The Wonder Engine

Clocktaur War, Book 2

By: T. Kingfisher

Narrated by: Khristine Hvam

Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's Summary

In the sequel to Clockwork Boys, Slate, Brenner, Caliban and Learned Edmund have arrived in Anuket City, the source of the mysterious Clockwork Boys. They even managed to build some trust in each other's skills. That trust is built on quicksand as the risks continue to escalate. But the secrets they're keeping could well destroy them, before the city even gets the chance...

Old foes and consequences of past decisions lurk in the shadows. Every team member's skills are required to succeed - even more so if they hope to survive.

The Wonder Engine never lets us forget our funny, broken group even as the action propels our heroes to new highs and lows. It shows that making the most of the rest of your life can be rewarding - no matter how many mechanical abominations you need to destroy to get there.

©2018 Ursula Vernon (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Enjoyable

A fun read, had me laughing and crying. Binged both books in two days.
"Shut up, Brenner."

Funny, loveable characters - boring story

I liked the humor, I liked the characters, I didn't find the enemy all that captivating so. the adventure itself was a bit lacking. That said, this is one of the more recent series I can think of that did make me chuckle A LOT.

Book 2 is a let down

after finishing the first book I could not wait to start the second. Honestly Book 2 is a big disappointment. The last hour of the book is badly done manufactured interpersonal conflict that subtracts from the story. How some of the plot points are resolved are convoluted. hole thing is just rushed.

Fantastic continuation of The Clockwork Boys

Just like its predecessor, The Clockwork Boys, The Wonder Engine is a delightful story; and I continue to love the narrator's gnoll voices

Fun, but... (beware, spoilers)

This book was fun and easy to read.
However.
The romance took over the plot. Whether it’s because the plot was insufficient or that the plot was insufficient because of the romance - hard to tell. Either way, it took over everything, so much so that I’m not actually sure how the issues presented in the first book were solved.
Spoilers ahead!!













If the wonder engine created clocktaurs forever, what was Brother Amadi’s role in it? Who fed it demons for thousands of years?
If everyone was so worried about gnoles genocide once the “allergy” is revealed, why was it simply dismissed with “oh well, we’ll deal with it”?
Why was the Horsehead subplot so unimportant, if Slate was so worried about this previously?
Why did Brenner invite the demon in?
What was the purpose of the wonder engine they encountered on the road?
Honestly, I don’t think I’m *so* dense as to not understand simple explanations, I think this was just rushed or underdeveloped , while the romantic brooding and silliness was overdeveloped.

Still, I read it quite quickly, so it flowed nicely overall.

Excellent Story!

I was completely riveted on the mystery and the interactions! Reading this couplet of books was a definite pleasure.