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Clockwork Earth #2
Escapement
In his novel Mainspring, Lake created an enormous canvas for storytelling with his hundred mile high Equatorial Wall that holds up the great Gears of the Earth. Now in Escapement, he explores more of that territory.
Paolina Barthes is a young woman of remarkable intellectual ability – a genius on the level of Isaac Newton. But she has grown up in isolation, in a small village of shipwreck survivors, on the Wall in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. She knows little of the world, but she knows that England rules it, and must be the home of people who possess the learning that she so desperately wants. And so she sets off to make her way off the Wall, not knowing that she will bring her astounding, unschooled talent for sorcery to the attention of those deadly factions who would use or kill her for it.
Paolina Barthes is a young woman of remarkable intellectual ability – a genius on the level of Isaac Newton. But she has grown up in isolation, in a small village of shipwreck survivors, on the Wall in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. She knows little of the world, but she knows that England rules it, and must be the home of people who possess the learning that she so desperately wants. And so she sets off to make her way off the Wall, not knowing that she will bring her astounding, unschooled talent for sorcery to the attention of those deadly factions who would use or kill her for it.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
About the author
Jay Lake
238 books252 followersJay Lake lived in Portland, Oregon, where he worked on multiple writing and editing projects. His 2007 book Mainspring received a starred review in Booklist. His short fiction appeared regularly in literary and genre markets worldwide. Jay won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, Endeavour Award, and was a multiple nominee for the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
July 13, 2013
Continuing the Jay Lake Pre-Mortem Read-a-thon of his novels, this week's entry at Shelf Inflicted, a group blog, is ESCAPEMENT. 4.4 stars...some serious Lake-blaspheming...steampunk airship-vs-submarine translocational mystic-tech!
Really, can you resist reading more? I don't think so!
Really, can you resist reading more? I don't think so!
April 4, 2011
It's very rare that I wish I had started a series with the second book instead of the first, but that's what I wish about Jay Lake's Clockworth Earth trilogy. I had some serious reservations about Mainspring. Its sequel, Escapement, might be an interesting example of how to avoid the dreaded "middle book syndrome" that afflicts so many trilogies. Categorically superior, Escapement is the maturation of the fantastic premise Lake began in Mainspring, without the insufferable protagonist and his vague, fuzzy quest from God.
Whereas the narrator of Mainspring followed only Hethor, Escapement follows three characters. Two of them were minor characters in the first book: Emily Childress, the librarian who initially aids Hethor; and Angus al-Wazir, chief petty officer about the ill-fated Bassett. The third, our protagonist, is Paolina Barthes, a young woman of Portuguese descent who has spent her entire life in Praia Nova, a settlement along the Wall populated by the descendents of shipwrecked and outcast sailors. Paolina is provincial in the sense that she knows very little about the outside world. When she builds a unique piece of clockwork that allows her to manipulate reality itself, she sets off in search for England and its "wizards." Suffice it say, she's sorely disappointed.
I like Lake's decision to shift to three perspectives. All three characters are much more interesting than Hethor. Paolina at least seems to have a well-developed sense of the moral implications of what she's doing, and she sets out with a very specific goal in mind. This is preferable to Hethor's, "Well, I guess I'll find the Key Perilous. Or maybe I won't" method of operation. I also got a palpable sense of Paolina's frustration with the misogynistic world order embodied by Praia Nova's fidalgos. Despite Hethor's class-based oppression in the first book, I couldn't sympathize with his hardship, probably because of the golden tablets that kept falling from the sky whenever he needed reassurance. Aside from a brief cameo by an angel at the end of the book, Paolina's experiences notably lack a religious dimension.
This is true of Escapement as a whole, and that pleases me. The central conflict is temporal: Childress finds herself the unexpected representative of one secret society, the avebianco or "white birds," sent as ambassador/sacrificial lamb to the alliance between another secret society, the Silent Order, and the Chinese. These two are collaborating to construct a metaphorical bridge over the Wall. Meanwhile, England has dispatched a team to bore a tunnel through the Wall; Al-Wazir is attached as resident Wall expert and general safety officer.
There is a spiritual component to the conflict. Childress opposes the Golden Bridge project because she recognizes that it will destroy the balance between the two halves of the Earth. Such a bridge would allow the two powerful empires in the Northern Earth to spill into the South, which is still a land of untamed magic. Similarly, Paolina is frightened of her newfound power, especially once she sees what is possible when it falls into the hands of the Silent Order. However, the spiritual component is just that: it's a part of something larger. Mainspring, in which the fate of the world literally depended upon Hethor succeeding, failed because Lake concentrated too much on the big picture. He didn't spend enough time establishing details that would make me care about saving this world. Escapement gives us a much broader look at the politics and philosophies present on this clockwork Earth, which makes the story much richer, and thus better.
We only run into problems again toward the end of the story. While Paolina has more specific goals than Hethor, her disappointment and disillusionment with England and the wider world in general strikes a blow to those goals. She wanders somewhat aimlessly afterward, and as a result, the book itself loses its sense of direction. Perhaps it's true that Paolina's confusion is a realistic and natural response to her experiences. That's all well and good. But fiction can't always be realistic, and Escapement does not sustain the level of drama necessary to keep me engaged throughout the final chapters. There are some more airship battles and some magical translocation and character drama as Paolina tries to decide how to deal with her power. Unfortunately, Lake does not synthesize these disparate dramatic elements into a single, unified plot.
