Angelmaker

Ah Angelmaker. Let's have a talk here old friend. I say old because, well, it took me about two months to finish you. For a book of your size and nature, that is darn near an eternity.

Don't take it personally, but you just didn't grab me for the longest time. I found your setting interesting. Your clockwork/steampunk backdrop to be fascinating. And, having read Edie Investigates, at least one of your main characters was already interesting.

Ah, but your main character, Joshua Joseph Spork. Now that guy, I just couldn't get behind. As with the utensil that bears his name, at first blush you think it is going to be great. All the benefits of a spoon AND a fork. But once you use it, you realize it just doesn't quite cut it that well in either role.

Joe just wasn't an interesting character. At least not for the first 2/3 of the book. However, once he comes into his own, embraces his inheritance, he finally becomes someone I could get behind.

So, Angelmaker, your premise was interesting. A clockwork doomsday machine. Secret agents, super spies, possibly immortal super villians. Throw in automata, creepy monks, a fierce little dog with marble eyes, and you have the ingredients for a great story.

Despite all those ingredients, I just struggled to really get in to your story though. You tried. You switched points of view between the main characters, you fleshed them out with extended flashbacks. But it must have just been me, and not you.

So, despite all this complaining, you might wonder if that 4/5 stars I am giving you are pity stars. Stars gifted for the simple reason that your creator's previous work, The Gone Away World ranks as possibly my favorite book of all time. The good news is that no, they aren't pity stars.

See, the good thing is, once you finally grabbed my attention, at about page 300 or so, you really grabbed on. I'm talking choke hold, death grip tight. Two months to read the first 300 pages. Two days to read the next 175. And in the end, I really enjoyed the ride. Knowing now what I know, some day we'll sit down together again. I have a feeling that next time, we will pass the pages much more quickly. So, despite our extended time together, I really, truly enjoyed the ride. Thanks Angelmaker.