Author: Cherie Priest
2009, Tor
Filed Under Sci-Fi
| C4 Ratings.....out of | 10 |
|---|---|
| Language..... | 7 |
| Entertainment..... | 8 |
| Depth..... | 7 |
You’ve either seen this book on innumerable store displays or heard the name. Both for good reason.
Cherie Priest takes the trappings of steampunk back to America, distorting history to make the Civil War less of a done deal and the Gold Rush more of a calamity. It’s been years since Leviticus Blue’s Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine carved a swath of land out from under Seattle, releasing a subterranean zombie plague in the form of the Blight. With a brick wall separating the undead city from the ravaged Outskirts, one cannot help but wonder what’s happening on the inside…
I give Priest high marks for her world-building and characterization. A funny feature separating steampunk literature from the couture is that literature necessitates a story, whereas the fashion garb is merely augmented by one. In this case, the combination of deadly gasses, plentiful mining equipment and at least two mad inventors really bring the technology to life. Character point of view jumps between Briar Wilkes (widow of Leviticus) and her son. Much to my surprise, Briar is a closed book. She balks at revealing all of her secrets–both to her son and to the reader. You grip the 414 page trade paperback with full knowledge that she could answer some of the book’s more pressing questions. In keeping with high tension, mystery, and a sense of desperation, Boneshaker drags you to the satisfying end.
A tangible villain exists in the shrouded Dr. Minnericht, technological crime boss of the Seattle underworld. He’s only secondary to the Blight, the zombie-gas that pervades every aspect of the city’s daily life. You traverse this text and develop the full, grim comprehension of what it takes to survive the Blighted world. From the constancy of gas mask filters to the Blight-brewed beer, this was a fully realized and unique interpretation of setting.
Interestingly, the world has an excess of window dressing in parts. I paged through long asides about the state of the alternate-history Civil War, but none of those details proved directly relevant to the text at hand. I read enough of it that I was bracing for some sort of Confederate plot to steal zombie DNA or a sample of Blight gas, but it never paid off. Now that Priest has gained deserved momentum to her career and announced the upcoming Clementine, I wonder that she didn’t introduce the history as a precursor to the expansion of her world. If that’s the case, my compliments to her ability to plan ahead.
Judge this book by its gorgeous cover. Boneshaker is worth your time and attention.
Might also enjoy: “The Affinity Bridge” by George Mann, “Mortal Engines” by Philip Reeve
A version of this review was posted at Paul’s personal blog.
