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The Clockwork Century #4
The Inexplicables
Audio Book
Unknown Binding
First published November 13, 2012
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4273 people want to read
About the author
Cherie Priest
71 books4,355 followersCherie Priest is the author of about thirty books and novellas, most recently the modern gothics It Was Her House First, The Drowning House, and Cinderwich. She's also the author of the Booking Agents mysteries, horror projects The Toll and The Family Plot – and the hit YA graphic novel mash-ups I Am Princess X and its follow up, The Agony House. But she is perhaps best known for the steampunk pulp adventures of the Clockwork Century, beginning with Boneshaker. She has been nominated for the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, and the Locus award – which she won with Boneshaker.
Cherie has also written a number of urban fantasy titles, and composed pieces (large and small) for George R. R. Martin’s shared world universe, the Wild Cards. Her short stories and nonfiction articles have appeared in such fine publications as Weird Tales, Publishers Weekly, and numerous anthologies – and her books have been translated into nine languages in eleven countries.
Although she was born in Florida on the day Jimmy Hoffa disappeared, for the last twenty years Cherie has largely divided her time between Chattanooga, TN, and Seattle, WA – where she presently lives with her husband and a menagerie of exceedingly photogenic pets.
Cherie has also written a number of urban fantasy titles, and composed pieces (large and small) for George R. R. Martin’s shared world universe, the Wild Cards. Her short stories and nonfiction articles have appeared in such fine publications as Weird Tales, Publishers Weekly, and numerous anthologies – and her books have been translated into nine languages in eleven countries.
Although she was born in Florida on the day Jimmy Hoffa disappeared, for the last twenty years Cherie has largely divided her time between Chattanooga, TN, and Seattle, WA – where she presently lives with her husband and a menagerie of exceedingly photogenic pets.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 285 reviews
September 11, 2013
The Goonies meets The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and stages an Intervention.
In her "Acknowledgments," Priest notes that this is likely "the last book I write in Seattle." It's an small bit of foreshadowing for a story that reads a little like a love note to the lost teens of the city, an expression of their conditions and their struggles for direction.
Set in an alternate 1880, Seattle has been walled off from the world for almost twenty years, ever since The Blight, a noxious substance that turns people exposed to it into "rotters," or zombies, was accidentally released. The story centers on Rector, a red-headed orphan who is expected to leave the orphanage on the day he turns 18. Rector, also known as Red, has little ambition and fewer goals. He's been haunted by the ghost of Zeke, a young kid he helped into Seattle, and has an idea that he can atone for a multitude of sins by finding and burying Zeke's body. He also needs a way to support himself and his sap habit, a drug manufactured from Blight (but sounds like a cross between the effects of heroin and the complications of methamphetamine).
While The Inexplicables is decently written, I had trouble remaining engaged while reading. After reflection and a re-read, I realized part of my challenge is the general unpleasantness of Rector's personality. Priest seems to have done this deliberately--he "whines," "brags," "gripes" and "protests," and uses phrases that emphasize his limitations:
"...he liked the princess in that idle way that required no actual investment on his part" and
"Thinking wasn't his favorite thing to do, and it wasn't his strong suit, though he didn't consider himself a dummy by any means."
While I initially thought of it as a coming-of-age novel, the truth is that those descriptions don't vary significantly throughout the book; he's consistently unpleasant, so it's challenging to be emotionally invested in someone that resents the people reaching out at the same time he craves interaction. I understood the parallel with disaffected youth and the redemption analogy once I considered Priest's dedication. But it doesn't make reading it less comfortable. Similarly, the dialogue of the three boys while exploring seems very realistic with constant jockeying and squabbling--but again, just because it's realistic doesn't mean it's fun to witness.
In its favor, the pace is fast, the writing nicely descriptive, and the world-building decent. There's nice moments of poetry, such as when Red's addiction is described early on: "This loop, this perpetual rolling hiccup of discomfort, was an old friend. His hours stuttered. They stammered, repeated themselves, and left him at the same place as always, back at the beginning. Reaching for more, even when there wasn't any."
SPOILERS AHEAD
Initially, Rector's redemption quest makes a sort of strange sense, but as soon as he finds Zeke, it is almost entirely forgotten, except one or two sentences referring to "the same little spot that used to hold Zeke's ghost; it was the place where phantoms rested and waited, even without the same to fuel them." The back cover blurb bills the plot as Red's chance to 'pick a side,' but since "the side" is a foregone conclusion (and it isn't really about sides at all when everyone decides "the enemy of my enemy is my friend"), there isn't any suspense. There's an additional plot line surrounding "the inexplicable," a red herring/distraction/parable of hope which almost negates Priest's efforts at world-building with the promise of recovery from Blight. The message of redemption is clear and perhaps a little heavy-handed, especially at the end when the nurse is talking with Miss Angeline.
It is a little hard to imagine the target audience when one of the essential plot points on a number of levels is the making and use of sap. A drug manufacturer bands with other Seattle residents to defend themselves against worse drug kingpins? Add to it the unlikeable aspects of Rector, his addiction, his easy detox, and it feels a little like a sad, dilapidated, millennium version of the Goonies making an effort to save their home and befriend a monster. Young adult? Hmm--not with those themes--hard to imagine a parent reading aloud Red's craving for just one more dose of sap. Adult fantasy? Sort of--however, while it attempts to portray issues in more challenging shades of grey, resolution is simplistic and clean, with ethical challenges that are acknowledged in a sentence and then dismissed. Certainly not horror-fantasy--the rotters are a mere backdrop and have almost no on-screen presence. Steampunk fans will be disappointed that there are only brief glimpses of airships, and all other artifacts are strictly period. Generally negative, but too clean for pathos; easy in its redemption--I found it interesting while reading, but disappointed by a canned aftertaste. I don't know that I'd recommend it to anyone but Priest fans or people looking for a very specific type of read.
****************************************
Technical Notes: the paperback edition I read used a light brown ink, much like Boneshaker. It's a little challenging visually.
Although it may or may not be book #5, it works fine as a stand-alone book. I've only read one other book by Priest, the Boneshaker. It was nice to see characters from that book, but reading it first wasn't necessary. Technically, however, this book would include spoilers for that one.
http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0...
In her "Acknowledgments," Priest notes that this is likely "the last book I write in Seattle." It's an small bit of foreshadowing for a story that reads a little like a love note to the lost teens of the city, an expression of their conditions and their struggles for direction.
Set in an alternate 1880, Seattle has been walled off from the world for almost twenty years, ever since The Blight, a noxious substance that turns people exposed to it into "rotters," or zombies, was accidentally released. The story centers on Rector, a red-headed orphan who is expected to leave the orphanage on the day he turns 18. Rector, also known as Red, has little ambition and fewer goals. He's been haunted by the ghost of Zeke, a young kid he helped into Seattle, and has an idea that he can atone for a multitude of sins by finding and burying Zeke's body. He also needs a way to support himself and his sap habit, a drug manufactured from Blight (but sounds like a cross between the effects of heroin and the complications of methamphetamine).
While The Inexplicables is decently written, I had trouble remaining engaged while reading. After reflection and a re-read, I realized part of my challenge is the general unpleasantness of Rector's personality. Priest seems to have done this deliberately--he "whines," "brags," "gripes" and "protests," and uses phrases that emphasize his limitations:
"...he liked the princess in that idle way that required no actual investment on his part" and
"Thinking wasn't his favorite thing to do, and it wasn't his strong suit, though he didn't consider himself a dummy by any means."
While I initially thought of it as a coming-of-age novel, the truth is that those descriptions don't vary significantly throughout the book; he's consistently unpleasant, so it's challenging to be emotionally invested in someone that resents the people reaching out at the same time he craves interaction. I understood the parallel with disaffected youth and the redemption analogy once I considered Priest's dedication. But it doesn't make reading it less comfortable. Similarly, the dialogue of the three boys while exploring seems very realistic with constant jockeying and squabbling--but again, just because it's realistic doesn't mean it's fun to witness.
In its favor, the pace is fast, the writing nicely descriptive, and the world-building decent. There's nice moments of poetry, such as when Red's addiction is described early on: "This loop, this perpetual rolling hiccup of discomfort, was an old friend. His hours stuttered. They stammered, repeated themselves, and left him at the same place as always, back at the beginning. Reaching for more, even when there wasn't any."
SPOILERS AHEAD
Initially, Rector's redemption quest makes a sort of strange sense, but as soon as he finds Zeke, it is almost entirely forgotten, except one or two sentences referring to "the same little spot that used to hold Zeke's ghost; it was the place where phantoms rested and waited, even without the same to fuel them." The back cover blurb bills the plot as Red's chance to 'pick a side,' but since "the side" is a foregone conclusion (and it isn't really about sides at all when everyone decides "the enemy of my enemy is my friend"), there isn't any suspense. There's an additional plot line surrounding "the inexplicable," a red herring/distraction/parable of hope which almost negates Priest's efforts at world-building with the promise of recovery from Blight. The message of redemption is clear and perhaps a little heavy-handed, especially at the end when the nurse is talking with Miss Angeline.
It is a little hard to imagine the target audience when one of the essential plot points on a number of levels is the making and use of sap. A drug manufacturer bands with other Seattle residents to defend themselves against worse drug kingpins? Add to it the unlikeable aspects of Rector, his addiction, his easy detox, and it feels a little like a sad, dilapidated, millennium version of the Goonies making an effort to save their home and befriend a monster. Young adult? Hmm--not with those themes--hard to imagine a parent reading aloud Red's craving for just one more dose of sap. Adult fantasy? Sort of--however, while it attempts to portray issues in more challenging shades of grey, resolution is simplistic and clean, with ethical challenges that are acknowledged in a sentence and then dismissed. Certainly not horror-fantasy--the rotters are a mere backdrop and have almost no on-screen presence. Steampunk fans will be disappointed that there are only brief glimpses of airships, and all other artifacts are strictly period. Generally negative, but too clean for pathos; easy in its redemption--I found it interesting while reading, but disappointed by a canned aftertaste. I don't know that I'd recommend it to anyone but Priest fans or people looking for a very specific type of read.
****************************************
Technical Notes: the paperback edition I read used a light brown ink, much like Boneshaker. It's a little challenging visually.
Although it may or may not be book #5, it works fine as a stand-alone book. I've only read one other book by Priest, the Boneshaker. It was nice to see characters from that book, but reading it first wasn't necessary. Technically, however, this book would include spoilers for that one.
http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0...
May 25, 2023
This is a very good book. It is unlike anything I have read previously. I shall give it a full review later tonight.
September 4, 2018
The Battle for Seattle! In this, what is so far the last Clockwork Century book, we see many of our old friends and are introduced to a couple of new ones in what is a fine finale for one of the finest steampunk series! All kinds of crazy crap happens (because of course it does) and we also get a loving, intimate look at the city itself, and her people. There's airships, dynamite, zombies, people Making Do, and young men finding their place in the world! Also: Inexplicables. (What they are will surprise and delight you!)
Side note: I thought the forward was kinda funny in that Priest is talking about saying goodbye to Seattle in real life, as she and her husband had just bought a house in Chattanooga. If you follow her on Twitter (and you really should), you know that after restoring their gorgeous old home in Chattanooga, they ended up back in Seattle! So who knows: maybe the move will inspire another Clockwork Century book!
Side note: I thought the forward was kinda funny in that Priest is talking about saying goodbye to Seattle in real life, as she and her husband had just bought a house in Chattanooga. If you follow her on Twitter (and you really should), you know that after restoring their gorgeous old home in Chattanooga, they ended up back in Seattle! So who knows: maybe the move will inspire another Clockwork Century book!
December 21, 2012
I sat down last night to read one chapter before getting some other stuff done, and wound up reading the remaining 3/4 of the book. As with the other books in the series, this was engaging, thrilling, fun. Like the characters in the book, I've become somewhat inured to these particular zombies. Priest seems to realize that, and provides new threats. If I have any complaint, it's that the action at the end of the book seemed a little rushed and distant. That said, the POV character wasn't on the frontlines of the action, so it makes a certain amount of sense.
I also have to give points to the great design of the book. I know some people don't like the brown-on-cream typeface, but I find it very easy on the eyes after a day of staring at a computer screen. I've loved every cover in the series as well. There are a lot of trends in book design right now that turn me off, so consider that high praise.
I also have to give points to the great design of the book. I know some people don't like the brown-on-cream typeface, but I find it very easy on the eyes after a day of staring at a computer screen. I've loved every cover in the series as well. There are a lot of trends in book design right now that turn me off, so consider that high praise.
May 26, 2023
This book in the series reads more as a young adult genre book as the main characters except for one Indian Princess are young adult ages. Rector has finally been kicked out of the orphanage he grew up in but was using as a place to lay his head while he dealt and used the drug "sap". Sap will actually turn an excessive user into a zombie but it seems that life is so bleak that the drug users are beyond caring. He goes to the only place he can think of, the enclosed Seattle where the zombie crisis started and where he had a "friend" (as much as you can call anyone that Rector knows as a friend). Once he gets there, they wean him off the sap and he is given a job by the main dealer that it's better not to say no to. He joins up with Zeke, Huey and Indian Princess to not only find out how zombies are escaping but what is killing the zombies. The what is killing the zombies I actually think could have been left out because it totally detracted from the main story (to me), other gangs trying to take over Seattle. I gave this book 3-1/2 stars because even with that major complaint storywise, it still was a good book.
