Clocktaur War Series : Clockwork Boys and The Wonder Engine
A paladin, an assassin, a forger, and a scholar ride out of town. It’s not the start of a joke, but rather an espionage mission with deadly serious stakes. T. Kingfisher’s new novel begins the tale of a murderous band of criminals (and a scholar), thrown together in an attempt to unravel the secret of the Clockwork Boys, mechanical soldiers from a neighboring kingdom that promise ruin to the Dowager’s city.
If they succeed, rewards and pardons await, but that requires a long journey through enemy territory, directly into the capital. It also requires them to refrain from killing each other along the way! At turns darkly comic and touching, Clockwork Boys puts together a broken group of people trying to make the most of the rest of their lives as they drive forward on their suicide mission.
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…
For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge
The Reason
I’m a fan of T. Kingfisher and I’m making my way through her books. I got these on audio s
The Narrator(s)
Khristine Hvam. I enjoyed her narration.
My Thoughts
It was just what I needed. I enjoyed the story; I love when we see different people who otherwise wouldn’t be friends come together for a specific reason, because the story is as much their relationship dynamics as well as what happens in the plot. Caliban and Slate reminds me a little of Joscelin and Phedre in Kushiel’s Dart, and the whole band reminds me of Bayaz’s band in Before We Are Hanged. I also really enjoyed the element of Slate’s allergies/powers, I thought that was hilarious and interesting.
My Feels
I have a lot of feels about a certain ship with Caliban and Slate. I love how it develops and how they are with each other. I wish I could see more of them and apparently there are more books set in the same world, but they feature different characters and I’m not sure if any of the characters from this series appear again. I may revisit in the future.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars. 4 stars for both these books and the series as a whole.
Have you read this series? Would you read this series? Did you like it or do you think you would like it?
