maitrey_d's review against another edition
2.0
This book is considered to be the pioneer in the "steampunk" genre, something I've been fascinated with recently. In fact the label "steampunk" was coined the author of this book K.W. Jeter.
The only good thing I can think about this book is that moves at a fast clip. The characters are poor (the female protagonist disappears for pages on end, even when she is supposed to be walking right next to our hero), and the plot is faintly ridiculous. The only steampunk-y bits are sub-marines, and a time machine (Jeter calls this book as a sequel to Wells's Time Machine). The writing is pulpy, and the praise that Tim Powers heaped in the introduction of my edition of this book appears quite misplaced.
I hope the other "seminal" steampunk books don't turn out to be disappointments like this one.
The only good thing I can think about this book is that moves at a fast clip. The characters are poor (the female protagonist disappears for pages on end, even when she is supposed to be walking right next to our hero), and the plot is faintly ridiculous. The only steampunk-y bits are sub-marines, and a time machine (Jeter calls this book as a sequel to Wells's Time Machine). The writing is pulpy, and the praise that Tim Powers heaped in the introduction of my edition of this book appears quite misplaced.
I hope the other "seminal" steampunk books don't turn out to be disappointments like this one.
wordsmithlynn's review against another edition
2.0
Wanted to love it, but just couldn't. It went off in so many unexpected directions - which I'm sure is part of its charm - they just weren't the directions I was imagining! Still, Jeter does a fabulous job of aping the H.G. Wells' writing style in this imaginative look at what happens when the wrong creatures get hold of Wells' Time Machine. And of course, I appreciate that Jeter is the guy who actually coined the term "steampunk."
vondrake's review
4.0
This is a great book. It is one of the first books in the steampunk genre, a term coined by the author himself. I feel like James Blaylock’s Homonculous is a much better example of steampunk, but this is a great alt-history/using literary characters/atlantis/jules verne adventure book. It is a lot of fun and has some interesting ideas. I do wish Tafe had been better fleshed out. I didn’t really get who she was or where exactly she was from.
bmahaffy's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun read but I felt it lacked some depth that could have made a far more interesting story. I felt there were some interesting steampunk elements but they weren't well developed. Things would just happen and then... stop happening rather than building tension. And I think a lot more character development and relationship development could have been built.
But it wasn't a total waste of time. The idea was interesting and Jeter built a pretty interesting foundation to put the story on top of.
But it wasn't a total waste of time. The idea was interesting and Jeter built a pretty interesting foundation to put the story on top of.
queerbillydeluxe's review
4.0
One of my very favorite books of all time is H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. I fell in love with time travel at about age 10 because of it, and all my obsessions with it and alternate history stem from that book. So when I discovered a sequel had been written, of course I immediately ordered it. For the most part, I enjoyed Jeter's vision of the traveler's aftermath. Some bits of it seemed a bit contrived, and the ending was far too rushed and neatly tied up. But it is time travel and alternate history and a sequel to my lovely Wells...so I can't help but love it.
gwentolios's review
3.0
Considering that this book helped launch steampunk I had to read this book. It took me about half the book to get into the story. It moved slow, and the Victorian England prose didn't help matters. But I did appreciate that the book was written in that style and the world was really immersive. Jeter also manages to take random elements - Morlocks, time travel, Excalibur, and sewer rat - and weave them together in a way that makes perfect sense.
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