I'm in the strange position of having finished Pinion today, prior to writing this review. So I know how the series ends, and I've already started forming my opinion of it overall—but I don't want to spoil my next review! Escapement is definitely better than Mainspring, and in some ways it made me think I judged the latter too harshly, because I don't see much of a difference in the quality of the writing. My subjective tastes aside, I think it also demonstrates how choices in the scope of a plot and the perspective of the narrator can affect the reader's experience. Mainspring had high stakes but was confined to a narrow perspective that I just didn't like, so I had a hard time liking the book. Escapement branches out a bit even as it tamps down the ambition, resulting in a much more balanced read.
On its own, comparisons cast away for now, Escapement has a strong theme about relationship between self and the orderly world, whether that world is the spiritual or the temporal. Paolina rebels against the world order as she perceives it. She rebels against the men in power, and against her own role as a woman. She does so vehemently:
(Ellipses and the horrible double negative are both Lake's.) Paolina is staunch and uncompromising in her principles. She abhors when her power results in death and refuses to be kill anyone else to save herself. This is something I admire, and it's this type of convicted characterization that makes Paolina a much better protagonist than Hethor (oh, there I go with the comparison again).
Childress and al-Wazir both experience their own small rebellions. The former assumes the identity of a dead Mask, becoming herself as a Mask, which is a very interesting look at the whole idea of the performance of self. The latter uncomfortably assumes a role in a government-sponsored expedition to the Wall. A petty officer at heart, al-Wazir isn't really sure what to do with himself, so it's not surprising when he finds himself helping the Brass man Boaz instead of pursuing his duty to Dr. Ottweil. In both cases, these characters find themselves making choices to deviate from their previous sensibilities about how the world should be. Watching the consequences unfold from there makes Escapement a fair bit entertaining.
While far from even espying perfection on a clear day, Escapement merits praise and a grudging amount of steampunk love (which is like regular love, only coal-fired and administered by a system of pulleys and gears). So here's something I don't often recommend: don't read the first book. Skip to this one. It's better, and on its own it's even good.
My Reviews of the Clockwork Earth series:
← Mainspring | Pinion →
Whereas the narrator of Mainspring followed only Hethor, Escapement follows three characters. Two of them were minor characters in the first book: Emily Childress, the librarian who initially aids Hethor; and Angus al-Wazir, chief petty officer about the ill-fated Bassett. The third, our protagonist, is Paolina Barthes, a young woman of Portuguese descent who has spent her entire life in Praia Nova, a settlement along the Wall populated by the descendents of shipwrecked and outcast sailors. Paolina is provincial in the sense that she knows very little about the outside world. When she builds a unique piece of clockwork that allows her to manipulate reality itself, she sets off in search for England and its "wizards." Suffice it say, she's sorely disappointed.
I like Lake's decision to shift to three perspectives. All three characters are much more interesting than Hethor. Paolina at least seems to have a well-developed sense of the moral implications of what she's doing, and she sets out with a very specific goal in mind. This is preferable to Hethor's, "Well, I guess I'll find the Key Perilous. Or maybe I won't" method of operation. I also got a palpable sense of Paolina's frustration with the misogynistic world order embodied by Praia Nova's fidalgos. Despite Hethor's class-based oppression in the first book, I couldn't sympathize with his hardship, probably because of the golden tablets that kept falling from the sky whenever he needed reassurance. Aside from a brief cameo by an angel at the end of the book, Paolina's experiences notably lack a religious dimension.
This is true of Escapement as a whole, and that pleases me. The central conflict is temporal: Childress finds herself the unexpected representative of one secret society, the avebianco or "white birds," sent as ambassador/sacrificial lamb to the alliance between another secret society, the Silent Order, and the Chinese. These two are collaborating to construct a metaphorical bridge over the Wall. Meanwhile, England has dispatched a team to bore a tunnel through the Wall; Al-Wazir is attached as resident Wall expert and general safety officer.
There is a spiritual component to the conflict. Childress opposes the Golden Bridge project because she recognizes that it will destroy the balance between the two halves of the Earth. Such a bridge would allow the two powerful empires in the Northern Earth to spill into the South, which is still a land of untamed magic. Similarly, Paolina is frightened of her newfound power, especially once she sees what is possible when it falls into the hands of the Silent Order. However, the spiritual component is just that: it's a part of something larger. Mainspring, in which the fate of the world literally depended upon Hethor succeeding, failed because Lake concentrated too much on the big picture. He didn't spend enough time establishing details that would make me care about saving this world. Escapement gives us a much broader look at the politics and philosophies present on this clockwork Earth, which makes the story much richer, and thus better.
We only run into problems again toward the end of the story. While Paolina has more specific goals than Hethor, her disappointment and disillusionment with England and the wider world in general strikes a blow to those goals. She wanders somewhat aimlessly afterward, and as a result, the book itself loses its sense of direction. Perhaps it's true that Paolina's confusion is a realistic and natural response to her experiences. That's all well and good. But fiction can't always be realistic, and Escapement does not sustain the level of drama necessary to keep me engaged throughout the final chapters. There are some more airship battles and some magical translocation and character drama as Paolina tries to decide how to deal with her power. Unfortunately, Lake does not synthesize these disparate dramatic elements into a single, unified plot.
I'm in the strange position of having finished Pinion today, prior to writing this review. So I know how the series ends, and I've already started forming my opinion of it overall—but I don't want to spoil my next review! Escapement is definitely better than Mainspring, and in some ways it made me think I judged the latter too harshly, because I don't see much of a difference in the quality of the writing. My subjective tastes aside, I think it also demonstrates how choices in the scope of a plot and the perspective of the narrator can affect the reader's experience. Mainspring had high stakes but was confined to a narrow perspective that I just didn't like, so I had a hard time liking the book. Escapement branches out a bit even as it tamps down the ambition, resulting in a much more balanced read.
