Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Blood and Clockwork
AUTHOR: Katey Hawthorne
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press
LENGTH: 68 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2016
BLURB:
Alistair Click set out to lay to rest the superstitious fears about the Mad Prince’s clockwork tower. If that meant he might bring the ghost city of Avalonia back to economic life, connecting the western kingdoms once again, so much the better. So what if no adventurer who’d entered the tower in the last century of desolation had ever re-emerged? They didn’t have his skill and wit. He could do better.
The tower turns out to be far more than Alistair expected, however. Not only are there clockwork puzzles to open every door, but one of them drops a boy from a strange world into his lap–figuratively speaking, if only just. Marco Murphy was just gaming in his New Jersey apartment, and now he’s stuck in what feels like a never ending LARP nightmare.
The deeper they delve into the Mad Prince’s tower, the darker the secrets they uncover. They’re not entirely sure they’ll ever be able to get out again, either. It’ll take all Marco’s charm and Alistair’s cleverness, plus the strange bond growing between them, to get them out together… and alive.
REVIEW:
The capital city of Avalonia has been abandoned for over a century, stories of ghosts and a curse keeping people away. The economy took a hard hit when this epicenter of trade and commerce was lost and though people have tried over the years to reclaim it, none have ever returned. Alistair Click is determined that he will be the one to succeed where the others have failed and if that means braving the Mad Prince’s clock tower alone, then so be it. What he finds inside is both more amazing and terrifying than he originally imagined but the greatest surprise will be the unexpected arrival of someone from another world. Together can they crack the secret of the tower and bring this dead city back to life or will they succumb to the Mad Prince’s lingering legacy?
*hums happily* This was such a good read, especially for being so short. I loved the overall steampunk vibe I got while reading (even though it isn’t steam punk at all) and I had a great deal of fun imagining how the tower looked based on the descriptions given. I thought the puzzles were creative and certainly more inventive than what I originally imagined; I was actually extremely disappointed that there weren’t more of them. Alistair was different than I was expecting but I enjoyed him none the less; for that matter, the same can be said about Marco. I’m still a little on the fence on how I felt about Marco in that I’m not entirely certain if the ‘man from another world being dropped in your lap’ concept worked for me; even after finishing the story I keep coming back to that point of contention but I still liked his interactions with Alistair and what he brought to the overall story.
I loved the story and the setting but there just wasn’t enough for me. I don’t normally mind short stories because they can be highly entertaining and make for a quick read when you don’t have a lot of time. My problem here was that I liked this so much that I’m kind of miffed I just didn’t get more time to explore the concept and world. I’m greedy like that, I can’t help it. This story had so much going for it and there really wasn’t much I didn’t care for so I know I’ll read it again for certain. If you like steampunk or are looking for a quicker read that’s a bit different from your norm, I’d recommend this one. I really enjoyed the world building and the unexpected secret of the tower was a nice bonus bit of creepy that made my day.
RATING:
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