the classic elements of this genre: a toxic poisonous fog, the ravenous undead rotters, evil geniuses, and advanced machinery powered by coal, oil, electricity, and steam.

Sixteen years ago, Briar Wilkes was a very young bride married to Dr. Lividicus Blue. Dr. Blue was an inventor. He was hired by the Russians to design an excavating machine capable of reaching gold buried deep under the frozen tundra of the Yukon. Dr. Blue invented the Boneshaker. On its initial test run, Dr. Blue's invention unleashed a poisonous chemical cloud from deep within the earth: the blight gas.

The blight gas is lethal to most. Those who do not die are doomed to become rotters. Rotters are undead beings whose minds are only focused on finding living flesh to consume.

In order to contain the gas, huge walls were built to surround the areas most affected by the gas. Incredibly, there are people who have found a way to survive within the walls.

Dr. Blue is blamed for the destruction his machine caused. For years his wife and their son have had to live with his tarnished reputation.

Now Briar's fifteen year old son, Zeke, wants to find out the truth about his father. So he finds a way under the wall and into the toxic, dangerous city. When Briar discovers where Zeke has gone, she too finds her way over the wall.

Can Briar save her son from the dangers of the walled in city?

Will Zeke discover the truth about his father?

I liked this book. Priest has a writing style that is easy to read. I enjoyed all of the interesting characters that the author used to people her steam punk Seattle.

If you are a fan of steam punk, I encourage you to check out this American version of the genre.

Only one complaint: the edition of the novel which I read was printed in sepia ink. The tan letters were a strain on these sixty year old eyes.

I bought this book primarily because of its gorgeous cover art. The $15 I paid for the book is not a total loss because Jon Foster’s beautiful illustration will still look great on a bookshelf. I only wish the writing between the covers would have stacked up.
This should have been a hit for me. I love steampunk, zombies, and weird contraptions. I loved the title. I was very excited to read it, especially with all the rave reviews and blurbs it had on its cover. I suspect I was exactly the demographic this novel was aimed for. Sadly, it missed, and it missed badly. There are a variety of reasons why.
Cherie Priest set up a decent premise. A mother with a murky past has to search a zombie infested, Seattle Underground for her missing son. The poisonous interior of the walled-in city is only accessible by tunnels or by airships operated by pirates, and is haunted by a man from her past who once wreaked havoc on the city with a mysterious machine called The Boneshaker. It sounds like an awesome premise, right? Priest even populated the story with some cool side characters like a bartender with a mysterious mechanical arm and a perpetually masked villain in a crimson trench coat.
The best analogy I can make is that Priest set up a really elaborate chess board with intricately carved pieces capable of astounding feats, then proceeded to play a really boring game of checkers with them.
Nothing of real interest happens in the majority of this book. I feel like the characters spent all of their time walking around a confusing labyrinth of tunnels and fire escapes, going in and out of blight gas infected areas, then wandering around some more in an underground train station, only to accomplish basically nothing by it. The villain, who should have been really cool, basically does nothing. He is terrible at being villainous. All he manages to do is be vaguely threatening, and the resolution of his situation is so anti-climactic I couldn’t believe it. The main POV characters were so dull (and one of them was so irritatingly dumb and obstinate) that I couldn’t help but imagine how much better the story would have been if it had revolved around almost any of the vastly more interesting side characters.
The most astoundingly disappointing aspect of the story, however, is that the novel is named after a super bad@ss machine called THE BONESHAKER, which NO ONE EVER USES! Are you kidding me? I dragged myself through all those mind-numbing tunnels and forced myself to try to care about these disappointing characters and you aren’t even going to use the freaking namesake of the book anywhere in the plot?! I’m sorry, that is just terrible writing. I tried really hard to like this book. I wanted so much to like this book and enjoy it, and I even paid full price for it in a bookstore, and it was just progressively more and more terrible. No book full of flesh-eating zombies should ever be this boring. No book with as many awesome contraptions and such a cool setting should be this anticlimactic.
Jon Foster gets five stars for the cover art, but no book should be better left unopened. This one had earned that dubious designation from me. I’ll do my best to enjoy what Cherie Priest has done here with her great setting, quality premise, and interesting side characters, and do my best to forget the limp excuse of a plot that tied them together. I’m glad I finally talked myself into finishing it, but only so I can move on to something better.

