34th out of 312 books
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1,374 voters
Clockwork Heart
A steampunkish romantic fantasy set in Ondinium, a city that beats to the ticking of a clockwork heart. Taya, a metal-winged courier, can travel freely across the city's sectors and mingle indiscriminately among its castes. A daring mid-air rescue leads to involvement with two scions of an upperclass family and entanglement in a web of terrorism, loyalty, murder, and secre...more
Mass Market Paperbound, 390 pages
Published
April 1st 2008
by Juno Books
(first published March 1st 2008)
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Janina
rated it
Well. It took me quite a while to finish this book, and although it wasn't bad at all, I have to say that it didn't really manage to hold my attention for longer spans of time. I would read a chapter or two and then be absolutely content with putting the book away. Sometimes, I even found myself leafing through the book to see how many pages I had until the next chapter break. This is normally not a good sign. I also thought that some passages would have needed a good editor.
At the sam...more
At the sam...more
oliviasbooks
rated it
Shelves:
fantasy,
steampunk,
romance,
read-2010,
crime_fiction,
swapped-or-given-away,
love-triangle
The first 300 pages I would have rated 4-5 stars, the last 70 or 80 only 3. [downgraded in hindsight from 4 stars to only 3 five months later, because the book faded so quickly from my mind.] Maybe I'll have the time to write a proper review later on, but I quickly state my reasons for the downgrading now:
- The solving of the crime was quite unorganized, zickzacky and holey. I had the impression as if the author had to bridge a big gap between the wonderful first three quarters of the plot ...more
- The solving of the crime was quite unorganized, zickzacky and holey. I had the impression as if the author had to bridge a big gap between the wonderful first three quarters of the plot ...more
Suzanne Lazear
added it
I don't give stars or ratings, but that's just me. This book rocks!
Imagine a world quite unlike our own–a great, industrial city where there are sky trolleys, winged messengers, and the city itself is run by a supercomputer and council of untouchables. In this city the caste system is alive and well. Those of the highest caste hide behind masks and robes. Even entering from one part of the city to another could be problematic depending on caste. Only the Icarii are free to move about ...more
Imagine a world quite unlike our own–a great, industrial city where there are sky trolleys, winged messengers, and the city itself is run by a supercomputer and council of untouchables. In this city the caste system is alive and well. Those of the highest caste hide behind masks and robes. Even entering from one part of the city to another could be problematic depending on caste. Only the Icarii are free to move about ...more
Giving this book five stars is probably a little generous, but I can't actually think of any faults with it and I enjoyed it so much, I'm gonna stick with 5 stars. To be honest, I didn't really expect much from this book, but I'll pretty much read anything steampunk at this point. First of all, I wouldn't really call this book steampunk, though it certainly contains elements that steampunks enjoy. It's first and foremost a fantasy. Ondinium is a fantasy city with a rigid caste system and lar...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Chosen to become an icarus at age seven, Taya has spent her life as a messenger of the skies. Icarus fly on feather-light wings made of the precious metal ondinium, delivering mail throughout the three provinces of Ondinium: Primus, Secundus, and Tertius. As a way to protect its citizens, Ondinium has been divided into a many-layered social structure teeming with rules and codes of behavior, ranging from the lowest manual laborers to the highest or Exalteds who must wear heavy robes and masks in...more
So yes, fantasy romance steampunk is what I ended up calling this book. It takes place in another world, fantasy, there is a bit more romance so therefore romance. And last, the steampunk bit. This is not sci-fi, it is a society that has moved forward and you could place them sort of at the 19th century. There you have it.
Taya is an icarus, she flies with wings and delivers messages. She can fly freely in a society made up of three classes. The nobility, the middle class and th...more
Taya is an icarus, she flies with wings and delivers messages. She can fly freely in a society made up of three classes. The nobility, the middle class and th...more
Excuse me while I geek out about how ridiculously amazing this book was, it's probably become my new favorite, or at the very least a close second.
