fjcoco's review against another edition
adventurous
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
namaenani's review against another edition
3.0
So... the worldbuilding in this book is lovely, and the individual vignettes are great, but I just can't get past the premise.
The idea that this man had a fortune hidden away, and allowed his daughter to make her life smaller and smaller in order to take care of him, then used his will to forcibly evict her from her home after his death is...bad.
If he had this fortune, and wanted her to travel, why does he need an ultimatum and a magic book? Hire a nurse to do home care, then send Marinda out to have adventures. He could even tell her it's what he would have done with his life if he could have, and all he wants is for her to bring back tales to tell. It would have opened her world before his death, and not felt like an ASTOUNDINGLY cruel dismissal of his daughter's agency and autonomy.
Regardless of how much Marinda ended up enjoying her adventures, I could not get past the fact that she was forced out of her home mere days after her father's death and told only that it was for her own good.
Ew.
The idea that this man had a fortune hidden away, and allowed his daughter to make her life smaller and smaller in order to take care of him, then used his will to forcibly evict her from her home after his death is...bad.
If he had this fortune, and wanted her to travel, why does he need an ultimatum and a magic book? Hire a nurse to do home care, then send Marinda out to have adventures. He could even tell her it's what he would have done with his life if he could have, and all he wants is for her to bring back tales to tell. It would have opened her world before his death, and not felt like an ASTOUNDINGLY cruel dismissal of his daughter's agency and autonomy.
Regardless of how much Marinda ended up enjoying her adventures, I could not get past the fact that she was forced out of her home mere days after her father's death and told only that it was for her own good.
Ew.
sangloup's review against another edition
5.0
Book Nerd Your Way 2021... Book #25
I wasn't too sure about this one when I picked it up, but it turned out to be a really good book. The artwork was amazing and the story was brilliant. Remember to live your live to the fullest, you only get one.
I wasn't too sure about this one when I picked it up, but it turned out to be a really good book. The artwork was amazing and the story was brilliant. Remember to live your live to the fullest, you only get one.
hadiqa01's review against another edition
4.0
"Even so far from Albion, she discovered that most of these people spent day after day ticking off the calendar as if it were a list of duties instead of a journey to be enjoyed and fulfilled. Was it living or just existence? Most of these people accomplished little, strived for little, and went nowhere. Even old men had far too little to tell after a lifetime of living..."
Beautiful beautiful concept... The book emphasizes getting out of one's comfort zone and doing things that you wouldn't normally do. Live an adventurous life and meet different people, see different countries, cities and so on. That is absolutely wonderful... I wish the writer could've included something about the Aurora Borealis in some cold country/city. My experience of seeing the Aurora Borealis for the first time is unforgettable. I bet Marinda would've enjoyed it too :D
There were lots of stories but my favorite was the Underworld Books owners'. Man, that was incredibly done. The Watchmaker's daughter's story was really interesting. I had my doubts about him and her story confirmed it, smh I was surprised to see her travel even further and really enjoyed it. The cavewomen story/ending was crazy...didn't expect that at all...
Great cover, which got my attention pretty fast :p and good character development.
Somethings that bothered me just a teensy bit:
1. it became slightly boring because I knew wherever she goes she'll be collecting stories. Ofc I looked forward to the next story but I knew that's the max it would happen in the book (tho I did get a surprise when / why she goes further than Albion).
2. Most of the book isn't dialogues, it's just narration.
3. This book shouldn't be in the adult section. Sounds more like a YA.
So, this is a great book overall. I contemplated a lot between a 5 and 4 rating but I'll say it's a 4.4 and I rarely give ratings this high.
" Why had she been content with a humdrum existence? Why had Marinda think that a quiet life was equivalent to a perfect life? "
jshannon75's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting premise--woman travels, discovers the world and finds romance in a dystopian utopia. But as other reviewers mention, the overall depth was lacking in characters and the narrative.
megwesley's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is a book filled with stories of adventure. Miranda (the main character) is far from loveable when you first meet her, but as she goes on her journey to fill the mysterious book her father leaves her, she develops into her own person. Worth a read and worth reading more than once.
kendallinge's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
mattytomtom's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sabduo's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
docperschon's review against another edition
3.0
One of my great frustrations in my final year of studying steampunk was that, although I had Rush's Clockwork Angels to keep me company as I finished writing my dissertation, I never got around to reading Kevin J. Anderson's novel that accompanied the concept album. Thankfully, I was given a second chance in the form of the sequel, Clockwork Lives, which is first and foremost a gorgeous book. People who enjoy books as objects, especially when that object looks like the book inside the story you're holding, will appreciate the quality of the hardback of Clockwork Lives. It's designed to look like the alchemical book that Marinda Peake the protagonist of the story's frame narrative is carrying around. The quality of the paper, the fonts, and the illustrations all make for a very aesthetically pleasing art object insofar as the book as object goes.
The frame narrative of Clockwork Lives is Marinda's journey to collect stories. Marinda is very hobbit-like. She's lived out her life in mediocrity, enjoying the monotony of life in Lugtown, far from the great goings-on in Peart and Anderson's steampunk world. When her father dies, he passes this alchemical book along to her, with the mandate to fill it with stories. His is the first entry, "The Inventor's Tale." A drop of a person's blood on the pages of her alchemical book results in their story being written out in red letters. The premise is great, even if Anderson's prose doesn't always live up to the fictional conceit; he's a good storyteller, but his style isn't nuanced enough here to convey the breadth of voices telling their stories. Some might argue that's the result of the book telling their story, instead of the people themselves telling it. Nevertheless, when a thief who's lived his whole life on the streets is using the word "ostentatious," I'm experiencing some readerly dissonance. That stylistic flaw may not bother some readers, so it's a minor detractor. Max Brooks' World War Z had a similar problem, and it never bothered readers.
