David

Could not do it. I was looking forward to trying steampunk some day. When this book came up in Amazon First I was ready.
I honestly tried. I loved the concept of the book, but could not get get past the pseudo-latin named, described in detail gadgetry. About 5 pages into the book I even told myself that “if these things were horses and swords or laser guns and rockets I would probably like it, keep going you will get used to it.” I never did get used to it, because there was just too much of it in too much detail.
I'm not ready to give up on the sub-genre. But I need to find another example. I won't say better, because I really can't judge this book's quality.

How young adult science fiction should be done. There isn't much teenage angst when you compare it with your standard YA fare. I gave up YA fiction for a while precisely because of all the angst. Smart kids with non-idiot adults is also pretty rare in YA fiction. Sure the kids are a little too nice and the adults are probably a bit over-indulgent or naive. I think the is handled pretty well, considering the author is writing for a younger audience.

I bought the Clifton Chronicles on sale and didn't know what to expect. I was looking for a new author and series to follow. It turned out to be a pleasing read. The story is almost entirely character building and has very little plot.

Set between the World Wars in England. Harry Clifton is a fatherless boy that grows up on the docks of Bristol. He gets a scholarship to secondary school and life starts to get better. Falls in love with his best friend's sister. Harry's mother works lower-class jobs available to women to make the better life for Harry all the while keeping a secret that would destroy everything.

The character development is very intriguing and drives the story. For the most part it's very well done and the reveals can for deduced without being obvious. The story is told from multiple points of view and this gives you even more insight into the characters motivations and struggles.

Unfortunately, the author uncharacteristically explicitly gives away a major spoiler with about 10% of the book left and I spent the last 10% of the book wondering how the author was going to continue the series instead of enjoying the final two twists. My enjoyment of the book would have been immeasurably improved without a single sentence at the end of Chapter 51.

I'm looking forward to reading the second book of the series and finding out where the story goes.

Great prose, good world building, poor character building.

Amazing story and art. Best comic I've ever read. I read it digitally, and am seriously thinking about buying a paper version just to have it. Don't know what more to say, if you are a fan of comic books this is a must read.