Steamborn: The Complete Trilogy Box Set

By: Eric Asher

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

Length: 27 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's Summary

A supernatural swarm. A treacherous scheme. A tinker's apprentice may be the village's only hope....

Book 1: Steamborn

Jacob has yet to meet a gadget he couldn't fix or an adventure he couldn't resist. With trade routes to his remote Lowlands town cut off, Jacob must exchange his boyhood adventures for petty theft. After all, his wages at the tinker shop aren't enough to pay for his father's 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.

Book 2: Steamforged

There are old wounds in the forgotten places of the world, and some are soaked in blood.

Jacob and his allies flee into the Deadlands after the fall of Ancora. Charles, the enigmatic smith, hopes to find answers in the desert city of Bollwerk that could prevent a war.

Their enemies are many, and here Jacob will learn the cost of life in the Deadlands.

Book 3: Steamsworn

The world dies in war only to be reborn. It is the way of things, and always will be.

Forged in the Deadlands crucible, and armed with the knowledge of their true enemy, Jacob, Alice, and their allies bring the fight back to Ancora. The wounds cut deep in their darkest hour, but in the end, vengeance will light their path.

This collection includes Steamborn, Steamforged, and Steamsworn. Grab it and crank up a whimsical thrill-ride today!

©2016 Eric R. Asher (P)2017 Eric R. Asher

An Incredible Ride!!

For honour, for friends, for family, for country, protect those who cannot protect themselves and woe be unto the man who shatters his vow, for we are the Steamsworn.

This was my first foray into the world of Steampunk and it was outstanding. I loved The Steamborn Trilogy by Eric Asher. It’s so rare to find a series where all three books are equally excellent. It really was 27+ hours of sheer excitement and enjoyment. The characters in these books were wonderful and fully realized. While there is tons of action in the series, the story is very much character driven and definitely a team effort. All characters are important and have their strengths and weaknesses, and their value to the team. The characters really bring heart to the story with their love and loyalty, and their dedication to do everything they can at whatever cost to protect their cities and their people.

The story opens with regular life in the Lowlands (the poor section) in the city of Ancora and the main character gearing up to dance the Cotillion (I was surprised/happy to see the Cotillion, haven’t seen it mentioned outside of a Georgette Heyer) at the big Festival Dance. Fifteen year old Jacob splits his time between thieving to help his poor family and working with a wonderful and brilliant old tinker named Charles to learn the trade. Jacob’s best friend, and partner in the Cotillion and other amusements is Alice, a very capable and caring girl. Alice is usually the one to temper Jacob’s proclivity for pilfering and misconduct, well, unless there is a bookstore she can’t get in to and then it’s ‘Should we break the window?’ Then there is Samuel, a Spider Knight, who patrols the city on his Jumper (massive spider), Bessie. As the story progresses, terror and chaos soon rain down upon the Lowlands and the characters must work together to find resolution. In doing so they must set out to travel the lands outside the city of Ancora. The world opens up and we learn about mysterious places like Cave, The Scorched Plain, The Deadlands, Bollwerk, Fel, Dauschen, The Burning Forest, Beldorn and the Sea of Salt. New characters are introduced as the story unfolds; Drakkar, Skysworn Mary, Smith, Gladys, George (#1), Archibald and more. There are some really fabulous characters and I hope we will see more of this world and these characters in the future!

Full disclosure: I am terrified of spiders. I know, it’s silly and irrational, but my immediate response is terror (not terribly fond of bugs either.) However, I was fascinated by all the insects in Steamborn. The descriptions were so vivid, I found myself listening intently to every word, so I could really visualize what these creatures looked like and how they moved. In the end, I quite fell for Jumper spider Bessie and got a kick out of George #2 (a Walker with 40 legs!) with his quirky personality during his small part in the story. The creatures in the books were really quite fantastic. There were Jumpers, Walkers, Red Death, Widow Makers, cute Pill Bugs, Giant Mantises, Sky Needles and that was just in the first book. Just when you think you’ve encountered them all there’s Fire Lizards, Tail Swords, Stone Dogs, Tree Killers, Plague Bugs, Emerald Needles and still more. They were all so different and so intriguing that I wanted to hear more about each creature, except maybe the Carrion worms. Ok, those ones were really icky (but I was still mesmerized by the details;).

Eric has done an amazing job of world building. He manages to introduce the reader to the world and its history through the dialogue and the action that takes place. It’s such a seamless integration, enriching the story without any info dumps. His treatment of the technology was pretty amazing. Everything from the weaponry (bolt guns, grappling guns, chain guns), transport (Porcupines, Bollwerk Cruisers, Puffing Demons/Crawlers), bio-mechs and everyday tools were described in such a way that they could be visualized and understood without the descriptions ever becoming too technical or heavy handed. Eric really does have a brilliant imagination and the ability to convey his imaginings through glorious detail. You really experience the ride as you read!

Favourite lines:
‘What did you shoot that with?’ - ‘Science!’
‘I have no use for cruelty.’
‘I have heard tales of the fire in the hearts of flame haired maidens. I begin to think they have some truth.’
‘Leave me to my complaints would you, I don’t know what else to do with myself.’
The architecture changed so fast it almost felt violent.’
‘I’ve always found humans to be the most frightening thing that lurks in the dark.’
‘Whoever loses has no say in what history remembers.’
‘Mankind will always be mankind. It fights what it fears. It rages against change and it kills almost without conscience.’
‘It will also get better and those are the times that must live in your heart to chase away the darkness.’
‘You will change your mind when you’re older and have less sense.’
‘The bombs added their own instruments to the chaotic symphony of stamping invaders and the cannon fire of warships outside.’
Mantra of the Sky Riders: ‘Look at the world with an unbiased eye and its secrets will fall away.’

Narration: Saskia Maarleveld’s narration was absolutely gorgeous and her pacing was perfect. She voiced women, men and children equally well, providing excellent and appropriate voices and depth of emotion for each character. She pulls you right into the story and you never want it to end. Saskia is right up there with top narrators like Barbara Rosenblat, Katherine Kellgren, Steven Crossley, Hugh Fraser and Stephen Briggs.

I have been recommending the series to everyone. A good friend bought the trilogy for her 13 year old daughter who is an avid reader (reads JK Rowling, Jean Auel, Ken Follett, Steven King, Cassandra Clare, etc). She has so far zoomed through the first book and proclaimed it ‘amazing’, and is now in the midst of the second which she is loving.

For those who like to know... There is lots of violence (battle situations), no sex and no profanity until the last book where it is sparingly used and does fit the scenarios. Unless a sensitive reader, I would recommend 13+ .

I received The Steamborn Trilogy free in exchange for an unbiased review.

Through the black we ride once more within the flames our fortunes told.
The gates of hell lay broken wide within the steam no hold abides.
Feared and cast upon the stones, we fight to save the sacred lives.
When all is done and all is safe, find me in that Steamsworn grave.

70 people found this helpful

8 hours in and I'm still waiting for it to start

Reminds me if British movies in that it never really builds up, just perpetually blah. Drones on, no real character background, no real story background, not one exciting part, nothing for me to grab onto and pull me through the story. I wanted to like this story but I finally stopped reading after 6 hours of "well maybe it will pick up in the next chapter ". No. No, it won't.

16 people found this helpful

Original, enjoyable stories

Audible's summary of this trilogy covers things quite nicely. I liked the idea of bugs that evolved to gigantic proportions and that the people learned to live with some of them as we do with our domestic animals. Also, the post apocalyptic resurgence of steam power was interesting.
I think it would be difficult to read/ listen to these stories out of sequence as they aren't really stand-alone stories.
The speech at the end is appropriately politically charged and uplifting and encouraging for the characters, yet, it is not final. It makes me wonder if there will be another series to follow this one. If so, I would like to read/ listen to it as well.

This is the first I've listened to this narrator. I enjoyed listening to her. She had decernable voices for all the characters. I would like to listen to another book read by her.
I would like to read/listen to another book by this author.

There is a lack of swearing, explicit sex or overly descriptive violence.

I received this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this review.

50 people found this helpful

Listen to these books now and you'll thank me late

I've read a lot of steampunk over the years and I think I can honestly say that the Steamborn trilogy is by far some of the best I've ever read or listened to. I made the mistake of starting this audiobook at work and I then proceeded to listen to it in 3 consecutive 9 hour days in which I got absolutely nothing productive done at work.

While I loved just about everything about this series there are a few things that really stick out about it to me First is how much detail Eric Asher manages to put into every character, no matter how small and unimportant they may seem. I also love that instead of long and rambling explanations of the world and technology we get to see everything explained through the characters actions. I think it really makes the story flow a lot better and doesn't bog things down too much in details we really don't need to know.

Though I think the one thing that makes this audiobook stand out the most is Saskia Maarleveld's narration. I honestly can't think of another narrator I know of who can pack so much emotion into their narration and make you want to laugh, cry, or scream along with the characters throughout the entire book. I'm also surprised by just how consistent she manages to be the entire trilogy. I had no problem telling who every character is from their voice alone as she never once falters with their voices and accents. I can only wonder how I've never managed to listen to any of her books before this.

So yeah..listen to this audiobook now and you can thank me later.

18 people found this helpful

It's okay

I liked the first book the best. Why? Because the characters are actually in the place where the main conflict is happening, therefore, I'm allowed to experience that conflict. Books two and three, the author seems to feel like it's more important to just TALK about the conflict. I'm well into the third book, and all I've seen from the main villain of the entire trilogy is ONE eavesdropped conversation. The rest is just talking about how bad the villain is. Some of the steampunk elements feel a little slapped on. Like when we see an airship for the first time, I kid you not, I can't even remember why they went on the airship in the first place. All I remember is, "Let's let the kids take a ride." It felt more like, well, I'm halfway through the second steampunk book and we haven't even seen an airship yet. Better throw one in there. What little action we do get often has little to nothing to do with the main conflict, to the point where the "climax" of the second book literally comes out of nowhere and is resolved extremely quickly. And then the author tries to convince me, "No, no, that was SUPER significant." Well, I'm sorry, I can't get invested in a villain you just pull out of your hat and then kill off one or two chapters later. When we FINALLY get some action revolving around the actual conflict of the trilogy, I am completely and utterly lost as to what is going on, because, go figure, just talking about all the bad stuff is not that interesting, and it's easy to let the mind wander. I don't know if I can finish this, because I'm starting to realize once they get around to taking down the big, bad, villain, I'M NOT GOING TO CARE! Because I wasn't allowed to experience this villain. I wasn't allowed to get to know him. Show. Don't. Tell!

24 people found this helpful

meh.

I thought the protagonists lacked emotion and personality. The writing just didn't convey it well. everybody always just "said" things like they were talking to the open air. I thought the giant insects were very nondescript as well. by the end I just felt like I didn't care about the characters and I wanted the bugs to win.

10 people found this helpful

Steam-tacular!

I’m going to keep this as spoiler free as I can, because this review does cover the entire trilogy and I don’t want to ruin the end for you before you even start. This trilogy was a wonderful ‘getting work done’ audiobook for me. I can procrastinate pretty hard, and often have trouble with focusing on one thing. Having an audiobook going while I work makes it easier for me to concentrate on what I’m doing. This one really helped. At about 25 hours long, give or take, that was a good stint of getting stuff done. And, for an entire trilogy of books, that ain’t a bad use of a credit!

This series is about a tinker’s apprentice named Jacob, his best friend Alice, his mentor Charles and their friend the spider-knight Samuel (and a few others as the series progresses). It takes place in what sounded to me like a far-flung future of Earth after some disaster or other has sent us back a couple centuries in terms of technology. There’s also the giant, giant insects. They are kept out of the city of Ancora, where Jacob and company live, by giant walls and spider knights (soldiers that ride on giant, tame spiders. Yeah.).

I didn’t realize on getting this series that it was YA, but it definitely is, at least, at first. Not a problem for me, especially in audiobooks (I mean, I do spend a not-small amount of my time listening to audiobooks meant for 8 year olds, lol), but just FYI for anyone showing interest here that may not be up for YA books – these are that very thing. Still very much enjoyable by adults and younger audiences alike, but without the copious swearing, sexy times, and crassness that I’ve become used to as of recently, lol. I found that this series matured as it went on as the main characters matured and things happened that would change them, or make them less innocent youths.

The narrator, Saskia Maarleveld, was fantastic. She made each character unique and told this story really well. I’m not always expecting a female narrator to convince me on male characters, but she did indeed convince me, especially with Charles’ character. Her normal reading voice is really pleasant to listen to as well, so that was nice. It made this whole trilogy a fantastic listen.

Now, a little review of each book (as spoiler free as I can):

So, in book one, Steamborn, we meet all our characters and are introduced to the world. The city of Ancora is split into two distinct classes, the highlanders (rich people) and the lowlanders (poor people). When the walls surrounding the lowlands is breached by the aforementioned giant insects, the lowlanders flee into the highlands, causing all kinds of strife. Jacob and Alice (and co.) discover a bit of a scheme going on in the city, and end up having to flee into the deadlands (where all the giant, horrible insects live). Hijinks (possibly including insects of the giant persuasion) ensue!

In book two, Steamforged, things are definitely starting to come to a head. This volume of the series seemed much more adult than young adult. I really enjoyed it. Jacob, Alice, Charles and Samuel have traveled across the Deadlands to the city of Bollwerk, where some considerable stuff is going down. This volume was more action packed, still full of the giant insects that the first volume introduced, has some interesting sort of espionage into enemy territory, and is definitely setting up something bonkers for book 3. I liked this one even better than the first. Really great story building here.

Book three, Steamsworn, was a fantastic conclusion to this trilogy. My god, this book got me in the feels pretty hard once or twice and I was absolutely not expecting that to happen. Unexpected and legitimately feel-inducing things happen in this one on the regular. This was absolutely my favorite of the series, and I think that listening to the audiobook made this even more immersive for me, because Saskia Maarleveld absolutely nailed this one. Nailed it.

All told, I’d give the trilogy a solid 4 stars. Very well done!

I was given a free copy of this audiobook (which was all 3 books of the trilogy) in exchange for my honest review.

9 people found this helpful

Fun Teenage Steampunk

I'm normally more of a sci-fi or fantasy fan, but Asher's was an intriguing take on steampunk. He gets off to what some might consider a slow start, with the pace and action not really picking nearly to the end of the first book of the trilogy, but then things proceed at a nice clip. Not to imply that the story is slow at the beginning or uninteresting, but the main conflict does not emerge until later than I expected. Actually the leisurely pace Asher takes for his worldbuilding at first does give his story a solid foundation in how this world works and what the stakes are.

It is a story about war and violence, and Asher touches on the moral/ethical quandary of the violence and killing that goes on with war, though he largely justifies it based on the atrocities of the "bad guys." I'm not saying that's wrong, just be aware of the philosophy undergirding how he approaches violence in this book (and I say again, this one is more violent than the other two).

The first two books are relatively "clean" and I was suspecting that the series might be appropriate for a young audience (ages 8-12), but the last book ramps things up violence-wise, as well as a little on the language side. If you're considering this for younger children, note my comments in the next paragraph (not really needed for adult readers).

If you are considering this for your children (ages 12 and under) to read a few other things to note. There is minor cursing (probably PG-13 level), though the F-word is alluded to once or twice and may have actually been used in one or two places (my memory is a little fuzzy on that). In the third book there is also a homosexual relationship between a (kind of main) character and a periphery character. Though the relationship is made obvious, nothing explicit is covered. It merely is there and is presented as acceptable in the context of the narrative. Great opportunity for discussion with your children (wherever you stand on homosexuality), just be aware it is there. Throughout the trilogy there is a blossoming romance (slow-burn style) between two of the main characters. Again nothing explicit, but might provide context for good conversations with younger children.

