Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
Argyll Productions (2018), 318 pages
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. HTML: Pull three people out of prison�??a disgraced paladin, a convicted forger, and a heartless assassin. Give them weapons, carnivorous tattoos, and each other. Point them at the enemy. What could possibly go wrong? In the sequel to CLOCKWORK BOYS, Slate, Brenner, Caliban and Learned Edmund have arrived in Anuket City, the source of the mysterious Clockwork Boys. But the secrets they're keeping could well destroy them, before the city even gets the chance...
User reviews
LibraryThing member Herenya
The second half of the story which began with Clockwork Boys. The description says: Pull three people out of prison -- a disgraced paladin, a convicted forger, and a heartless assassin. Give them weapons, carnivorous tattoos, and each other. Point them at the enemy. What could possibly go
Slate and her companions have survived the journey to Anuket City, but they have to uncover the secrets about what clockwork boys are before they can begin to develop any sort of plan for how to stop them. This also isn’t Slate’s first visit to the city and there are people out there who want her dead.
The beginning of this book meanders a bit, perhaps in part because the characters have resolved or at least learnt to avoid sources of friction between them. (An observation, not a complaint!) But then things become very tense and fraught. It draws together various elements of the story in a way which is unexpectedly clever (rather than contrived) and unexpectedly heartbreaking.
I really like this. Again, it involves humour and the teamwork and characters I cared about. I like the way the romance -- more of thing here than it was in the first book -- develops. I appreciate that this is a story about characters who have made, in different ways, mistakes that messed-up their lives, and now they have to work out how to move on from their failures. The way Caliban’s issues of faith and religion were explored was interesting.
The perfect gentle knight. She had a strong urge to kick him in the shins. Which would do precisely nothing and he’d look confused at me, And then probably offer to take his shin armor off so I could try again without hurting my foot.
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wrong?Slate and her companions have survived the journey to Anuket City, but they have to uncover the secrets about what clockwork boys are before they can begin to develop any sort of plan for how to stop them. This also isn’t Slate’s first visit to the city and there are people out there who want her dead.
The beginning of this book meanders a bit, perhaps in part because the characters have resolved or at least learnt to avoid sources of friction between them. (An observation, not a complaint!) But then things become very tense and fraught. It draws together various elements of the story in a way which is unexpectedly clever (rather than contrived) and unexpectedly heartbreaking.
I really like this. Again, it involves humour and the teamwork and characters I cared about. I like the way the romance -- more of thing here than it was in the first book -- develops. I appreciate that this is a story about characters who have made, in different ways, mistakes that messed-up their lives, and now they have to work out how to move on from their failures. The way Caliban’s issues of faith and religion were explored was interesting.
The perfect gentle knight. She had a strong urge to kick him in the shins. Which would do precisely nothing and he’d look confused at me, And then probably offer to take his shin armor off so I could try again without hurting my foot.
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LibraryThing member rivkat
In this sequel, the suicide squad has reached the enemy city, and now they have to figure out where the Clockwork Boys come from and how to stop them. The book is mostly scouting and information gathering, which makes sense, and relationship working-out between the paladin and the forger, which
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reaches several satisfying conclusions. Show Less
LibraryThing member quondame
A fast moving fantasy adventure that delivers what it promises, though grown ups shouldn't be weighted down with teener hesitations. Novel enough not to be just more of the same, but stuck to some conventions to be over the top good.
LibraryThing member LisCarey
Slate (forger, thief, and leader of a team on a suicide mission), Brenner (assassin), Caliban (ex-paladin with a dead demon rotting in his soul), and Learned Edmund (19-year-old scholar and divine of the Temple of the Many-Armed God), have now achieved the first half of their mission: They're now
Now, of course, the hard part starts. They have to figure out who is responsible for the Clockwork Boys, which they quickly learn are called Clocktaurs, and figure out how to deal with them. That might be by killing someone, or by discovering how they're made so the Dowager's city can have their own to fight them, or...they don't know.