On its own, comparisons cast away for now, Escapement has a strong theme about relationship between self and the orderly world, whether that world is the spiritual or the temporal. Paolina rebels against the world order as she perceives it. She rebels against the men in power, and against her own role as a woman. She does so vehemently:
"If I may ask, why do you travel as a girl? Slim as you are, you could wear trousers and pass for a young man. People would devil you much less if you did so."
"I…" It wasn't as if Paolina didn't understand that to be a possibility. "Men are … men. The venom in the voice surprised her. "I don't want to be one, even for a moment."
(Ellipses and the horrible double negative are both Lake's.) Paolina is staunch and uncompromising in her principles. She abhors when her power results in death and refuses to be kill anyone else to save herself. This is something I admire, and it's this type of convicted characterization that makes Paolina a much better protagonist than Hethor (oh, there I go with the comparison again).
Childress and al-Wazir both experience their own small rebellions. The former assumes the identity of a dead Mask, becoming herself as a Mask, which is a very interesting look at the whole idea of the performance of self. The latter uncomfortably assumes a role in a government-sponsored expedition to the Wall. A petty officer at heart, al-Wazir isn't really sure what to do with himself, so it's not surprising when he finds himself helping the Brass man Boaz instead of pursuing his duty to Dr. Ottweil. In both cases, these characters find themselves making choices to deviate from their previous sensibilities about how the world should be. Watching the consequences unfold from there makes Escapement a fair bit entertaining.
While far from even espying perfection on a clear day, Escapement merits praise and a grudging amount of steampunk love (which is like regular love, only coal-fired and administered by a system of pulleys and gears). So here's something I don't often recommend: don't read the first book. Skip to this one. It's better, and on its own it's even good.
My Reviews of the Clockwork Earth series:
← Mainspring | Pinion →
July 10, 2010
"Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water." - Kurt Vonnegut
Jay Lake has many good qualities as an author. He created a very compelling world with Mainspring, a world built of gears from the ground up. His fluid writing style helps propel you through this world faster than your disbelief can keep up.
The second book started out promising. His weak link in the first book had been a protagonist who had nothing to recommend himself. The generic young man who had surprising powers and a strength no one realized goes on a quest! Generic to say the least.
A sequel with three unique protagonist promised to give him more room to breath. They're all off the beaten path when it comes to personalities and motives. It sounded like a distinct improvement upon the Legend of Zelda blandness of the first protagonist.
And for about 300 pages it worked just fine. There were issues with how he seems to create interesting characters, but doesn't appear to empathize with them all that greatly. It seemed like something you'd expect from a compulsive writer who might possibly have Aspergers. He creates neat characters, but doesn't seem to connect with them, like them, or want to know them better.
Which is why it all falls apart in the last act. I reached a point in the book where every character basically ran out of story. The young girl who had sought out the English "Wizards" ends up wandering Europe looking for...... not even sure. The grizzled Scotsman fails his initial mission and wanders through Africa because.... And the third story about a woman captured by the Chinese due to mistaken identity didn't really have much of a purpose to begin with.
Lake is a terrible writer for plot. You could describe his stories like a dream, as a series of things that happened one after the other without doubling back or fitting together. This structure was starting to show its age back when Voltaire used it.
It stinks of a story created in spite of its protagonists. He backed himself into a corner, and when the characters run out of interesting things to do, I ran out of interest in the story. His lack of sympathy for his creations had already become galling, and when I no longer worried about what would happen next, I decided to pull out the bookmark and call it a day.
Jay Lake has many good qualities as an author. He created a very compelling world with Mainspring, a world built of gears from the ground up. His fluid writing style helps propel you through this world faster than your disbelief can keep up.
The second book started out promising. His weak link in the first book had been a protagonist who had nothing to recommend himself. The generic young man who had surprising powers and a strength no one realized goes on a quest! Generic to say the least.
A sequel with three unique protagonist promised to give him more room to breath. They're all off the beaten path when it comes to personalities and motives. It sounded like a distinct improvement upon the Legend of Zelda blandness of the first protagonist.
And for about 300 pages it worked just fine. There were issues with how he seems to create interesting characters, but doesn't appear to empathize with them all that greatly. It seemed like something you'd expect from a compulsive writer who might possibly have Aspergers. He creates neat characters, but doesn't seem to connect with them, like them, or want to know them better.
Which is why it all falls apart in the last act. I reached a point in the book where every character basically ran out of story. The young girl who had sought out the English "Wizards" ends up wandering Europe looking for...... not even sure. The grizzled Scotsman fails his initial mission and wanders through Africa because.... And the third story about a woman captured by the Chinese due to mistaken identity didn't really have much of a purpose to begin with.
Lake is a terrible writer for plot. You could describe his stories like a dream, as a series of things that happened one after the other without doubling back or fitting together. This structure was starting to show its age back when Voltaire used it.
It stinks of a story created in spite of its protagonists. He backed himself into a corner, and when the characters run out of interesting things to do, I ran out of interest in the story. His lack of sympathy for his creations had already become galling, and when I no longer worried about what would happen next, I decided to pull out the bookmark and call it a day.
July 23, 2009
[deep breath ... and ... sigh ...:] I was really expecting to enjoy this book since I had thoroughly enjoyed Mainspring. Instead I found myself disappointed.
In the interest of full disclosure, let me state that I only made it 80 pages in before I decided to return Escapement to the library. And the tough thing is I'm not really sure I can articulate why this book didn't do it for me.
I suppose my primary disappointment is the characters were too obvious, their actions too predictable. This is an ironic complaint, I know, given that the obvious nature of the creator metaphor in Mainspring didn't bother me at all. I also understand that there's a fine line authors must walk: on the one hand you don't want the characters so predictable as to be boring, while on the other hand you don't want the characters to be so unpredictable as to lack sense or motivation. In this case, however, I found the characters' thought processes a little repetitive, their motivation just a little too easy to pick out. Maybe if I had continued with Escapement I would have found the depth and subtlety I was hoping for. Unfortunately I just didn't want to keep going.
The most telling sign, for me, was that when I found myself with time to read -- after the kids go to bed, or when I have some free time at work, etc -- I wasn't looking forward to reading Escapement. When a book pushes my buttons I can't wait to read it; I anticipate those moments when the house has quieted down, or work has slowed down, so I can pick up the book and escape to someplace that expands my feelings, thoughts, and imagination. Escapement simply didn't evoke that kind of anticipation in me.
In the interest of full disclosure, let me state that I only made it 80 pages in before I decided to return Escapement to the library. And the tough thing is I'm not really sure I can articulate why this book didn't do it for me.
I suppose my primary disappointment is the characters were too obvious, their actions too predictable. This is an ironic complaint, I know, given that the obvious nature of the creator metaphor in Mainspring didn't bother me at all. I also understand that there's a fine line authors must walk: on the one hand you don't want the characters so predictable as to be boring, while on the other hand you don't want the characters to be so unpredictable as to lack sense or motivation. In this case, however, I found the characters' thought processes a little repetitive, their motivation just a little too easy to pick out. Maybe if I had continued with Escapement I would have found the depth and subtlety I was hoping for. Unfortunately I just didn't want to keep going.
The most telling sign, for me, was that when I found myself with time to read -- after the kids go to bed, or when I have some free time at work, etc -- I wasn't looking forward to reading Escapement. When a book pushes my buttons I can't wait to read it; I anticipate those moments when the house has quieted down, or work has slowed down, so I can pick up the book and escape to someplace that expands my feelings, thoughts, and imagination. Escapement simply didn't evoke that kind of anticipation in me.
January 9, 2016
I have not read Lake's first book in this steampunk setting, Mainspring, but this one is quite good. The world building and character development are top notch. The setting is bizarre but finely textured, a place made real by the imagination. The characters are engaging and believable. The dialogue has an unfortunate tendency to end up in false profundity, but at least Lake is using dialogue to dramatize conflict. I also think the plotting is good on a small scale, with lots of intense conflict and sharp rising action. It's too bad that the overall plot arc is so flawed. Characters wander back and forth with increasingly vague motivation, and the three main threads of narrative coincide at the end only briefly and to little purpose. The MacGuffin, a mysterious device carried by the main character, is far too powerful and ends up subverting the narrative, eventually with terminal results. The story feels as if it was conceived as a cool beginning and then had to muddle through to an end. The plot also works like a tabletop role playing game because it so often focuses on the immediate test of characters' various skills. These flaws, however, only turn what would have been an amazing book into a very good one.
Fair warning: Those who demand romance may be disappointed that there is none, which is not to say that characters don't fall in love with each other, because they do.
July 31, 2012
The second of the Clockwork Earth trilogy and I enjoyed it as much as the first, although I found it quite different in some ways. The whole idea of the Earth as a part of a clockwork universe, with a miles high wall at the equator topped with copper teeth that mesh with the huge copper track on which it turns around the Sun, is still fascinating. And I like the liberal mix of magic, monsters, science and the inexplicable which populates the world.
Strangely, in this book, there doesn't seem to be much of a plot. Although each of the main characters has many adventures, they don't seem to have much of a plan, or much control over their own fates. They are simply pushed or pulled from place to place, and there is a certain fascination in watching their independent "orbits" knowing, from the reader's perspective, that they would almost certainly be meeting up somewhere towards the end.
However, I must say that, for me, the book has a genuine sense of suspense in the latter part because, unlike a typical adventure story, it was not at all clear how things would turn out and who would survive. I shall certainly be reading the next part.
Strangely, in this book, there doesn't seem to be much of a plot. Although each of the main characters has many adventures, they don't seem to have much of a plan, or much control over their own fates. They are simply pushed or pulled from place to place, and there is a certain fascination in watching their independent "orbits" knowing, from the reader's perspective, that they would almost certainly be meeting up somewhere towards the end.
However, I must say that, for me, the book has a genuine sense of suspense in the latter part because, unlike a typical adventure story, it was not at all clear how things would turn out and who would survive. I shall certainly be reading the next part.
October 1, 2010
Enjoyed this a lot more than Mainspring. Jay Lake's world becomes much richer with further exploration. Can't wait to read Pinion.
December 23, 2020
I've come to the conclusion this series and possibly Jay Lake are just not for me. For the second time, I couldn't last past 50 pages. I still find the overt religiosity and extreme sexism and sex-segregation of the world and characters too off-putting to ready with any pleasure. Once I started getting to the mildly racist details of the German professor and Chinese sailors, I knew I had to stop.
April 1, 2020
To be a librarian was to know everything that is known. Not the entire sum of human knowledge literally at the command of one's thoughts--Newton had perhaps been the last to do that. But to know what could be known, understand the indices and passwords of all the secrets of Creation. The science of libraries was the science of the truths hidden within the world.
February 18, 2017
More of the same but with some surprises . Its the difficult middle volume of a trilogy ?
May 12, 2020
A bit pointess and wandering. Seemed like a lot of running around to no purpose, and he characters were quite bland too.
Read
August 13, 2021Took me a while to finish. However, the scenery is captivating. If you like complexity in your reading, this is it.
December 29, 2015
Прошло два года с тех пор как подмастерью Этору явился ангел и повелел найти главную пружину мира. Из-за медной Стены, отделяющей Северное полушарие от Южного, Этор так и не вернулся. На механической Земле наступил год 1902-й. Китай и Британия одновременно решают, что пришло время проникнуть за Стену, желательно раньше, чем соперник. Британская империя посылает к её подножию буровую команду с сумасшедшим профессором во главе, изощренный же восточный разум собирается строить некий Золотой Мост над Стеной. В Африке, в городе Офир, у подножия Стены встревоженные этими планами местные племена и медные воины, помнящие еще царя Соломона, готовятся к обороне.
В этой книге трое героев, причем двое уже встречались в Mainspring, хотя и были там, скорее, на подхвате: помощники, персонажи, необходимые для направления сюжета и героя. Здесь же они, наконец, выходят вперед. Суровая дама преклонных лет, библиотекарь Эмили Чайлдресс, когда-то рассказала Этору об ангелах и ордене Белых Птиц, пытающемся удержать мир в равновесии. Тредгилл Энгус Аль-Вазир, лучший старшина Воздушного флота Её Величества, служил на корабле “Бассет”, неразумно принявшем на борт того же Этора (“Бассет” потерпел крушение в африканских джунглях; юный Этор выжил и продолжил свой путь к Стене; не охраняемый ангелами и не преследуемый тайными обществами старшина тоже справился и даже добрался до Англии).
Третьей, новой величиной, становится Паолина Бартес, пятнадцатилетняя жительница деревушки на краю мира. На несчастье своё, Паолина гениальна (новый Ньютон), женщина, не умеет держать язык за зубами и обитает в месте, больше всего напоминающим Макондо периода упадка – без семейства Буэндиа, но в окружении людей с хвостами. Она мечтает попасть в Англию и учиться у тамошних волшебников. Как известно, мечтать с оглядкой стоит даже о том, чтобы выиграть в лотерею, не говоря уже о чем-то серьезнее.
Если первая книга была о неуклонном движении вперед к ясной, хотя и невероятной цели, здесь пути и чаяния героев охватывают почти всё Северное полушарие. Вот Эмили Чайлдресс, всю жизнь проведшая на одном месте, вынуждена пуститься в путь, чтобы ответить на обвинения ордена Белых Птиц в помощи Этору, и ей приходится очень быстро научиться приспосабливаться к сменяющимся декорациям и обстоятельствам. Вот Энгус Аль-Вазир снова отправляется к проклятой Стене – присматривать за профессором и буровой командой. Не потому, чтобы он снова так хотел туда вернуться, но должен же кто-то вменяемый приглядывать за этим бедламом. Вот, обманываясь и ожесточаясь, Паолина Бартес движется к Англии, о которой – настоящей – не знает на самом деле ничего. Путешествие Этора было предназначением, теперь герои вынуждены непрерывно двигаться, просто чтобы не погибнуть, познавая себя и всё время спрашивая: к чему приведут мои действия? что именно я хочу и могу изменить? И благодаря этому они превращаются в те переменные со свободной волей, которые могут изменить общее уравнение сил.
В этой книге трое героев, причем двое уже встречались в Mainspring, хотя и были там, скорее, на подхвате: помощники, персонажи, необходимые для направления сюжета и героя. Здесь же они, наконец, выходят вперед. Суровая дама преклонных лет, библиотекарь Эмили Чайлдресс, когда-то рассказала Этору об ангелах и ордене Белых Птиц, пытающемся удержать мир в равновесии. Тредгилл Энгус Аль-Вазир, лучший старшина Воздушного флота Её Величества, служил на корабле “Бассет”, неразумно принявшем на борт того же Этора (“Бассет” потерпел крушение в африканских джунглях; юный Этор выжил и продолжил свой путь к Стене; не охраняемый ангелами и не преследуемый тайными обществами старшина тоже справился и даже добрался до Англии).
Третьей, новой величиной, становится Паолина Бартес, пятнадцатилетняя жительница деревушки на краю мира. На несчастье своё, Паолина гениальна (новый Ньютон), женщина, не умеет держать язык за зубами и обитает в месте, больше всего напоминающим Макондо периода упадка – без семейства Буэндиа, но в окружении людей с хвостами. Она мечтает попасть в Англию и учиться у тамошних волшебников. Как известно, мечтать с оглядкой стоит даже о том, чтобы выиграть в лотерею, не говоря уже о чем-то серьезнее.
Если первая книга была о неуклонном движении вперед к ясной, хотя и невероятной цели, здесь пути и чаяния героев охватывают почти всё Северное полушарие. Вот Эмили Чайлдресс, всю жизнь проведшая на одном месте, вынуждена пуститься в путь, чтобы ответить на обвинения ордена Белых Птиц в помощи Этору, и ей приходится очень быстро научиться приспосабливаться к сменяющимся декорациям и обстоятельствам. Вот Энгус Аль-Вазир снова отправляется к проклятой Стене – присматривать за профессором и буровой командой. Не потому, чтобы он снова так хотел туда вернуться, но должен же кто-то вменяемый приглядывать за этим бедламом. Вот, обманываясь и ожесточаясь, Паолина Бартес движется к Англии, о которой – настоящей – не знает на самом деле ничего. Путешествие Этора было предназначением, теперь герои вынуждены непрерывно двигаться, просто чтобы не погибнуть, познавая себя и всё время спрашивая: к чему приведут мои действия? что именно я хочу и могу изменить? И благодаря этому они превращаются в те переменные со свободной волей, которые могут изменить общее уравнение сил.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2010
In many ways, Escapement is a better book than its predecessor, Mainspring. Mainspring focused on the protagonist Hethor, who is the type of messianic hero common to this type of fantasy/sf bildungsroman: a socially isolated but intelligent young man who is thrust into a mission to save the world. He of course, does so, in the process earning the four essential marks of manhood: self-reliance, authority over others, physical prowess, and sexual experience. The setting in Mainspring was brilliantly imaginative, but as I leave my 20s behind me, I realize I don't give a toss about coming-of-age stories anymore, so I was less impressed with a plot and character arc I've read so many times already.
Escapement returns us to Lake's fantastic setting, but through the eyes of three characters this time, two of whom had brief roles in Mainspring. These two are more interesting, Head Librarian Emily Childress, a sexagenarian thrust into the first adventure of her life, and Threadgill Al-Wazir, Scottish-Arab airship sailor of the Royal Navy, sent as part of a British Imperial mission to drill through the Equatorial Wall girding the Earth. The stories of two seasoned professionals, perhaps on the verge of retirement, forced into active duty again, but into the unfamiliar terrain of geopolitical engagement and shadow conflicts between secret societies, was extremely compelling.
The third is Paolina Barthes, for whom another coming-of-age story plays out, this time the distaff version. Paolina's tale is far more interesting than Hethor's, as the latter was basically following a trail of breadcrumbs God had left for him, while Paolina seems a far more active agent in her own destiny. She does come across as a Marion Zimmer Bradley heroine at times, railing against patriarchy at every turn (Lake's alternate version of the Victorian Era seems *more* patriarchal than ours in the real world. It would have been interesting to explore the reasons further. Maybe in the next book.)
The book's main weakness is that it's a bridge. Figuratively, it's a sequel that's setting up for another sequel, and thus suffers from all the weaknesses of similar books like The Two Towers or Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix--a whole lot of moving pieces on the chessboard but not being allowed to checkmate. Literally, however, it deals with the attempts by both the British and Chinese Empires to build a bridge to the other half of the world, presumably to continue their colonial games on virgin soil, while our heroes try to prevent it.
All that said, Lake greatly expands the setting that is his main attraction, and thickens the plot nicely. I'm eagerly awaiting the next book.
Escapement returns us to Lake's fantastic setting, but through the eyes of three characters this time, two of whom had brief roles in Mainspring. These two are more interesting, Head Librarian Emily Childress, a sexagenarian thrust into the first adventure of her life, and Threadgill Al-Wazir, Scottish-Arab airship sailor of the Royal Navy, sent as part of a British Imperial mission to drill through the Equatorial Wall girding the Earth. The stories of two seasoned professionals, perhaps on the verge of retirement, forced into active duty again, but into the unfamiliar terrain of geopolitical engagement and shadow conflicts between secret societies, was extremely compelling.
The third is Paolina Barthes, for whom another coming-of-age story plays out, this time the distaff version. Paolina's tale is far more interesting than Hethor's, as the latter was basically following a trail of breadcrumbs God had left for him, while Paolina seems a far more active agent in her own destiny. She does come across as a Marion Zimmer Bradley heroine at times, railing against patriarchy at every turn (Lake's alternate version of the Victorian Era seems *more* patriarchal than ours in the real world. It would have been interesting to explore the reasons further. Maybe in the next book.)
The book's main weakness is that it's a bridge. Figuratively, it's a sequel that's setting up for another sequel, and thus suffers from all the weaknesses of similar books like The Two Towers or Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix--a whole lot of moving pieces on the chessboard but not being allowed to checkmate. Literally, however, it deals with the attempts by both the British and Chinese Empires to build a bridge to the other half of the world, presumably to continue their colonial games on virgin soil, while our heroes try to prevent it.
All that said, Lake greatly expands the setting that is his main attraction, and thickens the plot nicely. I'm eagerly awaiting the next book.
November 10, 2013
Most readers would agree that this second book in the series is a vast improvement on the first. Jay Lake is better known as a short story writer and the long-form first person narrative in "Mainspring" really exposed his weaknesses in technique. The switch to rapidly alternating points of view from three protagonists (and their companions) starts to play to his strengths.
I am guessing he's had some long conversations with fans after the first book was published because their are a lot of plot holes that are plugged up in this book. It reminded me of the fixes Larry Niven made to his Ringworld after the geeks had fun tearing apart the physics. He's also put a lot more thought into character and plot.
The real strength of this series so far is it's ambiguity. There is no clear sense of whether the Clockwork Universe is created by a god one should worship and obey. Likewise it is unclear whether the various societies and empires are agents of good or evil. Choice and morality are determined at the individual level. Jay Lake has clearly put some work into thinking about the ethics, something that most Steampunk writers rarely bother with. It's not yet on a par with China Miéville's political thinking, but in some ways it is a warmer narrative.
There are ongoing themes of sexism, racism, and class-ism in colonial industrial societies. All the protagonists struggle with (and against) these prejudices, and to some extent show some ethical improvements in their character over the book. From time to time this gets a little heavy handed (such as Paolina's ongoing "all men are bastards" rant), but it works most of the time - providing an interesting source of conflict between the various characters and their companions.
Lake's dialogue can be a little shaky especially when dealing with "English as a second language". At times he borders on "He no speaky Englishy". The worst example was the dreadful German Dr Ottweil who structures sentences like George Lucas' Yoda on a bad day. Lake's obviously not a racist because he spends quite a bit of time exploring the unpleasantly racist attitudes of the various Empires - but this sort of dialogue borders on passive racism. There are smarter and more sensitive ways to describe the way people in other cultures speak, but at least he is trying, and so one can hope for improvement in future novels.
I am guessing he's had some long conversations with fans after the first book was published because their are a lot of plot holes that are plugged up in this book. It reminded me of the fixes Larry Niven made to his Ringworld after the geeks had fun tearing apart the physics. He's also put a lot more thought into character and plot.
The real strength of this series so far is it's ambiguity. There is no clear sense of whether the Clockwork Universe is created by a god one should worship and obey. Likewise it is unclear whether the various societies and empires are agents of good or evil. Choice and morality are determined at the individual level. Jay Lake has clearly put some work into thinking about the ethics, something that most Steampunk writers rarely bother with. It's not yet on a par with China Miéville's political thinking, but in some ways it is a warmer narrative.