Boneshaker is a great read. It starts with an entertaining beggining that gets you hooked instantly. This book is ation packed and interesting, but I would not recommend it to children under the age of 13, for it's use of swearing. Also because the plot may be hard to follow and understand for children. Yet I do suggest it to anyone who is persistent and patient enough to read it, for it is pretty long.
Some people don't like the beginning and quit right then and there, which,honestly, is stupid. Read the entire book before you judge it. One person said, ' It's so bad I could'nt get past 25% of the book."' How do you know it won't get better? In fact, it does get better. A lot better, in my opinion. So in conclusion, I think that you should give this book a try. Oh, if you're over 12, of course.

I actually picked up this book because I had purchased the sequel at a convention. Steampunk is a small but rapidly growing literary genre, and I've found myself growing interested in it and investigating some of the more prominent titles. "Dreadnought" looked promising, but when I discovered it was the second in a series, I decided to hold off on reading it until I could find the first book. Luckily, I had ready access to "Boneshaker" thanks to a family member.

It turns out hunting down the first in the series was worth it, because "Boneshaker" is a rollicking good time. It's a combination of alternate history, steampunk, and zombie apocalypse novel with a gusty heroine and memorable characters, and a great start to a promising-looking series.

In the late 19th century, Briar Wilkes is a widow struggling to eke out a living in the Outskirts -- the impoverished suburbs of the walled-off city of Seattle, where a cataclysm kicked off by her inventor husband, Leviticus Blue, has unleashed a menace called the Blight that has rendered the city uninhabitable. She bears the weight of her late husband's name, as everyone blames him for the destruction of the city and the poisonous gas that brews behind its walls, slowly destroying the city and turning people into shambling rotters that hunt down the living. When her teenage son, desperate to prove his father's innocence, gets his hands on a gas mask and disappears into the city, Briar sets off after him. Within Seattle's walls she discovers a host of oddball but tough and resourceful characters, finding their own ways to make a life for themselves in the sealed-off tunnels beneath the city... and a mysterious megalomaniac named Dr. Minnerecht who's using her husband's name to rule the city with an iron fist. In order to find her son and escape the city alive, Briar will have to figure out who she can trust... and face the truth about her past.

Author Cherie Priest admits to taking some historical liberties with the setting, such as increasing the size of Seattle and accelerating the Klondike Gold Rush, so this should be taken as an alternate history. Regardless of this, however, she creates a rich and realistic-feeling setting despite some of the more fantastic elements -- none of the technology feels drastically out of place, and the those hoping for a steampunk adventure will not be disappointed -- the book is stuffed with strange gadgets, airships, and other elements of the genre, including a woman with a clockwork hand, a cane that doubles as a gun, and delightfully ridiculous device names like Dr. Minnerecht's Doozy Dazer, aka Daisy. I wasn't expecting zombies (even if they go by a different name in this book), but they didn't feel out of place, and it added a sense of adventure to the book.

The characters are a fun bunch as well. Briar is a gutsy, determined heroine, and while she's understandably worried for her son she doesn't let her panic go to her head, and she's determined to do whatever it takes to get him back. Her son, Zeke, gets annoying at times and does stupid things, but given that he's fifteen this is understandable -- who didn't act like an idiot at age fifteen, after all. Other characters are delightful to get to know -- a bickering airship crew that's nonetheless loyal to those they see as honorable, a no-nonsense bartender with one clockwork arm and a motherly attitude toward Briar, a masked and iron-suited adventurer who wields the aforementioned Daisy against the rotter hordes, and the wickedly cultured and power-hungry Dr. Minnerecht who acts and feels much like a steampunk Darth Vader. It's a colorful cast, and I'm eager to see if future books follow any of these secondary characters.

