Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
340th out of 471 books
—
2,484 voters
What Lies Beneath the Clock Tower
by
Margaret Killjoy (Goodreads Author)
Descend into the depths of the undercity and embroil yourself in the political struggles of colonialist gnomes and indigenous goblins. Fly in air balloons, drink mysterious and pleasant cocktails, smoke opium with the dregs of gnomish society. Or dream and speak of liberation for all the races. Fall in love and abscond into the caverns. It's up to you, because this is an a...more
Paperback, 183 pages
Published
June 15th 2011
by Combustion Books
(first published June 9th 2011)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
112)
Braincandy, read on the mowed bank of quiet saltwater bay and while waiting for it to get dark enough to light the campfire, on vacay with my partner in a nearby state park.
It's a choose-your-own-adventure, and the first two dozen or so options I picked, though giggly and fun, brought me quickly to sudden, jolting endings. So the first half of my read(s) were frustrating and hard to feel immersed in this underground world of goblins and trolls. I would have preferred if any single plotline had...more
It's a choose-your-own-adventure, and the first two dozen or so options I picked, though giggly and fun, brought me quickly to sudden, jolting endings. So the first half of my read(s) were frustrating and hard to feel immersed in this underground world of goblins and trolls. I would have preferred if any single plotline had...more
An interesting book that took me back to the "choose your own adventure" series that I read as a kid.
The beginning of the story describes the main character that you'll be playing as you make decisions throughout the story, a rather curious British gentleman, named Gregory, who is according to the story, "more acquainted with absinthe and vice than firearms and acrobatics." Which gives readers just a hint of what's to come throughout the tale. Gregory is often facing choices between 'right' and...more
The beginning of the story describes the main character that you'll be playing as you make decisions throughout the story, a rather curious British gentleman, named Gregory, who is according to the story, "more acquainted with absinthe and vice than firearms and acrobatics." Which gives readers just a hint of what's to come throughout the tale. Gregory is often facing choices between 'right' and...more
1 like · like · see review
view 2 comments
I was disappointed by two things in this book:
1. the number of nasty and pointless "deaths" I suffered from making the "wrong" decisions (within fewer than 10 pages). Once I got the hang of the book, I made an effort to be both sensible and adventuresome, but no matter what I chose, I ended up either naked in a birdcage high above the city or ruminating on my own blood loss as I died. This was not pleasant, and seemed highly illogical and random as I truly made an effort four or five times to m...more
1. the number of nasty and pointless "deaths" I suffered from making the "wrong" decisions (within fewer than 10 pages). Once I got the hang of the book, I made an effort to be both sensible and adventuresome, but no matter what I chose, I ended up either naked in a birdcage high above the city or ruminating on my own blood loss as I died. This was not pleasant, and seemed highly illogical and random as I truly made an effort four or five times to m...more
As a kid, I was a big fan of the various titles of "choose-your-own-adventure" type young-adult series that sprung up during the '80s and early '90s, and this book, "What Lies Beneath the Clock-Tower," hearkens back to that tradition with great style. In addition to capturing the non-digital interactivity of these multi-layered tales, Margaret Killjoy creates a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek political fantasy. Working in a steampunk vernacular, the various choices are refreshingly free of black-and...more
Reading this is like playing a game. This is also a nice introduction to Steam Punk since it isn't a long book. This is a fun, quick read because it may end after two pages, or go on for an hour. However, the plot changes as you change your mind. The reader drives the story forward by chosing the course of the book. I liked the idea behind this and I think that the book would have benefited from more depth to the choices made. I think that this had the potential to be a much longer, more involve...more
I've got three endings so far where I don't die that I'd classify as "good" endings, so I count it as having been read three times yesterday. One of the best choose-your-own-adventure books I've ever read, and this is only slightly biased because of my anti-authoritarian leanings.
I don't know how you mark that you're "finished" with a choose your own adventure-type book, and I'll certainly take a few more passes at this one at least, but I've really enjoyed the stories I've read so far.
Choices are not obviously good or bad, and the text between is worth reading on its own.
Choices are not obviously good or bad, and the text between is worth reading on its own.
Sep 30, 2012
MrsJoseph
marked it as to-read-owned
A Steampunk Choose Your Own Adventure novel!
I still die loads in this book, but you'd miss out on so many of the intricate plots if you only followed one path. It is pretty astounding how this picture emerges when you try enough routes - very clever storytelling.
Well written, but far too many endings for this type of book.
Apr 05, 2013
Angel
marked it as to-read
Apr 02, 2013
Michael
marked it as to-read
Mar 27, 2013
Lauren
marked it as to-read
Mar 21, 2013
Sam Cason
marked it as to-read
Apr 02, 2013
Bee
is currently reading it
Feb 28, 2013
Lucas
marked it as to-read
Feb 24, 2013
Alyssa
marked it as to-read
Feb 23, 2013
Julie
marked it as to-read
Feb 08, 2013
Christopher Partin
marked it as to-read
Feb 08, 2013
Dexterhandsome
marked it as to-read
Feb 06, 2013
Danika
marked it as to-read
Jan 28, 2013
Michelle Purvis
marked it as to-read
Jan 01, 2013
Sarah
marked it as to-read
Dec 23, 2012
Benjamin Metzler
added it
Dec 14, 2012
Erin Schyck
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
In addition to writing, Margaret is an itinerant creator, the founder of SteamPunk Magazine and Graceless: A Journal Of The Radical Gothic, and plays the accordion.
More about Margaret Killjoy...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
