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Boneshaker
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Read Boneshaker
The Clockwork Century: Book 1

Boneshaker (2009) (edit title/settings)

by Cherie Priest (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

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... read more

Summary edit see section history

Briar Wilkes is a single mother raising her only son, Ezekiel in a steampunk Civil War Era Seattle. Ezekiel runs away from home in search of rumors of his father. His search leads him into a sealed off section of town, where lethal gas can do more than just kill you. Briar goes after his... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Briar Wilkes is a single mother raising her only son, Ezekiel in a steampunk Civil War Era Seattle. Ezekiel runs away from home in search of rumors of his father. His search leads him into a sealed off section of town, where lethal gas can do more than just kill you. Briar goes after his son in a wild attempt to save his life, and finds that there is more than just death over the wall. An entire kingdom has sprouted from the ashes, with a mysterious masked man named Dr. Minnericht sitting on the throne, and both Briar and her son are far from unknown to the inhabitants of this wasteland. Briar will need how to survive in a new world of Sky Pirates, Thieves, and Mercenaries, where the dead don’t stay dead for long. She will need to learn fast if she is to have any chance to make it out alive, with her son.

Characters edit see section history

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Quotes edit see section history

  • “"Lemon sap kills people." "So do other people. So do dogs. So do angry horses, and diseases, and gangrene, and birthing babies. And what about the war? You don't think the war back east kills people? I promise you this - it kills them by the score, and it kills more of them than the Blight does. More by thousands, I bet."”
    Briar Wilkes & Jeremiah Swakhammer
  • “"If you dig to hard or push to far, if you learn to much, it will only break your heart. Sometimes, everyone is right. Not always and not even usually, but once in a while, everyone is right."”
    Briar Wilkes
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • The Blight had a density to it, and a color that was somewhere between shit and sunflowers.
    Highlighted by 19 Kindle customers
  • Her lack of interest might have been interpreted as a lack of caring, but it was only a side effect of permanent exhaustion.
    Highlighted by 9 Kindle customers
  • “But you can guess, I bet, and it would probably be a very good guess, and so help me if I don’t hear some guesses coming out of your mouth I will do you great and terrible bodily harm, and there isn’t a nun or a priest or anyone else in a God-given uniform who will recognize you when I’m finished. The angels will weep when they see what’s left of you. Now, talk.”
    Highlighted by 7 Kindle customers
  • The Blight didn’t start him walking again, so thank God for small things, I suppose.”
    Highlighted by 6 Kindle customers
  • I realize that the story is a bit of a twisted stretch, but honestly—isn’t that what steampunk is for?
    Highlighted by 5 Kindle customers
  • A dead man can’t change his mind or make new rules, or behave like a bastard so no one will listen to him anymore. A dead man stays a saint.”
    Highlighted by 5 Kindle customers
  • Sometimes, everyone is right. Not always and not even usually, but once in a while, everyone is right.”
    Highlighted by 4 Kindle customers
  • “It was war, you dumb kid. Everybody I liked got killed, and most of the folks I’d just as soon have shot made it out with medals on their chests. It wasn’t fair and it sure as hell wasn’t any fun.
    Highlighted by 4 Kindle customers
  • “Jeremiah Swakhammer,
    Highlighted by 4 Kindle customers
  • “They knew nothing of a researcher’s process, and they did not understand that success is built on the bones of failures.”
    Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers
Show all 12 quotes from this book

Setting & Locations edit see section history

Seattle, Washington Territory 1879
  • Outskirts: Area outside the wall, not affected by the Blight's poisonous gas
  • Seattle Underground: Areas populated by non-zombies inside the Wall of Seattle

Organizations edit see section history

  • Rotters: Fast, hungry zombies that hunt in packs within the walled in city of Seattle.
  • Door Nails: An allied group that lives within Seattle's walls.

First Sentence edit see section history

Unpaved, uneven trails pretended to be roads; they tied the nation's coasts together like laces holding a boot, binding it with crossed strings and crossed fingers.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 7 in The Clockwork Century. (standard series)

Followed by Clementine.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Cherie Priest (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Wil Wheaton (Narrator)
  2. Kate Reading (Narrator)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Tor
Country: USA
Publication Date: 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7653-1841-1
Page Count: 416

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PS3616.R537 B66 2009
  • Dewey: 813.6

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

This novel is foremost an adventure/rescue story. It features an independent boy getting in over his head by sneaking into a dangerous place to find answers about his family. His mother is strong and sensible and willing to risk her life to rescue him. Because the story contains what are best described as zombies, it includes scenes of violence and danger. It also includes murder and other deaths. There is some mild language, and the sale and use of alcohol and drugs. The use of the drug in the story is not viewed in a positive light, though.

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Mortal Engines
  • Dreadnought
  • Behemoth

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