What do you think?
Rate this book
Clockwork Wings #1
Clockwork Wings: the Chronicles of Icarus
Clockwork Wings: the Chronicles of Icarus Part 1 is the pilot episode in an upcoming full length novel deeply based in Greek Mythology with a Steam Punk twist. This previously untold sequel of the greek heroes, Icarus and Theseus, takes you into a bronze age world with steam punk technology. When the king of the island of Crete, makes a deal with the god of the underworld, Hades, for a piece of Zeus' bolt, the king no longer needs Icarus' father, the great inventor, Daedalus. Sensing his forth coming demise, Daedalus makes a steampowered set of wings for his son to escape the island. After narrowly avoiding death, and with a little help from the god Poseidon, Icarus reaches the city of Athens, where he must team up with Theseus to defeat Minos and his mysterious steam powered army.
Read a book unlike any you've ever read before in a whole new category we're calling Mythpunk!
Read a book unlike any you've ever read before in a whole new category we're calling Mythpunk!
27 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2014
3 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 6, 2019
actual rating: 2.5
I supposed this could turn into a decent story in the later volumes, but this first part does not really leave me wanting to read more. This is hard to rate because it is essentially an extended prologue with a huge time skip between the majority of it and the last 'chapter', which finally introduces Icarus briefly. I like the idea of Daedalus making automatons and taking a more steampunk approach to Greek mythology, but it seems like the author is taking a lot of what I would consider unnecessary liberties with certain people and events that I think would bother me a lot if I were to continue. Maybe I would have ended up liking Icarus, but none of the characters we've met so far really stand out or come to life as you are reading the story at this point.
I supposed this could turn into a decent story in the later volumes, but this first part does not really leave me wanting to read more. This is hard to rate because it is essentially an extended prologue with a huge time skip between the majority of it and the last 'chapter', which finally introduces Icarus briefly. I like the idea of Daedalus making automatons and taking a more steampunk approach to Greek mythology, but it seems like the author is taking a lot of what I would consider unnecessary liberties with certain people and events that I think would bother me a lot if I were to continue. Maybe I would have ended up liking Icarus, but none of the characters we've met so far really stand out or come to life as you are reading the story at this point.
April 26, 2014
Betrayed by his mother at the begging Icarus goes on to achieve greatness with his machines to fight for him , so we hope but won't find out until.book #2 in the Clockwork Chronicles Series which is being written now so I'm sure we won't have to wait too long.
I enjoy Stacys books. you can go on my blog to find out more about them
http://thereaderhaven.wordpress.com
always an adventurous read that's not worth passing up.
I enjoy Stacys books. you can go on my blog to find out more about them
http://thereaderhaven.wordpress.com
always an adventurous read that's not worth passing up.
August 11, 2014
I feel strongly about anything that takes up the cloak of mythology and expects people to simply accept what they say is as is. You would not read a book that has biblical events and have Jonah walking on water or Jesus being swallowed by a whale or the Queen of Sheba marrying Moses, and suspend disbelief that the author knew much at all about the subject.
That is not how mythology works, because every ancient mythology was once someone's religion - in the modern day those who believe in the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece call it Hellenism. I'm not among their company, what I am is something of a mythologist, I can tell you the names of Theseus's uncles and two nephews, as well as the mother of Icarus and his brother's name, or Medea's daughter.
Truthfully, if Medea had not fled or been exiled by Aegeus before Theseus left to fight the Minotaur, if Aegeus had died, as a queen she would have been married to Pallas before the day was done. He was either a brother of Aegeus or his son; father of the fifty Pallantidai who befriended Androgeos - one of the reasons Aegeus was said to have killed Androgeos was fear that Crete would side with them and take Athens from him. Theseus would later kill Pallas and the Pallatidai, for not accepting his rule as king of Athens.
I might hope someday that a author will read Plutarch's Life of the Theseus or Mary Renault's The King Must Die/The Bull from the Sea. That is not this book.
Clockwork Wings seems to start with a Theseus who grows up in Athens, we aren't given a hint to why Aegeus took his son into Athens with likely his mother Aethra - or what became of her - only that Medea (who is plotting to kill him instead of poison) raised Theseus from a baby and he considers Medus, "Priest of Zeus" (! Medea was given immortality in Elysium by Hera for refusing the advances of Zeus, she worshiped Helios her grandfather and sometimes Hecate was called her mother, Aegeus swore a oath to Gaia and Helios to not banish her from Athens) his brother by Medea his mother.
If this takes place after Jason, Medea should be well aware that Pasiphae her aunt is married to Minos, king of Crete. She should also have seen and destroyed Talos the bronze giant automaton which Hephaestus made and Zeus gave to Europa the mother of Minos as a wedding present to protect the island of Crete.
I'm quite pleased that Daedalus is making automatons too. It's something that Plato, Philostratus the Elder and Callistratus all speak of. I'd like to think in the mythology he would sort of reverse engineered his automatons from Talos.
