Boneshaker

A couple years ago, they remade the sci-fi series “V” and I loved it. Nobody else did, and they canceled and that made me sad. It was one of the few shows with a kickass older female lead (and a kickass female villain) and every episode left me on edge.

Boneshaker helps me fill the whole V's cancellation left in my fangirl heart. It's a survival story about a mom who will do anything to protect her ungrateful son who drives every character and audience member crazy with his utter lack of self-preservation. I just don't like teenagers on principal. Briar, on the other hand, is everything I want in a hero, and even though I guessed her big secret quite early on, she kept me rooting for her.

I didn't think I was going to like this book much because I've seen some interviews with Cherie Priest and she both looks and talks like some of the awful pretentious Artist types I spent too much time around in college. Unlike them, Priest actually knows her business. She understands things like how gas masks actually work, how hard it is to fire a gun, and how a subterranean society would have to function. She takes some liberties with plot convenience (I would really like to know how they got that wall around Seattle in the first place) but they all serve the story, and I'll suspend my disbelief for the story's sake.

The zombie trend has been pretty played out, but Priest didn't overdo it in this book. They are there and scary when they are there, but it isn't overpowering and serves as more of overarching threat than a central plot device. I'm curious if they get explored in later books more. I'm not a big steampunk fan either, but this book was much more than clockwork candy. The steampunk elements are nice accessories that keep the plot moving, but they aren't the star of the story. Briar remains the star, as well she should.

This was a great October read, and I'd recommend it to anyone who like a badass mom story or a good zombie survival tale.