The story moves along at a good clip, never too fast that we don't know what's going on, but not slow enough to bog the story down. We're given a fascinating glimpse of life behind the walls of the ruined Seattle, both topside and underground, as well as life on the crumbling outskirts. And though the story ends on a satisfying note, plenty of plot threads are left open for further adventures.

If you like steampunk, this is a fun and enjoyable adventure. If you're new to the genre, this is a good jumping-off point. And all I can say is I'm more excited than ever to read "Dreadnought" now. :)

Handful of movies aside, I’m new to Steampunk books. As this was a SciFi “Must Read”, I figured, why not? I didn’t go into the book with any expectations. I found the writing style and language/mannerisms perfectly fine. The concept of the book was interesting and had loads of elements: zombies (rotters), air-pirates, villains, fantastical inventions, poisonous gas, and of course a dystopian-steampunk vibe.
I won’t waste time recapping the story of this 5 yr old book. I found there wasn’t much too interesting in the main characters (mom and son – as Briar and Zeke). One goes in to find answers and the mom treks after him. Going in – inside the city of Seattle, which is walled off due to poisonous gas and zombies - there are survivors there – living in pockets of space along with weapons, smugglers, and of course the ever-handy gas masks. By the end of the book, I still never understood why people would stay in a city that had nearly no breathable air, goods, warring-factions, and of course hordes of hunger-driving, fast pack zombies. It simply didn’t make sense even though this is a fantasy book. In the end, all ends well enough, but much of the book could have easily been skimmed.
I won’t close the chapter on steampunk, but I have no plans to continue reading The Clockwork Century series.

Okay, I confess, you had me at "steampunk zombie airship adventure." I had to pick this one up after that.

Sixteen years ago, Leviticus Blue tested the Boneshaker, a magnificent machine built to tunnel into the ice in the frozen Yukon and dig out the gold sealed there. Unfortunately, the test went horribly awry, and a huge chunk of the newly founded city of Seattle caved in. Worse, the excavation released a poisonous gas that turned people into ravenous flesh-eating zombies. Now, the city is sealed behind an apparently impenetrable brick wall.

Briar Wilkes, Levi Blue's widow, ekes out a meager living on the Outskirts, the part of the city that remains outside the wall. She's a pariah, harassed by people who take out their anger for the destruction of the city on her. Her son Ezekiel goes under the wall to seek the answers that will clear his father's name. Briar goes after him. As it turns out, more than zombies live inside the wall, and there are more secrets than even Ezekiel suspects...

The good: this book really moves. You get right into the adventure, and there's flying and fighting and running and more fighting all the way through. And the steampunk setting and alternate history brilliantly uphold the Rule of Cool.

The bad: it's hard to really become engaged with these characters. Briar's aptly named, and Ezekiel just makes you want to smack him. Unfortunately, Priest is so eager to get you into the above-mentioned running and flying and fighting etc. that it's not till later in the book that you get beyond that to the place where you start to care if they live or die. That makes parts of the book a bit of a slog, airships and zombies notwithstanding.

Also, while Priest does provide some explanation as to why people would continue to inhabit a walled city where the very air can kill you if you're not ripped to shreds and eaten by the walking dead, it's never a really satisfying explanation. I mean, I know the Civil War's still raging back east, but hello? Zombies? Briar's revelation at the end was even more implausible, IMHO.

All that said, it was a quick, fun read, and worth picking up.

Boneshaker was the kind of steampunk historical fantasy novel that I didn't see coming. I get frustrated with a LOT of the Victoriana steampunk novels out there, for their sheer stupidity and likewise, I'm charmed by steampunk novels that show me something new. That's where this one lands.

Because steampunk. Apocalyptica. Zombies. And the kind that are scary and fast.

I loved that the main character is not some young heroine, but a late 30's aged mother. And the other women in this book are suitably kick-ass, and also in their 50's and beyond. I loved that the Seattle Underground and 1880's Seattle infrastructure plays such a key role, even given the liberal fact changes for story's purpose. I loved seeing characters plucked out of Seattle history and dropped into this story. And it was a rollicking ride, especially after about halfway through.