As for the narration, Saaskia Maarleveld does an excellent job. She pulls off the male characters effortlessly and for the most part I had no problem differentiating between the characters' voices. Sometimes the accents certain characters had seemed kind of vague (like one had an almost irish accent...never quite overtly so, though). It fit the context of Asher's world-building, so I didn't really pay too close attention. It never detracted from the story or got in the way of me telling the difference between characters and their voices. I wouldn't hesitate to listen to another book narrated by Maarleveld.

All in all, I found this trilogy a fun listen. It's quite a good catch at over 27 hours for one credit. The steampunk element is there but not in an overwhelming way. With the inclusion of giant spiders and bugs, the book almost feels more like a fantasy than a sci-fi book (though steampunk is arguably more the latter). A great little story!

2 people found this helpful

Not an adult book, alas

This review is based on the first couple of hours.
I believe I would have loved this book 20 years ago.
Unfortunately, I'm not a teenager anymore, nor even a "young adult" whatever that is.

It's a good adventuring yarn in a generic fantasy-cum-steampunk world. Beyond that, I couldn't say as the plot doesn't actually begin in the first two hours.

The performance is OK, if not for my tastes.

4 people found this helpful

Steamsworn

if you love engineer and gadgets then this is the story for you! it's a fun plunge into a steampunk world.

1 person found this helpful

Steampunk adventures, politics, war and monsters

Taken as a whole these three stores tell a complete, completing tale of adventure, politics, war all mixed in with a coming of age story for the young heroes. The post-apocalyptic steampunk world full of monster bugs is a truly interesting one. The world has clearly had a lot of work put into it granting it a sense of believability and history to everything.

The writing is top notch in both the story and dialogue; add to that the great narration with every character has their own unique voice conveying their personality and emotions. The character’s reactions to everything that happens around them and even their own actions is another thing that makes this story so completing to listen to.

All this together is a recipe for an enjoyable and engaging book to listen to and I very much enjoyed my time with this audiobook. So I can highly recommend Steamborn: The Complete Trilogy Box Set, It is a lot of story for a single credit.



I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

3 people found this helpful

loved it.

couldn't stop listening. from start to finish it was really good. can't wait for more.

1 person found this helpful

Enthralling Story and Characters

From the beginning of the first book I was drawn in by the world the story was set in. With characters that are diverse and likeable, I found that the further into the story I went, the more elaborate it became. The trilogy is a captivating journey and a gripping narrative. The ending left me wanting more, and I hope Eric Asher writes a continuation of this epic tale.

A good steampunk fantasy YA series

This series is not my normal for go to reading/listening but I'm glad I stepped outside my comfort zone! The author takes the audience on quite an adventure. The timeline seemed a little disjointed in spots, but just roll with it. The narrator did a great job! I received a free copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A dam good Adventure

I lived this set of books I was hooked from the beginning to the end.
the narrator did a great job of bringing the book to life for me.
in fact I well be staring the books again to make that I did not miss anything.

enthralling ...

loved it.... brilliantly read and kept me glued all the way through the 3 books

Fabulous

Im flagging now, on the last few chapters but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy. The plot, setting, character formation and narrative arc are all done superbly. A brilliant read - even better when I bought it on offer.

an ok book but missing something

became very much a background book, and realised I must have been missing parts (tuning it out) as previous moments were referenced and I had no recollection of them. The world created was lacking details which would have drawn me in as a reader and made me believe more in the world it was set.

fantastic but it's going to need more listens

brilliant story that will need more listens. fantastic work Eric. looking forward to more. worth a listen or two

un sure

this story left me gripped in some places then dragged, then couldn't understand who was who left me very confused and had to re listen to several chapters. unsure to what i feel abiut th8s book.