50 by 2013, #14 - #17
Apr. 22nd, 2012 08:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
indiana_jI had a surprising amount of time to read while in Vancouver - having to fly for 5 plus hours one way is useful for catching up on the reading material.
#14 - Dreadnought (The Clockwork Century, #3) by Cherie Priest
Nurse Mercy Lynch is elbows deep in bloody laundry at a war hospital in Richmond, Virginia, when Clara Barton comes bearing bad news: Mercy’s husband has died in a POW camp. On top of that, a telegram from the west coast declares that her estranged father is gravely injured, and he wishes to see her. Mercy sets out toward the Mississippi River. Once there, she’ll catch a train over the Rockies and—if the telegram can be believed—be greeted in Washington Territory by the sheriff, who will take her to see her father in Seattle.
Reaching the Mississippi is a harrowing adventure by dirigible and rail through war-torn border states. When Mercy finally arrives in St. Louis, the only Tacoma-bound train is pulled by a terrifying Union-operated steam engine called the Dreadnought. Reluctantly, Mercy buys a ticket and climbs aboard.
What ought to be a quiet trip turns deadly when the train is beset by bushwhackers, then vigorously attacked by a band of Rebel soldiers. The train is moving away from battle lines into the vast, unincorporated west, so Mercy can’t imagine why they’re so interested. Perhaps the mysterious cargo secreted in the second and last train cars has something to do with it?
I originally read Boneshaker back in May of 2011 and, while I really enjoyed the book while I was reading it, I hadn't been all that moved to pick up the sequels as I saw that the main characters from the first books weren't the mains in what followed. But I downloaded Dreadnought on a whim when I wasn't interested in anything else I had on the Kindle.
I'm really glad I did - this reminded me of why I liked the first one so much. There's steampunk and adventure with kick-ass female characters and fantastically fleshed out side characters. I blazed through not only this but the other two in the series as well within a two - three day spell.
I think the only problem that I had with this was that we met so many secondary characters and right as you started to become attached to them, their part in the book was done. It made sense considering that this is a travel adventure but I would have liked at least a few more characters to stick around for longer parts in the book.
#15 - Clementine (The Clockwork Century, #2
Maria Isabella Boyd's success as a Confederate spy has made her too famous for further espionage work, and now her employment options are slim. Exiled, widowed, and on the brink of poverty...she reluctantly goes to work for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in Chicago.
Adding insult to injury, her first big assignment is commissioned by the Union Army. In short, a federally sponsored transport dirigible is being violently pursued across the Rockies and Uncle Sam isn't pleased. The Clementine is carrying a top secret load of military essentials--essentials which must be delivered to Louisville, Kentucky, without delay.
Intelligence suggests that the unrelenting pursuer is a runaway slave who's been wanted by authorities on both sides of the Mason-Dixon for fifteen years. In that time, Captain Croggon Beauregard Hainey has felonied his way back and forth across the continent, leaving a trail of broken banks, stolen war machines, and illegally distributed weaponry from sea to shining sea.
And now it s Maria's job to go get him.
He's dangerous quarry and she's a dangerous woman, but when forces conspire against them both, they take a chance and form an alliance. She joins his crew, and he uses her connections. She follows his orders. He takes her advice.
And somebody, somewhere, is going to rue the day he crossed either one of them.
Technically these books can stand alone, so it didn't really matter much that I read them slightly out of order. Also, interestingly enough, #2 was published by a different company and, because of the agreement with the original company, this story had to be much shorter than the others.
But other than that, it was a cute romp and I really liked the two main characters - it was fun to have them play off each other.
After reading these two back to back (and then the next one), I did see a really strong theme appear: in books 1-3, all the main female characters are widowed and there's no romance whatsoever. Now, one of the reasons that I like romance as a subplot is not because of the kissy kissy (though that's nice) but there's something else, the sense of connection with another person. Now, I think #2 did character growth and connecting with other characters better than #3 did - you really got to see these two characters become more closely connected and that was what I'd been missing in Dreadnought.
#16 - Ganymede (The Clockwork Century #4 by Cherie Priest
The air pirate Andan Cly is going straight. Well, straighter. Although he’s happy to run alcohol guns wherever the money’s good, he doesn’t think the world needs more sap, or its increasingly ugly side-effects. But becoming legit is easier said than done, and Cly’s first legal gig—a supply run for the Seattle Underground—will be paid for by sap money.
New Orleans is not Cly’s first pick for a shopping run. He loved the Big Easy once, back when he also loved a beautiful mixed-race prostitute named Josephine Early—but that was a decade ago, and he hasn’t looked back since. Jo’s still thinking about him, though, or so he learns when he gets a telegram about a peculiar piloting job. It’s a chance to complete two lucrative jobs at once, one he can’t refuse. He sends his old paramour a note and heads for New Orleans, with no idea of what he’s in for—or what she wants him to fly.
