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Clementine (The Clockwork Century #2)

by Cherie Priest (Goodreads Author)

3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 · rating details · 1,860 ratings · 296 reviews

Maria Isabella Boyd’s success as a Confederate spy has made her too famous for further espionage work, and now her employment options are slim. Exiled, widowed, and on the brink of poverty…she reluctantly goes to work for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in Chicago.

Adding insult to injury, her first big assignment is commissioned by the Union Army. In short, a feder...more

Hardcover, 201 pages

Published May 31st 2010 by Subterranean Press (first published 2010)

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Mar 10, 2011 Sandi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi, 2011, audiobooks

Clementine is a novel set in Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century world. It was entertaining but not as good as Dreadnought. Heck, it wasn't even as good as Boneshaker. Fortunately, it bears no connection to either of those novels and you can go ahead and skip it if you want to.

I really like the production of this audiobook. I like how they used a female narrator for the female protagonist's chapters and a male narrator for the male protagonist's chapters. It really got to be a lot of fun when the...more

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Nov 09, 2010 Aerin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, zombies

This book was a disappointment. Not because it was bad, or because there's anything unforgivably wrong with it, but because it's just not as interesting as its predecessor, the totally badass Boneshaker.

It's not a sequel per se, though it takes place in the same world and focuses on a minor character from Boneshaker. Clementine takes us out of the cloistered walls of zombie-occupied Seattle, and eastward across the country on a dirigible chase. With pirates! And a six-shooting, smack-talking, do...more

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Sep 23, 2010 Stacey rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: steampunk, adventure, owned-hardcovers, signed, subterranean-press

Clementine is a pure chase novel. The main story is the cross country chase of a stolen dirigible, using, naturally, another stolen dirigible. Her lead characters really make the story, especially the female main character, Belle Boyd. She's smart and capable, but not anachronous.

There is some world-building in the short novel, (more if you were lucky enough to also receive the bundled short "Tanglefoot," which I HIGHLY recommend,) this story is really about this single adventure, the pursuit o...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Beth Cato rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: in, 2010, fantasy, steampunk, historical, fiction, clockwork-century

Boneshaker, Priest's first book of her Clock work Century series, set an awfully high standard. It used the background a steampunk-style Seattle overrun by noxious gas and zombies, all while the Civil War continues to ravage the rest of the United States well into the 1880s. Clementine takes place immediately after the first book, though following different characters across the country. While I enjoyed the setting, the emotional punch simply wasn't there. Part of the appeal of Boneshaker was th...more

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May 17, 2013 Laurie rated it 5 of 5 stars

‘Clementine’ is the new name of the ‘Free Crow’, the recently stolen air ship of Captain Croggon Hainey. It’s making its way across the United States, carrying something heavy to a sanitarium in the east. Hainey, escaped slave and air pirate, is chasing it in the airship that he stole in turn, the Valkyrie, and has found himself the unwilling partner of Maria Isabella Boyd- Belle Boyd- former Confederate spy, former actress, and currently a Pinkerton agent – and, by the way, an actual historical...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Bridget Flanagan rated it 2 of 5 stars

I kinda wish this had been a little more complex and removed from reality. This story had none of the creepy other-worldliness of Boneshaker, and the whole plot was a basic two-path convergence chase scene where everyone just came together conveniently.
Speaking to convenience, I find that the novel conveniently dances around some serious racial stuff from the time to provide a conveniently cleaned up history where Boyd, a confederate slave owner, conveniently teams up with some black freed slave...more

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Sep 09, 2012 Burgoo rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Clementine is a short novel that takes place in Priest’s Clockwork Century universe. Since these are all more shared worlds novels than continuing storylines, it is not necessary to have read the other novels in order to understand Clementine. That being said, the world building of the other novels does add to the enjoyment of this one.

Clementine is a lean, mean adventure novel. While there is a small supporting cast, Priest focuses on two main characters. Pirate Croggon Hainey is determined to...more

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Sep 09, 2011 Krissie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, sci-fi

My sister read and wrote a review of Clementine before I got to it, so I noticed things that she mentioned in her review that I wouldn't normally notice: It was a fast-paced book; it lacked the sharing of background and history that Boneshaker had; it could probably be called more superficial. But I don't mind. Sometimes, a slow, leisurely exploration of a new place or culture or universe is enjoyable, the way curling up in front of the fire with a cup of hot chocolate and a book on a snowy wint...more

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Feb 21, 2011 Tracy Riva rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: alternate-reality, civil-war, intrigue, second-in-series, steampunk, clockwork-century, ebook, dirigible

Clementine
by Cherie Priest
copyright 2010 by Cherie Priest, published by Subterranean Press, PO Box 190106, Burton, MI 48519 http://www.subterraneanpress.com ISBN 978-1-59606-366-2 available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble for $4.99 for the eBook

Clementine is the second installment set in Cherie Priest’s “Clockwork Century” world. It is a world where the American Civil War still continues, great and terrible machines are being made and the city of Seattle, Washington is walled in and quarantined....more

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Feb 09, 2011 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars

I missed out on Clementine’s initial release via Subterranean Press but discovered last week that Audible released an audio version via their Audible Frontiers SFF imprint. Clementine is a novella set in the Clockwork Century universe and centers on two main characters: Captain Croggon Beauregard Heaney (first met in Boneshaker) and former Confederate spy turned Pinkerton detective Maria Isabella Boyd. Clementine focuses on the narratives of these two characters featuring Heaney’s quest to recov...more I missed out on Clementine’s initial release via Subterranean Press but discovered last week that Audible released an audio version via their Audible Frontiers SFF imprint. Clementine is a novella set in the Clockwork Century universe and centers on two main characters: Captain Croggon Beauregard Heaney (first met in Boneshaker) and former Confederate spy turned Pinkerton detective Maria Isabella Boyd. Clementine focuses on the narratives of these two characters featuring Heaney’s quest to recover his stolen vessel The Free Crow (now christened the titular Clementine) and Maria’s first job as a Pinkerton to ensure the Clementine’s safe arrival at its destination. Of course, not everything goes according to plan for either side…much to the delight of readers. While having read Boneshaker isn’t a requirement for reading Clementine the events that take place prior to the novella, namely the theft of the Free Crow from Captain Heaney and its rechristening as Clementine, are detailed towards Boneshaker’s conclusion. The how and why of it are less important than the fact that it did happen though and new readers (or listeners) will have little trouble jumping aboard with Clementine.

Both the lead characters of Clementine are vividly drawn. The massive Heaney driven and determined is a brigand through and through but not without some sense of justice and honor. Heaney, a former slave is first time the Priest really confronts the social situation of a 19th century America. The strong confident and deadly Maria Boyd is treated in a similar manner allowing for Priest to illuminate the prejudices faced by both women and non-whites. While it might be argued that Maria Boyd, as an unmarried woman, serves as a sort of rehash of Briar Wilkes from Boneshaker it don’t honestly think that is the case here. Maria, twice widowed and without child, is also something of a notorious figure given her role as Confederate spy. As a result in addition to the stigma of a being an unmarried woman the question of her loyalties to her former home adds an extra element of distrust when dealing with her new employer. The social politics aren’t a central concern of the novel and serve more as added element of tension rather than some sort of moral finger wagging.

The folks at Audible did a great job in casting two narrators: Dina Pearlman and Victor Bevine. Both narrators do a fantastic job of capturing the southern accents of both Maria and Captain Heaney; though Victor is much less adept at capturing the Jamaican accent of Heaney’s first mate. While the narratives remain separate during the early chapters the different narrators definitely help in forming a concrete picture of each character. Later, once the two leads have crossed paths the alternating of male and female narrators during dialogue definitely adds to immersion.

While I think Priest is extraordinarily adept at crafting distinct and memorable characters Clementine gives Priest a chance to flex her muscles with high octane action. Airship chases and gun fights are littered across the novella and Priest does a fantastic job at creating some intense action scenes. One in particular, which has Maria manning a ball turret on an airship, left me grinning and near breathless at the same time. The final half of the novella in particular was one great action set piece after another.

Clementine was a fun listen and I was more than a little disappointed that there wasn’t more once the novella was over. Not that things weren’t wrapped up in a satisfactory manner, they were, but mostly because I had enjoyed my time with the characters so much that I didn’t really want it to end. I hope we get to see Captain Heaney, his crew, and Maria Boyd again.(less)

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Dec 29, 2010 Karissa rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved Boneshaker the first book in Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century series so I was really looking forward to reading Clementine. I was not disappointed, I loved this book. It follows a different set of characters and can be read separately from the first book (although there is some reference to the events that happen in the first book).

Maria Isabella Boyd is a famous actress and Confederate spy; after the Confederates kick her out she goes to the Union to work for the Pinkerton Detective Ag...more I loved Boneshaker the first book in Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century series so I was really looking forward to reading Clementine. I was not disappointed, I loved this book. It follows a different set of characters and can be read separately from the first book (although there is some reference to the events that happen in the first book).

Maria Isabella Boyd is a famous actress and Confederate spy; after the Confederates kick her out she goes to the Union to work for the Pinkerton Detective Agency there. There she is given a mission of ensuring some stolen cargo gets to where it's suppose to be. Along the way she crosses paths with Croggon Hainey, who is an escaped slave turned air pirate. Croggon wants his ship, the Clementine, back and this just happens to be the ship that is carrying Maria's cargo. Despite their different backgrounds and goals they are forced to cooperate in order to get what they want.

This book was just perfect. It is like a retelling of the Civil War era but with airships and crazy gadgets. It happens in a similar time frame as the first book, there is some mention of the crazy things happening in Seattle. You can't help but love Maria with her "can do it" attitude and her absolute fearlessness. Priest gives us a civil war dame with a dangerous streak in Maria and it is wonderful. Croggon is another great character, he wants his ship back and will stop at nothing to retrieve it, still (like all good pirate characters) he has a sense of morality that won't let him leave a comrade in a tough position.

The descriptions of the air battles are superb and the I can always picture exactly what Priest is trying to show me. The book is short, at barely over 200 pages, but the story packs a punch all the same. Issues of piracy, slavery, woman's rights are all touched on in this very convincing re-imagination of this era.

I absolutely loved all the steampunk details and the descriptions are spot on. I really enjoy Priest's writing style; she weaves a tight plot with wonderful action scenes and description. This book was truly a treat to read and I was kind of sad when it was over.

Overall just a wonderful book. I am really looking forward to reading the final Clockwork Century novel Dreadnought, which will be released late September 2010.(less)

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Dec 20, 2010 Nick rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: alternate-history

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I was a little disappointed at the lack of care in crafting the world and its components. This left too many plot holes for my taste. After all the great reviews for Boneshaker, I had expected better of this spinoff novel. I started here because it seemed like a short entry point, to try Priest's work.
I found the armored dirigibles and the 25-year war very hard to believe, based purely on the world as shown in this book. As described, these war dirigibles simply couldn't fly, and it didn't seem...more

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Dec 13, 2010 Henry rated it 3 of 5 stars

Alternate history civil war, with airships and steampunk touches. Bonus points for having a black man and a woman as main characters. Short, with some good action bits, but in the end everything just felt way too pat. Somehow the characters never seemed real to me. It felt like a role-playing game: in spite of the individual characters' backgrounds or motivations, everyone ends up on the same team because that's what the plot requires. Also, maybe I don't read enough detective fiction, but it se...more

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Dec 07, 2010 Shedrick Pittman-Hassett rated it 4 of 5 stars

From my blog: http://serialdistractions.com

In the Hugo-nominated Boneshaker, Cherie Priest simultaneously introduced "The Clockwork Century" (an alternate-history, steampunk'd version of 19th century America) and established herself as the "queen of steampunk". In the novella Clementine, Priest expands the scope of her unique setting to include the Confederate mid-west and creates a fast-and-furious action adventure story full of the sparkling dialog and weird science one expects from one of the...more From my blog: http://serialdistractions.com

In the Hugo-nominated Boneshaker, Cherie Priest simultaneously introduced "The Clockwork Century" (an alternate-history, steampunk'd version of 19th century America) and established herself as the "queen of steampunk". In the novella Clementine, Priest expands the scope of her unique setting to include the Confederate mid-west and creates a fast-and-furious action adventure story full of the sparkling dialog and weird science one expects from one of the genre's best practitioners.

Croggon Hainey is a runaway slave, bank robber, pirate, and captain of the airship Free Crow. He and his rough-and-tumble crew are chasing fellow pirate Felton Brink across the country in a stolen airship. Brink has stolen the Free Crow, rechristened it Clementine, and is running from its "owner" (Hainey stole the ship first, after all) in order to reach an unknown destination near the Mason-Dixon line. Maria Isabella "Belle" Boyd is an actress and disgraced Confederate spy who has joined the esteemed Pinkerton Agency. Her first assignment: make sure that an airship called Clementine arrives at its Union destination. The fact that Hainey's return to CSA custody may buy back some of the Confederacy's good graces is another motivator for the practical-minded Boyd. Various revelations along way compel the spy and the pirate to work together to intercept the Clementine and stop a Union general from unleashing a doomsday weapon on the Confederacy in order to end the decades-long Civil War.

Readers of Priest's Boneshaker should recognize the character of Croggon Hainey as well as the airship Clementine. Further, the character of "Belle" Boyd is based on an actual historical figure. While knowledge of these facts adds spice, it isn't necessary to be familiar with these characters in order to enjoy Clementine. The pacing is brisk, as befits a novella, which adds to the tension of the already tight plot. Also, as in Boneshaker, Priest's strength is in her crackling dialog and her wonderful depictions of strong protagonists. This a rogue's tale told well, with morally ambivalent characters that the reader nevertheless roots for. Most importantly, while the characters and setting have depth, Priest doesn't waver from the rollicking, pulpy, fun of her plot. This is a wonderful, quick, read that makes one hungry for the author's next full-length "Clockwork" novel, Dreadnought.
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Sep 26, 2010 Book Calendar rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 18, 2010 Brian Maicke rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: steam-punk, science-fiction, alternate-history

The second novel set in the Clockwork Century universe. While not a direct sequel to Boneshaker, there is some overlap in characters and references so while reading the first book is not necessary by any stretch, you will probably get more out of the book by doing so.

Clementine is a shorter book, clocking in around 200 pages, and has much less of the world building and setting that Boneshaker did. The novel is a non-stop action story following Captain Croggon Beauregard Hainey, an escaped slave...more

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May 01, 2012 Meghan Tracy rated it 3 of 5 stars

As the follow up to Boneshaker, I was a little surprised with the slow start to Clementine. Sure, I recognized the characters, but for some reason the opening action didn’t quite succeed in sinking its tenterhooks into me. It got after a while, but it wasn’t until the interplay between Hainey and Boyd came into the picture. Up until that point, the book fell a little flat for me. That might have something to do with the way the author described Kansas City as rolling pin flat (it’s not), but I t...more

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Nov 01, 2011 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, kindle-baby, own

A 3.5 really, in which we’re away from the Seattle of the first book and out into the wider world in the company of Captain Hainey, who we met briefly in Boneshaker.

Captain Hainey is a pirate, a former slave and now captain of the Free Crow, a warship that he liberated years previously which has now been liberated from him (and renamed the Clementine). His pursuit of the stolen bird has caught the attention of some powerful people and so his path must cross with that of Marie ‘Belle’ Boyd, famou...more

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Jun 02, 2011 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Curious plot, appropriately steampunky, but lacking in depth. Having read Boneshaker, I was interested in the continuation of Croggon Hainey's story; references to the events in the first book definitely enriched the world of Clementine, and made me more invested in the advancement of the plot. However, none of the newly introduced characters in this book left an impression on me, which makes me feel I could have skipped this one altogether (or at least kept Croggon and crew and left all the res...more

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Apr 23, 2013 Anelis rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: steampunk, reviewed

Clementine is a good example of an "I_DESPERATELY_WANT_TO_BE_A_MOVIE" book.

Let me back up a bit.

Each art-form uses a different medium for a certain reason. Not all movies can be books, not all comics can be made into movies, not all poems can fit into a song, not all paintings can be interpreted as a poem. The basis of making art is finding the most appropriate medium that can help you best express and communicate your idea, story and feelings. Some mediums are affordable, like writing, and som...more Clementine is a good example of an "I_DESPERATELY_WANT_TO_BE_A_MOVIE" book.

Let me back up a bit.

Each art-form uses a different medium for a certain reason. Not all movies can be books, not all comics can be made into movies, not all poems can fit into a song, not all paintings can be interpreted as a poem. The basis of making art is finding the most appropriate medium that can help you best express and communicate your idea, story and feelings. Some mediums are affordable, like writing, and some are not, like film-making. This fact, coupled with the film and television overexposure we experience daily in our culture, has led to us usually visualizing a creative idea in our mind as a scene from a future movie. We think in moving pictures as easily as we think in words, but that "little" nudge has, at least in my opinion, proved out to be quite significant.

These two facts [the affordability of the written word and our mass media induced inclination to visualize some projects as movie exerts] usually flourish in the untrained newbie writer. This is puzzling because not only Cherie Priest isn't new to this but she has proven with her previous novel, Boneshaker that she's not a bad writer either.

So what happened here? Why is this novel written like a draft of a movie script? Was Priest just bored? Why is the prose significantly worse than Boneshaker? Are these things related somehow?

Of course I have no answer. I can speculate that since Cherie Priest wanted to publish this under a different publishing house and had a word count limit, maybe decided to try something new, change the style and pace, change the feeling and mood because maybe, just maybe, she thought that this novel could be considered as a side-note addition to The Clockwork Century series and not an actual installment. A fan-fiction written by the original author, a cool draft that never really got polished, a fanzine in the clockwork universe, a book that was never meant to be taken seriously....a cop-out.

It is quite possible that I'm wrong in my speculations but I can't find another way to justify this abrupt drop in the quality of the prose and the general plot and narration of the book.

I have to say though, that it would make a kick ass action film that I would really be eager to watch [...but not read].(less)

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May 02, 2012 Kristen rated it 2 of 5 stars

In a word: disappointing! I jumped straight from Boneshaker to this, hoping to get to learn more about--or at least hear the survival rates!--of the characters I'd so grown to love from the first book. However, aside from one minor character in Boneshaker becoming a main player in Clementine, and a few throwaway references to, what, one or two other minor characters? It's an all new playing field in more ways than one. Not exactly what I was hoping for. Aside from that, the story felt plodding i...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Darren rated it 4 of 5 stars

Okay, I liked this book. I really did. After reading "Boneshaker" and it's everything but the kitchen sink - Blimps! Zombies! Giant Digging Machines! Big Wall around Seattle! Civil War lasted 20 Years (exaggerated the last one) - this rather understated chase novel was an enjoyable and welcome change.

That said, it really felt like it was missing Act II. By the time our two protagonists met up, it was time for the big conclusion. Their interactions felt pretty flimsy, especially when we consider...more

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Mar 11, 2012 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was overjoyed when I found a cheap print edition of Cherie Priest's Clementine on sale at Powell's. I don't own a Kindle, and I wasn't about to pay $75 on Amazon for a used copy of this novella. Having been a fan of hers since reading Boneshaker in 2009, I knew it was not essential reading in the series, and was, according to other fans, disappointingly short and underdeveloped. Both are true. After barely getting to know Captain Croggon Hainey and Belle Boyd for most of the book, the action i...more

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Apr 20, 2013 Roberto rated it 3 of 5 stars

Marked improvement over Boneshaker in some areas, worse in some others. Not much character development, but a forward-moving plot.

One interesting bit is how it seems that Seattle can be a zombie-infested hell, and because it's far away, *nobody cares*. Heck, they mostly don't know anything about it, they think it's deserted!

The part that is better than Boneshaker is that this has a plot where you can see how it makes sense that the characters do what they do, where in Boneshaker... well, not qu...more

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Sep 11, 2011 Maria rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: steampunk

I bought Clementine because I had just finished reading Boneshaker, which I thought was a clever and original story that reinvented American history and offered a plausible alternative timeline in which the American Civil War never ended and drags on through internecine fighting and skirmishes. While I think much of Clementine captures elements of this originality, it was a touch disappointing, primarily because there wasn’t enough narrative to develop either of the main characters or their plac...more I bought Clementine because I had just finished reading Boneshaker, which I thought was a clever and original story that reinvented American history and offered a plausible alternative timeline in which the American Civil War never ended and drags on through internecine fighting and skirmishes. While I think much of Clementine captures elements of this originality, it was a touch disappointing, primarily because there wasn’t enough narrative to develop either of the main characters or their place in the textured history Priest has created for her Clockwork Century novels. I find that this novel can more appropriately be described as a novella, and it almost felt like a short story whose expansion was forced, with somewhat unsatisfying results. Although Priest’s narrative in this novel is adequate, the characters never become truly interesting and, as a result, I had trouble developing emotional attachment to them, as well as the desire to see them succeed. This book definitely adds to the Clockwork Century series, and is worth owning, but it simply never transcends the problem with the flat character development.

The reader first meets Captain Croggon Beauregard Hainey in Boneshaker: He’s a former slave who ‘liberated’ an airship from Confederate forces eight years before the start of the story and headed West with a crew of former slaves to make their way through piracy and smuggling of the highly addictive Yellow Sap. His airship, which he has rechristened the Free Crow, is stolen during Boneshaker by Felton Brink, who is using it to transport an important component for a superweapon being constructed in the North. Hainey takes this theft very personally—he stole the Free Crow fair and square, after all, and it’s a matter of personal honor. He’s not going to let Brink get away with renaming his ship Clementine and depriving him of his means of making a living.

Then the narrative shifts to Maria Isabella Boyd who, at nearly forty, has had too much success as a Confederate spy. Rather than retire her gracefully, however, the Confederate government sends her the dreaded “your services are no longer needed” letter, and leaves her to make her way as best as she can without a military pension, which is inexplicably withdrawn. Boyd is left with limited options for employment until she is hired by the Chicago-based Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Her boss knows she was a Confederate spy, but since his firm is no longer being given much work by the Union, he feels that the benefit of her particular skillset outweighs the potential for conflict of interest. For her first mission she is tasked with making sure that the airship Clementine makes it to Louisville, Kentucky. She isn’t told what’s on the ship, only that the ship has to make it to its destination by any means necessary, and if she can also capture Hainey, then she can turn him over to the Confederate authorities for extra consideration. Pinkerton isn’t necessarily aligned politically and, so long as she does the job she’s paid to do, he doesn’t really care what her political views are.

The story then alternates between Hainey and Boyd: Hainey, as he comes East from Seattle, and Boyd as she rushes West from Chicago. The two meet in the middle of a firefight in Kansas City and quickly discover they have common goals. Hainey doesn’t know where Brink is taking the Clementine, but he knows that its cargo will be used in the manufactory of a superweapon the Union plans to use to win the war. Boyd knows where the ship is heading, but was unaware of the weapon that will be used to destroy major Confederate cities in an effort to force the surrender of the South. The two decide to join forces to retrieve Hainey’s ship and prevent the Union from being successful.

As other reviewers have already pointed out, the story feels hurried and poorly developed, with a plot that feels thin and barely plausible. Cities are alluded to, but there is barely any mention of how the protracted civil war has restricted the westward expansion of the United States or how population growth has been changed. I assume that the American population would continue to grow, even given the ongoing civil war, and I can’t figure out where the populations are or why they would go in those directions. This created a disconnect with the characters: As a reader, I don’t understand why Boyd continues to be loyal to the South and its political goals, or who is buying the merchandise that Hainey is stealing and/or transporting. The story is action-filled and fast-paced, but it seems to be serving goals I can’t understand or support as a reader. In short, the story gives me few reasons to sympathize with or like these characters, and I just don’t care if they are successful.

Despite my complaints about the narrative, I enjoy Priest’s writing style, and I was entertained by the story. It’s all action-adventure, with nontraditional leading characters in an older heroine and black leading man. I appreciate that Priest resisted the urge to further muddle her novel with a romance, and the relationship between Hainey and Boyd remains properly focused on getting to Louisville so that they can go their separate ways. This is not to say that they don’t earn each other’s respect, because they do, but this story isn’t long enough for anything more sophisticated, like friendship, to develop. Because this story adds so little to the alternate history Priest has created, I would recommend that readers who are new to the Clockwork Century should focus on reading Boneshaker and Dreadnought first, and save this book for supplemental reading.
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Apr 22, 2011 Elizabeth Headrick rated it 4 of 5 stars

In an America where Abraham Lincoln was never assassinated and the Civil War has dragged on for twenty years, an escaped slave-turned-air-pirate and an aged and disgraced former Confederate spy race through the skies, both bent on catching the same ship, if for entirely different reasons. Maria Isabella Boyd hopes to reclaim her dignity and perhaps get something over on the Confederate army that tossed her aside. Captain Croggon Hainey just wants his damn ship back and is willing to risk his own...more In an America where Abraham Lincoln was never assassinated and the Civil War has dragged on for twenty years, an escaped slave-turned-air-pirate and an aged and disgraced former Confederate spy race through the skies, both bent on catching the same ship, if for entirely different reasons. Maria Isabella Boyd hopes to reclaim her dignity and perhaps get something over on the Confederate army that tossed her aside. Captain Croggon Hainey just wants his damn ship back and is willing to risk his own skin (and freedom) to do it. In Clementine, Cherie Priest takes her readers back into her Clockwork Century with a short but absolutely exciting romp through the skies of a war-torn America.