This was my first Cherie Priest novel, but not my last. It's a must-read for steampunk fans and zombie fiction fans, and I also recommend it for fans of historical fantasy, Seattle lovers especially. And if you've never been on the Seattle Underground tour (and you SHOULD DO THIS), suffice to say her description of the tunnel areas isn't far off to what actually exists today. Parts of the story are implausible, of course (it IS fantasy), but the touchstone of Seattle's true underground and layout are delightful.

A steampunk, Civil War era woman with equal parts toughness and common sense seeks her son in the ravaged walls of a blighted city while kicking zombie butt with a motley crew of underbelly characters.

I mean really, what else do you need to know?

I grabbed Cherie Priest's Boneshaker in an ebook Humble Bundle a while back (Humble Bundle usually offers a selection of games at discounted prices where you choose how much money goes to the artists or charities, but this time they did it with books). I was intrigued at first because steampunk can lead to some very creative and fun worlds, and I happen to be a fan of zombie lit.

The story follows a woman and her son who are living fifteen years after a Civil War era Seattle was crushed under the wake of a blight gas leaking up from the Earth and turning those unfortunate enough to get near it into rotters (zombies, in this world). The woman, Briar, has an unfortunate connection to the blight, and decides that her son would be better off not knowing the details. Unfortunately, as fifteen year old boys are wont to do, Zeke decides to figure it out himself in the walls of the city. The only problem other than the rotters and the blight gas is that the city isn't completely abandoned.

I really enjoyed this book. It felt fresh and had a great story. The characters were well rounded, though the plot drove the book more than they did. I didn't get extremely close to any of the characters, but it actually worked in this novel because it made it harder to guess what would happen next. Most books you read are predictable in some way, and this one was as well. This had the fortunate problem, though, of having multiple scenarios to pick from that could all possibly be true. There was also a nice twist at the end that was satisfying and true to Briar's character.

The steampunk in this world was not overdone, so it had a feeling of authenticity. It was simply part of the world, rather than each scene having a corset wearing, cog-bedecked woman bearing a sign with whirring gears that said "STEAMPUNK! HERE!" It was also interesting to read about the Civil War in an era where airships were common and the war had gone on for over a decade. There isn't much direct information about the war, but you hear about how it can affect the lives of even those on the opposite coast.

I also liked the matter-of-fact talents of the characters. The book is centered around what many would tout as a "strong female protagonist," yet I found her refreshing in the sense that she wasn't the cookie cutter variety. Yes, she was a great shot, could hold her own in situations, and would do anything for her son; however, there was no sob backstory about how she had to prove herself. There was no admiration for how she was such a good shot for a woman. There was simply the fact that she was a good shot, and that people appreciated this in the rotter-infested world. There was simply the fact that she cared for her son and you shouldn't screw with her chances of finding him (but she would still listen to reason).

I'd recommend this to any lover of speculative fiction, steampunk, zombies, or just those that want a good book to read. The pace is just right and it kept me turning pages until the end.

For more book reviews, check out [...]

Boneshaker was an interesting take on the Steampunk genre. I generally imagine Victorian England when I hear Steampunk so having the book set in 19th century America was different. Thankfully I did not study this section of history in college because the author does take liberates with the timeline of Seattle's development.

I didn't know what to make of the book to begin with. Stories that have zombies generally don't include Steampunk or having the zombies walled off while the rest of the world continues. They generally have more of an apocalyptic flavor. Since this was my first foray into this genre, I was more willing to suspend my disbelief about Seattle being an epicenter of a zombie apocalypse.

The actual story was believable in the realm of Steampunk. With new inventions there is always the element that something could go wrong; in this case, destroying downtown Seattle and releasing a killer gas. Lucy's mechanical arm and Swakhammer's Doozy Dazer were both inventions that I loved. But the most intriguing invention was the Boneshaker. I wanted to know what happened to it and where Leviticus went. After Seattle was destroyed and the Blight released, Leviticus just disappeared. I wanted to see how Zeke would rewrite his dad's history. How would he take his dad's reputation as the bringer of the Blight, the killer of hundreds, and the displacement of even more people and make that good? How would he be able to pin that history on someone else?

