Girl in the Gears

by E. Chris Garrison, Summer Willhite (Illustrator)

Actress Ida Stillwell may have been born her father's son, but she rejected the role society cast her in. With the North American Republics on the brink of war, Ida flees her home and joins a carnival to pursue her dreams.

There she meets tomboy steam engine mechanic Duffy Hollowood. Though they become fast friends, Duffy has her own secrets. As their troubled pasts catch up with them, will Ida and Duffy make an escape together, or will they take their chances alone?

Genres: Steampunk, Science Fiction

118 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2015

Reviews

[Ashlan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read with engaging characters, some checkered pasts, and a protagonist who's coming into her own. I especially enjoyed the fractured alternate-history map of the United States that comes out through the course of the story. No long-winded world building, just broad strokes that tell you what you need to know. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment.

[Jennifer Reaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

"read" book via Audible. A very enjoyable steampunk book with a transgender character. Both subjects is what drew me to this story. I was quite action packed with hardly a slow moment. I found both characters quite enjoyable and their banter was fun. My only problem is the story is too short. Although you get some back story on each of the characters as they get to know each other the whole story is rushed. The feeling that develop between the girls is rather ruched too when you realize that most of the story takes place in less than 48 hours.
All in all a good story that had me getting the next book right away.

[JoJoTheModern · Rating 4 out of 5]

A steampunk story starring a trans protagonist! We need way more stuff like this.

The pace of the story is so fast that it kind of leaves behind the plot, but once you see what is going on and how high the stakes are you find yourself REALLY interested in what's coming next. Volume 1 is too short, leaving you in suspense, and I'm glad I bought the first and second volumes at the same time.

[Peter Okeafor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Ida and Duffy are great characters and having a trans character is refreshing. The world building is cool as well. This is book is a mixture of steam punk and western. I am usually not a big steam punk fan but it works in this book. I will read more books in this series.

[Bryony Marsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

To describe this story as “fast-paced” would be something of an understatement. From the very beginning, we’re carried along on a story that hurtles through a series of action sequences. I liked the alternate-world North America, which is fragmented into a series of nations that intrigue against each other in various ways – and I liked the fact that the steampunk science wasn’t overblown; it’s just a world with a few differences, but you don’t need to get lost in it; just accept that they have wireless telegraphy, autogyros and the like in the 19th century.

The main character is interesting; the love interest (a tricky thing in many a TG story) is lots of fun and my only complaint would be that the bad guys don’t get more “play”. This madcap romp charges ever onwards – with something of a missed opportunity in this regard: ideally, it would have been paced a little slower as all characters deserve a longer book with more time to change and grow. (I think I would have appreciated a lot more interaction with the main character’s father, in particular.)

It was over too soon, but... always leave ’em wanting more!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Playful and fun with a good twist of steam punk scifi!

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and fun! Too short.

[Amy Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining romp, with some flaws. I would describe the genre as steampunk western.

The biggest problem was that there was lots of action, and the author isn't particularly good at writing action scenes, so that I had to go back and reread to figure out what just happened. Sometimes I just gave up and moved to the next paragraph, hoping context there would fill in the gaps.

As a side note, this feels very much like a YA book, as the danger rarely felt real. Yes, the main characters are being shot at and chased and thrown onto/off of trains, but those never feel like a real threat. Ida's father did feel like a real threat, so I was disappointed that that sequence ended so quickly.

Recommended for a quick romp of a read, and for having a trans narrator (MTF; the author is also trans), but not for any depth.