Let me give you the synopsis from the cover:
Taya soars over Ondinium on metal wings. She is an icarus - a courier privileged to travel freely across the city's sectors and mingle indiscriminately among its castes. But even she can't outfly the web of terrorism, loyalty, murder, and intrigue that snares her after a daring mid-air re...more
Let me give you the synopsis from the cover:
Taya soars over Ondinium on metal wings. She is an icarus - a courier privileged to travel freely across the city's sectors and mingle indiscriminately among its castes. But even she can't outfly the web of terrorism, loyalty, murder, and intrigue that snares her after a daring mid-air re...more
I enjoyed Clockwork Heart for the most part, but must say that it just did not live up to all my expectations. Taya is an icarus in the country of Ondinium, where she flies on metal wings as a courier. Ondinium is definitely a character in its own right as Dru Pagliassotti does an amazing job at world building. Ondinium is a caste-society that enjoys many advances in technology that its neighbors don't possess. The major being the Great Engine which serves a multitude of purposes. After one...more
steampunkish romance novel, without much romance...or steampunk. basically, this is set in a steampunk world and the main character is an icarus. she dons wings made of the metal ondinium, metal lighter than air. which helps them fly around. her caste is the only one that can interact with the other three and are rumoured to be very promiscuous.
this book is dialogue driven, which is okay, but three pages of straight dialogue sometimes gets confusing cuz i didnt know who was sayin...more
this book is dialogue driven, which is okay, but three pages of straight dialogue sometimes gets confusing cuz i didnt know who was sayin...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I bought this for my iPhone, as I was stuck at the hairdresser with only People magazine to read. It was a relatively inexpensive e-book.
It was a fast, enjoyable read, and a book that I would re-read. I may have to buy a physical copy of the book at some point, just so I can more easily flip through it.
It's a mystery combined with political intrigue combined with a fantasy and a bit of a coming-of-age story.
I'd say that it's a fantasy novel first, steampunk se...more
It was a fast, enjoyable read, and a book that I would re-read. I may have to buy a physical copy of the book at some point, just so I can more easily flip through it.
It's a mystery combined with political intrigue combined with a fantasy and a bit of a coming-of-age story.
I'd say that it's a fantasy novel first, steampunk se...more
Mandy
rated it
Recommends it for:
steampunk lovers, fantasy lovers, romance lovers, humor-preferring-readers
Clockwork Heart, by Dru Pagliasotti
3,5 stars
The story about Taya the ‘Icarus’ (a messenger flying across the city of Ondinium, on wings made of the feather-light metal ondium) starts mid-flight. Literally. On her way to deliver a message, Taya rescues Viera Octavus, one of the so-called ‘exalted’, and her son from an almost-crashing wire ferry. Because of her husbands political importance this may not have been an accident.
Shortly after the wire ferry crash, Taya me...more
3,5 stars
The story about Taya the ‘Icarus’ (a messenger flying across the city of Ondinium, on wings made of the feather-light metal ondium) starts mid-flight. Literally. On her way to deliver a message, Taya rescues Viera Octavus, one of the so-called ‘exalted’, and her son from an almost-crashing wire ferry. Because of her husbands political importance this may not have been an accident.
Shortly after the wire ferry crash, Taya me...more
To adress the short introduction, the last time I read, steampunk was a subgenre of SF who used technology motifs and whose stories took place during the Regency period and were set in Great Britain, mostly England. Based on this, ''Clockwork Heart'' is about as steampunk as most novels set in a city named Odinium and set in an unspecified time.
