Boneshaker

By: Cherie Priest

Narrated by: Wil Wheaton, Kate Reading

Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike brought hordes of newcomers to the Pacific Northwest. Anxious to compete, Russian prospectors commissioned inventor Leviticus Blue to create a great machine that could mine through Alaska’s ice.

Thus was Dr. Blue’s Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine born. But on its first test run the Boneshaker went terribly awry, destroying several blocks of downtown Seattle and unearthing a subterranean vein of blight gas that turned anyone who breathed it into the living dead.

Now it is 16 years later, and a wall has been built to enclose the devastated and toxic city. Just beyond it lives Blue’s widow, Briar Wilkes. Life is hard with a ruined reputation and a teenaged boy to support, but she and Ezekiel are managing. Until Ezekiel undertakes a secret crusade to rewrite history. His quest will take him under the wall and into a city teeming with ravenous undead, air pirates, criminal overlords, and heavily armed refugees. And only Briar can bring him out alive.

©2009 Cherie Priest (P)2010 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Intelligent, exceptionally well written and showcasing a phenomenal strong female protagonist who embodies the complexities inherent in motherhood, this yarn is a must-read for the discerning steampunk fan." ( Publishers Weekly)

Narration!?

Would you be willing to try another one of Wil Wheaton and Kate Reading ’s performances?

Wil Wheaton - YES Kate Reading - NO. OMG Ms Reading used the same depressing monotone throughout her whole narration. I know the character POV she was reading from wasn't the happiest but the character wasn't a walking corpse!

Any additional comments?

I really wanted to like this book and will probably pick up the paper copy and give it another chance but this audio version was not worth the time and I can't even get my credit back. *shrugs*

Avoid this narrator like the plague!

Wil Wheaton was great though so I will check out what else he's done :D

Kate Reading sounds weird

Wil Wheaton is great as always, but Reading's performance is odd. weird robotic inflection at the end of every sentence. gets better at the end, but it's annoying.

Steampunk fun

Being a Steampunk artist it’s fun to get new ideas to create pieces of work of art to wear at conventions and hearing the adventure from this book the exquisite details of the Steampunk aesthetics. It has great character development lots of adventure I could totally see this as a film

so disappointed

Hoped that the rare novel based on Seattle would be interesting, but it was more boring than reading about the real machines making new tunnels in 21st century Seattle. Other than a few named landmarks, this alternative history steampunk could have been placed on another planet. Hopefully the main characters will find something meaningful to do with their lives.

I really enjoyed this. good performance.

Alt history, zombies, airships and steampunk. Strong female lead. This is fun and I recommend it if the key words above got your interest.

Wonderful book

This fantastic book paints intense pictures with words, and is supremely enjoyable. The idea of using two narrators was brilliant as well.

meh...

a little boring...narration seemed slow...and ended badly. Will Wheaton and Kate reading switch off reading roles for the mother and son main characters. We didn't like the son...the mothers character was OK....but still, meh..

Steampunk America

This is the first novel I've read by Cherie Priest. I read one of her short stories and liked it, so when I saw this title, I gave it a shot
The characters are well-developed. The science is interesting without being too heavy.
There's a twist at the end...

I'm going to continue the series.

A Boneshakingly Good Listen

Cherie Priest's BONESHAKER is a romp through an alternate Civil War era Seattle, torn apart by Leviticus Blue's Boneshaking Drill -- a Russian-funded experimental drilling engine designed to tunnel under the Alaskan ice, looking for gold. But something goes wrong when Blue tests the machine, and gas which would become known as "the Blight" begins to seep out of the ground, killing those who breathe it. And worse.

So a large section of the city is walled off, Blue has disappeared, and his widow, Briar Wilkes, is left to raise the son she didn't know she carried when the calamity struck. She and her son, Ezekiel, are treated with disdain and open contempt by the remaining townsfolk, believing she must have known what Blue was up to, and so blaming her in part for the new way of life on the "Outskirts" around Seattle.

Ezekiel, longing to clear the family name, heads into the city for answers, and Briar soon follows. Only then do they start to truly understand what has become of those who have been claimed by the Blight -- the "rotters" -- zombies whose appearance in the book is truly suspenseful and riveting. Add goggles and gasmasks (to protect against the Blight) and gadgets dreamed up to sustain human settlements within the ruins of the city, Civil War era airships, and a great cast of supporting characters, and it's no wonder that BONESHAKER has had the praise heaped upon it that it has. It's great fun and well-imagined.

Here, Kate Reading gives a great deadpan Briar Wilkes, capturing the frustration and urgency of a tired, bitter mother looking for her son, and putting a great voice behind Jeremiah Swakhammer, the big, armor-plated -- well, I don't want to give too much away. And Wil Wheaton helps bring Zeke and the characters he meets to life, particularly taking the day with his performances as Zeke, a certain Princess (this one is great!), and the mysterious "Dr. Minnericht."

How this one escaped nominations for the Audies I don't know.

Good listen

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I would recommend this. It's a highly original story with great characters.

What other book might you compare Boneshaker to and why?

This fits in with the other 2 books of the Clockwork Century trilogy. Love that there are 3 great books with strong women lead characters who can care for themselves & kick some butt.

Which scene was your favorite?

The scenes in King Station were creepy but so well brought to life! I will never go through that station again without thinking of the big fight there.