Boneshaker Review

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest is a novel set in an alternate, steampunked timeline. It takes place in about 1880 in Seattle. In this universe, someone discovered gold in Alaska rather earlier than in our reality. That led to Russia not selling Alaska to the United States. Also, inexplicably, the US Civil War was still going on. But back to the gold in Alaska thing. The Russians weren't able to get at the gold because most of it was buried under a mile of glacial ice and they didn't have the means to mine through it. So, Leviticus Blue invented the "Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine", or "Boneshaker" for short, to drill through the ice and into the earth to mine the gold. However, during a test of the Boneshaker, Levi Blue lost control of the Boneshaker causing havoc throughout Seattle. Also, the drilling released a gas from under the earth that came to be known as "The Blight". The gas killed people. And then brought them back to life.

The gas spread throughout the city, slowly turning people into rotters (ie zombies). Eventually, much of Seattle was evacuated and a 200" high wall built to seal off The Blight. Just before sealing off the city, a lawman named Maynard Wilkes decided to release a bunch of the prisoners who were being left to die in the jail due to the Blight.

Fast forward 15 years. Briar Wilkes, the daughter of Maynard Wilkes and the widow of Leviticus Blue works at a water treatment plant that cleans the Blight contamination from the city water. It's an awful job, but she has a bad reputation considering her father and her late husband, and she needs to provide for her son Ezekiel.

Ezekiel wants to prove that his father, Leviticus, did not deliberately destroy the city and unleash the Blight and prove that his grandfather, Maynard, was a hero. So, he sneaks under the wall and into the sealed section of Seattle. Briar learns where her son has gone and hitches a ride on an airship to come after him.

Once inside, they both learn that there are plenty of people living within the walled section of the city. They have engines that bring fresh air from over the walls and into an underground city of sorts. Of course, people need to wear gas masks when not in the underground areas with the cleanest air. They also learn of the mysterious Dr. Minnericht who has sort of taken over. Most of the people inside think that Dr. Minnericht is Leviticus Blue. However, no one is sure because he never takes off his breathing mask.

It's a fun story with solid characters. Unfortunately, Priest does not really delve enough into the setting.


/ [Viking]

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