In my opinion mixing the Styx with the Acheron (the actual river which Charon ferried the souls of the dead across) and having a "Priest of Hades" to take care of the rites of the dead and cursing people "to Hades" shows a great lack of knowledge about the time and people of ancient Greece in which this is set. Fantasy mythology or not, it is written how the dead were taken care of by relatives - not priests - and how the bodies were cared for after death and buried by the family, not strangers. There also would likely have been funeral games.
Still, Daedalus and Icarus are Athenian, if not of the royal house of Athens itself because Metion, father or grandfather of Daedalus was brother to Cecrops the father of Pandion, who was father of Aegeus. So it would be interesting to see if that is at all addressed later.
That is not how mythology works, because every ancient mythology was once someone's religion - in the modern day those who believe in the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece call it Hellenism. I'm not among their company, what I am is something of a mythologist, I can tell you the names of Theseus's uncles and two nephews, as well as the mother of Icarus and his brother's name, or Medea's daughter.
Truthfully, if Medea had not fled or been exiled by Aegeus before Theseus left to fight the Minotaur, if Aegeus had died, as a queen she would have been married to Pallas before the day was done. He was either a brother of Aegeus or his son; father of the fifty Pallantidai who befriended Androgeos - one of the reasons Aegeus was said to have killed Androgeos was fear that Crete would side with them and take Athens from him. Theseus would later kill Pallas and the Pallatidai, for not accepting his rule as king of Athens.
I might hope someday that a author will read Plutarch's Life of the Theseus or Mary Renault's The King Must Die/The Bull from the Sea. That is not this book.
Clockwork Wings seems to start with a Theseus who grows up in Athens, we aren't given a hint to why Aegeus took his son into Athens with likely his mother Aethra - or what became of her - only that Medea (who is plotting to kill him instead of poison) raised Theseus from a baby and he considers Medus, "Priest of Zeus" (! Medea was given immortality in Elysium by Hera for refusing the advances of Zeus, she worshiped Helios her grandfather and sometimes Hecate was called her mother, Aegeus swore a oath to Gaia and Helios to not banish her from Athens) his brother by Medea his mother.
If this takes place after Jason, Medea should be well aware that Pasiphae her aunt is married to Minos, king of Crete. She should also have seen and destroyed Talos the bronze giant automaton which Hephaestus made and Zeus gave to Europa the mother of Minos as a wedding present to protect the island of Crete.
I'm quite pleased that Daedalus is making automatons too. It's something that Plato, Philostratus the Elder and Callistratus all speak of. I'd like to think in the mythology he would sort of reverse engineered his automatons from Talos.
In my opinion mixing the Styx with the Acheron (the actual river which Charon ferried the souls of the dead across) and having a "Priest of Hades" to take care of the rites of the dead and cursing people "to Hades" shows a great lack of knowledge about the time and people of ancient Greece in which this is set. Fantasy mythology or not, it is written how the dead were taken care of by relatives - not priests - and how the bodies were cared for after death and buried by the family, not strangers. There also would likely have been funeral games.
Still, Daedalus and Icarus are Athenian, if not of the royal house of Athens itself because Metion, father or grandfather of Daedalus was brother to Cecrops the father of Pandion, who was father of Aegeus. So it would be interesting to see if that is at all addressed later.
April 13, 2014
Icarus soared. Higher and higher he went until the pit of his stomach sank to his feet. The air blasting past his ears was deafening, but he didn’t slow. The gears were a chorus of ticks and clanks as hundreds of metal teeth spun in an interlocking web of torque and rotation.
This is my second foray into reading the work of husband-wife author team Jennifer and Stacy Buck. Like their earlier work Squanto Undead: Wake the Undead Collected Edition, the Bucks have an ability to combine interesting genres and make it their own. For "Squanto," we got an action-packed mix of early American historical fiction with zombie horror. Here, we get a steampunk'd twist on classical Greek mythology. Very cool.
"Clockwork Wings" begins the adventures of the legendary high-flying Icarus, and Theseus, the son of Athens who defeats the Cretan Minotaur and saves his city from King Minos' gruesome annual tributes. The authors have done their research into the classical tales here, but take them to a different level by interjecting steampunk technology created by Daedalus. Thus, the wings of Icarus are not feathers and wax, but cogs and gears powered by steam. Cogwheel assassins and mechanical warriors are created for mad King Minos.
The writing style is very descriptive and smooth. The authors have done some really nice work here, and I was quickly taken into the story. There are a few typos that need to be cleaned up, and the backdrop narrative of Minos and bovine-crazed wife Pasiphae read a little too much like Edith Hamilton's Greek Myths. I would have liked to hear the authors' voice here instead. Also, fair warning: there's a bloody fight scene in this story that reminded me of a butcher shop - not for someone with a queasy stomach.
Recommended read, and I am looking forward to the next chapter in this series.