December 2, 2022
In novel #4 of her Clockwork Century series, Cherie Priest returns to alternate late 19th century steampunk Seattle, where she launched the series with her award nominated Boneshaker (2009). In case you are unfamiliar, the setting is an alternate history where a poison gas has been unleashed on Seattle. The dead are reanimated as zombies. The gas can, and has been refined illicitly into an addictive sap, which eventually kills its users and reanimates them as zombies as well. Seattle has been walled in, to contain the gas, and those who pass through to live under the zombie-infested city are sap producers, sap runners, pirates, and other ne’er-do-wells of various types. In addition, the American Civil War has not ended, but rather dragged on for 20 years so far, in a permanent state of conflict between the Union, the Confederacy, and Texas. Three boys (or young men) come together in underground Seattle, and are tasked with investigating how it is that the zombies seem to be getting out, and animal life getting in. The story brings together characters from all three earlier novels, so while the action is stand-alone, it is still recommended to read these in order.
When I was a boy, I read many titles from a series of children’s novels known as the Hardy Boy Mysteries, that originated in the 1920s. Frank and Joe Hardy are basically good kids, who always seem to fall into deeper and deeper trouble while investigating relatively benign problems. Of course, the plots are more convoluted in Priest’s novel, but the youthful characters and youthful adventure are reminiscent.
To be blunt, I was expecting a more adult adventure, and was disappointed. 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.
When I was a boy, I read many titles from a series of children’s novels known as the Hardy Boy Mysteries, that originated in the 1920s. Frank and Joe Hardy are basically good kids, who always seem to fall into deeper and deeper trouble while investigating relatively benign problems. Of course, the plots are more convoluted in Priest’s novel, but the youthful characters and youthful adventure are reminiscent.
To be blunt, I was expecting a more adult adventure, and was disappointed. 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.
April 17, 2013
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
The Inexplicables is the fourth book I've now read in Cherie Priest's remarkable "Clockwork Century" steampunk series, and in fact a quote from one of my earlier reviews ended up making the front cover of this one; and that surprised and delighted me but also felt very natural, because this is one of my favorite genre series of all time by now, and I look forward to the point seemingly every year when Priest has a brand-new volume done and ready to come out. They all take place in a what-if Victorian America in the late 1800s with just layers upon layers of fantastical details piled on: there's a giant wall around the ruined remains of the former Seattle, for example, because a mad scientist once ruptured an underground cave during a bank heist and released a heavy gas that turns people into zombies; but like a first-person-shooter videogame, there are also miles of underground tunnels, businesses and residences under this gassed zombie wasteland, full of outlaws and Chinamen who take this gas and distill it into a heroin-like drug that is then shipped across America in giant armed dirigibles; and in the meanwhile, the Civil War is still going on decades after it did in real life, because here the South develops railroads, submarines and robots to help even out the fight; and in the latest development in this speculative universe, it turns out that none other than Bigfoot has managed to accidentally enter the walled wasteland of downtown Seattle, and that the poisonous gas is slowly turning him into an unstoppable force of violence. And that's what makes these books so delightful; for while her characterizations are not much more than minimally solid enough to pass muster, it's Priest's plotting skills that are her real forte, delivering exciting after exciting tale that in epic scope has now taken us all the way across the United States and back, this newest volume set back in the walled Seattle where the story began. Breathtaking in its pacing, and such a mega-pastiche that you'll be in awe simply over how well she melds it all together, this is the literal definition of an intellectual's guilty pleasure, and should be highly enjoyed by one and all if read with this attitude. Highly recommended, as are all her books.
Out of 10: 8.9, or 9.9 for steampunk fans
The Inexplicables is the fourth book I've now read in Cherie Priest's remarkable "Clockwork Century" steampunk series, and in fact a quote from one of my earlier reviews ended up making the front cover of this one; and that surprised and delighted me but also felt very natural, because this is one of my favorite genre series of all time by now, and I look forward to the point seemingly every year when Priest has a brand-new volume done and ready to come out. They all take place in a what-if Victorian America in the late 1800s with just layers upon layers of fantastical details piled on: there's a giant wall around the ruined remains of the former Seattle, for example, because a mad scientist once ruptured an underground cave during a bank heist and released a heavy gas that turns people into zombies; but like a first-person-shooter videogame, there are also miles of underground tunnels, businesses and residences under this gassed zombie wasteland, full of outlaws and Chinamen who take this gas and distill it into a heroin-like drug that is then shipped across America in giant armed dirigibles; and in the meanwhile, the Civil War is still going on decades after it did in real life, because here the South develops railroads, submarines and robots to help even out the fight; and in the latest development in this speculative universe, it turns out that none other than Bigfoot has managed to accidentally enter the walled wasteland of downtown Seattle, and that the poisonous gas is slowly turning him into an unstoppable force of violence. And that's what makes these books so delightful; for while her characterizations are not much more than minimally solid enough to pass muster, it's Priest's plotting skills that are her real forte, delivering exciting after exciting tale that in epic scope has now taken us all the way across the United States and back, this newest volume set back in the walled Seattle where the story began. Breathtaking in its pacing, and such a mega-pastiche that you'll be in awe simply over how well she melds it all together, this is the literal definition of an intellectual's guilty pleasure, and should be highly enjoyed by one and all if read with this attitude. Highly recommended, as are all her books.
Out of 10: 8.9, or 9.9 for steampunk fans
January 14, 2013
*cue sing-song falsetto*
Awesome!
*ok, done singing now*
Once again Cherie Priest delivers a fully realized world, full of fully fleshed-out people (well, except for the zombies...), fully engaging my imagination.
In this book a young man we'd met briefly several books earlier in the Clockwork Century series, Rector "Wreck'em" Sherman is kicked out of the orphanage that he'd called home since the age of 2. Or at least the assumption was that he was about 2 at the time he was dropped off. Know one knew anything for sure except his name. Everything else was lost in the earthquake and the subsequent "Blight". But all that is background you can pick up in any of the books.
Now, however, Wreck'em has to decide if he's going to follow the bad habits he picked up as an urchin, basically running drugs for local thugs, or is he going to redeem himself. He opts to try for redemption. Maybe then the ghost of the boy he lead into the walled of city of Seattle will finally leave him alone
Oh, yes. There are "rotters" inside the walls of Seattle, and maybe something even bigger and worse. Not to mention the mother of the boy he betrayed...
Redemption isn't easy.
Awesome!
*ok, done singing now*
Once again Cherie Priest delivers a fully realized world, full of fully fleshed-out people (well, except for the zombies...), fully engaging my imagination.
In this book a young man we'd met briefly several books earlier in the Clockwork Century series, Rector "Wreck'em" Sherman is kicked out of the orphanage that he'd called home since the age of 2. Or at least the assumption was that he was about 2 at the time he was dropped off. Know one knew anything for sure except his name. Everything else was lost in the earthquake and the subsequent "Blight". But all that is background you can pick up in any of the books.
Now, however, Wreck'em has to decide if he's going to follow the bad habits he picked up as an urchin, basically running drugs for local thugs, or is he going to redeem himself. He opts to try for redemption. Maybe then the ghost of the boy he lead into the walled of city of Seattle will finally leave him alone
Oh, yes. There are "rotters" inside the walls of Seattle, and maybe something even bigger and worse. Not to mention the mother of the boy he betrayed...
