The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man: Burton & Swinburne, Book 2

Clockwork Man picks up shortly after the end of Hodder’s first alternate-history, steampunk mystery and provides an if-not-better-then-equally-enjoyable adventure. I couldn’t wait to get to this after listening to the first book. Gerard Doyle once again does an incredible job jumping between multiple foreign accents as well as English dialects common to 1860s London. The main characters are more fleshed out here, and we get closer to some of the ancillary folks from the first book. There are very few slow moments throughout the book, and we really get a sense of how everything plays into the overall story arc of the trilogy (Unless there’s going to be a fourth book. Please tell me there’s a fourth book). There’s some horror, some philosophy, some mystery, some time travel, some mind-control, some clairvoyance, and oh yeah, zombies. Dandy, aristocratic zombies. Awesome.

The story moved quickly and kept my interest. The plot was often a real problem.

Try to limit the number of themes in the story. Concentrate on developing better female characters.

Gerard Doyle was excellent! His attention to accents and differentiating the characters kept Victorian Britain in my mind while I listened.

My first exposure to the Steam-punk genre was "The Difference Engine". It was a good combination of science fiction and alternate history. I've wanted to sample similar story lines and "The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man" is one foray.

I found myself liking the story in spite of itself. The pace moves quickly and the narration is excellent, really the most enjoyable part of the experience. The worst part, sorry to say, is the plot. It's a mash-up of fantasy, very little science in the fiction, and lurid horror with a cast of characters from history that bear little resemblance to the actual people of the same names. If you are in any way a skeptic of woo-woo metaphysics, be prepared to sit down with a stiff brandy before diving into this tale. Having said that, the writing and narration were good enough that I forced myself several times to suspend disbelief and just go along for the ride. And a good ride it is!

The story begins in the fractured time line caused in the first book after a traveler from the future disrupts not only history, but quite evidently the natural laws of the universe. Charles Darwin, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Charles Babbage and a host of other Victorian science and engineering greats are recast as ambitious mad scientists. The results we see in "The Clockwork Man" is science and technology run amok with the paranormal soon to follow. Soon we discover that mesmerism really works, psychics and mediums become evil wizards and witches, magic crystals cause mayhem and an evil spell turns rioters first into cannibals and then into zombies!

The main characters of Burton and Swinburne are well developed as are many of the secondary actors. There are no well developed female characters, which is a shame given the number of places in the story where they could have been. Except for Madame Blavatsy, a self-promoting medium and fraud in real life who plays the part of the wicked witch in this story, none of the other women have anything other than supporting roles.

I did enjoy the story in spite of its shortcomings. If you enjoy steam-punk and fantasy, you will probably like it also.

This series has made me laugh out loud in pure enjoyment. This author has a wonderfully twisted imagination and I am looking forward to his next book - it's already set up on my Ipod. Gerald Doyle is one of my favorite narrators and if you haven't listened to any of his narrations - Please do so right away.

Not necessarily. If I like a book on tape I will often also read it as a novel. Listening first makes the novel easier to visualize and to move through the story.

Burton of course - The author makes him a real person albeit one with extraordinary capabilities but very vulnerable and human emotions. His blatant character flaws balance out so some of the incredible (maybe even hard to believe) physical accomplishments .

He is pretty good at reading different characters. Not the best but he definitley adds to helping keep the story clear. I haven't had any problem with following the story and the characters.

Just about.

Creative book with clever weaving of ideas and staying true to the story. This type of SciFi literature could quickly get away and become ridiculous but Hodder keeps his characters and story grounded.

The flow of the story was like water in the river, easy to understand; but complex enough to keep you listen!!!

Too many good parts for me to just have one:-)

The characters reactions to each other in a serious but funny way.

The twist in history that started in book 1 was so inventive. The way everything starts to come together is so exciting and very satisfying.

The times when Swinburne kept getting mesmerized and in order to block it he had to drink. I am sure that was very hard for him but duty to the throne and all. Lol

When he talks about the characters or for the characters you can feel what is going on with each one. Plus I love his voice I could listen to it all say.

Trust me I tried to listen at one time. Actually I would have listened to all three books in one sitting if I could. I just bought book 1 because I was curious about Steampunk genre. Then I couldn't wait to get book two. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown when I got to part two of the download and it was not there due to a bug in audible app which is fixed now.

I can't wait to hear book 3 and I hope they have more.

See my review on his first book for my overall thoughts on the series.

But, this book was also another great addition to the steampunk genre. Genius use of Characters and Dialogue. And the Narrator is officially another favorite of mine!

yes, I would because of the time travel elements and the insuling parakeets

If I could answer that I would spend alot less money on audiobooks.

fitting for style

yes

the series goes down hill from the first book this one feels new and fresh but by the middle of the second book I found myself longing for something new.

After listening to the first book in this series, I immediately bought the other two available.The characters are fascinating,the alternate history and technology neat. In this world altered by time travel, Sir Richard Francis Burton is an agent of the king, investigating unusual happenings, primarily revolving around why history is so changed. None of the books really stand alone, there are episodic mysteries at the beginning with the rest of the book tying into the overall storyline. This is where they get into some trouble. I know time travel is confusing,but things get a little muddled and messy,overlong as well. That being said,I don't regret listening to these, the narration is excellent and I love the characters. Fans of steam punk and sci-fi should enjoy!

I've now listened to all three books in the Burton and Swinburne series. To me, this was the weakest story of the three. The narration was the same excellent quality as the others, and the author did smooth out some of his "first novel" rough spots. But the overall story was not as interesting as the other two. The storyline was necessary to transition from the first book to the third, but that doesn't necessarily make it interesting.