There are ongoing themes of sexism, racism, and class-ism in colonial industrial societies. All the protagonists struggle with (and against) these prejudices, and to some extent show some ethical improvements in their character over the book. From time to time this gets a little heavy handed (such as Paolina's ongoing "all men are bastards" rant), but it works most of the time - providing an interesting source of conflict between the various characters and their companions.
Lake's dialogue can be a little shaky especially when dealing with "English as a second language". At times he borders on "He no speaky Englishy". The worst example was the dreadful German Dr Ottweil who structures sentences like George Lucas' Yoda on a bad day. Lake's obviously not a racist because he spends quite a bit of time exploring the unpleasantly racist attitudes of the various Empires - but this sort of dialogue borders on passive racism. There are smarter and more sensitive ways to describe the way people in other cultures speak, but at least he is trying, and so one can hope for improvement in future novels.
November 14, 2011
Escapement, by Jay Lake. 3 Stars out of 5. A novel set in a SteamPunk universe where the world is hollow and filled with gears, and a giant Wall dividing the world is guarded by mechanical Brass Men. This is the sequel to Mainspring (maybe, it’s hard to tell if it’s actually a sequel). The story follows a young girl from a tiny fishing village who wants to see more of the world, and as fate would have it, is compelled to do just that. Soon into her journey, she learns of the great mechanical prowess of the British, and sets out for England. However, her skills in constructing the rare Gleam attract the attentions of evil-doers, and her magnificent adventure ensues.
The book is a little slow to start, but by the end of the first chapter, I was into it. The quality of the writing is slightly above average, and probably worth reading for the SteamPunk enthusiast. However, compared to other respected works, such as those by Arthur C. Clarke, James Rollins, C.S. Lewis, or Anne Rice, it’s just not as good. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good story, and I wanted the story to continue; but for the non-SteamPunk’r, this book is a solid “maybe”. It made me want to read Mainspring. In defense of Jay Lake, this is my first SteamPunk book; I’ve read thousands of books, and somehow missed this genre until recently.
The book is a little slow to start, but by the end of the first chapter, I was into it. The quality of the writing is slightly above average, and probably worth reading for the SteamPunk enthusiast. However, compared to other respected works, such as those by Arthur C. Clarke, James Rollins, C.S. Lewis, or Anne Rice, it’s just not as good. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good story, and I wanted the story to continue; but for the non-SteamPunk’r, this book is a solid “maybe”. It made me want to read Mainspring. In defense of Jay Lake, this is my first SteamPunk book; I’ve read thousands of books, and somehow missed this genre until recently.
November 20, 2012
I’m torn about what to say here. On one hand, I enjoyed the book and the world we are seeing born here is pretty marvelous… but at the same time, throughout the course of my reading I kept wondering where the book was.
By that I mean… in most books there is a sense of “this is where this book is going”, but I didn’t get any of that here. We have three characters moving about independently (and eventually intersecting, of course), but none of them have clear goals. I mean, some of them want to “get to place X”, but that’s not enough. The lead starts out with a more solid goal but when her expectations and knowledge of the world are radically shifted, she then… basically just backtracks?
And the incident with the giant snake in a tank in the city that repairs Boaz? I’m thinking this is just supposed to be illustrative of the madness of the wall, but it felt a bit too out of place and “episodic” for me.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s all an enjoyable read, and the world so far is a really interesting take on the Steampunk thing, I was just a little confused as to the shape of the story. My guess is that the author is still laying groundwork for the world, and more solid concepts of what is actually going on will appear later in the series?
THREE STARS (2.5 + bonus half star for strength of ideas)
By that I mean… in most books there is a sense of “this is where this book is going”, but I didn’t get any of that here. We have three characters moving about independently (and eventually intersecting, of course), but none of them have clear goals. I mean, some of them want to “get to place X”, but that’s not enough. The lead starts out with a more solid goal but when her expectations and knowledge of the world are radically shifted, she then… basically just backtracks?
And the incident with the giant snake in a tank in the city that repairs Boaz? I’m thinking this is just supposed to be illustrative of the madness of the wall, but it felt a bit too out of place and “episodic” for me.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s all an enjoyable read, and the world so far is a really interesting take on the Steampunk thing, I was just a little confused as to the shape of the story. My guess is that the author is still laying groundwork for the world, and more solid concepts of what is actually going on will appear later in the series?
THREE STARS (2.5 + bonus half star for strength of ideas)
December 31, 2013
This novel is set in the same universe as "Mainspring" which features an Earth powered by a mainspring as it circles the sun on a huge brass gear on the equator. There are three main characters in the novel: one is obsessed with measuring and discoverers that she has a rare and powerful gift: a gift that could be used to reshape the world. The second is tasked with a huge engineering project: to drill through the Equatorial wall (on which the brass gear is set) separating Northern and Southern Earth. The third was to be offered as a 'sacrifice' between two secret societies but current events turn her into a pawn in a battle between the secret societies and also between the two Northern Earth empires: British and Chinese.
The three characters converge at the end but not too convincingly: it requires a 'god-like' act for this to happen and some events appear coincidental: enemy forces appear at the just the right moment to move the plot along (a weakness of "Mainspring" also).
Still, this novel provides another interesting look at Lake's Earth. Hopefully, some plot points and characters left by the wayside in this novel will appear in future novels.
The three characters converge at the end but not too convincingly: it requires a 'god-like' act for this to happen and some events appear coincidental: enemy forces appear at the just the right moment to move the plot along (a weakness of "Mainspring" also).
Still, this novel provides another interesting look at Lake's Earth. Hopefully, some plot points and characters left by the wayside in this novel will appear in future novels.