Redemption isn't easy.
December 17, 2012
2 Stars
In a nut shell, this is by far the weakest of the series, and the only one that I did not love. Rector could not carry the story for me, nor could the truth behind the Inexplicables.
This is probably my biggest disappointment read of 2012 as I am a huge Cherie Priest fan, and I love this series. I wanted to love it, I was barely able to finish it...
Until next time!
In a nut shell, this is by far the weakest of the series, and the only one that I did not love. Rector could not carry the story for me, nor could the truth behind the Inexplicables.
This is probably my biggest disappointment read of 2012 as I am a huge Cherie Priest fan, and I love this series. I wanted to love it, I was barely able to finish it...
Until next time!
Read
December 12, 2012This is either the fifth or the fourth book (depending on whether you count Clementine in or not) in Cherie Priest’s Clockwork Century series, and it differs from the previous ones in several aspects. The most obvious one is that it is the first that is not named after a piece of machinery, but instead after living beings (which do not even play that much of a central part in the novel). Another difference (or really several, but they belong together) is that it is the first that does not have a female point of view character, but that its single narrative consciousness is a male, and a (at least at the beginning) not very likeable one to boot. And finally, The Inexplicables is the first installment of the series that does not take us to new places, but instead leads us back to the location of Boneshaker, Seattle.
It is not surprising, then, that we meet many familiar names in The Inexplicables, including that of the novel’s protagonist Rector, who was a minor (and distinctly unsympathetic) character in Boneshaker. He has not grown any more likeable since then, and as a sap dealer who likes to dip into his own stack he has not much of a life expectancy either. The novel starts with him turning eighteen and getting turned out of the orphanage he has lived in all his life; and finding himself homeless but plagued by a (literally) haunted conscience, he attempts to turn his life around and make atonement by trying to find and bury the corpse of a friend who he thought he sent to his death. As that friend happens to be Zeke, readers of Boneshaker know right from the start that he is still alive, which makes for a nice tie-in with the earlier novel, something that Cherie Priest manages exceedingly well during the whole of this volume – we get to revisit lots of familiar faces and places but it never feels repetitive or a mere re-hash of Boneshaker.
The Inexplicables is a more focused novel than its predecessor Ganymede was, but it is also less of an adventure tale than any of the previous novels was – during the first two thirds of the novel not much is happening at all, it's mostly just Rector stumbling around and meeting people. But that is okay in this case, because The Inexplicables is above all a character story – the story of a man (really still a boy for the most part) attempting to redeem himself and become a better person. Character portraiture has always been a strength of Cherie Priest and her Clockwork Century novels and it is due to her deft hand at describing convincing and memorable characters that the lack of plot is barely noticeable – although I’ll have to admit that it is nice when things start to get moving in the novel’s final third and its two plot strands speed towards their respective finales. If I have any complaints about this novel then it is that those strands are not all that well connected to each other and run parallel for most of the time instead of intertwining; but as the main focus of The Inexplicables really is Rector’s road to redemption and the plot is mostly subordinate to that, it boils down to just a minor niggle that does not distract much from the general enjoyment of the novel.
And enjoyable it is, like all the novels in the series so far – it is great to see that Cherie Priest manages to retain her momentum and to keep Clockwork Century chugging along at a vigorous speed this many volumes in, at a stage where many other series begin to run out of steam. As in Ganymede, there are also hints about a greater, overarching plot to the series as a whole, and I’m very curious to find out where she will be going with that – judging by her previous work, it will likely not be along any worn-out tracks but in unexpected, new and exciting directions.
It is not surprising, then, that we meet many familiar names in The Inexplicables, including that of the novel’s protagonist Rector, who was a minor (and distinctly unsympathetic) character in Boneshaker. He has not grown any more likeable since then, and as a sap dealer who likes to dip into his own stack he has not much of a life expectancy either. The novel starts with him turning eighteen and getting turned out of the orphanage he has lived in all his life; and finding himself homeless but plagued by a (literally) haunted conscience, he attempts to turn his life around and make atonement by trying to find and bury the corpse of a friend who he thought he sent to his death. As that friend happens to be Zeke, readers of Boneshaker know right from the start that he is still alive, which makes for a nice tie-in with the earlier novel, something that Cherie Priest manages exceedingly well during the whole of this volume – we get to revisit lots of familiar faces and places but it never feels repetitive or a mere re-hash of Boneshaker.
The Inexplicables is a more focused novel than its predecessor Ganymede was, but it is also less of an adventure tale than any of the previous novels was – during the first two thirds of the novel not much is happening at all, it's mostly just Rector stumbling around and meeting people. But that is okay in this case, because The Inexplicables is above all a character story – the story of a man (really still a boy for the most part) attempting to redeem himself and become a better person. Character portraiture has always been a strength of Cherie Priest and her Clockwork Century novels and it is due to her deft hand at describing convincing and memorable characters that the lack of plot is barely noticeable – although I’ll have to admit that it is nice when things start to get moving in the novel’s final third and its two plot strands speed towards their respective finales. If I have any complaints about this novel then it is that those strands are not all that well connected to each other and run parallel for most of the time instead of intertwining; but as the main focus of The Inexplicables really is Rector’s road to redemption and the plot is mostly subordinate to that, it boils down to just a minor niggle that does not distract much from the general enjoyment of the novel.
And enjoyable it is, like all the novels in the series so far – it is great to see that Cherie Priest manages to retain her momentum and to keep Clockwork Century chugging along at a vigorous speed this many volumes in, at a stage where many other series begin to run out of steam. As in Ganymede, there are also hints about a greater, overarching plot to the series as a whole, and I’m very curious to find out where she will be going with that – judging by her previous work, it will likely not be along any worn-out tracks but in unexpected, new and exciting directions.
December 1, 2018
It is a good entry in the series. I like the use of Bigfoot.
December 8, 2012
First posted here
'The Inexplicables' is the forth full length entry in the 'Clockwork Century' series, an alternate American history. In this alternate world the Civil War has been going for twenty years, with Texas on their own and the south freeing their own slaves to continue the war. In the first book of the series, 'Boneshaker', we learn that a gassy blight was released in Seattle, leading to the requisite steampunk zombies. A wall was set up to keep the blight in, but a lucrative side business has sprung from those who have learned to refine the gas into a highly addictive drug known as 'sap'.
Priest has taken a unique approach to this series, making the world itself the most consistent aspect between books, rather than follow one character or overall story arc. Each book has had a separate main character and taken place in different parts of the country. Each book could probably be read as a stand alone, though several story arcs are slowly coming together in the forth outing. Characters from each of the previous books are present in 'The Inexplicables', with the lead this time being a minor character from 'Boneshaker'. This book also goes back to where the series began, Seattle.
At the beginning of the book Rector is about to be kicked out of the orphanage he has been raised in. With zero work prospects and a nasty sap habit, Rector decides to go through the wall that keeps the blight in old Seattle, knowing a former acquaintance made it through in the past, but thinking him dead. From there he runs into rotters, takes a job from the crime lord who rules, and helps search for something unknown to the residences, something inexplicable.
I did enjoy the book. It was an incredibly quick read, quickly paced and fun. Rector is a nice character, someone who is turning his life around more from the help of others than any sort of will power. Yes, it is whiny and annoying at times, but in a city where everyone looks out for each other he is given time to work through his issues. Rector's friend Zeke has some great tender moments, and the return of the Princess gave the book its most compelling character. The discovery of what the new monsters living in the city are will intrigue some, and make others groan, but I liked it.
Though I enjoyed the book, it was unfortunately the worst in the series so far. While the smaller scale plot lines(no fight for the survival of the world in this series) worked well in the first three books, in 'The Inexplicables' almost nothing of note happened. Rector's mission was too easy and too short. Rector seemed to give up his drug habit easier than I could drop caffeine. The reasoning for Rector thinking he sees a certain character as a ghost is never explained, nor why he stopped seeing said ghost. The big 'battle' was laughable easy for the protagonist, and there was never really a feeling of danger for any character through the whole book. If I was to sum up the overall plot of this book it would be as such; Rector goes around Seattle meeting characters from the first three books. Name drops seemed to be the entire purpose of a full third of the book.
So for fans of the series, there is enough here to keep you interested and hoping the next in the series gets back to the same quality as the second and third books. But I don't foresee this book being listed as many peoples favorite in the series.
Pros: The world these characters live in still has me enthralled and wanting more. So very good relationships develop between a few characters. Some of the separate plot lines from previous books are starting to converge.
Cons: Very little suspense or movement of the story. Not a lot of focus.
3 Stars
'The Inexplicables' is the forth full length entry in the 'Clockwork Century' series, an alternate American history. In this alternate world the Civil War has been going for twenty years, with Texas on their own and the south freeing their own slaves to continue the war. In the first book of the series, 'Boneshaker', we learn that a gassy blight was released in Seattle, leading to the requisite steampunk zombies. A wall was set up to keep the blight in, but a lucrative side business has sprung from those who have learned to refine the gas into a highly addictive drug known as 'sap'.
Priest has taken a unique approach to this series, making the world itself the most consistent aspect between books, rather than follow one character or overall story arc. Each book has had a separate main character and taken place in different parts of the country. Each book could probably be read as a stand alone, though several story arcs are slowly coming together in the forth outing. Characters from each of the previous books are present in 'The Inexplicables', with the lead this time being a minor character from 'Boneshaker'. This book also goes back to where the series began, Seattle.
At the beginning of the book Rector is about to be kicked out of the orphanage he has been raised in. With zero work prospects and a nasty sap habit, Rector decides to go through the wall that keeps the blight in old Seattle, knowing a former acquaintance made it through in the past, but thinking him dead. From there he runs into rotters, takes a job from the crime lord who rules, and helps search for something unknown to the residences, something inexplicable.
I did enjoy the book. It was an incredibly quick read, quickly paced and fun. Rector is a nice character, someone who is turning his life around more from the help of others than any sort of will power. Yes, it is whiny and annoying at times, but in a city where everyone looks out for each other he is given time to work through his issues. Rector's friend Zeke has some great tender moments, and the return of the Princess gave the book its most compelling character. The discovery of what the new monsters living in the city are will intrigue some, and make others groan, but I liked it.
Though I enjoyed the book, it was unfortunately the worst in the series so far. While the smaller scale plot lines(no fight for the survival of the world in this series) worked well in the first three books, in 'The Inexplicables' almost nothing of note happened. Rector's mission was too easy and too short. Rector seemed to give up his drug habit easier than I could drop caffeine. The reasoning for Rector thinking he sees a certain character as a ghost is never explained, nor why he stopped seeing said ghost. The big 'battle' was laughable easy for the protagonist, and there was never really a feeling of danger for any character through the whole book. If I was to sum up the overall plot of this book it would be as such; Rector goes around Seattle meeting characters from the first three books. Name drops seemed to be the entire purpose of a full third of the book.
So for fans of the series, there is enough here to keep you interested and hoping the next in the series gets back to the same quality as the second and third books. But I don't foresee this book being listed as many peoples favorite in the series.
Pros: The world these characters live in still has me enthralled and wanting more. So very good relationships develop between a few characters. Some of the separate plot lines from previous books are starting to converge.
Cons: Very little suspense or movement of the story. Not a lot of focus.
3 Stars
May 5, 2014
I guess you could read this book without reading Boneshaker first, but it's better when you have more information about the Outskirts, the wall, the city itself and those inside. I would suggest reading all four before this one, but Boneshaker is the one with the strongest connection.
Rector Sherman is turning eighteen and has to leave the Home (the orphanage). The only thing he has any control of is the time of his leaving. He decides that two in the morning is good time as any. He almost empties the food storage before he finally leaves. Oh, and Rector is an addict. The first time we met him was in Boneshaker when he took Zeke Wilkes to the opening in the Seattle wall so he could enter the city. That was the last time he saw Zeke and now he thinks his ghost is haunting him.
With nothing else left, he decides to enter the city: to ask Yaouzu, a very dangerous criminal, for a job (nobody said Rector is smart) and to try to find Zeke's body and bury it with dignity.
The city is full of rotters, the fact Rector knows, so he is more than surprised when he is attacked by something which is way more dangerous than rotters: the thing is bigger, meaner and smarter. He falls, which saves him and he gets picked up by Houjin who takes him where Briar and Zeke are.
Yaouzu gives Rector a task to track the missing rotters and see how exactly they left the city. The first third of the book is boring as hell. A third! It almost made me stop reading and I never do that no matter what. The meeting with Yaouzu is the turning point since Rector got his assignment. That moved things forward a bit. I really did not like Rector.
Compared to the rest, The Inexplicables is the weakest in the series so far. It just couldn't hold my attention the way the first four did. It happens when you don't really care about the main character or the reason I didn't like this book so much and its young adult feel. The first third was boring, the second was a bit better and I am giving a half a star more only because of the last part of the book.
Rector Sherman is turning eighteen and has to leave the Home (the orphanage). The only thing he has any control of is the time of his leaving. He decides that two in the morning is good time as any. He almost empties the food storage before he finally leaves. Oh, and Rector is an addict. The first time we met him was in Boneshaker when he took Zeke Wilkes to the opening in the Seattle wall so he could enter the city. That was the last time he saw Zeke and now he thinks his ghost is haunting him.
With nothing else left, he decides to enter the city: to ask Yaouzu, a very dangerous criminal, for a job (nobody said Rector is smart) and to try to find Zeke's body and bury it with dignity.
The city is full of rotters, the fact Rector knows, so he is more than surprised when he is attacked by something which is way more dangerous than rotters: the thing is bigger, meaner and smarter. He falls, which saves him and he gets picked up by Houjin who takes him where Briar and Zeke are.
