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Review
"A dark, wild mix of machine and magic--an impressive debut novel from short story maestro Jay Lake."--Greg Bear on "Mainspring
"
"In "Mainspring", Lake has created a grandiose, thoroughly engaging blasphemy.
This book blends the best of nostalgic adventure fiction with a genuinely
fresh voice and ideas. An instant steampunk classic." --Cory Doctorow, author of "Someone Comes to Town, ""Someone Leaves Town"
"From the sweeping mechanisms of his clockwork world, down to the subtle movements of his characters, all drawn with a clockmaker's eye, Lake gives us a story both grand and intimate, smart and savvy... and a whole lot of fun to boot." --Hal Duncan, author of "Vellum "on" Mainspring
"
"
"In "Mainspring", Lake has created a grandiose, thoroughly engaging blasphemy.
This book blends the best of nostalgic adventure fiction with a genuinely
fresh voice and ideas. An instant steampunk classic." --Cory Doctorow, author of "Someone Comes to Town, ""Someone Leaves Town"
"From the sweeping mechanisms of his clockwork world, down to the subtle movements of his characters, all drawn with a clockmaker's eye, Lake gives us a story both grand and intimate, smart and savvy... and a whole lot of fun to boot." --Hal Duncan, author of "Vellum "on" Mainspring
"
Product 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 fulfil the commandment of his God.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Jay Lake is a master of short stories and has been for many years. This is his first novel.
It's good. Not amazing but good.
It's set in a alternative world in the early 1900's where the British Navy rule the skies in airships. This, essentially is why I bought the book, as the picture of the airship on the front caught my attention.
There's some great ideas about the world turning on a rail, Archangel Gabriel pops in and out and the world is divided into north and south with an immense wall separating the two. Strange creatures both good and bad live south of the divide.
The main character has been given the task of finding the Key Perilous and winding the mainspring of the world which is starting to slow down. He begins his journey not knowing why he has been chosen or where he should go. The reader follows him though his trials and tribulations.
I am a little surprised however that this isn't deemed a Young Adult (YA)novel rather than being marketed as more of a mainstream book. Perhaps the main character having a sexual relationship with a monkey-type of female has something to do with it!!!
The tone of the book says 'YA' to me as do most of the themes. It also reads a little clipped in places as if too much of the original have been cut for some reason. It almost moves too fast at times without enough explanation. Maybe that's just my taste or maybe that Jay's short story background coming through.
Overall, there are some great ideas and scenes. Characters are novel and overall I am glad I bought it. I suspect his next book will be better though.
It's good. Not amazing but good.
It's set in a alternative world in the early 1900's where the British Navy rule the skies in airships. This, essentially is why I bought the book, as the picture of the airship on the front caught my attention.
There's some great ideas about the world turning on a rail, Archangel Gabriel pops in and out and the world is divided into north and south with an immense wall separating the two. Strange creatures both good and bad live south of the divide.
The main character has been given the task of finding the Key Perilous and winding the mainspring of the world which is starting to slow down. He begins his journey not knowing why he has been chosen or where he should go. The reader follows him though his trials and tribulations.
I am a little surprised however that this isn't deemed a Young Adult (YA)novel rather than being marketed as more of a mainstream book. Perhaps the main character having a sexual relationship with a monkey-type of female has something to do with it!!!
The tone of the book says 'YA' to me as do most of the themes. It also reads a little clipped in places as if too much of the original have been cut for some reason. It almost moves too fast at times without enough explanation. Maybe that's just my taste or maybe that Jay's short story background coming through.
Overall, there are some great ideas and scenes. Characters are novel and overall I am glad I bought it. I suspect his next book will be better though.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Averaging the highs and lows of this book, the overall "averageness" makes it hard to get exited enough either way.
An unlikely young hero, a quest, evil sorcerers and arrogant lordlings it begins as "Standard Fantasy Tale, Plot No.4b (Coming of age and Life Quest)" but eventually degenerates in to a dull soup of Faith against Rational Proof with some ape sex thrown in to spice things up along the way.
The good points - the alternative Colonial setting in a world where the gears of creation are a physical brass reality, visible in the sky and the landscape, all nicely described in such a way as to make the sheer immensity of it all quite real.
The bad points -
1. The way that the aforementioned mechanism is used as a less than subtle constant reminder of the Hand of God visible in all things.
2. The whole book is a "quest of faith" and, like listening to anyone banging on about a religious argument (in this case God vs Rational Humanism) you tend to glaze over after a while. It is a basic religious fable of someones search for God whilst fighting the Unbelievers along the way. Not exacly a Christian morality tale - the ape-sex would rather jar against this....
3. Corny plot devices pushing the character along the pre-ordained linear track of the story. You will often find yourself saying "Why would any rational person DO that in such a situation?"
4. The disjointed storyline with holes, sudden leaps and the disappearance and reappearance of characters and unexplained mystical powers. Hosts of characters set up and then cast aside with no further mention of their fate.
5 Finally - The ending. The ending of this book is terrible. I mean, really terrible. For anyone wanting to read this book I won't give away anything but, be warned, if you are over the age of 12 you'll be torn between laughing out loud and vomiting at the sheer Dan-Brown-Like cod-spirituality of the whole mess.
An unlikely young hero, a quest, evil sorcerers and arrogant lordlings it begins as "Standard Fantasy Tale, Plot No.4b (Coming of age and Life Quest)" but eventually degenerates in to a dull soup of Faith against Rational Proof with some ape sex thrown in to spice things up along the way.
The good points - the alternative Colonial setting in a world where the gears of creation are a physical brass reality, visible in the sky and the landscape, all nicely described in such a way as to make the sheer immensity of it all quite real.
The bad points -
1. The way that the aforementioned mechanism is used as a less than subtle constant reminder of the Hand of God visible in all things.
2. The whole book is a "quest of faith" and, like listening to anyone banging on about a religious argument (in this case God vs Rational Humanism) you tend to glaze over after a while. It is a basic religious fable of someones search for God whilst fighting the Unbelievers along the way. Not exacly a Christian morality tale - the ape-sex would rather jar against this....
3. Corny plot devices pushing the character along the pre-ordained linear track of the story. You will often find yourself saying "Why would any rational person DO that in such a situation?"
4. The disjointed storyline with holes, sudden leaps and the disappearance and reappearance of characters and unexplained mystical powers. Hosts of characters set up and then cast aside with no further mention of their fate.
5 Finally - The ending. The ending of this book is terrible. I mean, really terrible. For anyone wanting to read this book I won't give away anything but, be warned, if you are over the age of 12 you'll be torn between laughing out loud and vomiting at the sheer Dan-Brown-Like cod-spirituality of the whole mess.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This was our first bookclub read, not many of us enjoyed this book. The concept was a great idea a clockwork run world which was slowing down and needed a hero to wind it up again and save the world. Unfortunately the writing was a non starter for me. I could not 'see' in my imagination what the airship looked like or the brass wall at the equator from the discriptions. Maybe in hands of another author this plot would have been excellent. Would not read another book by this author - sorry!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not going back for seconds!
Being a member of this same book club as the caring carer i have to agree with her review! The force with which most members disliked and dismissed this book is a testament to it's... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Lisa-Jayne Scott
Good!
I enjoyed reading this book. It's not amazing but it was good solid fun. I agree with the other review here that at times it felt like it was almost going too fast and felt like it... Read more
Published on 5 July 2009 by Kirsty Whittingham
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