Learned Edmund has already had quite an education for a sheltered scholar of the Temple of the Many-Armed God, but he's going to have new challenges to face, as the best contact among the artificers, the one who can help him find and interpret the missing scholar's notes that they should be working from, turns out to be a woman. Slate has to deal with her past catching up with her, as Boss Horsehead, whom she really seriously embarrassed, wants revenge. Caliban discovers there are no demons in Anuket City, and wants to know why--and the answer turns out not to be irrelevant at all.
And Brenner turns out to have a secret he doesn't want to share with anyone, and which is going to be a major problem for them all.
This is a story that's understanding of human frailties, and respectful of the way humans keep going anyway, doing the best they can. There's a good deal of humor here, but a lot of it is of the gallows humor type--which, hey, is the kind that makes me want to repeat bits to my father, long gone now, but from whom I got my sense of humor. (My mother didn't appreciate it in either of us.)
Really, I love this book, and the duology as a whole. Buy it, borrow it, do whatever you need to to get a hold of it.
I bought this audiobook.
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in Anuket City, source of the Clockwork Boys,enormous engines of war terrorizing the entire surrounding region and a major threat to the Dowager's city, from which they have come. Along the way, Slate saved the life of a gnole, a badger-like creature who goes by the name of Grimehug, who is now also a part of their group.Now, of course, the hard part starts. They have to figure out who is responsible for the Clockwork Boys, which they quickly learn are called Clocktaurs, and figure out how to deal with them. That might be by killing someone, or by discovering how they're made so the Dowager's city can have their own to fight them, or...they don't know.
Learned Edmund has already had quite an education for a sheltered scholar of the Temple of the Many-Armed God, but he's going to have new challenges to face, as the best contact among the artificers, the one who can help him find and interpret the missing scholar's notes that they should be working from, turns out to be a woman. Slate has to deal with her past catching up with her, as Boss Horsehead, whom she really seriously embarrassed, wants revenge. Caliban discovers there are no demons in Anuket City, and wants to know why--and the answer turns out not to be irrelevant at all.
And Brenner turns out to have a secret he doesn't want to share with anyone, and which is going to be a major problem for them all.
This is a story that's understanding of human frailties, and respectful of the way humans keep going anyway, doing the best they can. There's a good deal of humor here, but a lot of it is of the gallows humor type--which, hey, is the kind that makes me want to repeat bits to my father, long gone now, but from whom I got my sense of humor. (My mother didn't appreciate it in either of us.)
Really, I love this book, and the duology as a whole. Buy it, borrow it, do whatever you need to to get a hold of it.
I bought this audiobook.
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LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
And now I've read the whole story (this is the second half of one huge book, not really a separate book), and...it's good, just not what I expect from Ursula Vernon/T Kingfisher. Interesting world, excellently complex characters, nice complications in their quest (No one's in charge, now who are we
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supposed to kill to stop the war?). The twist with the controller...I'd kind of seen it coming, but not that way. The whole thing with the demons felt rather similar to Bujold's - possession, the demons learn things, they're territorial...It is most definitely not the same story, but I kept catching resonances. But still - it's insufficiently twisty. The romance was obvious from the first few pages of the _first_ book, it just had to be dragged out with a whole lot of "I am not worthy", on both sides, which got quite boring. Brenner never got a POV scene, that I recall, but his interactions with both Slate and Caliban were generally more amusing than their interactions with each other. It's a good story, I'll likely reread it, but it's not up to Vernon's usual (for me, at least). Show Less
LibraryThing member bookczuk
2021 pandemic resurgence/Delta variant read. Now THAT's the way to write a series. Manageable number of books, snappy dialogue, great characters, understandable action, and enough plot twists and re-directs to keep readers happy. I really would like to follow each of these characters in the future,
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together or separately. Big smile on my face when I finished, with only a slight glimmer of sadness that I was actually done. Show Less
LibraryThing member krau0098
Series Info/Source: This is the 2nd (and final) book in the Clocktaur War duology. I borrowed this as an ebook from my library.
