Publication
Bloomsbury Publishing (2020), 512 pages
Description
1888. Five years after they met in The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, Thaniel Steepleton, an unassuming translator, and Keita Mori, the watchmaker who remembers the future, are traveling to Japan. Thaniel has received an unexpected posting to the British legation in Tokyo, and Mori has business that is taking him to Yokohama. Thaniel's brief is odd: the legation staff have been seeing ghosts, and Thaniel's first task is to find out what's really going on. But while staying with Mori, he starts to experience ghostly happenings himself. For reasons Mori won't--or can't--share, he is frightened. Then he vanishes. Meanwhile, something strange is happening in a frozen labor camp in Northern Japan. Takiko Pepperharrow, an old friend of Mori's, must investigate. As the weather turns bizarrely electrical and ghosts haunt the country from Tokyo to Aokigahara forest, Thaniel grows convinced that it all has something to do with Mori's disappearance--and that Mori may be in serious danger.--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member invisiblelizard
After reading Natasha Pulley's first book (The Watchmaker of Filigree Street) and loved it, I dove in hard to this book, the sequel in that series. It was a good book and fun to read, but just a little less than Watchmaker was. I felt the plot wasn't as tightly woven as in the first one, as if she
Also, I struggled with the concept of the future ghost "images" in the clouds of dust. It's meant to be a clever way to expand Mori's own clairvoyance and make it a useful tool for others as well. I get that. But it just doesn't work. I can suspend my disbelief enough to accept that a man walking around with precognitive abilities can see into many possible futures, and I like what she did with that. But this ghost business, I mean seriously, if that was something discovered in late 19th century Japan, the entire course of human history would have been radically changed and our own modern landscape today would be vastly different. Although maybe I'm overthinking that.
Ultimately I liked the book. I did. I'm nitpicking in here, but it's a good one. Well written, and if she ever writes a third in this series, I'll jump at the chance to learn what adventures Thaniel and Mori (and hopefully Six as well) go on next. It's just not quite the same caliber as the first.
That said, let me lay out a theory that I've been working on since I finished this book. I feel like Pulley fell into a common trap when writing about superheroes. And I do feel that's what this is. Mori is not that far off from one of the heros in any of the current spate of Marvel or DC movies. He's a man with a gift that allows him to do great things that nobody else could do, pure and simple: super. And he saves people: hero. Q.E.D.
Anyway, in the first book, you get something of an introduction. Sometimes in comics this comes in the form of an "origin story" but we don't get that in Watchmaker, per se. We get an introduction to Mori as seen through the eyes of an ordinary man, Thaniel, who represents us (the readers) learning about this super person along with Thaniel. This is a common enough trope in superhero fiction. In the first book, we learned what Mori can do and we got a good tale of something great he does. So where can Pulley go after that? This is the trap. Once you've done that, you have to increase the stakes, up the ante. Give Mori some kryptonite. Put him in a situation where his "powers" cannot help him. If he can always see the future, he should never be able to get hurt, so do something to take that way. And make the "great" thing he does even greater than the first. You can't do the exact same things the second time around. The reader will get bored.
Now, whether or not she did this on purpose (based on a personal study of superhero fiction?) is irrelevant. This is where she found herself. And when you increase the stakes and add new elements, you have to work harder to make the plot weave around those in believable ways. And if you want your characters to be beloved (or at least draw on the reader's compassion), you have to build them better, too. Instead I feel she took some shortcuts. Stock characters. Loosely threaded plot lines. (Is that fair? "Loosely?" Let's back off on that and just say, "Not as tightly woven as in the first book.") In short: I think Mori could have easily accomplished what he set out to accomplish withoutnearly dying and losing his powers while doing it.
But if she is borrowing from common themes in modern cinema, let me lay one more out there. Too many spoilers in here, so I'll hide the whole thing.Leaving Mori without his "powers" at the end of this book is akin to leaving Han Solo encased in carbonite and Luke with his hand cut off at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. And the briefest hint that his powers might be returning is reminiscent of Magneto moving the chess piece at the end of X-Men: The Last Stand. Either way, both are signs of a possible third book coming. Which I'm excited about.
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planned the first novel to the nth degree but for this one came up with a basic outline and then let it go where it took her. The characters weren't as impressive, either. Thaniel begins and ends this book mostly the same, very little growth or development. Mori ends quite different, but more on that later. Six was probably the most interesting of them all, but she was barely utilized. Most of the new characters introduced in this novel were formulaic.Also, I struggled with the concept of the future ghost "images" in the clouds of dust. It's meant to be a clever way to expand Mori's own clairvoyance and make it a useful tool for others as well. I get that. But it just doesn't work. I can suspend my disbelief enough to accept that a man walking around with precognitive abilities can see into many possible futures, and I like what she did with that. But this ghost business, I mean seriously, if that was something discovered in late 19th century Japan, the entire course of human history would have been radically changed and our own modern landscape today would be vastly different. Although maybe I'm overthinking that.
Ultimately I liked the book. I did. I'm nitpicking in here, but it's a good one. Well written, and if she ever writes a third in this series, I'll jump at the chance to learn what adventures Thaniel and Mori (and hopefully Six as well) go on next. It's just not quite the same caliber as the first.
