Clockwork Boys (Clocktaur War) Paperback – March 6, 2018

I've been a big fan of Lois McMaster Bujold and Patricia Briggs for decades. I believe it was Bujold who recommended Vernon first in my experience but I also know I've heard or seen Briggs do so as well, so some resistance finally gave way when I was going through an article or recommendation somewhere and I looked at one of T Kingfisher's other works set in this world. After reading both Swordheart and Paladin's Grace, I found I had a yearning for some more. I had read enough about her to know that I should be selective (this pen name is used for both "adult fantasy" or 'non-YA' as well as "Horror/Thriller", so I'm definitely only interested in some of her oeuvre). I'm so glad I grabbed this and it's followup. Clockwork Boys is dark but not maudlin or depressing and the humanity/humor balance is excellent. There's lots of adventure, plenty of drama, and even a solid helping of romance but there's also enough laughter to keep it from being a downer. When I was a kid, I loved Tolkien and Tad William's Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series but today I just can't bring myself to go back to them as much as they're amazing stories. My mid-life has enough darkness and I no longer seek the abyss to stare into. I discovered Bujold and Briggs both in the late 90's or early 2000's and have found both their abilities to use drama without getting depressing and humor without being flip to be a salve for my more life scarred soul. I do believe I've found another here. CB/tWE is a Fantasy version of the classic "Suicide Mission" trope with a nicely fresh, unpredictable story line (at least in the details) and characters who are relatable, memorable, and believable. The dialogue is excellent and writing fun as well as engrossing. I also love that TK seems to like a good "afterward" finish as opposed to "and they lived happily ever after"; I love a story with decent closure and these all deliver. I'm looking forward to many great returns to this pair and the other two books set in the same world.

A forger, a formerly possessed by a demon Paladin and an assassin head out on a journey of certain doom. There is also a scholar in this merry little group but he isn’t a criminal and doesn’t have a magical tattoo that will eat him if he goes off script.I read Swordheart a few weeks ago and from that decided to jump into the rest of the stories set in the World of the White Rat. Clockwork Boys throws an unlikely crew together to march off together on a suicide mission. Their task is to make it through No Man’s Land to Anuket and find out how the ten foot tall metal monstrosities they are at war with are made.Think of the Clockwork Boys and The Wonder Engine as one book really cut into two parts. This first part covers the team getting to know one another and making their way to Anuket city, while the second part covers figuring out the magic and mystery behind the Clocktaurs.I really liked the characters in this. Slate is a master forger; she is funny and resourceful. She also tends to have an allergic reaction to anything magical, which is a nice early warning system for trouble. Brennen is an assassin and has no qualms about killing. Plus, he is great at it, so what else should he do. He and Slate have a little history between them.***Her mother had always said you could tell a lot about a man by the way they conducted intimate business. The ones who thought they were amazing in bed, the ones who were afraid that they weren’t, the ones who expected you to do everything…Brenner had been none of those. Brenner had made a very careful study of what her body responded to and then he had done it, quite ruthlessly, until Slate could hold nothing back at all. Then he would take his own pleasure, just as ruthlessly.It had been exhausting and oddly transactional, very much like Brenner. It left her sated and a little bitter afterwards, as if they had used each other.***Even though that is over it makes for some interesting moments. Especially as there might be a bit of a spark between our Forger Slate and Caliban the Paladin. Not that Caliban has any idea what to do with the heat between them. He is feeling a little uncomfortable with the dead demon living inside him, her former lover could easily kill him in his sleep and Slate herself, well she is not someone to be trifled with either. And then there is Learned Edmund, who comes from an order of monks that does not include any women. He is a little bit afraid of our Slate.***Learned Edmund is apparently afraid that if he sleeps on your floor, your feminine exhalations will cause his genitals to wither and his bowels to turn to water. That’s a direct quote, by the way.”***The journey is treacherous and if you get swallowed up by some magical hills along the way, that is just how things work sometimes in this many god world. One of may favorite characters comes in late in this book. Grimehug, a gnole (kind of a Badger looking creature with more fur), is a really fun addition to the story. Even though he gets more page time in the next book I really liked how he joined up with the doomed crew in this one.I was thoroughly entertained while reading this book and jumped directly into the Wonder Engine right after. It has been a while since I found a new fantasy writer that I’ve had this much fun with. The dialogue is great, the characters complex and the world interesting with gods, demons, badger people, steampunk death engines and magic traveling hills that take you when they feel like it. Since this is really part one of a two part book there isn’t a big climax per say but more of a feeling of transition to the story from the getting to the city, to the next book where they figure out what to do now that they are there.

i got hooked from the first scene, where you don't really know what is going on or why. the story unfolds from there, with some interesting character quirks and situations. i haven't finished it, but already i am hoping there are more books.if you love Patrick Weekes' "Rogues of the Republic" stories, this one is a good bet!the character chemistry is volatile, and yes, good for some laugh out loud moments. the story, however, is quite serious, and still parts of the world building unfold like the petals of a flower. i'm enjoying the heck out of it!

This book is so good! It's well written, well edited, funny, and imaginative. It's hard not to care about the characters, and I was sad the book wasn't longer.

Fun cast of characters each learning to accept and work toward a common goal. Many trials and tribulations to over come. Snarky dialog. Wonderous creatures.

This book packs a lot into a rather short book. The characters were engaging and the plot inventive. My only real criticism is about POV. It jumped often without warning, which was jarring. Other than that, I barely put it down.

Not many books can make me laugh out loud-but this one managed it several times. The characters have excellent chemistry as a team, the monsters are weird and gruesome and the story line is superb.

Part of a great 2 book set. well written, funny, with an exciting plot and likeable characters. Kingfisher is an excellent writer who like all the best authors writes books that even non fans of her genre can appreciate. Treat yourself, read it and tell a friend.

Clockwork Boys besticht durch eine kreative Auswahl an Charakteren, die sich leicht vorstellen lassen und bissige Dialoge. Wer 'banter' nicht leiden kann dürfte es schwer haben, ich finds witzig.Immer wieder werden kreative Ideen so kombiniert, dass sie ins Absurde rutschen, ein Markenzeichen von Kingfisher, und mal was anderes als in anderen Geschichten.Die Handlung selbst wird recht geradeaus erzählt ohne verschlungene Handlungsstränge. Die Überraschungen liefern die immer neuen kreativen Ideen.Ich mag den Humor, das Absurde, den langsamen Erzählstil in dem sich nicht ständig alles überschlägt und die Zusammensetzung der Gruppe für die Quest. Ich glaube aber, dass Menschen, die schon mal von langsamem Tod bedroht waren oder chronisch krank sind den Humor einer Suizidmission vielleicht besser zu schätzen wissen.

Great book, Ursula Vernon/T Kingfisher writes with her usual humor! A quick read, fast paced, and I'd say mostly light-hearted. Definitely recommended.

I enjoyed this book a lot, unfortunately for some reason the second one is very difficult for me to get a copy of, unless I want to pay $40AUD for a thin book, which I do not! Something going on with printing?