This book is at its heart a really fun adventure novel, taking place in post-apocalyptic Seattle and full of zombies, crazy steampunk machines, and airships.

It's Seattle during the Civil War, and inventor Leviticus Blue has just released the Boneshaker machine on the city, a drilling monstrosity that frees the Blight--a gas that turns people into zombies. Fast forward to sixteen years later, and Seattle has been walled off to prevent further spread of the gas. But Leviticus Blue's son Zeke wants to prove he's not guilty of this heinous crime, and so goes searching for evidence inside the city. His mother Briar Wilkes follows him to bring him out.

I loved this book for Briar, who being the wife of a mad scientist has faced tons of adversity but still manages to be down-to-earth and kick-ass. I also loved the mysterious twist in the ending that keeps you reading. It does drag a little in the middle while the characters are busy settling into the city, but picks up at the end. And of course it gets points for being a really cool, perfectly envisioned world. I mean, who doesn't love zombies??