Priest, Cherie: Clementine
Clementine (2010)
Written by: Cherie Priest
Genre: Steampunk/Alternate History
Pages: 201 (Hardcover)
Cherie Priest is one of those authors who, even if I don't read her fiction the instant it's released, is a must-have author for me. And while I'm not completely and unequivocally sold on this whole steampunk venture, I'm still gonna read it, because I'm kind of a tool. Such a tool that even though I could've gotten this Subterranean Press edition cheaper if I decided to forgo the signed copy and free chapbook Tanglefoot, I decided to get the more expensive version even though I already have a couple of books signed by Priest and even though I'd already read Tanglefoot online. See? Tool.
The premise: ganked from Subterranean's website: Maria Isabella Boyd’s success as a Confederate spy has made her too famous for further espionage work, and now her employment options are slim. Exiled, widowed, and on the brink of poverty…she reluctantly goes to work for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in Chicago.
Adding insult to injury, her first big assignment is commissioned by the Union Army. In short, a federally sponsored transport dirigible is being violently pursued across the Rockies and Uncle Sam isn’t pleased. The Clementine is carrying a top secret load of military essentials-essentials which must be delivered to Louisville, Kentucky, without delay.
Intelligence suggests that the unrelenting pursuer is a runaway slave who’s been wanted by authorities on both sides of the Mason-Dixon for fifteen years. In that time, Captain Croggon Beauregard Hainey has felonied his way back and forth across the continent, leaving a trail of broken banks, stolen war machines, and illegally distributed weaponry from sea to shining sea.
And now it’s Maria’s job to go get him.
He’s dangerous quarry and she’s a dangerous woman, but when forces conspire against them both, they take a chance and form an alliance. She joins his crew, and he uses her connections. She follows his orders. He takes her advice.
And somebody, somewhere, is going to rue the day he crossed either one of them.
Review style: not much I want to discuss here, other than to ramble a bit on how history plays a role in Priest's fiction despite the fact she's writing alternate history and therefore not bound to the strict trappings of history itself. Spoilers? Nah… not much to spoil here.
First, let me be honest: I've already said I'm not totally sold on this whole steampunk venture Priest has got going on here. Steampunk as a rule doesn't really engage me, though I do find the differences in history to be quite fun, and with Priest setting her steampunk adventures in the United States, I've got more a little more to savor. But when it comes to one of the most iconic symbols of steampunk--the airship aka dirigible--I am not enamored, which means a story that focuses on a man trying to steal back the airship he rightfully stole to begin with is, while kind of funny in an ironic way, really not my cup of tea. So the first chapter, despite all of the action, had me bored and a little cross-eyed given that I found the names kept bleeding together and that gave me trouble differentiating the characters from one another.
That said, the second chapter and the introduction of Maria Belle Boyd had me far more interested indeed. Part of it was the female character, but the other part was her connection to history (not that I'm saying she's a historical figure, I rather highly doubt that, but hey, maybe! Since I'm too lazy to look it up, I'll just assume she's NOT an historical figure). No, what got my attention was the discovery that she was going to work for Pinkerton, an agency I'd not heard of before except on the television show Deadwood, at which point it finally dawned on me that the Pinkerton's weren't some fiction construct but rather an actual mover and shaker in the course of our history as a nation.
This is where some of you need to hang your head and refrain from beating said head against your desk because I'm so woefully under-educated when it comes to American History. But don't feel TOO bad. I was far more enamored of world history when I was in school than I ever was American History, so when it came to the latter, I pretty much skimmed and skimmed and absorbed what I needed to pass the tests.
Anyway, it was Belle Boyd's connection to a real piece of history that got me paying attention beyond all the fictional constructs of airships and all that jazz. I started paying attention to what wasn't really fictionalized and what was, and what REALLY stood out to me in stark relief was Hainey's realization of what a weapon Belle Boyd would be against him: a Southern white woman who could just claim he LOOKED at her wrong and then a lynch mob would be all over him, just because he's black. Honestly, that's a truly frightening weapon.
I have to say, I rather liked how Priest utilized racial tensions in this book and made them both part of the world and part of the story. Hainey's still not my favorite character, but I liked his determination and his ability to keep himself and his crew alive despite the fact he's living in an America where he's at a serious disadvantage due to his skin color. And Belle Boyd's sections were interesting not just because she was a female character I could latch on to, but because she's essentially a spy, and spies always have the most interesting information and ways of looking at the world.
Also of note is how this story kind of ties into Priest's short story Tanglefoot, which you can still read (for free) here if you didn't get the Clementine edition with the free chapbook. I read this story back when I read Boneshaker and it's rather enjoyable, and I like that characters and settings are coming back to play a bigger role in a larger story. Not sure where this whole larger story is going yet, but on an intellectual level, I'm engaged.
My Rating
Find a Cheaper Copy: you know, it's a rare thing when I buy a Subterranean edition of something and honestly think it's worth the cash, let alone a must have. Part of it's because I'm always getting the expensive version of whatever the book may be instead of the more standardly-priced hardcover, so there's your bias. That said, fans of Priest's Clockwork Century books should enjoy this, especially if said fans enjoyed Hainey's character from Boneshaker. Also, an attachment to airships is probably a plus. What delighted me instead was the introduction of Maria Belle Boyd, a former Confederate spy now working for the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Oh, I quite hope she makes another appearance in this series, because she's a character I'd like to follow. The book entertaining in how it combines characters and events from previous Clockwork Century stories, but those stories are, by no means, necessary to enjoy this book (though it might help a wee bit). A good read, but I feel you're probably going to want to find this cheaper than the list price of $25.00, unless you're a tool like me and love Priest's work so much on the whole that you have to pay extra for the limited-signed-with-a-free-chapbook edition. And in that case, well, there's a support group for that, right? :)
Cover Commentary: OMG! I am so glad they changed the cover. It used to be this and then it was this, and while it's nice to show a great big airship on the cover, it bores me and looks a little too clean for my taste. So I was THRILLED when they updated the cover to the one shown in this review. Not only does it match the design and style and mood of Tor's Clockwork Century covers, but it's just more appealing to me personally. We've got--wait for it!!!--a black man on the cover (go, Hainey!), lots of weapons, and then the airship still gets to make an appearance. I applaud Subterranean for their decision to change the cover, and I hope that any future Clockwork Century books they produce will stay consistent with this format and design and artwork by Jon Foster. Woot!
Next up: Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson