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The Doomsday Vault

(Clockwork Empire #1)

Steven Harper (Goodreads Author)

3.63 · Rating details · 1,278 ratings · 152 reviews

In a clockwork Britannia, Alice's prospects are slim. At 21, her age and her unladylike interest in automatons have sealed her fate as an undesirable marriage prospect. But a devastating plague sends Alice off in a direction beyond the pale—towards a clandestine organization, mad inventors, life-altering secrets, and into the arms of an intrepid fiddle-playing airship pilo ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, 382 pages

Published November 1st 2011 by Roc

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Jan 26, 2012 Jabberwocky rated it it was ok

From the cover and what I skimmed of the description, I was expecting a trashy steampunk romance novel, where the dashing but stranded airman sweeps the poor but brilliant society lady off her feet and they have adventures.

In retrospect, I kind of wish it HAD been that trashy. It would have been more interesting.

I feel like this book really wanted to be a clever adventure in the vein of "Soulless" and the other books in the Parasol Protectorate, but it never quite got there. For one, although "T From the cover and what I skimmed of the description, I was expecting a trashy steampunk romance novel, where the dashing but stranded airman sweeps the poor but brilliant society lady off her feet and they have adventures.

In retrospect, I kind of wish it HAD been that trashy. It would have been more interesting.

I feel like this book really wanted to be a clever adventure in the vein of "Soulless" and the other books in the Parasol Protectorate, but it never quite got there. For one, although "The Doomsday Vault" tries to put its heroine in scary but seemingly absurd situations (like fighting zombies in a ball gown at 3am), the narration doesn't have the self-awareness to pull it off, and Alice is just too weak a character.

The book has a few good ideas, and there are little hints of what could have become a truly great story. Take this situation: the heroes are in love, and they've just gotten information about the mastermind behind the unusual circumstances that have been happening. They find the villain, revealed to be a relative of the leading lady, who explains that they are the mastermind behind an incredible invention: a cure for the zombie plague that afflicts hundreds. Unfortunately, the cure was stolen by the same organization the heroes work for, and they must infiltrate the top-security 'Doomsday Vault' in order to retrieve it. To make the situation even more dire, the heroes realize that the lady's lover himself has been infected by the plague, forcing them to undertake this difficult task or watch him die slowly.

All of that is the set up for a really great plot! Unfortunately, in 'The Doomsday Vault', all of that information and action is crammed into the last 50 pages or so. Instead, for the first 300 pages we have the main lady Alice CONSTANTLY whining and waffling back and forth on a decision that should be no decision at all. A secret society wants her to join them and put her amazing engineering skills to good work! But no, she is poor and so she must marry her hated, but rich, fiancee, so he can pay her debts! But she is REALLY NEEDED at the secret society! But she just can't agree to join them! Oh, but she wants to! But she can't! But she must! THREE HUNDRED PAGES OF THIS, with a character who has very little personality of her own. By the end of the book I wanted to strangle Alice, she was so annoying and useless.

If the drama about the relationship absolutely had to be included (and I don't think it did, the plot as I outlined above is WAY more interesting) then there needed to be much higher stakes-- perhaps Alice is the only one who could do the job, and every time she refuses more people die. Or she's being blackmailed by her fiancee. SOMETHING to give her a better reason to say no, because as is it's just incredibly frustrating. She is a heroine in a steampunk novel. She should jump at any and every chance at adventure.

When Alice finally does get over her awful engagement and pursues our hero, Gavin, the relationship feels very artificial and constructed. We know the characters are in love because the narration tells us, not because they show each other any affection or have any chemistry.

I also had some issues with the idea of the 'clockwork plague.' This is a plague that turns the vast majority of people into "zombies" who are not walking corpses but badly diseased individuals whose flesh is rotting from their frames. However, in a tiny percentage of people it accelerates their mind into genius before driving them mad and then killing them. Well enough. But for what is supposed to be a rare condition, there seem to be dozens of "clockworkers" (as the geniuses are called) in England alone, and plenty in other countries. How does that work? And why it it even called the "clockwork plague"? There doesn't seem to be any connection between the name and the disease-- the connection with the geniuses makes some sense, but why call it that if the vast majority of people just rot away and die? It feels like the author threw in clockwork because it's a steampunk novel and that's what you do.

There was a lot of potential here, but overall the book just falls flat. The plot doesn't even happen until the last 100 pages, where explanations are rapidly handed out and then everything is rushed together. The actual raid on the Doomsday Vault takes perhaps five pages at most, which makes me wonder why the book was titled after something so unimportant. The main character is completely boring, although the other characters are interesting. It is those other characters that save this book from a 1-star rating. Honestly, if the entire book had been written from Gavin's perspective, or perhaps from Aunt Edwina's, it would have been much more engaging. As-is, I certainly won't be reading any more in this series, and the book itself will be chucked in a box to be sent off to the used bookstore. ...more

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Nov 08, 2011 Echo rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, books-in-11, steampunk

Confession 1: I might have picked this book up because I liked the dress the girl wore on the cover (even if, historically speaking, it is a monstrosity).
Confession 2: I might also have bought it because there was a mention of someone named Gavin on the back, and I love the name Gavin.
Confession 3: I did not buy it because of the zombies. More like in spite of the zombies. Zombies bore me. There. I said it.

That's not a crime, right? In any case, I actually did like it. (And I might have crushed Confession 1: I might have picked this book up because I liked the dress the girl wore on the cover (even if, historically speaking, it is a monstrosity).
Confession 2: I might also have bought it because there was a mention of someone named Gavin on the back, and I love the name Gavin.
Confession 3: I did not buy it because of the zombies. More like in spite of the zombies. Zombies bore me. There. I said it.

That's not a crime, right? In any case, I actually did like it. (And I might have crushed on the previously mentioned Gavin as well.) The first steampunk book I read didn't really catch my interest. Everyone had impossible to pronounce, illogical names with apostrophes (I do hate names with apostrophes) and there were tons of farfetched races and political parties and histories and, while world building is awesome, it was all a little overwhelming. So, okay, I was RELIEVED when I started reading this and found that it was close enough to what I'm familiar with that I didn't need a guidebook to follow it.

I like the characters, though I felt Gavin was better developed and more likeable than Alice. For the most part, their motivations and actions seemed genuine.

I enjoyed the storyline. Some of the concepts seemed a little farfetched (catching a certain disease will either turn you into a stupid, decaying corpse and kill you, or it will turn you into a genius who spits out world-changing inventions . . . and then kill you), but, hey, it's steampunk/fantasy. It's okay.

The writing was pretty decent. There were a few things that I didn't love. The one that annoyed me most was a characterization kind of thing. (view spoiler)

Despite the shortcomings, though, I really enjoyed it, and I'll probably pick up the sequel when it comes out. ...more

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Oct 28, 2011 Torzilla marked it as did-not-finish

Shelves: reviewed

Every now and then I stumble upon a book with a concept that makes me prematurely fall in love with it... and every now and then, something about said book makes me fall out-of-love with it. I want to enjoy the novel--because who actually enjoys rating someone's pride and joy poorly?--but I simply cannot.

In THE DOOMSDAY VAULT (TDV), the voice was what ultimately made me give up. While it has an interesting concept, and while I enjoy both steampunk and zombies, I could not become immersed within ...more

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Aug 16, 2011 edifanob rated it really liked it

Shelves: my-books, 2012-reads

It is the first book in a series and it is definitely steampunk.

A lot of gadgets, interesting twists and turns.

There are two reasons why I did not give five stars:

- From my point of view some of the solutions have been a way too easy
- Alice Michaels, one of the main characters, has been a pain in my neck too often.

Anyway I own a copy of The Impossible Cube which is the secon book in the series and I will definitely read it.

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Dec 01, 2011 Simcha Lazarus rated it really liked it

All across the world, zombies roam the streets at night, infecting those they touch with the Clockwork Plague. Most of the infected die horrible, drawn-out, deaths, but some people are affected differently and instead of destroying their brains the plague enhances them. These people are called Clockworkers and they are responsible for creating the greatest inventions of the time. Unfortunately the disease eventually causes them to go mad.

In Victorian England, Alice Michaels lives with the horrib ...more

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Dec 31, 2017 James Tullos rated it really liked it

See my full thoughts here: https://youtu.be/SMTit-Cl234

I have very little to say here. Just look at the cover of this book and imagine how stupid it is, then add a little more stupidity on top of that. This is overbloated cheesy fun of the highest order. I could pick it apart and examine every problem if I wanted, I just don't want to. When a book has a scene where a man fires an electric rifle into a crowd of zombies, you know it isn't meant to be taken the least bit seriously. If this sounds e ...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Kelly rated it it was amazing

Shelves: physical-books, read-in-2012, steampunk

Reviewed for Vampire Book Club.

There are a couple of things you need to know right off the bat: I'm a big fan of steampunk and I can't resist a good cover. I guess I'm trying to say that this book was practically custom made for my palate. And that was before I even opened it. Then it had to go and be all super awesome what with the plague zombies and the clockwork bits and the fighting. Oh, and the vaguely frowned upon romance between an upper crust lady and a lowly airman who's *gasp* younger Reviewed for Vampire Book Club.

There are a couple of things you need to know right off the bat: I'm a big fan of steampunk and I can't resist a good cover. I guess I'm trying to say that this book was practically custom made for my palate. And that was before I even opened it. Then it had to go and be all super awesome what with the plague zombies and the clockwork bits and the fighting. Oh, and the vaguely frowned upon romance between an upper crust lady and a lowly airman who's *gasp* younger than she is. Love it!

One thing I will say is that this book is dense. There's a lot of worldbuilding and character building going on here. It works beautifully, I must say. The dirty streets of London, haunted by those that have fallen to the Clockwork Plague, come alive with ease. The lovely Alice Michaels, fallen on hard times and trying desperately to be a proper young lady in a time when women are beginning to rise up and take their places among the men, shines as an example of a woman of noble birth torn between doing what is socially correct and following her heart. Gavin Ennock, cabin boy and musician, suffers misfortune after misfortune until he finally finds a place where his extraordinary talent for music can be put to good use. Honestly, even the background characters were wonderfully drawn and complex.

As a fan of steampunk, I adored the gadgets and mechanical pieces that populated the scenery. Alice has an affinity for the gears and clockwork bits and she manages to indulge it despite the way society frowns upon a woman showing interest in those sort of things. Although I may have disagreed with some of the decisions she made in her personal life, I applaud a person who can sneak in a good bout of wrench wranglin' every once in a while.

With secret organizations, zombies that come in several levels of gross, and a quiet, star-crossed love that I found myself rooting for, The Doomsday Vault was an imaginative ride. Fans of steampunk, zombies, and twisted morals (or any combination of those three) will enjoy dipping their toes into this world.

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
...more

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Sep 07, 2012 Steve Walker rated it really liked it

I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. I am not generally a fan of alternative history or zombies, but this story has both and I enjoyed it. Set in the late 1800s it is a mishmash of 19th century and more modern technology as the backdrop for Steven Harper's enjoyable tale of a young American "sailor" who finds himself abandon in London after his "ship" was taken by pirates. Some of his shipmates were killed, while others were ransomed to the shipping company. Being just a cabin boy, he does I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. I am not generally a fan of alternative history or zombies, but this story has both and I enjoyed it. Set in the late 1800s it is a mishmash of 19th century and more modern technology as the backdrop for Steven Harper's enjoyable tale of a young American "sailor" who finds himself abandon in London after his "ship" was taken by pirates. Some of his shipmates were killed, while others were ransomed to the shipping company. Being just a cabin boy, he does not rate being ransomed and must fend for himself.

Mixed in with familiar 19th century life is a plethora of robotic gadgets that have a level of artificial intelligence. They are comprised of complicated gears and steam power. At this time in London a "clockwork" plague is spreading which has turned a large portion of the population into zombies. But every once in a while the infected person does not become a zombie but a "clockworker". The clockworker has heightened intellectual and creative abilities. These are the people that create all of the "clockwork" gadgets, most of which are animatons of animals, human servants, etc. In one scene an orchestra is made entirely of automated clockwork musicians and instruments. It's a lot of fun to see what Mr, Harper chooses to be an advanced clockwork creation versus the mundane 19th century items we know and love.

But he also weaves a good story and reveals a mystery with some espionage, love, patriotism, betrayal, loyalty, and just good fun. He builds good characters in Alice and Gavin and they play off each other quite well. There is also an enjoyable cast of supporting characters: Alice's father the baron, her Aunt Edwina, her friend Louisa, the fiance Norbert, the clandestine Third Ward group, mad clockworkers, and more.

It is a "steam punk" genre novel. I had never heard of that, but Wikipedia describes it as a genre that "incorporates elements of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, horror, and speculative fiction." That explains it!

I'm interested in reading more from this series and maybe exploring more Steam Punk authors. ...more

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Mar 19, 2012 Jeff Raymond rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-fantasy-and-horror, read-steampunk

My limited experience with steampunk has been of the more gritty variety. Most of the steampunk I've read has been more the Cherie Priest variety, where the setting is more dark and things are Very Wrong and not so much fun. Thus, when I read a book like All Men of Genius or this, it feels different and fresh for me.

This was a fun one. On one hand, you have Alice, she of high society in London and great with a wrench. On the other, Gavin, a cabin boy flying over to Europe in a dirigible from Bos ...more

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Apr 14, 2012 Kathryn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: steampunk

I hope this wonderful book becomes widely known in the steampunk community. It has all the elements we love in the genre--airships, gadgetry, mad geniuses, automatons--plus an unexpected and delightful aspect revolving around the power and possibilities of music. Moreover, not only the protagonists but the secondary characters as well are beautifully drawn--human, believable, and complex. Particularly notable is the assortment of strong and interesting female characters, who play a variety of ro ...more

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Nov 14, 2011 Karen rated it it was ok

Shelves: e-books, steampunk

The book almost lost me a few chapters in. I think it was due to the fact that I initially wasn't buying the main character's situation. Someone with a mind which worked like that should be able to shake off the social conventions or at least work around them especially with the examples provided elsewhere in the postulated society. I think I would have believed the set up more if there had been some sort of legal/outside impediment to breaking the social mold rather than just a cartload of psyc ...more

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Jan 15, 2015 Kathryn rated it liked it

I really loved the premise of this novel. I loved the idea of the clockwork plague, loved both Gavin and Alice, loved the evolution of the characters through the story.

But I disliked a lot more than I loved. I take exception to the word 'zombie' being tossed around in any alternative history novel that doesn't have clear ties to the word's history. The storytelling was confused, there seemed to be a sudden shift at the end where either the author realized he wanted to take this (or the next) bo ...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Tasula rated it really liked it

A steampunk romance; a 22 yr old spinster whose family was killed/crippled by clockwork plague, (a plague that either kills you or turns you into a superbrilliant inventor) tries to reenter society, becomes engaged to Norbert Williamson, who runs an automaton bordello secretly; then meets a handsome young airman who escaped pirates and falls in love. Her aunt Edwina, a clockworker, engineered their meeting and coerces them to free her from prison and spread the CURE for the clockwork plague; lig ...more

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Oct 21, 2011 Julie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

If you are a fan of steampunk, suspense, plot twists, romance, and a slight historical romance feel, I'd recommend giving this book a shot. Also, did I mention zombies? This book has many elements that oddly works well together with this particular story and writing style. I really enjoyed this book as a fan of all the subgenres I listed. Very much looking forward to the sequel. You can read my full review on my blog Nov. 1, the release date.

www.ataleofmanyreviews.com ...more

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Sep 05, 2011 April rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, steampunk

I really enjoyed this one. The characters were interesting and the story was lots of fun. There were a few odd bits I could have done without, the plot was a twisty thing that never stopped winding and the main character surprised and saddened me at the same time.

