A supernatural swarm. A treacherous scheme. A tinker’s apprentice may be the village’s only hope… medicine.
But it soon becomes clear why few merchants brave the nearby roads as a plague of terrifying creatures descends upon the town. With the Lowlands under siege, Jacob and his friend have no choice but to run for their lives. When their escape uncovers a terrible secret, Jacob learns there are those who’ll stop at nothing to make sure the teen takes the scandal to his grave…
Steamborn is an inventive YA fantasy novel with a heavy dash of steampunk. If you like dystopian settings, killer insects, and resourceful characters, then you’ll love Eric Asher’s gear-turning tale.
Buy Steamborn to crank up a whimsical thrill-ride today!
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Light and enjoyable read. Imaginative and definitely entertaining. A good read
This is not the type of book I normally read or listen to, but OMG, this was fabulous. YA dystopia with steampunk, weird creatures, erasure of history and people, adventures and a wonderful cast of characters. I listened to this book and immediately went into book 2. I just had to know what happened after they escaped their home in the lowlands.
Free is a great way to try a new author! I really enjoyed this book – original world building and well developed characters. Writing was a bit uneven, but overall did not spoil the fun. Adventure and problem solving abound in a setting different from so many scifi/fantasy worlds that just rip off medieval history. Had to get the next two books in the series!
Outstanding Worldbuilding
This book might be written for teens and young adults but I loved it and I’m over the half-century mark.
The characters are intriguing as well as relatable and will have you quickly rooting for them. It’s an action-packed, smooth, and exciting read.
Jacob and Alice are 16, and really good friends. Jacob is apprenticed to Charles aka Tinker, and he is a pickpocket.
We get quite a bit of character development before the action starts. Their home is destroyed and they have to seek refuge with generous persons of the upper class.
Curosity is always a good way to lead the plot and reveal something that may be evil. Of course Jacob and Alice are good and will be the target of the evil.
Take time to read, you will see things that also happen in our own society. History being written, or omitted. Powerful people, who are really criminal. I think it would be fun to put some of our persons in the place of the bad charactors.
Good read for young readers, espeacilly those around the age of our two 16 year olds.
bad language
this book was my introduction to “steam punk”, so it took me a while to warm up to the theme. However, once I got beyond the original premise of a steam-powered world, I found the story both interesting and informative.
Audiobook review:
Overall –
Performance – 5
Story –
I loved Saskia Maarleveld’s audio performance.
I have to be honest; this just isn’t my kind of book to read. I purchased the complete series audiobook because it was available for only one credit. I listened to book one of it because Eric Asher will be an attending author at the virtual Coastal Magic Convention next month (Feb 2021). I’m participating in a reading challenge and I’m trying to read something by all of the attending authors.
So, my review is going to focus mostly on the excellent audio performance by Saskia Maarleveld. As far as I can remember, this is the first audio book I’ve listened to that she’s performed. It truly was a performance. The different voices she used for the characters were great. I’m very picky about female narrators – my personal preference is to listen to a male voice – but she is one that I wouldn’t hesitate to listen to again and again. She does a very credible male voice and that’s something that most of the female narrators I’ve listened to can’t do.
I really hesitate to comment on the story itself because it just isn’t a genre that works for me. I did find parts of it interesting – especially the parts about the different mechanical bits. It really isn’t even fair for me to assign a rating to overall story but I give the audio performance 5 stars.
I have read all three of these Steamborn novels. I want more from this universe.
Fast paced, decent story, could use some character development
A little slow at the beginning, but I kept reading hoping for a book I would be comfortable sharing with my daughter. By the end, I was ready to read book two and was happy to recommend it to my daughter.
Great read!!
A novel interpretation of a post apocalypses world. It is unfortunate the sequels are unavailable on Kindle Unlimited.
This fast paced action packed adventure was thoroughly enjoyable. I identified with the main characters & hoped that I would be as selfless & courageous in a similar situation. The interesting plot line and satisfying ending has me looking forward to more adventures by this author.
Boring
I enjoyed this story. While not an epic adventure, the author did a very good job of introducing us to the main characters, and giving us a glimpse of the world he’s built. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
Weird book from start to long awaited finish
I bought the first book (“Steamborn”) on a whim. I discovered that the trilogy was much better that I had hoped, with a steampunk world built on the ruins of the one we know today, with characters that were fully rounded and a good story line. I highly recommend this series.
Too slow to build.
Great character development and situations.