Book Review: Dreadnought by Cherie Priest (The Clockwork Century #2)

Dreadnought is the second book in Cherie Priest's “The Clockwork Century” series. This book is built on the premises of the previous book, Boneshaker. Like its predecessor, Dreadnought is a steampunk novel set in alternate history version of the American civil war. It has elements of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. Let's have a closer look:

Synopsis:

Nurse Mercy Lynch is stationed at a war hospital in Richmond, Virginia. One day, bad news reached Mercy when she was told her husband has died in a POW camp. Adding frost to the snow, she also received a telegram from the west coast informing her, that her father has sustained grave injuries, in danger of dying, and he wishes to see her.

Mercy set out on a journey to Tacoma to see her father, traveling thousands of miles between war-torn states. Eventually, she boarded a train pulled by a Union operated steam engine called Dreadnought, a mighty and terrifying steam engine equipped with awesome armory and weapons.

Very soon, Mercy discovered her hope for a peaceful journey quickly dissolved as the train was attacked by a band of Rebel soldiers. Their goal, to steal the mysterious cargo pulled by Dreadnought. Will Mercy survive this perilous journey?

What I think about this book:

In comparison to its predecessor, Boneshaker, the pace in Dreadnought is a little bit slower. However, this is not saying that Dreadnought is boring. In fact, I enjoy Dreadnought more than Boneshaker. This time around, the characterization has improved, because the characters' thoughts and emotions are revealed to the readers. Having said this, there is still very little character development in this book. It feels like after the Mercy went through all the life threatening moments and her epic journey, her character didn't grow or change.

Without spoiling the story, I found the ending to be somewhat anti-climatic. There are some twists in the story but it won't surprise you that much. Where this book succeeds, is the world building and the description of scenes. The author brilliantly established a fantastic, yet believable alternate history version of the American Civil War, with funky steam powered machinery and flesh eating zombies. Overall, as long as you don't take this book too seriously, this is a fun read and a good way to escape into the world of steampunk. If you already liked Boneshaker, you will probably like this one too.