Review: Mainspring by Jay Lake

Mainspring by Jay Lake
Tor Books, June 2007
Genre: Alternate History, Steampunk
Format Read: Kindle

Book Description:
Jay Lake's first trade novel is an astounding work of creation. Lake has envisioned a clockwork solar system, where the planets move in a vast system of gears around the lamp of the Sun. It is a universe where the hand of the Creator is visible to anyone who simply looks up into the sky, and sees the track of the heavens, the wheels of the Moon, and the great Equatorial gears of the Earth itself.

Mainspring is the story of a young clockmaker's apprentice, who is visited by the Archangel Gabriel. He is told that he must take the Key Perilous and rewind the Mainspring of the Earth. It is running down, and disaster to the planet will ensue if it's not rewound. From innocence and ignorance to power and self-knowledge, the young man will make the long and perilous journey to the South Polar Axis, to fulfill the commandment of his God.

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed reading Mainspring but it had some flaws that detracted from my enjoyment.

Mainspring takes place in an alternate universe with a Clockwork Creator. The religion bears similarity to the Christian tradition but the actual differences are never explained to my satisfaction. Some of that may be due to trying to only reveal what is known to the main character but it leaves the reader's understanding of the world lacking. It was clear that there was some really interesting world-building being done behind the scenes but it would have been nice to see more of it.

One of my biggest complaints was that until the last quarter of the story, the main character was just being carried along by events. He wasn't making any choices about what was happening in his life and once he starts making choices it's because there's no one left to make the decisions for him. None of the small conflicts seemed to have any effect on the greater story arc.

Mainspring had really interesting world-building that I would have liked to see more fully developed and revealed. The main character had an interesting journey both physically and character arc-wise but it felt like there was something missing. I probably won't read Mainspring again and I might recommend it based on the world-building but I'm not sure that the strengths outweigh the flaws. It was an interesting look into a Steampunk world but there wasn't enough tension for my tastes.

 Relevant Links:Mainspring on Amazon

Mainspring at Barnes & Noble

Review: The Half- Made World by Felix Gilman

The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman
Tor, October 12, 2010
Genre: Steampunk, Fantasy

Book Description:

The world is only half made. What exists has been carved out amidst a war between two rival factions: the Line, paving the world with industry and claiming its residents as slaves; and the Gun, a cult of terror and violence that cripples the population with fear. The only hope at stopping them has seemingly disappeared—the Red Republic that once battled the Gun and the Line, and almost won. Now they’re just a myth, a bedtime story parents tell their children, of hope.


To the west lies a vast, uncharted world, inhabited only by the legends of the immortal and powerful Hill People. Liv Alverhyusen, a doctor of the new science of psychology, travels to the edge of the made world to a spiritually protected mental institution in order to study the minds of those broken by the Gun and the Line. In its rooms lies an old general of the Red Republic, a man whose shattered mind just may hold the secret to stopping the Gun and the Line. And either side will do anything to understand how.


My Thoughts:
The Half-Made World is one of those books that I enjoy immensely while reading but once I've finished, I realize that there are enough questions left and flaws that I'm disappointed.

The Half-Made World gives snapshots of extensive world building but when all is said and done, I don't feel that I understand the world at all.  I still don't understand the motives of the Gun and the Line and I don't even have a vague idea about what the Gun does beside oppose the Line.  I can tell that Gilman knows the world inside and out but he doesn't make the connection to sharing that knowledge with the reader.

Another thing that I struggled with was the characters themselves.  I had a hard time relating and connecting with the characters.  I often found them fascinating but there weren't any likable characters.

I did really enjoy the adventure that the characters found themselves undertaking.  I loved the mix of technology and magic and how the world itself becomes a character.  I thought that the pacing of the novel was excellent and it certainly kept me turning the pages.

While The Half-Made World didn't live up to my excitement, it still was an enjoyable read.  It definitely feels like the set-up for another book, which I will read in the hope that it will add more detail to the world building.