Thoughts: I absolutely loved this book and this whole series. Our characters have just arrived in Anuket City (this picks up right after the first book) and need to find
I thoroughly enjoyed the fun characters, the humor, and the puzzles throughout this story. Anuket was a fun city and the world-building here was a bit narrow but very unique. Watching Slate and Caliban build a relationship that is hilarious, sweet, and somewhat realistic was great fun as well. I really loved everything about this and can’t wait to read more Kingfisher books.
My Summary (5/5): Overall this was an amazing read and a great conclusion to this duology. I really am loving every Kingfisher book I read. This book had a fun world, amazing characters with a lot of depth, an intriguing plot, well done action, and excellent magic/steampunk elements. Really it was everything I love about a good steampunk fantasy book. If you love adventure fantasy with some steampunk elements and a bit of romance I would definitely check this duology out.
Thoughts: I absolutely loved this book and this whole series. Our characters have just arrived in Anuket City (this picks up right after the first book) and need to find
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out about the mysterious source of The Clockwork Boys that are threatening their home city. We learn a lot more about everyone’s pasts and get a lot of action and intrigue as well.I thoroughly enjoyed the fun characters, the humor, and the puzzles throughout this story. Anuket was a fun city and the world-building here was a bit narrow but very unique. Watching Slate and Caliban build a relationship that is hilarious, sweet, and somewhat realistic was great fun as well. I really loved everything about this and can’t wait to read more Kingfisher books.
My Summary (5/5): Overall this was an amazing read and a great conclusion to this duology. I really am loving every Kingfisher book I read. This book had a fun world, amazing characters with a lot of depth, an intriguing plot, well done action, and excellent magic/steampunk elements. Really it was everything I love about a good steampunk fantasy book. If you love adventure fantasy with some steampunk elements and a bit of romance I would definitely check this duology out.
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LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
While I'm borrowing what I can from the libraries I do want to buy these for my own collection long term as I'm enjoying them hugely.
Our heroes have made it to Anuket City where Slate is wanted by a crime boss and Caliban is trying to work out if she wants him. Learned Edmund is learning that
I really enjoyed it and I look forward to more
Our heroes have made it to Anuket City where Slate is wanted by a crime boss and Caliban is trying to work out if she wants him. Learned Edmund is learning that
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sometimes black and white isn't a useful thing to apply to everything. There's a gnoll who has decided they need his help and Brenner is willing to carve a path to the solution. All of them will have to work together to figure out the solution but the end goal is more that they don't die. There are no guarantees and honestly the fact that Caliban and Slate didn't combust before managing a kiss is remarkable.I really enjoyed it and I look forward to more
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LibraryThing member jennybeast
Finally finished this duology — not what I expected, but impossible to put down. A forger, an assassin, an ex paladin of the Dreaming God and a scholar set out to stop a war…. Shenanigans! Some heartbreak, some romance, and critically, we meet the gnolls. Grimehug is a wonderful addition to the
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original crew, and Ashes Magnus is marvelous as well. Show Less
LibraryThing member spiritedstardust
I liked the romance and story overall but the pace was slow and there were times I skimmed it
LibraryThing member JorgeousJotts
I gave the first book 4 stars, and I was leaning toward 3 on this one because I was kind of caring less rather than more for a second installment, which was already disappointing. But then the heroine became really immature and irrational and wallowed in her upset feelings for most of the ending,
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and that was really off-putting. I wasn't entirely sold on the romance aspect either, but it was the heroine's ending which lowered my enjoyment past the point of even rounding up to a 3. It's too bad it went so far in that direction. Show Less
Awards
Locus Award (Finalist — Fantasy Novel — 2019)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2018-03-20
Physical description
318 p.; 9 inches
ISBN
1614504172 / 9781614504177