Timekeeper

September 19, 2016
Debut novelist Sim creates an alternate Victorian England in which every town, regardless of size, has a clock tower that controls the local flow of time. If a town’s clock runs slow, time runs slow as well, and the town goes out of sync with its surroundings. Mechanics, who can feel the flow of time and keep the clocks running, are vitally important, but Danny, the youngest mechanic in England at age 17, has been devastated by twin tragedies: his father was trapped, along with the citizens of Maldon, when its clock stopped, and Danny himself nearly died when another clock tower exploded for reasons unknown. Working on Colton Tower, which has apparently been sabotaged, Danny meets and falls for a mysterious apprentice, a boy who, it turns out, isn’t human. Sim creates a cast of complex and diverse characters, as well as a mythology to explain how the clock towers came to exist (though it isn’t quite clear how the flow of time is controlled in locations far from a tower). It’s an enjoyable, well-realized tale, first in a planned trilogy. Ages 14–up. Agent: Laura Crockett, Triada US Literary.

"Two o'clock was missing."A lost hour can be catastrophic in an alternate Victorian England where the ancient clock towers actually regulate the temporal flow. At 17, Danny Hart is the youngest clock mechanic on record, with the innate ability to sense the realm of time. Depressed and guilty after his father was trapped in a time-Stopped city and also plagued with panic attacks and nightmares from a near-fatal accident on the job, Danny is desperate to excel at this current assignment--but his work is complicated by a passionate, mutual, and absolutely forbidden attraction to the clock's handsome tutelary spirit. Meanwhile, the campaign of protests and sabotage against the clock towers is turning deadly....This LGBTQ steampunk romance sports a killer premise and admirably thorough worldbuilding, helpfully annotated in the author's afterword. The characters--even the bad guys--are sympathetically drawn and commendably diverse in sexuality and gender (the one non-Anglo-Saxon character, a blonde woman with a half-Indian father, demonstrates the slipperiness of ethnic and racial identity). Unfortunately, the execution of the narrative is awkward at best. The prose alternates between stilted lyricism and flat-footed exposition and is marred by clumsy word choices and jarring shifts in perspective. The plot meanders at a frustrating pace, relying on implausible coincidences, only to start hurtling madly near the end to a quite literal deus ex machina climax. The numerous mysteries left unsolved point to potential sequels; here's hoping that their craftsmanship lives up to the concept. (Steampunk. 14-18) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2016

Gr 10 Up-The first installment in a steampunk trilogy by a debut author focuses on the power of clocks. In an alternative Victorian London, time is kept in check by clock towers that were put in place so long ago that their origins have become part of mythology. Seventeen-year-old Danny is a mechanic tasked with keeping the clocks running smoothly to prevent time from fracturing or being stopped. Having time stop has been Danny's biggest fear ever since his father became trapped in a stopped town. The teen is assigned to a clock tower that keeps breaking down where he meets a strange and attractive young man claiming to be his new assistant. As Danny falls in love for the first time, he realizes that love can make people selfish or selfless, and he must decide between the two. In the book, homosexuality is no longer illegal but still weighs heavily on Danny's mind and plays into his other insecurities as the youngest mechanic on record. Part mystery and part romance, this fantasy novel delves into what it means to grow up and make important decisions. With an easily relatable main character struggling to fit in, the novel has a realistic and contemplative voice. Several chapters focus on the world's mythology, providing a secret history of the domain the characters inhabit. VERDICT A must-have richly written fantasy novel that will have readers eagerly anticipating the next volume. For fans of Cassandra Clare's "The Infernal Devices" or more mature works like V.E. Schwab's "Shades of Magic" series.-Rebecca Greer, Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative, FL

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