Friday, July 30, 2010

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest


Synopsis From Back Cover:

In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike brought hordes of newcomers to the Pacific Northwest. Anxious to compete, Russian prospectors commissioned inventor Leviticus Blue to create a great machine that could mine through Alaska’s ice. Thus was Dr. Blue’s Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine born.

But on its first test run the Boneshaker went terribly awry, destroying several blocks of downtown Seattle and unearthing a subterranean vein of blight gas that turned anyone who breathed it into the living dead.

Now it is sixteen years later, and a wall has been built to enclose the devastated and toxic city. Just beyond it lives Blue’s widow, Briar Wilkes. Life is hard with a ruined reputation and a teenage boy to support, but she and Ezekiel are managing. Until Ezekiel undertakes a secret crusade to rewrite history.

His quest will take him under the wall and into a city teeming with ravenous undead, air pirates, criminal overlords, and heavily armed refugees. And only Briar can bring him out alive.
 
Fantastic.  Amazing.  Brilliant.  Spectacular.  Thrilling.  I could go on and on but I think too many adjectives gets annoying after a while.  This was only my third foray into steam punk and I loved it even more than my first time.  It's rather like sex that way, it's gets better as you gain experience.
 
Boneshaker is a brilliantly told story of what happens when family secrets start to eat away to the point they have to come out.  The fact that these secrets will shake Briar and her son to the core and force them to deal with zombies, mad scientists, and air pirates while juggling the truth just made it that much better. 
 
The action is intense and once it gets started it never really slows down.  I can't recall one moment in the book that I found to be boring or dragging.  Thankfully though the action never got in the way of the storytelling.  The author did an amazing job of meshing the action with the journey itself and by the end, both Briar and her son were able to reach a point in their lives where they were able to deal with the past and make a new life for themselves in the future.
 
I'm slowly getting sucked into the steam punk world and I can't wait for the next experience.

16 comments:

Trisha said...

This sounds fantastic, and now you have me wanting to read this - even though I have a ton of TBR books right now and unfortunately, this isn't one of them. :)

Zia said...

This is in my TBR pile and I can't wait to get to it. Reading your review makes me want to read it even more.

Elena said...

Haha! Your comparison of steampunk and sex makes me want to read this :p

Cecelia said...

So glad you liked this! I am still only halfway through, but one of these days...

Rabid Fox said...

Every time I read a review for this book, I think I'm really missing out on something.

Michelle (Red Headed Book Child) said...

Though I probably won't ever read this one, I adore the cover every time I see it or shelve it at my store.

:)

Lydia said...

I love this review! I snorted at the comparison of steampunk to sex but it's totally true!

Cherie Priest is going to be at Dragon*Con this year and I am hoping to get a few autographed copies of her book to host a giveaway. More people need to read Boneshaker!

Alexia561 said...

You've convinced me to give steampunk another chance! Great review!

bookmagic said...

I haven't read any steam punk but I am curious now!

Sheila (Bookjourney) said...

Great review Ryan! I may have to read this one :D

Staci said...

This is one that I know my son would totally enjoy!! Great review!

Melissa (My World...in words and pages) said...

I am so glad you finally got to this book! It is rather great. :) I really enjoyed it. And I want to get to the next book in this world Cherie has created. Thay have to be just as good.

Simcha said...

So far, none of the steampunk books I have read have really excited me that much but with such an enthusiastic review how can I not rush to read this one. I just moved it way up on my TBR list.

Carol said...

Sounds like you really loved this one. I've been avoiding it - zombies just aren't my thing.

Ceri said...

Ooh, this has been on my wishlist for what seems like forever. I'm fascinated by this word 'steampunk' and, to be honest, don't really understand it that much but I really want to read this and discover more about it.

Katy said...

Your review makes me glad this is on my wishlist. I usually can't go wrong with a book that you have liked. :)