Clockwork Boys

by T. Kingfisher

Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 282
Series: Clocktaur War #1
Rating:

Synopsis:

In the first book of this touching and darkly comic duology, a paladin, a forger, an assassin and a scholar ride out of town on an espionage mission with deadly serious stakes. When forger Slate is convicted of treason, she faces a death sentence. But her unique gift for sniffing out magic (literally) earns her a reprieve-of sorts. Along with a paladin, Caliban, possessed by a demon, her murderous ex-lover, and an irritating misogynist scholar, Slate sets off on a mission to learn about the Clockwork Boys, deadly mechanical soldiers from a neighbouring kingdom who have been terrorising their lands. If they succeed, rewards and pardons await, but they must survive a long journey through enemy territory to reach Anuket City. And Slate has her own reasons to dread returning to her former home. Slate and her crew aren't the first to be sent on this mission. None of their predecessors have returned, and Slate can't help but feel they've exchanged one death sentence for another. Her increasing closeness to Caliban isn't helping matters: for the first time in a long time, Slate might actually care about surviving.

T. Kingfisher’s Clockwork Boys has been issued in a new UK print edition, which finally spurred me to get round to reading it — and now I’m glad that I have the sequel in ebook already, because the UK print edition isn’t out, but the duology is really the same story just split between two books. It doesn’t end in this volume by any means.

I found it all very enjoyable: quintessentially Kingfisher-ish, of course, from her physically nondescript female lead to her magic system to her paladin character and his particular hangups. It’s your classic fantasy journey to solve a problem, a biiiig ol’ problem, with a mismatched group consisting of one volunteer and three felons being compelled by a tattoo that’ll eat them if they betray the mission (fascinating concept). It all has her usual humour and warmth, along with truly terrifying ideas (see also: the tattoo that can eat you).

Of course I’ve read Paladin’s Grace, in the same world but (IIRC) written later, so I had some prior grounding on the world, which means I was also trying to slot it into what I know of that book.

It’s very fun and goes by pretty quickly, even if occasionally I want to whack Caliban upside the head, and I’m eager for the next book.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)