The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man

Burton & Swinburne, Book 2

By: Mark Hodder

Narrated by: Gerard Doyle

It is 1862, though not the 1862 it should be....

Time has been altered, and Sir Richard Francis Burton, the king's agent, is one of the few people who know that the world is now careening along a very different course from that which Destiny intended.

When a clockwork-powered man of brass is found abandoned in Trafalgar Square, Burton and his assistant, the wayward poet Algernon Swinburne, find themselves on the trail of the stolen Garnier Collection - black diamonds rumored to be fragments of the Lemurian Eye of Naga, a meteorite that fell to Earth in prehistoric times. His investigation leads to involvement with the media sensation of the age: the Tichborne Claimant, a man who insists that he's the long lost heir to the cursed Tichborne estate. Monstrous, bloated, and monosyllabic, he's not the aristocratic Sir Roger Tichborne known to everyone, yet the working classes come out in force to support him. They are soon rioting through the streets of London, as mysterious steam wraiths incite all-out class warfare.

From a haunted mansion to the Bedlam madhouse, from South America to Australia, from seances to a secret labyrinth, Burton struggles with shadowy opponents and his own inner demons, meeting along the way the philosopher Herbert Spencer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Florence Nightingale, and Charles Doyle (father of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle). Can the king's agent expose a plot that threatens to rip the British Empire apart, leading to an international conflict the like of which the world has never seen? And what part does the clockwork man have to play?

Burton and Swinburne's second adventure, The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man, is filled with eccentric steam-driven technology, grotesque characters, and a deepening mystery that pushes forward the three-volume story arc begun in The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack.

Listen to more in the Burton & Swinburne series.©2011 Mark Hodder (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Steampunk Fans!!!

What made the experience of listening to The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man the most enjoyable?

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

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man?

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

What does Gerard Doyle bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

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

Fantastic book with a good sense of time

This was a great installment in the Burton and Swinburne series. It faithfully and strongly follows Springheeled Jack by crafting the world and the culture so brilliantly. Additionally I thought there was a feeling that time, long and short, was always an enemy with a strong feeling of urgency controlling the pace.

My only issue was in the reading it seemed like there were a lot of mistakes in naming characters. Several times Burton would reply to Burton in a Swinburne voice and the like. One proof listening would solve this as it hit pretty hard on the ears, but other than that it was a great listen.

Another excellent installment.

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.

Much gorier than Spring-Heeled Jack

Where does The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I really like this series and will continue to the third book, but Clockwork Man is definitely more graphic - violence and gore. Some of that was a bit much but overall I liked the storyline.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man?

When Burton "died". I was bummed for a moment!

Have you listened to any of Gerard Doyle’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have heard Gerard Doyle read Spring-Heeled Jack, the first book in the Burton & Swinburne series. He's very good, in my opinion, but I have not heard him read outside of this series.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

another good book

Good stuff. The villain of this one wasn't absolutely ridiculous like Spring Heeled Jack, which makes book one the superior book, in my opinion. Still book two was interesting for me. I look forward to the next!

the crazy clockwork plot continues

As I promised myself, I only bought the second book of this series when it went on sale. I wasn't sure if I would like it or not, but I think I ended up liking it a bit more than the first book. The book carries on a number of plot points from the first one, and has almost all the characters from the first, so maybe best to brush up. This book also sets up for at least one following book. As in the first installment, there's tons of steampunk technology, alternate history, evil plots and whatnot. Also zombies. Who doesn't love steampunk zombies?
I would have given the plot five stars but I just wish that the characters developed/changed more through the books. They're very plot driven, which is fine, but it would be nice to see them a little more fleshed out. Once again, I probably would get the next book, but only once I find it on sale.

Wonderfully written, wonderfully read.

Any additional comments?

The best thing about this story is how it paints a picture of historical London, and then introduces steampunk and magic elements so smoothly and naturally that there is little to no suspension of disbelief required on the part on the listener. The narration is perfectly executed, and the different voices of the reader are fluid and varied enough that you're rarely, if ever, brought out of the story.

A terrific buy for book lovers of all genres!

wonderfully dreadful, swisted history

Where does The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

in the top 50

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man?

defeat of main foe

What about Gerard Doyle’s performance did you like?

distinctive, consistent characters

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

a characters death, but that would be telling

A good story, but not without rough spots

What did you like best about The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man? What did you like least?

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

What could Mark Hodder have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

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

What does Gerard Doyle bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

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

Any additional comments?

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.

Curious case is putting it mildly

What did you love best about The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man?

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.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man?

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

What does Gerard Doyle bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

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.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

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.

Any additional comments?

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