A paladin, an assassin, a forger, and a scholar ride out of town. It’s not the start of a joke, but rather an espionage mission with deadly serious stakes. T. Kingfisher’s new novel begins the tale of a murderous band of criminals (and a scholar), thrown together in an attempt to unravel the secret of the Clockwork Boys, mechanical soldiers from a neighboring kingdom that promise ruin to the … Dowager’s city.
If they succeed, rewards and pardons await, but that requires a long journey through enemy territory, directly into the capital. It also requires them to refrain from killing each other along the way! At turns darkly comic and touching, Clockwork Boys puts together a broken group of people trying to make the most of the rest of their lives as they drive forward on their suicide mission.
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A two-parter, this series reads like the D&D campaign you *wish* you could have played in, with a spectacular party, a fascinating world, and an engaging plot that culminates in a creepy and fantastic climactic battle. Bonus points for the awesome assassin, and the unlikely paladin/thief romance. Check it out!
A good book with such an abrupt ending that it felt a bit of a let-down. Basically, the story reached a half point and then ended, and despite being called Clockwork Boys, they barely made an appearance. But I loved all the characters and their weird dynamics, the story was fun, and I’ll definitely read the latter half.
This was such a fun fantasy! I adored each of the main characters and the world-building was so vivid and imaginative. Put together a forger, assassin, disgraced knight, and scholar on a quest that will almost certainly lead to their deaths (or will it?) and you get this crackling story. Not only are the odds against them making it to their destination, they have carnivorous tattoos that will kill them if they even think about straying from their quest. If you enjoy motley crews, then you must read this!
Slate, Caliban, Brenner and Learned Edmund come to their shared quest with different goals. Slate, the only woman on the crew, believes there’s no way they’ll get through this and is resigned to her fate. (I particularly loved her character arc.) Caliban was in prison for murders committed while he was possessed. This quest releases him from prison and now he has to face life where he’s no longer a paladin and what this means for his faith and identity. We know the least about assassin Brenner, who straddles the line between douchecanoe and sweetheart. And then there’s Edmund, who is part of a misogynist group of monks and the only one in the group who volunteered for the quest. The dynamics between them are ever shifting and the way Kingfisher brings them ever closer together was marvelous.
The plot really keeps things moving but it’s the way the characters interact that kept me turning the pages. I could not get enough of the humor and banter and snark. The dialogue is snappy and I ate it up with a spoon.
Example:
“Caliban was staring at them. His expression was indescribable.
‘What?’ asked Slate, wiping at her nose.
‘You two,’ said the paladin slowly, ‘have a very odd relationship.’
‘Oh, come on, if your friends aren’t willing to strangle you, what kind of friends are they?’ asked Brenner.”
This was my first time reading Kingfisher but it certainly won’t be the last! And not only because this is the first book in a duology and I must know what happens next.
CW: “suicide mission,” murder, violence, demon possession, blight (contagious illness), misoginy/sexism
Really enjoyed this and immediately read Book 2. I do like a bit of caper fantasy with some romance and drama and evil. Will be hunting down more of her books.
A little bit epic fantasy. They really are trying to save the world–or at least their corner of it.
A little bit steampunk.
A little bit romantic.
But what it really is is a lot of fun.
Outstanding, just outstanding! I loved the characters and dialog. The story was great and fairly well edited. (I think I notices one or two issues, nothing major.)
Slate, a forger; Brennan, and assassin, and Caliban, a paladin and murderer seek to travel behind enemy lines to learn if it’s possible to disable the enemy’s “Clockwork boys”, robotic soldiers that are plowing through their army and land. Unique and interesting, this is the first of two books in the series. I can hardly wait until the next one comes out. I really enjoy this author and highly recommend anything she writes, if you like fantasy.