February 26, 2015
In Jay Lake‘s Escapement Paolina Barthes is a girl of fifteen born and raised in Praia Nova, a small coastal village in the shadows a Muralha, or the Wall. Women in Poalina’s village never amount to much in the world where men see themselves as superior to women. But Paolina is an exception. She has a gift unlike any other. Not only does she understand machinery to the degree that she can repair things that her village depends on, she also figures out how to invent something more powerful than any weapon known to man. Realizing Praia Nova has so little to offer her, Paolina sets out for England where she believes she will find wizards who can teach her more than she already knows. But she never makes it to England. Trouble meets her along the way and she finds herself hunted by the British Empire and the Celestial Empire, as well as two secret societies, the White Birds and the Silent Order. All of them want her gleam, which is the instrument she invented that can do the work of God.
Read
February 5, 2009Escapement is a more ambitious, and, in many ways, a more complex book than its predecessor, Mainspring. Though both books are clever combinations of steampunk (SF elements translated to the Victorian era), alternate history, and fantasy, Lake hits his stride here, neatly balancing intriguing characters with the sort of clear, driving plot (and a few important subplots) and world building that keeps readers in the game. Lake's star is on the rise in the science fiction and fantasy genres, and critics believe that this book is strong enough to warrant consideration for a Hugo. A cliffhanger ending almost certainly ensures another book in this remarkable cycle.
This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.
November 15, 2009
The second installment in the clockwork universe introduced in Mainspring. An interesting change in focus and viewpoint for the second novel in this series. More "steampunk" technology, but, like the first book, not constrained by it. Instead it is used to set a tone and provide background for the tale. And it's another grand tale of personal tribulations and effort. The arduous tasks set before the characters lead to their development and maturation. It contains flashes of true creativity along with a healthy reliance on proven formula. The result is another good, engaging story that is well worth reading.
September 27, 2010
Like the first book, has an extremely interesting steampunk setting, unfortunatly the plot just doesn't quite live up to its potential. I really liked the way this book connected from the preveous one, with minor characters and events in that book becoming much more prominent. This also seeems to have a nicely wider scope. The problem is that some of the events feel contrived, and I just couldn't buy the choices that some of the characters made. But, I will read the next one, primarily to see what he does with the setting.
December 28, 2009
A very strange book, wherein the world is divided between North and South by a giant range of mountains, called The Wall. The world is also run by an elaborate system of clockwork brass devices. I think the book is a sequel to an earlier book, because I am a bit baffled by some of the references, which are clearly meant to be understood by readers of a previous text -- but for pure, and very clever, diversion, this is a great read.
August 29, 2009
Lake posits a very different world, one with brassworks in the sky and a massive wall cutting the world in half, populated by fantastic creatures and metal men. There are some cool ideas, and the writing is solid, but there is too much left unexplained and unexplored and he tries to bring several plot threads together in a forced manner. The characters are compelling but also not fully developed. A fun read but one that leaves you wishing for more than you got.
May 6, 2010
Escapement was much better than Mainspring - I think this was mostly due to the format. This time I read it in hardback, which has been interesting as I've had to carry it all over Afghanistan. The first book was in audio format and I'm convinced now that the voice actor was what kept me from really enjoying it.
I also liked the protagonist in this one (Paolina), but I'm partial to strong, intelligent women.
Overall a much more satisfying read than the listen for the previous book.
I also liked the protagonist in this one (Paolina), but I'm partial to strong, intelligent women.
Overall a much more satisfying read than the listen for the previous book.
July 8, 2015
Escapement by Jay Lake is a wonderful Steampunk alternate history novel that manages to carry off a plot despite a good number of point of view characters, who spend most of the book apart from each other, and a surreal writing style. I was delighted to learn (when I went to Jay’s reading at World Fantasy) that Escapement is actually the second book set in that world. I immediately picked up a copy of Mainspring and am looking forward to reading it.
May 9, 2011
Stash’s Fusion tea of a green and white blend is, at first glance, a tea of familiar elements. And yet their combination masterfully creates an entirely new flavor experience, unique unto itself. It is the taste expression of Jay Lake’s novel Escapement; a story of familiar elements masterfully combined—fused—into an entirely new world.
For my entire BookTasting of "Escapement" please read here: http://englishtea.us/2010/04/27/stash...
For my entire BookTasting of "Escapement" please read here: http://englishtea.us/2010/04/27/stash...
July 27, 2011
The steampunk story of a young girl looking for guidance in a world that reflects an alternate possibility of the Imperialist days of Britain. The world itself is the mechanical creation of God and is split in two by a giant wall, it contains brass men, airships, Chinese submarines, secret societies and monstrous gods. Good premise, but finishes a little weak with many plots not properly wrapped up.
September 26, 2011
I liked it. Being able to see "god's hand in creation" is quite cool, and its interesting that the Chinese and Europeans would still come to different conclusions.
I haven't read the first one, but I get the impression that the characters cross over. I'm quite keen to read the next one. In some ways it felt like the difficult middle novl in a trilogy, in some ways like back to the future 2, to join the start and end together, with no real ending itself.
I haven't read the first one, but I get the impression that the characters cross over. I'm quite keen to read the next one. In some ways it felt like the difficult middle novl in a trilogy, in some ways like back to the future 2, to join the start and end together, with no real ending itself.
March 31, 2012
I’m going to come back to this after I read Mainspring, because I felt like I was missing something about this universe. In the meantime I’ll say that it just didn’t seem like my cup of tea, although I appreciated the high quality of the writing. NB: I’m a total fan of the author, avidly follow his blog, am highly jealous of his amazing productivity, and admire and respect his strength during his recurring struggles with cancer.
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