Sadly, we never find that out. There never really is any focus on Leviticus Blue's story. Yes, there is the mystery of whether Minnericht is Leviticus and why does Briar seem so certain that he is not her husband, even before she meets him, but the book never really focuses on it. What starts as a tale of rewriting history ends up becoming a tale of survival. We eventually find out about Leviticus but the ending leaves the story open. I was left feeling like there was something more and the author needed a few more pages to truly finish the story.

Whether or not I read the rest of the books in the series is still to be decided.

My blurb: It's been sixteen years since an experiment gone awry turned Klondike-era Seattle into a walled prison for zombies and degenerates, while the survivors huddle together on the outskirts, clinging to a hard-scrabble existence. But when Zeke Wilkes, son of the man responsible for it all, comes of age, he cannot accept the story of his father's crimes. So when Zeke runs away to the zombie zone in search of the truth, his mother Briar risks everything to go in after him, but neither one of them is prepared for the truths that await them inside.

My review: On the surface, this appears to be a delicious genre-blending adventure - steam punk with zombies - but while it delivers on the mash up, I found it weak on the engagement, and by the half way point, when all hell seems to be breaking loose for our heroes, I found myself still indifferent to their plight. I just didn't care about Zeke or his mother. One struck me as a whiny teen with too much entitlement and not too little agency for me to look past his shortcomings, while the other was mired so deeply in her own self-recriminations that I found myself agreeing with her. It is all her fault. In the end I got bored enough to put the book down, and I haven't had the urge to go back to finish it, so I won't.

The prose is competent but lacks subtlety or elegance. So if zombies do it for you, or annoying protagonists are your thing, then this might just be your ticket. But it isn't mine.

Review - Boneshaker by Cherie Priest - 5/5 stars

I received this book as a gift. I wanted to try a bit of steampunk again, and this was happily waiting on my bookshelf.

The beginning was a bit slow, I confess. The author starts us from the ground up, which is a good way to start, and teaches us about the two main characters: Briar Wilkes and her son Zeke, who have a bit of history in the story. Briar tended to procrastinate a few times, clearly avoiding discussing some sensitive family matters with her son.

It turns out the main characters have a direct connection to the Boneshaker machine. The Boneshaker machine caused quite an incident in Seattle, unleashing a gas called the Blight, which turns humans into the undead. Seattle is walled off from the rest of civilization.

I must say the author did a very good job introducing steampunk technologies to the reader, and ensured there was a very good reason for their presence. For example, gas masks are worn to ensure people are not infected by the Blight gas, and the subsequent isolation in Seattle and the scavenging of a local inventor leads to new/steampunk technologies.

There was a lot happening in this book. There were many interesting characters and the main two characters sped through a lot of non-stop action.

I’d recommend this book to anybody who likes steampunk. The ending was good, and although unexpected, it didn’t really overawe me. However the gradual build-up of the truth between mother and son is definitely enjoyable and makes the rest of the story an intriguing read.

Boneshaker is a light adventure yarn set against a delightful mash-up background (Zombies AND steampunk? Yes, please!), and is written in a brisk, energetic style. Unfortunately it never quite delivers on all its grand potential. The protagonists cease really DOING anything once the story begins in earnest, their actions limited mostly to reacting to their surroundings; the villain lacks a "master plan" which might add some urgency to the procedings; and there's a lot of expository dialogue which could have been trimmed or abbreviated so as to avoid undermining the pace of the work. It is NOT a bad book, and in fact, I enjoyed it quite a lot. It's a great setting, and I enjoyed the female protagonist a great deal. That said, Boneshaker had the potential to be so much more than just genre entertainment, but alas, it was not to be. As other reviewers have said, Boneshaker is great popcorn fare: enjoy it for what it is, and you won't be disappointed. Go into it expecting the 5-star classic some folks paint it up to be, and you will walk away feeling cheated.

two things: spelling, grammer, and punctuation have never been my strong suit. That being said I will try my best here. And two, there will be spoilers for new readers, but I'll mark them <SPOILERS> before they happen and after they are done

I did not hate this book. Having just finished the "leviathan" books (I recommend them for steam punk lovers) I was directed to check this book out. I read the plot and being from Seattle area I thought this sounded pretty sweet!

Really my only complaint about this book other then lack of excitement given the setting, is Briar Wilkes... She is the most unnawear, forgetful, and all around unintelligent person in this book. Weather this is just bad writing or intentional is up to you. I've got 3 examples

#1 she has to be constantly reminded that in fact it's not late , it's just dark outside because of the blight gas.... Constantly reminded.

#2 this might contain <SPOILERS> but not big ones, she is in a place with her son zeke, and an Indian women called the princess. Zeke and the princess have literally said the word "jeremiah" In front of briar Wilkes at least 3 times. Referring to him being in the location they are in. On the 4th or so time zeke says him name, Wonder Woman briar Wilkes perks up and states "Jeremiah swackhammer is here?"

#3 definite <SPOILERS> for those of you who've finished it there's a crazy twist at the end! But first, let us go back to one of the main plot points of if Dr. Minnerich (spelling?) is in fact young briars former husband! When she sees him in his mask she can't help but notice the similarities between minnerich and Levi blue! Same size, walk, built, but she ultimately comes to the conclusion that he isn't and proceeds from there. Then the big twist!!!!! We find out a couple pages from the end!!! Briar Wilkes shot Levi blue in the BACK OF THE HEAD!!! 16 years prior.... And apparently looked over that detail when trying to figure out if minnerich was Levi blue... Again, this could be bad writing, or maybe briar Wilkes really is just a moron.

also side note, Lucy tells us that everyone will riot if minnerich turns out to be Levi, and briar just let them go on wondering when she could have strait up said. No Levi is dead I shot him in the head.

Anyways this book had a lot going for it. But for me.... I just got frustrated with the lack of intelligence from the main character. Thanks for stumbling threw my terrible grammer spelling and punctuation! Peace

First in the Clockwork Century steampunk series. This particular story is based in...around...1880 Seattle with a focus on Briar Wilkes Blue and her too-adventurous son Zeke.

My Take
Grim. Gritty. Claustrophobic. It really is a very good story and is cleverly done, but it took me forever to read it, strictly due to its grim setting. The characters were well-done. What intrigued me were the questions Priest kept tossing about for which I needed answers and, being a gadget girl, I loved reading about the inventions they came up with to survive inside the walls. I'm not sure how Briar figures she's gonna find her boy in that city when you can barely see the nose in front of your face...in the daytime and it's safer to spend your time underground away from the rotters and out of the Blight.

It was rather fun to read how Priest changed history around to suit her needs as well.

Oh wow. The end was not what I was expecting. It's rather irritating how Priest ended it too. We're left hanging as to just what they managed to bring out. Where they took off to.

The Story
Zeke is angry. Angry that everyone thinks that all the ills are his mother's fault. His grandfather's fault. And it's just not true. So, maybe, just maybe, the Blight isn't his father's fault either. And he intends to go inside the walled-up city to find the proof!

It takes a lemon sap dealer to tell Briar the truth about Zeke's whereabouts, the path he took. Not that it helps when an earthquake collapses the tunnel. Instead Briar has to make the rounds of the pirates, hoping someone can give her a lift over the 200-foot walls.

It'll be an expedition. She'll need weapons and a good gas mask with extra filters--you breath the Blight in and you turn into a rotter. Most people inside aren't your friend although Briar and Zeke both hope that the name of Maynard Wilkes will still mean something to people.

And so it goes, for they both meet up with people who help and hinder. Giving us a tour of the old city topped off with a visit to the old homestead over on Denny Hill. There's a lot of struggle with the gas masks, the pain of the Blight reaching any exposed parts of your body. Meeting the various peoples who make up the old city's population...including Dr. Minnericht with his taunts and lies.