But he won’t be flying. Not exactly. Hidden at the bottom of Lake Pontchartrain lurks an astonishing war machine, an immense submersible called the Ganymede. This prototype could end the war, if only anyone had the faintest idea of how to operate it…. If only they could sneak it past the Southern forces at the mouth of the Mississippi River… If only it hadn’t killed most of the men who’d ever set foot inside it.
But it’s those “if onlys” that will decide whether Cly and his crew will end up in the history books, or at the bottom of the ocean.
Woo, original characters from the first book! Romance! Cly, who was one of my favorites! Oh yes, I think without a doubt, this is my favorite next to Boneshaker. Not only do we finally get some romance (which isn't overwhelming and is only a sub-sub-subplot) but we finally get to really see some of the original characters again.
To be honest, I didn't find much wrong with this (*grins* the main female lead of this book isn't widowed, only never married; Priest seems to have a thing for having her women be strong without any romance, which is fine when it isn't being used as a theme) and I devoured the entire book on the plane ride home. And we even got to see characters from book 3, which was a lot of fun.
She really does seem to be leading up to perhaps a larger arc with the sap and zombies, so it'll be interesting to see what happens if she does a next one and if we'll get Briar (god, I hope so) in a larger role again.
#17 - To Defy a King (William Marshal #4) by Elizabeth Chadwick
The adored and spirited daughter of England's greatest knights, Mahelt Marshal lives a privileged life. But when her beloved father falls foul of the volatile and dangerous King John, her world is shattered. The king takes her brothers hostage and Mahelt's planned marriage to Hugh Bigod, son of the Earl of Norfolk, takes place sooner than she expected. Mahelt and Hugh comes to care for each other deeply, but Hugh's strict father clashes with the rebellious Mahelt. When more harsh demands from King John threaten to tear the couple's lives apart, Mahelt finds herself facing her worst fears alone, not knowing if she - or her marriage - will survive.
Right up until, oh now, I had now idea this was fourth in a series. *blinks* Huh, well, it didn't really feel like I was missing out on reading three other novels, so I guess it really didn't matter.
This was a lot of fun and very rich in historical detail and writing. A long book, I think it could have done without a few chapters here or there or thinned down a bit. Generally every other chapter is either Mahelt (Maud in real life, I don't know why it's spelled Mahelt in this book) or her husband Hugh, which was really interesting as it meant we got to see castle life and life in the field from both of their perspectives.
The biggest issue I had was that she'd sometimes switch perspectives in mid-chapter, even on the same page. That kind of thing is guaranteed to throw me out of the story and it happened multiple times. But it was really interesting reading this story about historical people; I just don't know if I'd go back and read the other three, though.
#14 - Dreadnought (The Clockwork Century, #3) by Cherie Priest
Nurse Mercy Lynch is elbows deep in bloody laundry at a war hospital in Richmond, Virginia, when Clara Barton comes bearing bad news: Mercy’s husband has died in a POW camp. On top of that, a telegram from the west coast declares that her estranged father is gravely injured, and he wishes to see her. Mercy sets out toward the Mississippi River. Once there, she’ll catch a train over the Rockies and—if the telegram can be believed—be greeted in Washington Territory by the sheriff, who will take her to see her father in Seattle.
Reaching the Mississippi is a harrowing adventure by dirigible and rail through war-torn border states. When Mercy finally arrives in St. Louis, the only Tacoma-bound train is pulled by a terrifying Union-operated steam engine called the Dreadnought. Reluctantly, Mercy buys a ticket and climbs aboard.
What ought to be a quiet trip turns deadly when the train is beset by bushwhackers, then vigorously attacked by a band of Rebel soldiers. The train is moving away from battle lines into the vast, unincorporated west, so Mercy can’t imagine why they’re so interested. Perhaps the mysterious cargo secreted in the second and last train cars has something to do with it?
I originally read Boneshaker back in May of 2011 and, while I really enjoyed the book while I was reading it, I hadn't been all that moved to pick up the sequels as I saw that the main characters from the first books weren't the mains in what followed. But I downloaded Dreadnought on a whim when I wasn't interested in anything else I had on the Kindle.
I'm really glad I did - this reminded me of why I liked the first one so much. There's steampunk and adventure with kick-ass female characters and fantastically fleshed out side characters. I blazed through not only this but the other two in the series as well within a two - three day spell.
I think the only problem that I had with this was that we met so many secondary characters and right as you started to become attached to them, their part in the book was done. It made sense considering that this is a travel adventure but I would have liked at least a few more characters to stick around for longer parts in the book.
#15 - Clementine (The Clockwork Century, #2
Maria Isabella Boyd's success as a Confederate spy has made her too famous for further espionage work, and now her employment options are slim. Exiled, widowed, and on the brink of poverty...she reluctantly goes to work for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in Chicago.
Adding insult to injury, her first big assignment is commissioned by the Union Army. In short, a federally sponsored transport dirigible is being violently pursued across the Rockies and Uncle Sam isn't pleased. The Clementine is carrying a top secret load of military essentials--essentials which must be delivered to Louisville, Kentucky, without delay.
