The Clockwork Dynasty

A Novel

By: Daniel H. Wilson

Narrated by: David Giuntoli, Claire Coffee

Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

An ingenious thriller that follows a race of human-like machines that have been hiding among us for untold centuries—from the New York Times bestselling author of Robopocalypse.

"[A] fantastic hybrid of Highlander and The Terminator…. It reads like classic steampunk on steroids." —Ernest Cline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ready Player Two

Present day: When a young anthropologist specializing in ancient technology uncovers a terrible secret concealed in the workings of a three-hundred-year-old mechanical doll, she is thrown into a hidden world that lurks just under the surface of our own. With her career and her life at stake, June Stefanov will ally with a remarkable traveler who exposes her to a reality she never imagined, as they embark on an around-the-world adventure and discover breathtaking secrets of the past….

Russia, 1725: In the depths of the Kremlin, the tsar’s loyal mechanician brings to life two astonishingly humanlike mechanical beings. Peter and Elena are a brother and sister fallen out of time, possessed with uncanny power, and destined to serve great empires. Struggling to blend into pre-Victorian society, they are pulled into a legendary war that has raged for centuries.

The Clockwork Dynasty seamlessly interweaves past and present, exploring a race of beings designed to live by ironclad principles, yet constantly searching for meaning. As June plunges deeper into their world, her choices will ultimately determine their survival or extermination. Richly-imagined and heart-pounding, Daniel H. Wilson’s novel expertly draws on his robotics and science background, combining exquisitely drawn characters with visionary technology—and riveting action.

©2017 Daniel H. Wilson (P)2017 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"The Clockwork Dynasty is my new favorite secret history novel! It's like some fantastic hybrid of Highlander and The Terminator—or maybe a cross between I, Robot and The Difference Engine, with a dash of Blade Runner for good measure. It reads like classic steampunk on steroids. In other words, it's totally bad ass and you're going to love it." —Ernest Cline, The New York Times bestselling author of Ready Player One

"Daniel H. Wilson is one of the foremost prophets of the near future.... In The Clockwork Dynasty, the irrepressibly readable Wilson has retreated to pseudo-vampiric sentient robots. I say retreated because he’s dealing with the past and present, rather than the future—though his rewriting of the past is no less radical than his speculative work.... The plot is driven by a human protagonist, June Stefanov. She represents human history and continues Wilson’s excellent run of female lead characters—a distinction not to be sniffed at in male-written robot sci-fi." —The Los Angeles Review of Books

"This bold adventure is a stew of cult-classic concepts—the avtomat reflect the Immortals in the Highlander franchise, while the ancient and deadly Elena is reminiscent of child vampire Claudia in Interview with the Vampire. It may wear its influences on its sleeve but it's also a welcome treat for steampunk and fantasy fans. A thrilling mix of influences, much like Sylvain Neuvel's Sleeping Giants and HBO's Westworld, that creates a captivating scenario begging for many sequels." —Kirkus (starred review)

Good Narrators. Okay Story

The story itself was alright. It was interesting at certain intervals and at others I found myself wanting to skip parts.

Claire and David did a wonderful job narrating and I look forward to hearing more books from them.

Excellent

Writing I can admire and envy. Excellent work of art! Wish I’d written it. Bravo!

Terminator meets Blade Runner meets Grimm!!

I loved this imaginative fantasy which creates a world in which a race of human-like machines have been secretly living among us for thousands of years impacting on the course of humanity and science. Beautifully written, the narrative alternates between the present and the future, gradually building in tension to a thrilling climax with lots of action along the way. Wonderfully narrated by David Giunttoli and Claire Coffee (Det Nick Berckhart and Adelind Shade from Grimm) who both bring a very special magic to the whole the experience.

it was good, until the end....

voice actors were decent, didn't really have a problem with that. loved the rich storyline very detailed with mystery and deception, with enough action to keep you engaged but then just ends very abruptly....it ended in such a way I thought on to the sequel! but then found out there was no sequel...so because of the abrupt open ending I really was unsatisfied

Great story

Great story but the audio was medium. The acting and reading was great but the low voice of the male character was often inaudible in a car or other noisy environments. The dynamic range was too high since the female voice was bright and clear but too much when the volume was turned up to hear the low male voice.

Very well composed storyline and the telling

Wounderful story of a race of warriors and scientist and good all around beings at least most of them were good.

This story coupled to these narrators just flopped

I just felt... Incredulous. Disbelief is not easily suspended with this book and the author doesn't install the necessary psychological 'wormholes' for the reader to take that trip to disbelief without dissonance. The manner of the constant refrain to "My Pravda" could be seen ending in a train wreck a hemisphere away. The constant time traveling perspectives weren't by themselves deal breaking mechanisms, however I'm sorry but magic-not-named-as-such just doesn't do it for me. I was attracted to Robopocalypse for its longshot plausibility in a not too distant future, Robogenesis took it even further with regards to magical thinking, and was only saved by the emotional intensity of the plot, i.e. The author used an "Irate Shah" (angry king), as a heavy attention-gravity-well to provide cover from rationality for a bunch of experimental "magical thinking". Here we see Wilson perhaps doing something he wanted to do all along, abandon the hard constraints of science for the airy climes of imaginary worlds. Unfortunately, even for magic, everything runs on rules and the rules of magic as such are firmly grounded in mythology. When Wilson went off the rails and into the diversion of this book (perhaps to cleanse his palate after two novels of relatively good representations of hell) I was expecting a strong mythological substructure which would tie together all the fragments he has woven in admittedly graphic detail. I did not find much of that mythos and scant logos either. Disappointed.

If I want fantasy I'll read Tolkien or Rowling, those authors have a master's understanding (at least effectively) of the mythological world. Wilson may be a good scientist, but I see betrayed via this novel large holes in his mythological breadth and depth. Maybe clockwork dynasty is the mistake that will give the author the missing information that he needs to write an excellent third book in the Robopocalypse trilogy.

fun story if a bit brief

Enjoyed the narrators from Grimm - especially David Giuntoli. Clever and fun adventure story- not too complicated or hard to follow. Writing was fine - nothing super special, but easy to listen too. Overall and nice entertaining story to listen to casually.

Great story but...

I LOVED the story!! If I still had the time and patience I would totally buy a real book and read it again. The female narrator murdered this book for me. I will be sure to add her to my list of ones to avoid in the future. The male narrator was wonderful and I could listen to him all day! I’m not sure if/how a sequel could be done but if it’s narrates by someone else, I will definitely keep listening!

A great concept!

DEFINITELY a fun and interesting concept. the novel's pacing and structure is quick and nicely done and the twin performances were great (particularly Piotr's role).
My only critique is that the end is a bit abrupt and I wish we'd seen more characterization and backstory on the other characters ...prahaps in a sequel? I'd buy a second book.