Yaouzu gives Rector a task to track the missing rotters and see how exactly they left the city. The first third of the book is boring as hell. A third! It almost made me stop reading and I never do that no matter what. The meeting with Yaouzu is the turning point since Rector got his assignment. That moved things forward a bit. I really did not like Rector.
Compared to the rest, The Inexplicables is the weakest in the series so far. It just couldn't hold my attention the way the first four did. It happens when you don't really care about the main character or the reason I didn't like this book so much and its young adult feel. The first third was boring, the second was a bit better and I am giving a half a star more only because of the last part of the book.
January 17, 2013
A really mediocre read in Cherie Priest's CLockwork Century series. One thing I'm always amazed at is how a good writer can take a premise that sounds a little silly from the outside, and turn it into something believable and engaging. That never happens with this novel, and without the willing suspension of disbelief "The Inexplicables" is a hard pill to swallow. Some of the characters from the past novels return, some that I like but none that I love, and the walled-in Seattle setting are the two highlights. The frustratingly belligerent protagonist and characters that act more like plot than people are the big downfalls. Unless you love, love love the steam punk, you can likely skip this installment.
November 20, 2012
There is something about the tone of Priest's books. It pulls me into another world, and wraps me up in a feeling of both kinship and wonder. I "get" the people she writes. They vividly remind me of the people I grew up with in a small working class town. I also share their sense of awe at the changing landscape around them. Great war machines, burgeoning scientific discoveries. They're all as fantastical as they are worrisome, and I'm hooked. I'll follow my comrades along any journey, willing their good spirits to prevail over the nightmares ahead of them.
November 16, 2012
Damn if she doesn't keep getting better and better. Loved the return to Seattle, and the conflicted protagonist. Not quite as colorful as Ganymede, her last, but still a complete pleasure. Only complaint: over too soon. (as per usual- too good to put down.)
April 4, 2015
Not the best of the series, but still a good read. Seemed to lack the scope of the other books, but did a good job of explaining the current state and value of Seattle.
July 30, 2017
This steampunk horrorish Western is another wonderful work by Cherie Priest. Readers get to follow Rector as he is dismissed from his orphanage, seeks solace in obtaining "sap" (an honestly depicted addiction to heroin or an opioid from the addict's viewpoint), and ends up within the walls of contaminated Seattle (at least read Boneshaker--the initial book in the series--if this reference is obtuse). Readers become reacquainted with Houjin, Zeke, the Princess, and other beloved characters from earlier novels. This particular book smacks of good old Pacific Northwest lore galore, underground cities, rival groups wanting to run those cities, the undead, and a new frightening menace. Oh, and did I mention, Priest has a knack for creating engaging characters and insightful dialog? Fans and new readers alike will not be disappointed in this story.
May 19, 2020
Yess!! One thing I love about this series is that it takes a minor character, even one mentioned briefly in the first book, and it brings them to life as it follows their life. I knew I would enjoy the book, but didn't expect how much I'd like "Red".
I was also happy that we were back in the heart of blight Seattle, my favorite place. I could read on and on about it, but it was a fresh take on an outsider's perspective. All my favorite characters were back and the world had really developed. My heart is content
I was also happy that we were back in the heart of blight Seattle, my favorite place. I could read on and on about it, but it was a fresh take on an outsider's perspective. All my favorite characters were back and the world had really developed. My heart is content
June 18, 2017
The story looks away from the grand drama of the American Civil War in the age of Steam Punk to consider a single junky. Only – twist! It turns out we haven’t looked away at all. He has a part to play. It involves sasquatches, the big water tower in Volunteer Park, and explosives.
I enjoyed reading it, but if there was a little deeper level, I didn’t find it.
I enjoyed reading it, but if there was a little deeper level, I didn’t find it.
June 12, 2020
Definitely not my favorite in the series. I feel like this should have just been a novella focusing on Zeke, Huey & Angeline: this story could have been told without the new unlikable character considering the first half of the book was mostly just introducing him.
November 17, 2022
Except for the steampunk world of 19th century America that Priest has built in this series of books, there isn't a lot to be said about this particular novel. As this is the first book in the series that I happened to read (it's the 4th in the series, and it's also the first of the author's I'm reading), I have nothing to compare it with. But the book is pretty much a standalone, as are the others books in the series, I gather. Yes, there are overlapping characters and references to the plot lines in the other books, but the story stands independent, with only a common world connecting everything. I found the Blight-stricken world and its possibilities quite fascinating, and I want to know more about this world through the other books. What I didn't like so much was the pacing in this book. Nothing much happens through the book, and even the world-building gets repetitive after a while. Literally every second page has a reference to the Blight-infested yellow-grey air that makes it impossible to see and breathe, which leads to references about masks and filters etc. And there is one whole chapter where two characters just go from place to place informing people to attend a meeting.
Coming to the plot, well... it's about this boy Rector who gets into the walled city of Seattle which is filled with rotters (zombies), where he discovers something the locals call the inexplicable (hence the title). Rector is tasked with finding out what is happening to the rotters, and it all leads to a war between two factions who want to control... no, spoiler alert, so no. The thing about the plot is that it has very little mounting tension. And that is partly because we are never given an idea of what is at stake for the protagonists, and partly because we find very little reason to care for any of the protagonists. Most characters make an appearance and then vanish for chapters at a stretch, and even the three or four main characters we stick with and are supposed to root for aren't particularly likeable. I wasn't even clear what any of them really wanted. Rector is a mess at the start of the book as he is addicted to sap and can't see beyond his needs, which is fine. But I didn't see him undergo any real growth or change (apart from kind of getting rid of his addiction), nor did he have a redemptive arc. My biggest complaint was the absence of threat in the book. It's supposed to be about zombies and inexplicable and gang wars, but none of it had me worried about what would happen next. And I still don't know why the book was called The Inexplicables considering how little a role the inexplicables have in these pages. A 2 star rating... but I like the Clockwork Century world enough to pump that up to 3 stars.
Coming to the plot, well... it's about this boy Rector who gets into the walled city of Seattle which is filled with rotters (zombies), where he discovers something the locals call the inexplicable (hence the title). Rector is tasked with finding out what is happening to the rotters, and it all leads to a war between two factions who want to control... no, spoiler alert, so no. The thing about the plot is that it has very little mounting tension. And that is partly because we are never given an idea of what is at stake for the protagonists, and partly because we find very little reason to care for any of the protagonists. Most characters make an appearance and then vanish for chapters at a stretch, and even the three or four main characters we stick with and are supposed to root for aren't particularly likeable. I wasn't even clear what any of them really wanted. Rector is a mess at the start of the book as he is addicted to sap and can't see beyond his needs, which is fine. But I didn't see him undergo any real growth or change (apart from kind of getting rid of his addiction), nor did he have a redemptive arc. My biggest complaint was the absence of threat in the book. It's supposed to be about zombies and inexplicable and gang wars, but none of it had me worried about what would happen next. And I still don't know why the book was called The Inexplicables considering how little a role the inexplicables have in these pages. A 2 star rating... but I like the Clockwork Century world enough to pump that up to 3 stars.