This is my second foray into reading the work of husband-wife author team Jennifer and Stacy Buck. Like their earlier work Squanto Undead: Wake the Undead Collected Edition, the Bucks have an ability to combine interesting genres and make it their own. For "Squanto," we got an action-packed mix of early American historical fiction with zombie horror. Here, we get a steampunk'd twist on classical Greek mythology. Very cool.
"Clockwork Wings" begins the adventures of the legendary high-flying Icarus, and Theseus, the son of Athens who defeats the Cretan Minotaur and saves his city from King Minos' gruesome annual tributes. The authors have done their research into the classical tales here, but take them to a different level by interjecting steampunk technology created by Daedalus. Thus, the wings of Icarus are not feathers and wax, but cogs and gears powered by steam. Cogwheel assassins and mechanical warriors are created for mad King Minos.
The writing style is very descriptive and smooth. The authors have done some really nice work here, and I was quickly taken into the story. There are a few typos that need to be cleaned up, and the backdrop narrative of Minos and bovine-crazed wife Pasiphae read a little too much like Edith Hamilton's Greek Myths. I would have liked to hear the authors' voice here instead. Also, fair warning: there's a bloody fight scene in this story that reminded me of a butcher shop - not for someone with a queasy stomach.
Recommended read, and I am looking forward to the next chapter in this series.
March 8, 2015
Getting right down to business, this (at least Part 1) is telling the myth of Theseus. Theseus is one of the lesser known Greek Heroes, he is no Hercules, Jason or Achilles; his most notable task was killing the Minotaur of Knossos.
The story was well written and it had good flow, I appreciate it whenever an author takes an old story, refreshes it and creates something new and different.
Now I will be honest, it has been a long time since I read the stories surrounding Theseus. But this story had me questioning the “facts” of this particular myth. I know what you’re saying, “It’s a myth, there are no facts.” But I’m talking about the story as we know it. I do not recall Medea as part of the Theseus myth, and I’m damn sure there was no iron. These are minor details, and I am certain that the author has made those changes (if my memory is correct) for “artistic reasons”.
I’ll be truthful, I have a few mental hurdles to jump, but given the right timing, I am curious to see where Stacy Buck goes with this story.
3.5 Stars
The story was well written and it had good flow, I appreciate it whenever an author takes an old story, refreshes it and creates something new and different.
Now I will be honest, it has been a long time since I read the stories surrounding Theseus. But this story had me questioning the “facts” of this particular myth. I know what you’re saying, “It’s a myth, there are no facts.” But I’m talking about the story as we know it. I do not recall Medea as part of the Theseus myth, and I’m damn sure there was no iron. These are minor details, and I am certain that the author has made those changes (if my memory is correct) for “artistic reasons”.
I’ll be truthful, I have a few mental hurdles to jump, but given the right timing, I am curious to see where Stacy Buck goes with this story.
3.5 Stars
June 30, 2014
Okay, I admit I only got this because it was a free download (I mean it did sound interesting, but I was a bit hesitant to read it). That being said, I'm glad I did. Greek myth with a steampunk edge/feel is definitely a unique twist... Mythpunk? Is that what it'd be called? Either way...
May 19, 2014
The concept of Mythpunk is very nice. And that wraps it up.
No offense but... it was a short prequel. And one that's very VERY predictable.
I can how the whole series (if it becomes one) will go. That really turned me down.
The writing is good at least.
But the character and plot are really shallow.
I suppose other people should read it. Get a understanding of what he aims to do... and hopefully someone will come up with something like a Neuromancer for the Mythpunk, coz I can guarantee that this is not it.
No offense but... it was a short prequel. And one that's very VERY predictable.
I can how the whole series (if it becomes one) will go. That really turned me down.
The writing is good at least.
But the character and plot are really shallow.
I suppose other people should read it. Get a understanding of what he aims to do... and hopefully someone will come up with something like a Neuromancer for the Mythpunk, coz I can guarantee that this is not it.
May 1, 2014
This is part one of five of a still-being-written mytho-punk series.
Blending the worlds of the Greek Gods with the steam powered machines found in the Steampunk world, this tale is a unique creation.
Adventure, betrayal, and a battle for his very life begins Icarus journey into greatness.
I recommend this story to readers of Steam punk and modern Myths-fiction.
Blending the worlds of the Greek Gods with the steam powered machines found in the Steampunk world, this tale is a unique creation.
Adventure, betrayal, and a battle for his very life begins Icarus journey into greatness.
I recommend this story to readers of Steam punk and modern Myths-fiction.
August 22, 2014
I will definitely be reading the next books in this series.
June 16, 2020
Didn't like. Wasn't really much clockwork theme. More of a Greek mythology type theme. Couldn't push myself to finish as I had too much of that in school!
May 1, 2022
Nice start to a series, great concept.
June 4, 2016
Brilliant introduction
Great introduction to a stunning series! I love the writing style ... it is so deep, so descriptive! On to the next book!
Great introduction to a stunning series! I love the writing style ... it is so deep, so descriptive! On to the next book!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews