Clementine - Cherie Priest

Author(s): Cherie Priest
Publisher: Subterranean
Date : 2010
Format : epub

Last year's Boneshaker was without a doubt Cherie Priest's breakthrough novel. Suffice to say that the book is currently in the running for the Hugo award for best novel, yet that doesn't really tell you anything about why Priest's novel is so good. The author combined many different genres, elements, and settings in a unique way to create one of the most interesting worlds in fiction. This world has been labeled as The Clockwork Century, with at least two more major novels set to be released in this conglomeration of steampunk, zombies, airship pirates, and machines and contraptions that would impress the likes of Jules Verene and Rube Goldberg.

Possibly in a campaign to excite readers about her upcoming Dreadnought, the second major release in The Clockwork Century, the novella Clementine has recently been released, which follows the adventure of a minor character from Boneshaker, Croggon Beauregard Hainey, after his beloved airship has been stolen from him. This theft took place during the action of Boneshaker, so those who are already fans of The Clockwork Century will have much to look forward to (especially as small references are made to the Blighted city of Seattle), but those who have not read the novel will still be able to pick up quickly, especially since we are thrown into the action from the get go.

While standing at only 201 pages in length, Clementine packs a punch and then some. Speckled with riveting action sequences between scenes of espionage and information gathering, there's more to this story than its short page count would suggest. The two main characters, Croggon Hainey, an escaped slave turned wanted criminal (but really an all around good guy and hero of the story) and Maria Isabella Boyd, newly hired detective for the Union sponsored Pinkerton Detective agency charged with taking Hainey out of commission, are smart, confident, and don't take guff from anyone-including each other. Hainey is set upon retrieving his stolen airship through any means necessary (even spitting Gatling gun fire upon those who get in his way) and Boyd, whose loyalties still lie with the Confederacy whom for she used to spy, is cunning and devious yet highly intelligent and isn't adverse to using her "womanly traits" to get what she needs.

Both parties, Hainey along with his crew and Boyd, are sent on a high flying journey through the skies, mostly motivated by the words of various informants, traitors, and spies. The two inevitably cross paths and soon have to come to terms with each other in more ways than one. What makes this novella special is the multi-dimensional thought processes and parameters that these characters have to go through out of necessity. In other words, it is the setting of this world, within a fictionally extended civil war where racism is more than alive, that often shapes how the characters act, think, and make decisions. This built in device allows Priest to add a level of depth to both of her main characters, black or white. For example, the crew has to consider where they land their airship at a certain point in the novel. To land within a certain city's limits and being seen would mean certain death. Furthermore, the three black crewmen being seen with a single white women would instantly incriminate Hainey and his crew. The two sides have to come to terms with these facts, gain each others' trust, and form a bond nonetheless. This ultimately gives a greater depth to the characters, the setting, and the novel in general. This is why the story is so impressive: thrilling action taking place in a setting that forces the characters to come to life and contemplate their actions.

Most of the plot in Clementine gets its forward surge through characters (usually spies or informants) who just seem to happen to know all of the necessary bits of information the characters need to continue on their journeys. But in a book of this size, one which packs the amount of punch that this one does, its seems a necessary device. Sure, it's not full of vivid descriptions and details, and I wouldn't expect it to be in a work of this length, but it's enough to get by and then some. I truly hope to see more of "Dame Boyd" and Captain Hainey in future Clockwork Century releases. The pair has an interesting relationship, and one that continued to develop right up until the end of the novel. While 201 pages may not be quite enough for a romance to develop, I see that as a possibility, albeit one that would have to be taken with care not to fall into a cliched and expected trap.

Boneshaker established Cherie Priest's exciting and wonderful Clockwork Century world and Clementine certainly builds on that dynamic foundation. Dreadnought, the next full length novel in this world is set to be released in late September. One can only hope that the riveting action, strong engaging characters, and exciting plot found in Clementine will make an appearance in that novel as well. Priest is an exciting author who deserves all the praise her books receive.

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