Book Review: Boneshaker By Cherie Priest

Time for a book review!
I recently finished reading Boneshaker, Cherie Priest's first book in her Clockwork Century series.

Three things you need to know about this book:
1: There are zombies.
2: It takes place in an alternate history steampunk universe.
3: It is over-the-top in a very good way.

I could just stop right there couldn't I? You are already so curious that you are probably going to go read the book right now. But just in case you want a little bit more...

I hate summarizing plots. Often, kind-hearted people who try to take an interest in what I am reading ask me, "What is your book about?" To which I give a grumbling reply, "Why don't you read it and find out." But as I understand it, it is common for book reviews to explain a little bit of what the book is about. So here you go:

The story is set in the late 1800's, during a prolonged Civil War (remember what I said about alternate history?). The story begins with a mad scientist, Leviticus Blue, who invents a machine (three guesses what it's called) that can drill through thick layers of ice for gold in Alaska. Something goes terribly wrong and the machine is set loose in Seattle. It cuts so deep into the earth that it strikes a vein of some gaseous substance - called the Blight - which begins killing people and then eventually turning some people into the living dead. The area is obviously evacuated and people rebuild their lives outside of the walled-in, blight-infested area of Seattle. Then one day, the mad scientist's 16 year old son, Ezekiel Blue, decides to enter Seattle in search of answers. After learning where he has gone, his mother, Briar Wilkes, must follow him into downtown Seattle and battle zombies as she attempts to save her son.

That plot synopsis really didn't do it justice, but you get the idea. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.
I loved reading this book for two reasons. First, it was very refreshing to read about a heroine who wasn't 18 years old and in love with two boys. Briar Wilkes is a passionate, no-nonsense kind of woman who cares about her son and will do anything to save him. She is also somewhere around 30, so her thought process and the choices she makes are more focused and mature.
Second, I love the world Priest built. She went steampunk with complete abandon. Even the character's names are delightful. There are pirates in airships, cool gadgets, a female bartender with a mechanical arm. Lots of fun.

My one complaint about the book is towards the end, she kind of lost me. I usually read the end of books ravenously, barely stopping to do anything, but this one I took my time with. I think it was a bit anti-climactic and I think something happened with the prose. All I know is I would be reading and instead of words clicking together and making sense, they were awkwardly phrased; the descriptions didn't seem to match what was going on. This might be the fault of the reader, not the writer, and the rest of the book I found her prose very refreshing and original.

Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who likes zombies and/or steampunk and/or strong female protagonists (she and Zeke are both protagonists in this story though - it is third person, but switches back and forth between the two characters).

Side note: If you aren't familiar with steampunk, google it. It is rather beyond my powers of explanation, though if I may steal the words of a representative of the Steampunk Society at Comicon, one of the best descriptions is that it is Victorian science fiction.