Intelligence suggests that the unrelenting pursuer is a runaway slave who's been wanted by authorities on both sides of the Mason-Dixon for fifteen years. In that time, Captain Croggon Beauregard Hainey has felonied his way back and forth across the continent, leaving a trail of broken banks, stolen war machines, and illegally distributed weaponry from sea to shining sea.
And now it s Maria's job to go get him.
He's dangerous quarry and she's a dangerous woman, but when forces conspire against them both, they take a chance and form an alliance. She joins his crew, and he uses her connections. She follows his orders. He takes her advice.
And somebody, somewhere, is going to rue the day he crossed either one of them.
Technically these books can stand alone, so it didn't really matter much that I read them slightly out of order. Also, interestingly enough, #2 was published by a different company and, because of the agreement with the original company, this story had to be much shorter than the others.
But other than that, it was a cute romp and I really liked the two main characters - it was fun to have them play off each other.
After reading these two back to back (and then the next one), I did see a really strong theme appear: in books 1-3, all the main female characters are widowed and there's no romance whatsoever. Now, one of the reasons that I like romance as a subplot is not because of the kissy kissy (though that's nice) but there's something else, the sense of connection with another person. Now, I think #2 did character growth and connecting with other characters better than #3 did - you really got to see these two characters become more closely connected and that was what I'd been missing in Dreadnought.
#16 - Ganymede (The Clockwork Century #4 by Cherie Priest
The air pirate Andan Cly is going straight. Well, straighter. Although he’s happy to run alcohol guns wherever the money’s good, he doesn’t think the world needs more sap, or its increasingly ugly side-effects. But becoming legit is easier said than done, and Cly’s first legal gig—a supply run for the Seattle Underground—will be paid for by sap money.
New Orleans is not Cly’s first pick for a shopping run. He loved the Big Easy once, back when he also loved a beautiful mixed-race prostitute named Josephine Early—but that was a decade ago, and he hasn’t looked back since. Jo’s still thinking about him, though, or so he learns when he gets a telegram about a peculiar piloting job. It’s a chance to complete two lucrative jobs at once, one he can’t refuse. He sends his old paramour a note and heads for New Orleans, with no idea of what he’s in for—or what she wants him to fly.
But he won’t be flying. Not exactly. Hidden at the bottom of Lake Pontchartrain lurks an astonishing war machine, an immense submersible called the Ganymede. This prototype could end the war, if only anyone had the faintest idea of how to operate it…. If only they could sneak it past the Southern forces at the mouth of the Mississippi River… If only it hadn’t killed most of the men who’d ever set foot inside it.
But it’s those “if onlys” that will decide whether Cly and his crew will end up in the history books, or at the bottom of the ocean.
Woo, original characters from the first book! Romance! Cly, who was one of my favorites! Oh yes, I think without a doubt, this is my favorite next to Boneshaker. Not only do we finally get some romance (which isn't overwhelming and is only a sub-sub-subplot) but we finally get to really see some of the original characters again.
To be honest, I didn't find much wrong with this (*grins* the main female lead of this book isn't widowed, only never married; Priest seems to have a thing for having her women be strong without any romance, which is fine when it isn't being used as a theme) and I devoured the entire book on the plane ride home. And we even got to see characters from book 3, which was a lot of fun.
She really does seem to be leading up to perhaps a larger arc with the sap and zombies, so it'll be interesting to see what happens if she does a next one and if we'll get Briar (god, I hope so) in a larger role again.
#17 - To Defy a King (William Marshal #4) by Elizabeth Chadwick
The adored and spirited daughter of England's greatest knights, Mahelt Marshal lives a privileged life. But when her beloved father falls foul of the volatile and dangerous King John, her world is shattered. The king takes her brothers hostage and Mahelt's planned marriage to Hugh Bigod, son of the Earl of Norfolk, takes place sooner than she expected. Mahelt and Hugh comes to care for each other deeply, but Hugh's strict father clashes with the rebellious Mahelt. When more harsh demands from King John threaten to tear the couple's lives apart, Mahelt finds herself facing her worst fears alone, not knowing if she - or her marriage - will survive.
Right up until, oh now, I had now idea this was fourth in a series. *blinks* Huh, well, it didn't really feel like I was missing out on reading three other novels, so I guess it really didn't matter.
This was a lot of fun and very rich in historical detail and writing. A long book, I think it could have done without a few chapters here or there or thinned down a bit. Generally every other chapter is either Mahelt (Maud in real life, I don't know why it's spelled Mahelt in this book) or her husband Hugh, which was really interesting as it meant we got to see castle life and life in the field from both of their perspectives.
The biggest issue I had was that she'd sometimes switch perspectives in mid-chapter, even on the same page. That kind of thing is guaranteed to throw me out of the story and it happened multiple times. But it was really interesting reading this story about historical people; I just don't know if I'd go back and read the other three, though.