It's too bad Dr. M was so caught up in himself and hurt so many people. Holding Briar prisoner...m..m..mmm...nope, it simply provided the spark.

The Characters
Briar Wilkes Blue is the widow of the man who destroyed Seattle and the daughter of Maynard Wilkes, a hero to the people inside the Wall for saving the lives of 22 people condemned to die because others were too afraid.
Ezekiel "Zeke" Wilkes is her teen-aged son.

Leviticus Blue was an inventor who created "Dr. Blue's Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine" for a Russian mining consortium. And, one night in 1863, on a test drive--he claimed--everything went to pot.

Captain Croggon Hainey passes Briar on to Captain Andan Cly of the Naamah Darling. A man who owes Briar a debt for what her father done for him.

Jeremiah Swakhammer and the habitues of Maynard's, one of the safe places underground. Ms. Lucy O'Gunning has a mechanical arm courtesy of Dr. M and she runs Maynard's. When the rotters attack Maynard's Lucy, Jeremiah, and the patrons help Briar win free. But Lucy's arm is damaged and that's how Briar ends up imprisoned by Dr. M. The man who harangues her for not telling him about his son even though Briar knows better. Lucky for Briar that her son is just stubborn enough and Jeremiah and Lucy are just mad enough.

Alistair Mayhem "Rudy" Osterude has his own reasons for "helping" Zeke. I suspect Miss Angeline is much more helpful and tries to get Zeke out of the city; she also knows the truth about Dr. M. It's just that Captain Brink with his newly-stolen Clementine was the wrong guy to ask.

Dr. Minnericht rules inside. He always inventing new tools and gadgets, ways to freshen the air. He came up with the lemon sap and gets his royalties for it. He's a cruel man. Always slapping on extra taxes and tolls, expenses and fees so you never get out from under him. He'll send the rotters after ya if he thinks you're holding out. Yaozu is the doctor's right-hand man. He's also the man who finds Zeke and brings him in. Joe Foster was a nasty man and just got nastier when the walls went up.

The Cover
The grim sepia tones of the cover seem to be created using pastels to create the firm-jawed Briar looking upward with her exotic gold goggles one lens of which reflects a skeleton of a dirigible.

The title is the cause of all the mayhem within the covers. It's Blue's Boneshaker of a mining machine.

Good story telling with realistic characters. I expected a bunch of over the top personalities concerned with fantastic machines and wicked schemes. What I found was believable people reacting in believable ways to situations that, while not occurring in our 'world', were presented as non fantastical. Which i found fantastic! People trying to survive the harshness of everyday life. Some people hide. Some turn to crime. Some become addicts. And some just tighten their boot laces, put their head down against the wind and do what has to be done with little thought to failure OR triumph. And this is what made the main character so interesting to me. A woman who has had all pretense worn out of her.
Don't get me wrong. This books full of zombies, air pirates, liers, double crossers,machines and their makers. The sneeking around, anxiety inducing chases and (sometimes) escapes are all the more thrilling because the characters are believable and their motives so simple. No part felt formulaic. Characters were introduced who did not behave the way I assumed they would. Some ended up helping, some hindering and some just went about their own business. Just like real people.
I read this book 6 months ago and have found myself thinking about its characters and their choices for longer than I do the majority of the books I have read. And I guess that makes it a good book to me.
Thanks Cherie Priest. I'll visit your playground again.

Boneshaker by Ms. Cherie Priest is the first of a series of books called the clockwork century. I know I am late to the party in reviewing this book, and will most likely retread what everyone else has said, but I figured I would offer my two cents up. This book is a combo of horror, sci/fi adventure and steampunk. It centers on a Seattle that has been destroyed by a drilling machine accident. This accident released a toxic gas out of the Earth and made most of Seattle inhospitable. It also turns the dead into flesh eating zombies. The drilling machine's creator's family is social pariahs now, and lives in obscurity and poverty. Zeke Wilkes, son of the creator, goes on a quest inside the city walls to find his past and possibly his father. Briar Wilkes, Zeke's mother takes off to bring her son back from inside. Along the way they meet sky pirates on airships, battle the undead and deal with the current living inhabitants of the walled in city. All in all, I did like this book, but it was not perfect by any means. The zombies feel a little tacked on, the final battle is very anti climactic and there is time wasted on throw away characters. Ms. Priest may have just used this book as a jump off point to introduce us to this universe. I am sure in the sequels we get more answers. I do recommend this book to sci/fi fans despite its minor flaws. I do look forward to reading more of the clockwork century.

