Dreadnought (The Clockwork Century, #2) in All things Fandom

Apr 24, 2011 Sharan Volin rated it really liked it

I was one of the winners of this book and I'm sorry it took so long to finish it but I haven't had a lot of time to read fiction lately. I also took the time to read Boneshaker first, and I'm glad I did.

This is probably the first steampunk I've read and I really enjoyed it. This book focuses on Mercy Lynch, a nurse in Virginia in an alternate universe whee the civil war has gone on a lot longer than it was supposed to. She receives word that her husband, who was fighting on the Union side, has d I was one of the winners of this book and I'm sorry it took so long to finish it but I haven't had a lot of time to read fiction lately. I also took the time to read Boneshaker first, and I'm glad I did.

This is probably the first steampunk I've read and I really enjoyed it. This book focuses on Mercy Lynch, a nurse in Virginia in an alternate universe whee the civil war has gone on a lot longer than it was supposed to. She receives word that her husband, who was fighting on the Union side, has died as a prisoner of war, and then shortly afterward receives a telegram that her father (who left her and her mother when she was very young to head out West and never came back) was badly injured and wanted to see her. You might recognize his name from the first book - Jeremiah Swakhammer. Since her husband was dead and nothing was really stopping her she decided to head out west to see him.

This kicks off a series of adventures as she travels in a war-torn land via steamship, train, and boat, running into many different obstacles along the way. She is forced to spend the bulk of the trip on a train being dragged by the Dreadnought from the book's title, a heavily armored, powerful Union train engine loaded with weapons. Since it is normally used in war, and since the train also has two mysterious cars that no one is allowed access to, Mercy has a mystery to solve, while at the same time trying to cover up the fact that she worked as a nurse for the Confederate side. She has help from a Texan ranger, who is looking into a mystery of his own.

The further west Mercy gets the more exciting the book gets, and many mysteries get revealed that eventually tie in with the events of Boneshaker (although Mercy doesn't find out how much until the very end). It also opens up some very interesting and unnerving possibilities, and I'd like to see what she does with those in future books.

The technology is a very interesting and believable look at what might have been developed in a Civil War arms race that was given time to develop. From super-powerful trains to steamships to giant walkers running on steam or oil from Texas, the technology makes sense and makes the world more interesting.

In general the book was fun, very readable, and I'd definitely like to read more in the series. ...more

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May 21, 2010 Kathryn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: steampunk

Like the great engine in the title, this book gears up seemingly slowly, at first, but gathers momentum inexorably until the pace is absolutely breathless. Dreadnought has mystery, suspense, tons of action, and a cast of memorable, compelling, and sometimes surprising characters. In particular, the protagonist, Mercy, is the kind of heroine I love: vulnerable, compassionate, down-to-earth, resourceful, strong, and brave.

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