Overall, a fun, invention-mad, genius' fever dream of an adventure. ...more

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Oct 12, 2012 Trace rated it it was ok

Shelves: urban-fantasy-reads

I found it difficult to get into this book. The ideas of science in the 1900's version on this book, was interesting. But the characters weren't very well developed for me, and hence I found the story had less impact. ...more

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Jun 27, 2013 Veronica rated it it was ok

Shelves: steampunk

started out okay but got progressively sillier. The romance angle lacked any heat or chemistry so that didn't help. ...more

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Aug 06, 2017 Mary K rated it it was amazing

Sometimes, a book carries you along so easily and so completely that you don't notice minor issues. The Doomsday Vault is such a book for me. The story is told in third person, in alternating character points of view. Gavin, an American dirigible airman and musician, is the story's soul. His origin story is traumatic, and his choices, bad and good, feel authentic. Descriptions of Gavin flying, playing the fiddle, riding a giant automaton into battle--I could have read the whole book in his viewp ...more

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Dec 14, 2020 Cullen rated it it was ok

Shelves: did-not-finish

I stopped reading after about 80 pages. While I thought some of the ideas here were compelling, I never felt any real attachment to the characters.

I only have a little time in my life right now for reading, so I am highly selective about the books I read. I give a book 50 pages to capture my attention. By that point it has either done so or it has not. If it is the latter, I'll go and read some reviews for it, and after I read some reviews about the overall story, I decided to give it 30 more p ...more

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Jul 05, 2017 Jenny rated it it was ok

Steampunk adventure. Very PG-13, though, why they are using modern swear words in the 1800's, I'll never know.

She has nothing, but a name and he is a young man from America left with nothing after pirates take his captain and the dirigible they were flying in.

Oh, and there's a plague.

She's older - He's younger.

Stilted. A summer read. ...more

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Apr 21, 2018 Susan rated it really liked it

It's a nice, light read. I read some of the reviews before reading the book, and worried a little - but I didn't feel it was so bad on the details as others believed. And it worked with what I already knew of Steven Harper's Clockwork Empire books. It does have a bit more romance than I was expecting, but that's not a drawback in my estimation. ...more

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Jun 22, 2018 Bonnie added it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

Many of the expected elements of steampunk, a few less expected... Adult themes such as a young male character's near brush with rape are treated subtly and appropriately for a YA audience. Writing and plot are reasonable but story pacing is off -- could easily have started 3-4 chapters later than it does. ...more

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Mar 14, 2019 Jack Webb rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Geek heaven

Yeah, I'm talking about me. And I just can't help but like a good Steampunk yarn. Alternate history, Victorian England with plenty of silly English class ways, wild and wonderful gadgets galore, with some good characterizations and plot twists to round out the story. Works for me. ...more

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Apr 17, 2018 Mark O'Neill rated it liked it · review of another edition

First time in this genre. Interesting but not too complex.

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Dec 11, 2019 Al rated it it was amazing

Took a while to get started, but worth the wait. Intriguing story. Steampunk, action with some romance. Great mix.

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Jan 02, 2020 An Odd1 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fan

Surprises part-guessed: who is masked? who is infected? will Alice keep rejecting Gavin?

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Mar 02, 2020 Rohan Monteiro rated it it was amazing

Very entertaining - didn't expect to read a book meshing zombies with clockwork and enjoying it ...more

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Jun 28, 2020 Edelweiss rated it did not like it

Shelves: unfinished

Did not finish

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Jul 01, 2020 Aiyesha rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy

wow, that was a slog, & quarantine can only be blamed for about 12% of it.

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Feb 26, 2021 Cori Thomas rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A fun and entertaining read. It kept me guessing and the descriptions where fantastic.
A highly imaginative alternative reality, it has action and romance.

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About Steven Harper

Steven Harper

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A pseudonym of Steven Piziks

Steven Harper Piziks was born with a name that no one can reliably spell or pronounce, so he often writes under the pen name Steven Harper. He lives in Michigan with his family. When not at the keyboard, he plays the folk harp, fiddles with video games, and pretends he doesn’t talk to the household cats. In the past, he’s held jobs as a reporter, theater producer, secre

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