After being ousted by the boys in gray, Belle Boyd took a job offer from the infamous Pinkerton's. She needed the money and the job was a good offer, if a little odd for a first assignment. All she has to do is make sure that the good ship Clementine makes it to port in Louisville without incident. For a woman who has no compunction about shooting a man in the face when the situation calls for it, Belle has no worries about her ability to handle this task. She sets off posthaste and finds out soon enough that the job won't be quite as simple as she thought it would be.

Croggon Hainey has made his living running guns, ammunition, stolen parts, and just about anything else from his home base in the Pacific Northwest. His ship, his baby, the Free Crow has ferried him about ever since the day he nicked her from the Union. Now the Union has stolen her back, changed her name to Clementine and sent her back to the East Coast with a secret cargo that has every hint of being parts for a war machine that will blow the Confederate army off the map. Hainey doesn't really care what the ship is carrying though. He wants it back.

When Belle Boyd and Croggon Hainey collide in pursuit of the twice-stolen ship, some alarming truths emerge about the Union's willingness to go to any lengths to end this drawn-out conflict. What the two will have to decide is how far they are willing to go to achieve their goals, and what those goals truly are.

While this one doesn't have quite the same punch that Boneshaker (Book 1) and Dreadnought (Book 3) had, it was still fun and very engaging. The mid-air airship battles are well written and easy to visualize. I especially enjoyed the description of Belle in the ball-turret, attempting (with some success) to shoot down an enemy airship. Belle is not a woman to take lightly and the reader will have no doubts about that.

I'm also enthusiastically on-board with Priest's decision to feature strong female characters who don't rush to drop their bloomers as soon as the male lead walks into the room. It's a refreshing change of pace and very heartening.

I've lately heard rumbles that Cherie Priest could be the new Queen of Steampunk. If she continues to turn out novels of this caliber, with the striking world-building she's laying out, I think it might end up being a fair assessment. (less)

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Dec 08, 2011 D. Alan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Clementine is the second novel set in Priest’s Clockwork Century, in which the Civil War never ended with a Northern victory and continues to rage on, some twenty years later. Although this is the second in the series, you don’t need to read the first book, Boneshaker, in order to appreciate the world that Priest has built.

The novel centers around two polar opposite characters; Maria Isabella (Belle) Boyd and Captain Croggon Beauregard Hainey.

Belle Boyd is a former Confederate spy, turned actres...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

STEAMPUNK ZOMG !!1!1one!!1!

Yeah, I liked this. It is unapologetically genre. Some of the airborne action sequences are a bit clunky, but I can live with that. For those who have read Boneshaker and Tanglefoot, you'll get a kick out of the character overlap (I did). I had enough fun reading this that I won't even get into the fact that Ms. Priest needed to do a little more research vis a vis the difference between braids and locs, which is too bad because I really liked the character in question...more

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Jul 05, 2011 Alan rated it 3 of 5 stars

All right, so maybe I should stop cursing the shelves at the library while I'm there doing printing. I picked up Clementine because I thought Priest's second steampunk novel, Dreadnought, was an improvement over Boneshaker both in its writing and storytelling. Clementine, which some at 200 pages have called a novella, falls into the middle. The writing is better than Boneshaker, but the story falls short.

Preist, in her steampunk books at least, does a much better job of defining her female chara...more

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Oct 17, 2011 Stacey rated it 2 of 5 stars

Uh...I didn't get it.

I realize that Ms. Priest books are part of a larger narrative, but I found this book to be unrewarding. The characters don't have a whole lot of depth. And as a Black American, I find the idea of a escaped slave choosing to work with a ex-Confederate spy in any capacity somewhat laughable.

I found nothing to make me read the other books in the series. It seems that the moral implications of the Civil War are lost on the characters in the book. The war itself seems to be only...more

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About Cherie Priest

CHERIE PRIEST is the author of twelve novels, including the steampunk pulp adventures Dreadnought and Boneshaker. Boneshaker was nominated for both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award; it was a PNBA Award winner, and winner of the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. Cherie also wrote Fathom and the Eden Moore series from Tor (Macmillan), and her novellas Clementine, Dreadful Skin and Those...more

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Four and Twenty Blackbirds (Eden Moore, #1)

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Clementine (The Clockwork Century #2)

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