Maree's Reviews > The Half-Made World

The Half-Made World is a steampunk scifi/fantasy set in an alternate American West where if you go far enough into the west, you'll find the world has not yet settled and is still changing. We follow the paths of Liv, a psychologist who goes to the House of Dolores intending to cure the mentally insane, but instead is kidnapped along with one of her patients, the General, by Creedmore, an Agent of the Gun, whose weapon houses a spirit that is his Master and who he mostly must obey. They are hounded by Lowry and soldier of the Line, an industrial enemy of the Gun who has been waging war against them for nearly forever. The General is thought to have information that can lead to a great weapon that will end the war, and both sides want that weapon for themselves.

From the above summary, you may think that Creedmore is the good guy, so let me bury that notion immediately. Agents of the Gun are thieves and murderers who become dependent upon the extra strength and healing powers their masters allow them and must obey or be placed in considerable pain. While he does tend to not kill everyone the Gun orders him to shoot (hence why Liv survives the trip) he doesn't do it out of kindness but because it annoys his masters. All that said, Creedmore was definitely my favorite character, one of those villains who gets the job done, but carries a huge amount of shame (as well as pride) for all he's done. He's an interesting contradiction, and has a sharp sense of what needs to be done. I also appreciated how he continually goads his masters, especially when he's the only one out there who can carry out their mission and he knows it.

The novel has a number of interesting factions and allusions throughout. The Line, with their technological superiority, and the Engines, who are their essential Gods, are spreading rapidly and taking over, winning the war. But when they head west and communication breaks down, it becomes obvious of how much they are interchangeable drones. Even at the end, (view spoiler)[ when Lowry is killed, we don't know which man of the Line he is, the one Creedmore kills in the town or one of the two Liv kills later. (hide spoiler)] They are all the same with their masks on. The Gun are the cowboys of the old west with questionable moral codes, ruling by fear and violence. The First Folk are the wild and strange but knowledgeable inhabitants who originally shared with the General the secret to the weapon, which isn't likely actually a weapon, rather just something that will bring peace somehow.

The ending was very inconclusive, and I wasn't sure if that was because it was supposed to be left open to interpretation (oh those annoyingly deep writers) or because there is supposed to be a sequel. I think it's just the one, but since it's a new book, there isn't much info out there yet. Not sure I'd read it if there was, it was rather long with some interesting action and thoughts, with very little payoff.