February 10, 2018
Every incarnation of this series is improved over the last. One of the most layered and interesting series I've read. All of the characters are wonderful.
October 8, 2020
Having all the stories meeting up is fun to see how the world meshes.
March 23, 2013
In this volume of her A Clockwork Century series, Priest takes us back to Seattle, the setting of the first book in the series, Boneshaker. It's a welcome return, both to the setting, and to the characters from the first book. As an added bonus for those who enjoy this series, there's also mention of the events of Dreadnought and Ganymede. And we get to see how Dreadnought's main character Mercy Lynch has settled into the walled city of Seattle.
There's always the danger when an author revisits previous settings through new POV eyes that they tell too much of the setting for those that are familiar with it, and too little for those that are jumping in to a series. Priest manages to follow the narrow path of satisfying readers both old and new here. For me as a return reader, I didn't feel bogged down with information I already knew, but welcomed the reminders of what has gone before. And I can't say I can see a problem for a new reader to the series in following what is going on if they start with this book.
The story itself can be divided into three parts, Rector's journey, the mysterious creature, and the human intruders. But this is much more than three stories that are loosely connected, the three parts both feed off each other and add to each other, and creates a larger whole than the sum of the parts it consists of.
That the three strands of the story are quite different in nature, will mean that not everyone will have the same reaction to each one. For me the journey of Rector stood a little bit above the others, but I still very much enjoyed the other two story strands, and without them Rector's journey would have been much less than it ended up as.
As with the previous volumes, Priest is very adept at creating a tense atmosphere. The location, the walled city of Seattle, is described in such a way that it feels claustrophobic at times. Priest is very good at conveying the feeling that anything can happen, and it never feels like you have figured out exactly were you will be led by the novel. Even though I personally figured one element out very quickly, I was never sure I was right about it before much later, and it didn't hamper my enjoyment of the story.
There is some action in the novel, but this isn't Steampunk-Action as much as it is Steampunk-Alternate History. -I must add, Steampunk-Alternate History with some very good worldbuilding.
Being a fan of Alternate History, I have enjoyed that element in the A Clockwork Century a lot, and this element doesn't disappoint here either. With each volume in the series Priest manages to subtly add to her alternate worlds texture, making it a little bit more solid, or real if you want, at the end of the novel than it was before you started it.
All in all I found this very much to my liking. It's an excellent follow-up to what has gone before, and as I mentioned above, it is possible to read it without having read any of the previous A Clockwork Century books.
Priest continues to be one of the great authors in the Steampunk subgenre of SFF. And as well as being a must for fans of Steampunk, this book deserves to be read by anyone who is a fan of well written SFF.
Review originally published on my blog: http://weirdmage.blogspot.com
There's always the danger when an author revisits previous settings through new POV eyes that they tell too much of the setting for those that are familiar with it, and too little for those that are jumping in to a series. Priest manages to follow the narrow path of satisfying readers both old and new here. For me as a return reader, I didn't feel bogged down with information I already knew, but welcomed the reminders of what has gone before. And I can't say I can see a problem for a new reader to the series in following what is going on if they start with this book.
The story itself can be divided into three parts, Rector's journey, the mysterious creature, and the human intruders. But this is much more than three stories that are loosely connected, the three parts both feed off each other and add to each other, and creates a larger whole than the sum of the parts it consists of.
That the three strands of the story are quite different in nature, will mean that not everyone will have the same reaction to each one. For me the journey of Rector stood a little bit above the others, but I still very much enjoyed the other two story strands, and without them Rector's journey would have been much less than it ended up as.
As with the previous volumes, Priest is very adept at creating a tense atmosphere. The location, the walled city of Seattle, is described in such a way that it feels claustrophobic at times. Priest is very good at conveying the feeling that anything can happen, and it never feels like you have figured out exactly were you will be led by the novel. Even though I personally figured one element out very quickly, I was never sure I was right about it before much later, and it didn't hamper my enjoyment of the story.
There is some action in the novel, but this isn't Steampunk-Action as much as it is Steampunk-Alternate History. -I must add, Steampunk-Alternate History with some very good worldbuilding.
Being a fan of Alternate History, I have enjoyed that element in the A Clockwork Century a lot, and this element doesn't disappoint here either. With each volume in the series Priest manages to subtly add to her alternate worlds texture, making it a little bit more solid, or real if you want, at the end of the novel than it was before you started it.
All in all I found this very much to my liking. It's an excellent follow-up to what has gone before, and as I mentioned above, it is possible to read it without having read any of the previous A Clockwork Century books.
Priest continues to be one of the great authors in the Steampunk subgenre of SFF. And as well as being a must for fans of Steampunk, this book deserves to be read by anyone who is a fan of well written SFF.
Review originally published on my blog: http://weirdmage.blogspot.com
November 13, 2015
I'm not quite sure why I keep reading these. Probably boils down to there being a lot of SP stories but a dearth of actual novels, with a solid % of those novels being horrible YA stuff. FYI, there's spoiler hints throughout this -- it's not too bad, but it's enough for a discerning person to pick up the gist...
1) Horrible consistency with the Gas, seems to rip some metal objects apart within days if not hours, yet other things seems to last in the gas for 18 years and keep working? There's no "rule of cool" armor for it, or even plot need, it just seems some random objector device is in good condition because it'll fit nice in the current prose. It makes sections throughout the book feel un-thought out.
2) Smelling through the Gas masks. Either they can, or they can't. This one is more a graph then random, since descriptions of smells of __________ are in the begging and "whiffs" of such are described and slowly cement by the ending to no one being able to smell while wearing a gas mask. Not that there is any description of the masks becoming more efficient, mind you, but at least we're going in one direction.
3) We, the reader, walk with Rector EVERYWHERE, for more than the first half of the book. I mean, we're practically given his every step. And it's just descriptions of dark, stairs, bad air, and him complaining... for hundreds of pages. I believe it's page ~200 or so when finally we get the much anticipated 'And they travel back to the vault.' There's an art to describing 'travel' in a novel and it's very hard to know when to describe and when to toss it away with a line.... but whatever we're subjected to in the beginning of "The Inexplicables" is not it.
4) Despite 200 pages of annoying, complaint walking, we never really get anywhere in this novel. I think it's because Rector pretty much follows in the tracks of 'Boneshaker' we're seeing the same thing again, just with more annoyance. It's lampshaded even (ish), and it just seems really small. "Clementine" was a shorter book and more was accomplished.
I did buy Priest's first two and half books, borrowed 'Ganymede' and I'm very happy I just gotten this one from the library. Will I read the next one? Maybe, sounds like it even if it isn't the end of the series, it's something of a finale of these 4.5 books. I'll give it some space after this one and check it out, I'm sure, which I know is really just inexplicable.
