They’re the campy fun of a good old-fashioned pulp adventure, and honestly, that’s enough for me. That’s right, Civil-war-era giant robots.ĭreadnought and Boneshaker alike are just… fun. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, there are steampunk mechs. What’s going on with the two sections off-limits to passengers? Why are confederate, union, Texan, and Mexican agents on the same line? How long can these competing forces share such a small space without spilling blood? On this bullet train, nobody is who they seem, and mysteries about. All along, Mercy continually runs into the mysterious sap, which turns men into walking corpses with a hunger for living flesh. She embarks on a quest to reach her dying father, braving enemy fire along airships, steamboats, and wagon trails, until she ultimately reaches the eponymous Dreadnought: a steam engine capable of reaching speeds upwards of 90 miles per hour. ( Boneshaker fans perk up at the mention of that ominous city).

Mercy Lynch is devastated by twin blows nearly three years into her tour as a nurse for the confederate army: her husband, long missing, is confirmed dead, and her father is dying in far-off Seattle. The Clockwork Century Series (Image: Barnes and Noble)

Genre: Science Fiction, Steampunk, Pulp Adventures Title: Dreadnought (Clockwork Century #2) What’s the real heart of the story? I’ll tell you. Second, confederate characters are free of the stain of fighting for an intrinsically evil cause.īut, all that background takes up about half a page of the text.

Priest is more free to write interesting, dynamic black characters in powerful roles ranging from doctors to army officers to business owners. In my opinion, this was a brilliant decision. There is still tension between the north and the south over the role of the federal government, but without 1) the economic pressure powerful southerners felt to protect their evil institutions, and 2) the need to fight a war and police their oppressed classes at home, two things happen: the war starts later, and it lasts much, much longer. In the Clockwork Century setting, all but two Confederate states abolished slavery in the 1850’s, and it is heavily implied that the holdouts will be forced to follow suit very soon. (Image Credit: )ĭreadnought is ostensibly set in an American Civil War… but not our Civil War. Bridgerton takes similar liberties with history to tell delightful stories in a more hopeful, diverse setting.

Dreadnought book review