That said, let me lay out a theory that I've been working on since I finished this book. I feel like Pulley fell into a common trap when writing about superheroes. And I do feel that's what this is. Mori is not that far off from one of the heros in any of the current spate of Marvel or DC movies. He's a man with a gift that allows him to do great things that nobody else could do, pure and simple: super. And he saves people: hero. Q.E.D.
Anyway, in the first book, you get something of an introduction. Sometimes in comics this comes in the form of an "origin story" but we don't get that in Watchmaker, per se. We get an introduction to Mori as seen through the eyes of an ordinary man, Thaniel, who represents us (the readers) learning about this super person along with Thaniel. This is a common enough trope in superhero fiction. In the first book, we learned what Mori can do and we got a good tale of something great he does. So where can Pulley go after that? This is the trap. Once you've done that, you have to increase the stakes, up the ante. Give Mori some kryptonite. Put him in a situation where his "powers" cannot help him. If he can always see the future, he should never be able to get hurt, so do something to take that way. And make the "great" thing he does even greater than the first. You can't do the exact same things the second time around. The reader will get bored.
Now, whether or not she did this on purpose (based on a personal study of superhero fiction?) is irrelevant. This is where she found herself. And when you increase the stakes and add new elements, you have to work harder to make the plot weave around those in believable ways. And if you want your characters to be beloved (or at least draw on the reader's compassion), you have to build them better, too. Instead I feel she took some shortcuts. Stock characters. Loosely threaded plot lines. (Is that fair? "Loosely?" Let's back off on that and just say, "Not as tightly woven as in the first book.") In short: I think Mori could have easily accomplished what he set out to accomplish without
But if she is borrowing from common themes in modern cinema, let me lay one more out there. Too many spoilers in here, so I'll hide the whole thing.
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LibraryThing member quondame
Good characters in some interesting settings, but long grim sections with little action dragged the middle of the book out of wow territory and really, not enough Katsu. The title is an interesting choice.
I do hope that the there isn't a trend toward the binding of this book, which is more like a
I do hope that the there isn't a trend toward the binding of this book, which is more like a
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giant paperback with board cover with the 'cover' image printed directly onto the paper of the cover, and not a dust jacket. Show Less
LibraryThing member SandyAMcPherson
There were interesting developments in the life of characters we met in The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. However, Pulley carried on with a dark underside to Mori's character and his clairvoyant manipulation of futures . For much of the novel set in Japan, the different threads of the story were the mindlessness of manipulated deaths. Chiefly, this novel was seriously disappointing after the compelling debut of Watchmaker.
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clunky and hard to follow. Was that my inability to follow the plot or Pulley being coy? The middle section was boring and the ending seemed murky. I'm perhaps annoyed at Show Less
LibraryThing member N7DR
Much the weakest of the three books in what I imagine is now concluded as a trilogy (although the author leaves wriggle-room at the end to continue the series -- although if we can expect more of this sort of thing, my opinion is that we're better off without any further books).
Worth reading if
Worth reading if
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you've read the first two I suppose (I thought that both of them were great; if anything I give The Bedlam Stacks the edge) -- without this one I for one would have been left frustrated at the lack of further books, but I cannot help thinking that this one was written for purposes quite different than the desire to write a good story about interesting characters. If she does decide to do another one in this series, then, unlike this one, I won't be rushing out to buy it as soon as it comes out in hardback; I'll wait for some reviews first. Show Less
LibraryThing member CharlotteBurt
Back in the steampunk world of Thaniel and Mori but this time we are headed to Japan. A sequel where we discover lots of Keita Mori's backstory and his ancestral home. I found this book pretty slow to get into and the middle was fairly confusing, but it does all come together at the end and all
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makes sense. Show Less
LibraryThing member mbmackay
I've become a real fan of Natasha Pulley's writing, and this book added to my appreciation.
Her stories are what might be called 'light fantasy' - not quite limited to reality, but no witches and dragons.
The writing is so clear and flowing - there's never a clunky sentence and the author's meaning
Most of her books seem to include a gay male relationship among the characters - not my usual territory, and not what I look for in a book, but probably a necessary education for this aging hetero male.
I hope she continues to produce these wonderful books.
Her stories are what might be called 'light fantasy' - not quite limited to reality, but no witches and dragons.
The writing is so clear and flowing - there's never a clunky sentence and the author's meaning
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and intent glows in the text.Most of her books seem to include a gay male relationship among the characters - not my usual territory, and not what I look for in a book, but probably a necessary education for this aging hetero male.
I hope she continues to produce these wonderful books.
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LibraryThing member tornadox
Satisfying conclusion. Really expands on how it can affect a person whose every decision turns into The Trolley Problem.
Thaniel is precious; I want to keep him and Mori safe form all the ills of the world.
Thaniel is precious; I want to keep him and Mori safe form all the ills of the world.
LibraryThing member TheDivineOomba
Its a well crafted book with an interesting premise, but I was left a bit wanting more. I think I wanted to see more of the relationship between Thaniel and Mori and how Six fit into all this. I liked the premise of ghosts and free electricity. However, I felt Karuda to be a bit ham fisted in his
I'm glad I read it and I really enjoyed the last chapter, but the book left me wanting more.
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approach. Mrs. Pepperharrow, Mori's Wife in Japan, should have been a more rounded.I'm glad I read it and I really enjoyed the last chapter, but the book left me wanting more.
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ISBN
1635573300 / 9781635573305