Synopsis

The air pirate Andan Cly is going straight. Well, straighter. Although he's happy to run alcohol guns wherever the money's good, he doesn't think the world needs more sap, or its increasingly ugly side-effects. But becoming legit is easier said than done, and Cly's first legal gig—a supply run for the Seattle Underground—will be paid for by sap money.

New Orleans is not Cly's first pick for a shopping run. He loved the Big Easy once, back when he also loved a beautiful mixed-race prostitute named Josephine Early—but that was a decade ago, and he hasn't looked back since. Jo's still thinking about him, though, or so he learns when he gets a telegram about a peculiar piloting job. It's a chance to complete two lucrative jobs at once, one he can't refuse. He sends his old paramour a note and heads for New Orleans, with no idea of what he's in for—or what she wants him to fly.

But he won't be flying. Not exactly. Hidden at the bottom of Lake Pontchartrain lurks an astonishing war machine, an immense submersible called the Ganymede. This prototype could end the war, if only anyone had the faintest idea of how to operate it…. If only they could sneak it past the Southern forces at the mouth of the Mississippi River… If only it hadn't killed most of the men who'd ever set foot inside it.

But it's those “if onlys” that will decide whether Cly and his crew will end up in the history books, or at the bottom of the ocean.

About Cherie Priest

Cherie Priest is the author of over a dozen novels, including Fiddlehead and Boneshaker, which was nominated for a Nebula Award and a Hugo Award and which won the PNBA Award as well as the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. She is inordinately fond of zombies, trashy goth music, and cheap red wine. Cherie lives in Tennessee.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jammies on October 02, 2011

There is no way for me to do a sensible, scholarly review of this book or any of the books in the Clockwork Century series. All I can say is that I loved this, and that Ms. Priest had me before Marie Laveau but I squealed in delight when she appeared. I'm thrilled with the gentle, low-key touch of r......more

Goodreads review by Cherie on March 12, 2017

The stories keep getting better and better.......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on April 28, 2020

My head hurts too badly to think of something to write. But I like this series, and really like all the characters too.......more

Goodreads review by Jason on November 02, 2011

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.) Regular readers will of course already be familiar with Cherie Priest's remarkable steampunk series known a......more

Goodreads review by Karin on February 27, 2024

Graphic Audio version ISBN 978 164 881 4082 Such an amazingly smooth and clever way to include characters from previous books! Love the dramatized versions that truly build an image/movie in my head. Far away from the ordinary everyday these books get your imagination going even when not listening. And......more