Not really. That just makes a good title. Not that I know what a good title is, mind you. MY books don't sell worth nuthin'...
I digress.
Boneshaker is actually a well-written book that probably drops into the steam-punk genre, but only by a little bit. More than the genre, this is a book about a boy doing what boys do - getting in trouble (hey, I used to be a boy, so I'm allowed). The author weaves characters that have believable motives and, although they get into and out of more scrapes than I ever did! (Really, Mom, that thing with the cat and the wax and the lighter fluid - that wasn't me. Blame my brother.)
The boy goes off on an adventure and the Mom goes in after him, discovering a society that few know exist in a world of danger wrapped in deadly. And there are zombies... The author doesn't call them zombies, but they are zombies anyway. What is with zombies lately?
I'll just jump on the bandwagon and write my own zombie tale.
Later. I'm still a bit shook up over Boneshaker.
It's a good book and worth a read, and I only say that when characters are well-written and the plot is smooth. This book fits the bill.

As a science fiction and fantasy fan, I was looking forward to reading my first steampunk book. I certainly remember in the days of my youth watching such wonderful classics as "Around the World in 80 Days" and other movies from this era where steam drove the world. The story here, about the hunt a young boy undertakes to learn the truth about his father, is aimed squarely at the young adult reader. The swagger, the approach to the situations that arise, all bring to mind a good read for a teenager. My 14 year old son loved this book and was one of his favorites last year.

As for me, past middle-aged man, it was an enjoyable diversion for a few days. This is a quick read and doesn't take much investment from the reader. Yes it is full of zombies, air balloons, shooting, fighting, and crazy steam engine machines. What more could you ask from a good summer read?

Now as for the storytelling part, it is a bit rough in spots and gets bogged down a bit here and there. I never really connected with the characters until the last third of the book when secrets begin to get revealed. You will not be able to put this on the list of books that have deep character development. This is all about the action.

Pros:
o action packed
o fast paced / quick read
o lots of steampunk goodies for those so inclined

Cons:
o lack of character depth
o uneven storytelling at times

Overall - I recommend this as a quick read for a fan of steampunk / sci fi books. I enjoyed it enough to recommend it to a few others. Although I have received uneven response back.

Boneshaker was a wildly imaginative retelling of American history! Taking place during the 1800's, it is the story of a boy's struggle to prove his father's innocence and a mother's desperation to protect her son. Being my first experience with the steampunk genre, I was not disappointed one bit.

The story was filled with plenty of action; not at all what I expected. For the most part, the plot to Boneshaker was fast-paced and attention demanding. It lost momentum about halfway through for me, but quickly resumed pace over the course of a few chapters. What really kept this book moving was the constant perspective changes from Briar, the mother, to Zeke, the son. Cherie made each character stand out with their own original quirks and defining traits.

Being my first steampunk novel, I was worried I would have trouble imagining the world, machinery, and weapons Cherie created. That worry of mine was quickly discarded once I took in her descriptions! They were beautifully written and required little imagination on my part. I was quickly immersed in her Blight-filled Seattle. Not only did the characters have to worry about getting eaten alive by the "rotters," but also about breathing in the gas that could turn them into one; a constant struggle to stay alive.

The ending was epic to say the least, but left me wanting more. I'm not sure if the plot will be resumed in the next installment of the series or not, but I certainly hope so. I was disappointed to see the airships, kick-ass weapons, and crazy characters go. We went through so much together! It was as if I was saying goodbye to some very good friends. So sad. Boneshaker has left me itching to pick up another steampunk novel!