2009 Reading #89: Heart of Veridon by Tim Akers
Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
Books 41-50.
Books 51-60.
Books 61-70.
Books 71-80.
81. Elektra: Assassin by Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz.
82. Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 by Michael Azerrad.
83. The Dakota or Sioux in Minnesota As They Were in 1834 by Samuel W. Pond.
84. The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert.
85. The Flight of Red Bird: The Life of Zitkala-Sa by Doreen Rappaport.
86. Count Geiger's Blues by Michael Bishop.
87. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness.
88. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
89. Heart of Veridon by Tim Akers. So I know Tim; we were in the same crit group back in Chicago. This is his first novel (released today!), though you may have read some of his Veridon stories in Interzone or The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction. What stands out about Heart of Veridon is the world-building. Some have referred to it as steampunk, but it might more correctly be called clockpunk or gearpunk (assuming that the endless iteration of -punk subgenres doesn't make you crazy). What's great about what Tim's set up is that it's not just the city that runs on torque, but also some of the people; it's not just tech, it's biotech. (Well, OK, it's basically magic, but I'm not going to get hung up on that.) Jacob Burn, born to one of the ruling families of Veridon, is a Pilot, implanted with foetal metal which forms according to a template--except that there's something non-standard about Jacob's mechanical heart, and his first flight was a disaster. Since then he's become a low-level criminal, exploiting his contacts among the city's upper classes on behalf of Valentine, a more-metal-than-flesh crimelord. The book favors a hard-boiled tone; Jacob is tough, sometimes cruel, and seemingly indestructible. When a weird artifact falls into his hands, he finds himself on the run from pretty much everyone, including an apparently unkillable clockwork angel. There are some pacing issues, and there were times I wished Jacob was a little smarter, but the avalanche of revelations about Veridon and Jacob and the motivations of the various players really worked for me. Think Marlowe goes to clock city, with dueling theocracies. This is supposed to be the first of three books; I'm looking forward to the next.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
Books 41-50.
Books 51-60.
Books 61-70.
Books 71-80.
81. Elektra: Assassin by Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz.
82. Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 by Michael Azerrad.
83. The Dakota or Sioux in Minnesota As They Were in 1834 by Samuel W. Pond.
84. The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert.
85. The Flight of Red Bird: The Life of Zitkala-Sa by Doreen Rappaport.
86. Count Geiger's Blues by Michael Bishop.
87. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness.
88. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
89. Heart of Veridon by Tim Akers. So I know Tim; we were in the same crit group back in Chicago. This is his first novel (released today!), though you may have read some of his Veridon stories in Interzone or The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction. What stands out about Heart of Veridon is the world-building. Some have referred to it as steampunk, but it might more correctly be called clockpunk or gearpunk (assuming that the endless iteration of -punk subgenres doesn't make you crazy). What's great about what Tim's set up is that it's not just the city that runs on torque, but also some of the people; it's not just tech, it's biotech. (Well, OK, it's basically magic, but I'm not going to get hung up on that.) Jacob Burn, born to one of the ruling families of Veridon, is a Pilot, implanted with foetal metal which forms according to a template--except that there's something non-standard about Jacob's mechanical heart, and his first flight was a disaster. Since then he's become a low-level criminal, exploiting his contacts among the city's upper classes on behalf of Valentine, a more-metal-than-flesh crimelord. The book favors a hard-boiled tone; Jacob is tough, sometimes cruel, and seemingly indestructible. When a weird artifact falls into his hands, he finds himself on the run from pretty much everyone, including an apparently unkillable clockwork angel. There are some pacing issues, and there were times I wished Jacob was a little smarter, but the avalanche of revelations about Veridon and Jacob and the motivations of the various players really worked for me. Think Marlowe goes to clock city, with dueling theocracies. This is supposed to be the first of three books; I'm looking forward to the next.