Ganymede (Clockwork Century)

This was the fourth book in the Clockwork Century series. I have loved all of the books in this series and was eager to read this one. This one was good, but probably my least favorite of the bunch I didn't find the story or the characters as engaging as the first three books.Josephine Early has a secret, and it's not the fact that her Boarding House of Women is actually a mixed race bordello, no it's the fact that she is helping to get a war machine called the Ganymede out of the south and to the north to help the other side of the war. Trouble is Josephine needs someone to pilot the thing and being that Ganymede is the first submarine ever and that a number of people have died trying to pilot it she's having some trouble. Then she remembers Cly. Josephine and Cly have history, and since Cly's trying to give up pirating and straighten out his life this might be the perfect gig for him to start with.I love Priest's writing style; she has enough detail in there to really help the reader picture what's going on. I also love how she blends history, zombies, and steampunk elements together to create this awesome world. We meet Cly in Boneshaker and it was fun to read more about him. I love how the zombie issue is kind of woven into the back story and how, even though this is a serparate story from the first three books, it still has many elements of those books tied in with it.I did have some problems with this book too. Josephine wasn't my favorite character, I just had trouble engaging with her. This was odd because I usually love Priest's quirky, strong female leads. Josephine just rubbed me the wrong way though; she was too abrasive and too cold to be very likable. I liked Cly better, but he wasn't in the story nearly as much as Josephine. With Cly and Josephine's history together I expected them to interact more and have more tension, but this didn't really happen.I also enjoyed the number of social issues that are addressed in this book: issues of race, war, sexual orientation, etc are discussed and interesting points are brought up. Nothing incredibly unique, but there is some food for thought there. I was a little surprised when one of the characters was revealed to be transexual...mostly because I didn't understand how it added to the story, the way this was revealed at the end was a bit odd. I am wondering if that will carry on to the next book or if it was just included for novelty.I also had some problems with the plot. There is a lot going on in this book but the overall premise and goal of the book was pretty simple; to get the Ganymede out of the marsh and into the river to deliver to the other side of the war. This is the main issue the whole book deals with and at times I found it to be a bit tedious. I understand that the Ganymede was supposed to provide a turning point for the war; I just didn't find it all that interesting. Maybe it's because I am not a history buff and don't like war stories all that much; but I thought this book had a lot less adventure and steampunk elements than previous books in this series and a lot more tactics and war games.Overall this was a very good book, but not the strongest in this series. I didn't think the characters were as admirable as in previous books, I also found the overall premise of getting a war machine from one place to another to be a bit tedious and boring at times. This is an excellent world though and I still find it intriguing. I enjoy Priest's writing style and the intricacy of her descriptions a lot. I look forward to reading Inexplicable when it releases in 2012.

I've been reading all of Cheri Priest's Steampunk stories and so far this is one best yet. I didn't really care for Boneshaker but Clementine brought me back and onward to Dreadnought and Ganymede. I originally bought Boneshaker for my wife because I thought it was a steampunk/zombie story, she is into the whole zombie/slash/anything genre. She's weird, but I'll keep her.Anyway Ganymede and the rest of Clockwork Century storyline is quite a bit more than that. The alternate world she is creating and its opposing views, revised history and different characters are intriguing. Yankees, Confederates, swamp guerilla fighters, heart of gold prostitutes, air pirates, Texicans and zombies, it's all cool and it's not in England. Nothing against the English but Jules Verne was French and The Wild Wild West was an American pre-steampunk production. Cheri Priest's works are different and so far I've liked them. The stories seem to be getting stronger at least in the extended American Civil War arena that she is crafting. I also like the fact that her version of steampunk is mostly technical as opposed to magical.I do agree with C. Barnes as to the lack of character conflicts. Everybody seems to get along just a little too well. The story was too "safe" as far as character interactions. I do like the characters; she has definitely crafted her characters well and gives them their own "voice." But I think their "voice" would be portrayed stronger with more adversity and interpersonal friction to address. A giant white man and his crew are accepted into the inner circle of a group of rough and tumble black guerilla fighters, surrounded by white enemies like Johnnie Rebs and Texicans, just a little too easily. There was just not enough friction between the characters. It's like a John Carter of Mars story where the good guys almost automatically size each other up, shake hands, pledge an oath against evil and join forces, despite the backdrop of historical controversy that was overlaid in the previous chapter. The interpersonal tension was pretty low with everybody from different backgrounds and agendas easing into joint alliances over a cup of coffee and polite conversation.It does beg to shake the whole suspension of disbelief but the smoothness of the wordsmithing seemed to allow the reader to gloss over it without jarring the story too much with one exception. There is an issue over a torn dress and a gun pulled between the two main characters in the middle of a life and death struggle, which just felt like an insert to make a point on a social issue. The scene was out of context for the situation that the characters were in. I wasn't opposed to the message that Cheri Priest was "getting out there" I just felt the subplot discussion was surreal to the rest of the situation. There was never a sense that one main character was really going to kill the other main character. It was just a quick conversation at an inappropriate time to address a non-critical matter. It was also an example of how the tension/conflict level between the characters could have been pushed a little further if it had occurred elsewhere in the story.Still I like the fact that the story left Settle and gave us a look at another part of Clockwork Century. I understand that Cheri Priest's heart is in Seattle but here it's just a walled off forgotten city with a small underground society under a perpetual toxic gas cloud that, from the teasers, may have infected the rest of the world with zombies. Go Seahawks.

If you enjoyed the previous two novels in The Clockwork Century trilogy (I'm not sure whether the novella Clementine counts or not), you'll probably like this one - as it's more of the same. More zombies. More spunky heroines. More steam-powered engines of war. There's a familiarity that extends beyond the reappearance of several characters from previous installments which is no bad thing in my opinion, except in one area; like 'Boneshaker' and 'Dreadnought', 'Gannymede' also suffers from an overly long build-up. Yes, it draws you in and the world it creates is lovingly created, but the actual scenes within the 'Gannymede' feel rushed and tacked-on. as I've said before, it's a good book but it's not perfect.

Ce n'est pas une série littéraire, mais une suite de romans d'aventures steampunks, délirants et super divertissants!Excellent délassement, drôle et loufoque!