The character Taya has very little to distinguish her apart from the great mass of now cliche badass female type but her passion for flying ...more
The character Taya has very little to distinguish her apart from the great mass of now cliche badass female type but her passion for flying ...more
There were a lot of things that annoyed me about this book. The story was a little meh. The heroine was downright dense as a brick. But I enjoyed reading it for the most part. I thought the whole book reminded me of a Japanese manga: the attempt at a smart story/plot, a dumb (but courageous) heroine, some brooding men, surroundings only pictures could really explain. I think this book would have been better off as a manga/graphic novel. I think my favorite thing about the book was the romance, y...more
The story embodied great elements of steampunk, but took it into a new world order set in a caste system, instead of Victorian England. The evolution of the current world with it's current restrictions, technology advances, and backwardness steams from lessons learned from past wars. The story focusing on a young icarus, a mail courier who uses armature wings, who gets sucked into a terrorism plot after rescuing an Elated (upper caste) woman and child. Pagliassotti weaves the adventure, mystery ...more
This was an okay book.
I liked the idea of winged messengers. I also like that the matchmaking program actually allowed for same-sex matches. I still don't think a computer can predict a perfect marriage, and I certainly don't think that everyone should be forced to be run through a program and abide by whatever result the computer prints out. At least there was a suggestion that people wouldn't be bound by the results.
The plot was okay, but the "twist" was...more
I liked the idea of winged messengers. I also like that the matchmaking program actually allowed for same-sex matches. I still don't think a computer can predict a perfect marriage, and I certainly don't think that everyone should be forced to be run through a program and abide by whatever result the computer prints out. At least there was a suggestion that people wouldn't be bound by the results.
The plot was okay, but the "twist" was...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Originally posted here.
I was confused for the first few pages of Clockwork Heart because it took me a while to be fully immersed in the worldbuilding and to understand the terms that go with it. This steampunk novel is set in a fictional country where there's a strict caste system. Only the icarii, couriers who can fly using metal wings, can move freely across all castes. It's funny because I'm afraid of heights but I would love to try flying using those icarus wings. Taya is an icar...more
I was confused for the first few pages of Clockwork Heart because it took me a while to be fully immersed in the worldbuilding and to understand the terms that go with it. This steampunk novel is set in a fictional country where there's a strict caste system. Only the icarii, couriers who can fly using metal wings, can move freely across all castes. It's funny because I'm afraid of heights but I would love to try flying using those icarus wings. Taya is an icar...more
A Clockwork Heart takes place on a different world, one in which there are massive city-states and competing political systems that keep citizens very aware of complex loyalties and the possibility of conflict. Of the city states introduced Ondinium is the most stable and secure: After nearly being destroyed by war two centuries prior, the rulers of Ondinium have created a vast difference machine, known as the Great Engine, to regulate the running of the city and the choices that are made with ...more
I know it sounds stupid but I abandoned this book 60 pages from the end. Why? Because there was no reason to finish. The way to kill the plot is to give the readers what they want before the actual end has arrived. The bad guy was caught and the two people who acted as romantic partners for each other had already kissed. Everything after that dragged on and on. I'm sure something else dramatic must happen in the final pages but honestly, after the 'climax' of the book had been reached, which, ho...more
by Dru Pagliossotti
The story of Taya, the icarus (basically just a winged messenger), and the unexpected turns her life takes after she rescues an Exalted.
I wasn’t expecting to love this book. The cover art was bad, it seemed like it might veer in a kind of trashy direction. Anyway, whatever the reasons, I was expecting to read it and not be highly impressed.
I was wrong. While it never astounded it me, it was an entirely enjoyable story, with some very well-wr...more
The story of Taya, the icarus (basically just a winged messenger), and the unexpected turns her life takes after she rescues an Exalted.
I wasn’t expecting to love this book. The cover art was bad, it seemed like it might veer in a kind of trashy direction. Anyway, whatever the reasons, I was expecting to read it and not be highly impressed.
I was wrong. While it never astounded it me, it was an entirely enjoyable story, with some very well-wr...more
Originally posted here: http://alexandrashostak.blogspot.com/201...
I absolutely loved this book. It's a steampunk on the science fiction side of things and the world building is gorgeously done and really clean. I loved reading about their world--and it was all set in a city, which makes me really happy, because I love urban settings.