For me, the frame narrative is the weakest point. Clockwork Lives ultimately falls short of an attempt to be a steampunk Canterbury Tales, which it evokes, if only in the titles of the stories - "The So-and-sos-tale." See, a frame narrative is supposed to do more than act like Elvira, Queen of the Dark introducing tonight's feature film. It's supposed to have something to do with those stories. The frame speaks to the tales and the tales speak back into the frame. I kept waiting for this to happen. I suppose that someone could argue that all the stories along with Marinda's work under the thematic idea in the book's epigraph: "Some lives can be summed up in a sentence or two. Other lives are epics." All the stories we read here are ostensibly epics in the way that epigraph is meant to be taken. They are tales of people who stepped outside the norm, who stepped to the beat of a different drummer (literally, since Neil Peart was the drummer for Canadian superband RUSH). This idea is certainly contained in the stories, sometimes too much so. I felt like I was being bludgeoned by the "rebels in a perfect dystopia" idea. What would have been really interesting would have been to have heard from those who fit into that world, rather than getting the lives of all the iconoclasts. That's a story worth exploring - how does one become a goose-stepping yes man?
I suspect Marinda's story is supposed to transform from a two line summary to an epic, but it's ultimately unengaging and lacking in narrative drive, even after she gets her rebellious groove on. And ultimately, that thread of raging against the steampunk machine isn't enough to string these stories together. Since Anderson is mainly a plot-focused, not character focused writer, I would at least expect there to be some sense of narrative cohesion to the frame narrative. I adore his Captain Nemo: The Fantastic History of a Dark Genius. And because of that book, I wanted to like Clockwork Lives. I liked the beginning. I like some of the stories. I never felt like it quite came together. By the final third of the book, I started skimming, just wanting to get to the end so I could be done with it.
However, if you read the individual stories without the frame narrative, I suspect it will be more than satisfying for most fans of light steampunk. I especially enjoyed "The Astronomer's Tale," "The Bookseller's Tale" and "The Fortune Teller's Tale." I also suspect that this book would be tremendously satisfying for younger readers who don't give a rat's ass about frame narratives and cohesion. I'll read Clockwork Angels before I make my final judgement call, but if Clockwork Lives is any indication, this is a steampunk world best experienced through Peart's lyrics, drumming, and bandmates' music.
The frame narrative of Clockwork Lives is Marinda's journey to collect stories. Marinda is very hobbit-like. She's lived out her life in mediocrity, enjoying the monotony of life in Lugtown, far from the great goings-on in Peart and Anderson's steampunk world. When her father dies, he passes this alchemical book along to her, with the mandate to fill it with stories. His is the first entry, "The Inventor's Tale." A drop of a person's blood on the pages of her alchemical book results in their story being written out in red letters. The premise is great, even if Anderson's prose doesn't always live up to the fictional conceit; he's a good storyteller, but his style isn't nuanced enough here to convey the breadth of voices telling their stories. Some might argue that's the result of the book telling their story, instead of the people themselves telling it. Nevertheless, when a thief who's lived his whole life on the streets is using the word "ostentatious," I'm experiencing some readerly dissonance. That stylistic flaw may not bother some readers, so it's a minor detractor. Max Brooks' World War Z had a similar problem, and it never bothered readers.
For me, the frame narrative is the weakest point. Clockwork Lives ultimately falls short of an attempt to be a steampunk Canterbury Tales, which it evokes, if only in the titles of the stories - "The So-and-sos-tale." See, a frame narrative is supposed to do more than act like Elvira, Queen of the Dark introducing tonight's feature film. It's supposed to have something to do with those stories. The frame speaks to the tales and the tales speak back into the frame. I kept waiting for this to happen. I suppose that someone could argue that all the stories along with Marinda's work under the thematic idea in the book's epigraph: "Some lives can be summed up in a sentence or two. Other lives are epics." All the stories we read here are ostensibly epics in the way that epigraph is meant to be taken. They are tales of people who stepped outside the norm, who stepped to the beat of a different drummer (literally, since Neil Peart was the drummer for Canadian superband RUSH). This idea is certainly contained in the stories, sometimes too much so. I felt like I was being bludgeoned by the "rebels in a perfect dystopia" idea. What would have been really interesting would have been to have heard from those who fit into that world, rather than getting the lives of all the iconoclasts. That's a story worth exploring - how does one become a goose-stepping yes man?
I suspect Marinda's story is supposed to transform from a two line summary to an epic, but it's ultimately unengaging and lacking in narrative drive, even after she gets her rebellious groove on. And ultimately, that thread of raging against the steampunk machine isn't enough to string these stories together. Since Anderson is mainly a plot-focused, not character focused writer, I would at least expect there to be some sense of narrative cohesion to the frame narrative. I adore his Captain Nemo: The Fantastic History of a Dark Genius. And because of that book, I wanted to like Clockwork Lives. I liked the beginning. I like some of the stories. I never felt like it quite came together. By the final third of the book, I started skimming, just wanting to get to the end so I could be done with it.
However, if you read the individual stories without the frame narrative, I suspect it will be more than satisfying for most fans of light steampunk. I especially enjoyed "The Astronomer's Tale," "The Bookseller's Tale" and "The Fortune Teller's Tale." I also suspect that this book would be tremendously satisfying for younger readers who don't give a rat's ass about frame narratives and cohesion. I'll read Clockwork Angels before I make my final judgement call, but if Clockwork Lives is any indication, this is a steampunk world best experienced through Peart's lyrics, drumming, and bandmates' music.