Oh, this book had so much promise, but disappointed in the last stages. I'm not sure what else I can add to Pauline's excellent review, but as I post in other forums, I shall try and write something.

The first half of the book was excellent. The characters were well introduced and the plotting was intriguing. It had the right level of whimsy too. The author's use of language was also delightful. (Quick aside: I must be getting used to my kindle as when I was reading this, I really missed the 'underline' option & my paperback is full of bits of paper to mark pieces of prose that I wanted to remember and return to).

I loved Edie. Scrap that - I wish I was Edie & hope I can grow old equally disreputably!!! I also loved Mercer Cradle - why can't I meet men like that? Oh & the dog - what a wonderfully horrible creature.

So, the story. This is basically standard steampunk - all the Ruskinite stuff & automata etc. Joe Spork is a clock repairman (bit of an understatement, he's one of the last of the master craftsmen), son of a gangster, grandson of a clockmaker. When he's asked to repair an unusual piece of automata he unwittingly sets off a 1950s doomsday machine and gets drawn into a convoluted plot to save the world. So far so good. As I said, the characters are well drawn (except maybe Polly) and you feel invested in the plot. One thing: if you've read Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, you may find the Night Market very familiar, also Messrs Cummerbund & Titwhistle and one or two other bits of the London based plot.

Everything trots along quite nicely until around the mid-point. Then it seems to lose its way. You suddenly find yourself in a second rate gangster novel with a certain amount of gratuitous violence and the characterisations slip (hence the comment earlier about Polly). I had to force myself through the latter chapters in the hope that the whimsy returned and that it reached a satisfactory closure. I guess the ending was ok, but for a book which started so well and had so much promise, I was sorely disappointed in the later chapters.

Lastly an example of prose/whimsy that amused me:
Joe has been having something of a battle with a stray cat leaping off the door onto his back - claws first. He has retaliated by smearing vaseline on the door "That creak means the floorboard by the wall, that pitter-patter is the animal jumping from the dresser...and that remarkable outraged sound must be the noise it makes bouncing off the far wall after sliding all along the coping, followed by...yes. An undignified thump as it hits the floor."

"Something inside goes 'clish-tink' which his trained ear recognises as a bad noise."

Thank you for the book, was expecting a bookray to come through so was suprised to see this one come through. Thanks again

Sorry about not getting onto this book sooner everything's been a bit hectic down here in Cornwall, especially with all these bank holidays and half terms :/

In all honesty I struggled to get into this book and gave up withing 50 pages. It just dragged a bit to much for my likeing.

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Arrived yesterday. Thanks very much.

Reserved for Tsjara

Clever and bonkers at the same time. Really engaging - although a little slow to get going. I found it a really enjoyable read. On its way to Tsjara today as a book trade. Hope you like it :)

That was quick, arrived this afternoon! It sounds like a great read. Thanks very much Sparkish! :)