And, I think the romantic elements made my heart leap more than it did when I was in middle school, and I realized for the first time in my l...more
I absolutely loved this book. It's a steampunk on the science fiction side of things and the world building is gorgeously done and really clean. I loved reading about their world--and it was all set in a city, which makes me really happy, because I love urban settings.
And, I think the romantic elements made my heart leap more than it did when I was in middle school, and I realized for the first time in my l...more
My first Steampunk novel was Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. I fell in love with the genre right then and there. Then I read Scott Westerfield's Leviathan and knew that it wasn't a fluke. I was officially smitten.
I put Clockwork Heart on my to be read list because first, I loved the cover and second, steampunk, um.. yes! I wasn't disappointed, and in fact was pleasantly surprised.
This was a pleasant mix of romance, mystery and steampunk. There were gadgets galore (even ...more
I put Clockwork Heart on my to be read list because first, I loved the cover and second, steampunk, um.. yes! I wasn't disappointed, and in fact was pleasantly surprised.
This was a pleasant mix of romance, mystery and steampunk. There were gadgets galore (even ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
http://janicu.livejournal.com/69341.html...
I'd seen this book mentioned a couple of times online but for some reason I had labelled it in my mind as not so intriguing until I read a review at the Book Smugglers blog (they gave it a 9 - "damn near perfection"). I put it on my books to read list at that point but I wasn't salivating over it like some other books.
A couple of weekends ago, my husband and I decided to go for a walk and ended up at Barnes and Noble. I...more
I'd seen this book mentioned a couple of times online but for some reason I had labelled it in my mind as not so intriguing until I read a review at the Book Smugglers blog (they gave it a 9 - "damn near perfection"). I put it on my books to read list at that point but I wasn't salivating over it like some other books.
A couple of weekends ago, my husband and I decided to go for a walk and ended up at Barnes and Noble. I...more
Very entertaining steampunk adventure with a dash of romance and mystery.
Ondinium is a city powered by the magic substance that gives its name, has a powerful calculating engine at its heart, and is divided in 3 caste areas at 3 levels on a mountain, one per caste, higher up of course, with the powerful "exalted" actually hedged by so many traditions and customs - in public they cannot show their faces, they have to wear some kind of robes - that the more rebellious ones ...more
Ondinium is a city powered by the magic substance that gives its name, has a powerful calculating engine at its heart, and is divided in 3 caste areas at 3 levels on a mountain, one per caste, higher up of course, with the powerful "exalted" actually hedged by so many traditions and customs - in public they cannot show their faces, they have to wear some kind of robes - that the more rebellious ones ...more
Clockwork Heart is a fantasy* that brings in elements of steampunk, romance, and mystery to create a terrific escapist read. Taya is an icarus, a courier who flies above the city of Ondinium on lighter than air wings. When she saves the life of an Exalted, a member of the highest caste in Ondinium, she is entangled in a mystery involving terrorism and treason. Also involved are two very different brothers, scions of the exalted Forlore clan: charming and brilliant Alister, who works on the G...more
This debut novel by Dru Pagliassotti is being billed as a steampunk romance/urban fantasy. And it is all of these. But it transcends each of them as well, making it IMO an incredibly enjoyable cross-genre read. I'm sitting here trying to think of someone I wouldn't recommend this book to and I'm coming up blank.
Taya is an icarus--a member of the messenger class. Every day she straps on a pair of metal wings and soars across the city of Ondinium delivering messages. Life in Ondinium ...more
Taya is an icarus--a member of the messenger class. Every day she straps on a pair of metal wings and soars across the city of Ondinium delivering messages. Life in Ondinium ...more
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“A clockwork heart can't replace the real thing.”
—
9 people liked it
“There ain't a man in the world cares about a woman's past until he's thinking of her in his future.”
—
8 people liked it
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