1) Horrible consistency with the Gas, seems to rip some metal objects apart within days if not hours, yet other things seems to last in the gas for 18 years and keep working? There's no "rule of cool" armor for it, or even plot need, it just seems some random objector device is in good condition because it'll fit nice in the current prose. It makes sections throughout the book feel un-thought out.
2) Smelling through the Gas masks. Either they can, or they can't. This one is more a graph then random, since descriptions of smells of __________ are in the begging and "whiffs" of such are described and slowly cement by the ending to no one being able to smell while wearing a gas mask. Not that there is any description of the masks becoming more efficient, mind you, but at least we're going in one direction.
3) We, the reader, walk with Rector EVERYWHERE, for more than the first half of the book. I mean, we're practically given his every step. And it's just descriptions of dark, stairs, bad air, and him complaining... for hundreds of pages. I believe it's page ~200 or so when finally we get the much anticipated 'And they travel back to the vault.' There's an art to describing 'travel' in a novel and it's very hard to know when to describe and when to toss it away with a line.... but whatever we're subjected to in the beginning of "The Inexplicables" is not it.
4) Despite 200 pages of annoying, complaint walking, we never really get anywhere in this novel. I think it's because Rector pretty much follows in the tracks of 'Boneshaker' we're seeing the same thing again, just with more annoyance. It's lampshaded even (ish), and it just seems really small. "Clementine" was a shorter book and more was accomplished.
I did buy Priest's first two and half books, borrowed 'Ganymede' and I'm very happy I just gotten this one from the library. Will I read the next one? Maybe, sounds like it even if it isn't the end of the series, it's something of a finale of these 4.5 books. I'll give it some space after this one and check it out, I'm sure, which I know is really just inexplicable.
March 9, 2015
This book is a bit rough. If you hadn't read the rest of Cherie Priest's "Clockwork Century" series, I don't think it would really be a very good read. It is a classic "middle book" but it doesn't really even move the whole series forward the way, say, "Dreadnought," did.
Its main reason for existence seems to be to provide a return to the late 1800's zombie plagued and blighted Seattle of "Boneshaker," the first book in this series. We get to see Zeke, the protagonist of that book, from the viewpoint of Rector, our drug addicted and dealing protagonist who is finally being forced to grow up and decide what he wants to do with his life (or if he's even going to have one). Other than the Tom Sawyeresque moments between a trio of young men, there really isn't a lot going on here. Sure, there is an overall plot culminating in a (lackluster) battle but there really isn't much tension in this book and it kind of drags along.
I feel bad giving it a mediocre review and rating but, compared to the others in the series, I found it a bit lackluster. I put it down one third of the way through and read another book and really only finished it so I could read "Fiddlehead," the last book in the series that follows it.
Its main reason for existence seems to be to provide a return to the late 1800's zombie plagued and blighted Seattle of "Boneshaker," the first book in this series. We get to see Zeke, the protagonist of that book, from the viewpoint of Rector, our drug addicted and dealing protagonist who is finally being forced to grow up and decide what he wants to do with his life (or if he's even going to have one). Other than the Tom Sawyeresque moments between a trio of young men, there really isn't a lot going on here. Sure, there is an overall plot culminating in a (lackluster) battle but there really isn't much tension in this book and it kind of drags along.
I feel bad giving it a mediocre review and rating but, compared to the others in the series, I found it a bit lackluster. I put it down one third of the way through and read another book and really only finished it so I could read "Fiddlehead," the last book in the series that follows it.
May 1, 2020
I was so happy to return to Seattle in this fourth book. I loved all of the characters that were first introduced in the series, and even though they only had small parts while the three youngest boys were in the spotlight, it was great to see them again. And as if rotters weren’t enough, now the citizens are dealing with an inexplicable...which turns out to be a Sasquatch. Which, oddly, was not even slightly ridiculous, as you might be inclined to think at first. LOVED the brief match-up between Cly and the Squatch. Cly is honestly one of my most favourite characters.
While I do really enjoy the ongoing storyline, and how the characters intertwine within it, I’m a bit sad when the storyline doesn’t focus on what’s happening within Seattle, and it’s underground inhabitants. I honestly think that’s probably the only thing holding me back from giving each book a five star rating. While I realize that moving away from Seattle and focusing on different characters is integral to the overall storyline, I can’t help that I became so enamoured of the original cast from book one. The next (and last) book takes us back out of Seattle again, and I’m not entirely sure I’m ready for that. But I suppose I have to be.
While I do really enjoy the ongoing storyline, and how the characters intertwine within it, I’m a bit sad when the storyline doesn’t focus on what’s happening within Seattle, and it’s underground inhabitants. I honestly think that’s probably the only thing holding me back from giving each book a five star rating. While I realize that moving away from Seattle and focusing on different characters is integral to the overall storyline, I can’t help that I became so enamoured of the original cast from book one. The next (and last) book takes us back out of Seattle again, and I’m not entirely sure I’m ready for that. But I suppose I have to be.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2013
This book was not as exciting as the previous three entries to the Clockwork Century. There's not a lot going on in the plot, as least not directly. Unlike "Boneshaker" it's not a tale of terror and lacks the awe of a new world; unlike "Dreadnaught" and "Ganymede" it lacks the sense of adventure that made those two installments exciting. What Priest has done with "The Inexplicables" is create something of a stage-setter for further work in the series, which promises to have plenty of material to burn brightly in further books, but none of that is really here.
What does remain constant in terms of reading value is Priest's wonderful ear for and control of dialogue. Where her own imagination fails to illuminate the world around her characters, Priest's wonderfully colorful and ever entertaining style of bringing characters to life never falters. And that was more than enough to carry me through this book.
What does remain constant in terms of reading value is Priest's wonderful ear for and control of dialogue. Where her own imagination fails to illuminate the world around her characters, Priest's wonderfully colorful and ever entertaining style of bringing characters to life never falters. And that was more than enough to carry me through this book.
September 4, 2014
The Inexplicables is the fifth book in Cherie Priest’s CLOCKWORK CENTURY series. This one returns to its roots, the walled, Blight-ridden city of Seattle. It’s 1881, and the American Civil War is still going on. Eighteen years earlier, a powerful mining device tapped into a vein of gas deep into the earth, and the gas spilled out into Seattle, killing most people and turning them into “rotters” or zombies. The source of the outbreak (downtown Seattle) was walled off and abandoned, but some brave souls still go in there. Mostly, they go to syphon up the Blight gas and distill it into a deadly drug called sap.
Rector Sherman is a sap addict and an orphan who has just turned eighteen. He is being evicted from the Catholic orphanage on the outskirts of the walled city. That isn’t Rector’s only problem. He’s also haunted by the ghost of Zeke ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Rector Sherman is a sap addict and an orphan who has just turned eighteen. He is being evicted from the Catholic orphanage on the outskirts of the walled city. That isn’t Rector’s only problem. He’s also haunted by the ghost of Zeke ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
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