The Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

The Boneshaker

by Cherie Priest

What do you get when you cross the cogs of steampunk with the gruesomeness of zombies? You get The Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. Haven’t heard of it you say? Well foolish mortal, now you have. Here is a book to fulfill your steampunked dreams, with excellent writing, superb machine craftsmanship, and zombies.

Here’s a brief synopsis:

Briar Wilkes (Blue) was once married to the man who created The Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine. It was commissioned to dig deep into the Klondike for gold, but on its initial test run something goes terribly wrong. Several blocks of Civil War era Seattle are collapsed and destroyed as the machine digs its way through both foundations and rock, including those in and around Seattle’s financial district. But, the worst of the destruction comes from the bowels of the earth as a poisonous gas, known as The Blight, rises up, slowly killing all who breathe it, only to come back as zombies. Fifteen years later, the wall that was originally built to keep The Blight from spreading, also hold secrets that Briar’s fifteen year old son Zeke, wants to know about. The boy finds his way into the decimated walled-up inner city and begins his search for answers his mother never gave him. Briar follows her son in order to save him from dangers he could never have imagined, with the help of Captain Cly and his dirigible, and with the help of several characters who chose to live within the desolate walls. During her search for Zeke she must live through attacks by rotters, and the fiendish manipulations of Dr. Minnericht, who may or may not be her husband, all in order to find her son.

Sound good? It really is for several reasons.

The quality of the steampunk gadgets is believable. Electricity was still in its infancy and Priest shows this through some of the workings of the inner city. Power to operate most equipment has to be generated from steam, billows, pulleys, or static electricity. Items (with one exception) don’t magically operate on command, with no explanation as to how it is even possible. Priest shows the reader how modified weaponry and specialized ventilation systems work in her story, but the reader is not bogged down or overwhelmed by complex technical jargon. The fantastical devices are not the whole story either, but inanimate characters who add to the overall setting.

Another reason this was such a great read is that Priest did not fall into the trap of romanticizing Seattle that once was, and what it has become, or any of the characters. It was gritty and dirty with very few reminders of Seattle’s former glory during the 1880’s. The inhabitants don’t wax poetic over what once was, because they are forced to live in the very real and deadly present, in order to make it to tomorrow. Sentimental tripe is no where to be fond. She also did not feel the need to add any romantic attachments, which was wonderful, as too many books these days rely on that at some point in order to move a story along. Admittedly, this may have led to the lack of development in regards to some of the characters.

Finally, there are the zombies. In this book they are referred to as rotters, and I loved them. The explanation as to how they came about is plausible, poisoned by The Blight gas, and they are not all slow moving and mindless. These stinking rotting walking corpses can move it when they sense fresh meat, even going so far as to climb in one chapter, in order to get a tasty morsel. They can be killed in the time honored zombie way, by destroying the brain, but they are so aggressive and numerous, that for the few humans who live within the dead city it is usually more important to run away.

Cherie Priest has created a novel that is a must have in any steampunk and zombie library. While she played loose with the history of Seattle, it was not done in manner that became distracting. Her use of newly imagined machines and weapons adds to the overall story, instead of being the whole story. The people who inhabit her world are not idealized caricatures. And, the zombies, they are now longer human, just walking nightmares.

To Buy or Not To Buy, That is The Question:

Absolutely, Positively BUY THIS BOOK! Even if you know nothing about steampunk and/or zombie this is a great read.

If you enjoy this novel by Priest be on the lookout for her next Dreadnought, which releases September 28, 2010

Shadow People: Quickening of the Wicked

Shadow People: Quickening of the Wicked

by Stacy Stephens & Cindy Jackson

First and foremost, it is a zombie novel. I had my eye on it for a while and by chance won it. Thanks Ladies! This does not however mean that I am going to go easy on my review.

Synopsis: The Wraith is a malignant shadow that is out to destroy as many souls as possible. It infiltrates humans all over the world who then do the same to fellow humans, creating a massive army of zombies. Aeden is a seemingly special young man out to save as many as he can in his own special way. Grace and Lily are innocents who must be saved in order to serve a higher purpose. They all have choices to make and they are all trying to find a way to survive.

So...This time around zombies are born out of pure evil and not out of some arrogant and nasty human plan to make the human race better or control it, or plain old stupidity. I honestly like the idea. Was it well executed? It could have been done better.

This is the first book of what I believe the authors plan on being a series. It was a good attempt, but there were some rookie mistakes that I have seen time and again, that are holding this novel back from being bigger. They are mistakes a good editor should have helped them clear up.

The world as we know it and the Wraith that wants to take it over and destroy it are the work of great imaginations. We are shown how the Wraith operates. We learn over time what makes Aeden special. We are introduced to the innocents Lily and Grace, and given a glimpse into their daily lives. And, we meet several other characters along the way that I hope to read about again if these authors pursue another book. Sometimes, there was just a little too much. There are few chapters where some fat could have been trimmed from the story and nothing would be lost. An example of this are a couple of characters that are introduced in one chapter, but their story is never completed or even left in a place of satisfaction. They are left hanging and incomplete. Sometimes, ideas that a writer believes will add to the story can cause distractions if they are not fully fleshed out, or trimmed properly.

This novel also contains a great deal of spirituality that relies not too heavily on one particular religion, but a conglomeration of all. No one religion is right, no one religion is wrong. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Too often when zombies are born out of evil it is Christianity alone that comes in and saves the day. That being said, for those who are not accustomed to this way of thinking broadly it might be overwhelming and disconcerting. The material involved with this idea is digestible, the reader needs to go in with an open mind. The writers may want to consider feeding it to the readers in smaller doses next time around.

Let's talk about the zombies now. I really really loved them. The concept the authors came up with to explain the existenceof these horrific creations works. They are fully developed from start to finish. They followed the general rules of zombie etiquette, but they are unique enough in their own personal design that when one appeares in the story I was engrossed in its horror. Big thumbs up and a happy dance.

But, with the sweet comes the bitter. My biggest pet peeve with this novel was the over use of hundred dollar words when a ten dollar word would have sufficed. Don't get me wrong, I love big words, but not all readers do, and this can be very distracting. There were times I felt the authors were sitting with a thesaurus looking for smarter ways to say things. Never underestimate the value of simplicity, especially in your words. It is also important that if you do choose to use complex wording use the words correctly. A room cannot be elucidated, beings within a room can be, but not the room itself.

What it boils down to:

What I liked:

1. The zombies were very well executed in every way, shape, and form. And as we know I love zombies.

2. The spirituality that is in the novel is broad and inclusive. It perpetuates the divine belief in the self and all it's possibilities.

3. The story has really good flow for the most part. There were only a few times where it slowed, but it picked back up again. The chapters always left me wanting to keep going to find out what was going to happen next.

What I disliked:

1. Overuse of big words and one time in particular, inappropriately.

2. There are some places where editing could have been better in order to tighten up the story.

3. The explanation of the ancients needed to be broken up. It felt a little forced and some readers may find it more palatable in smaller doses.

To Buy Or Not To Buy, That Is The Question: Buy if you are a fan of zombie novels.