I liked this more than I thought I would. As much as I enjoy reading alternative history type stories, I don't always managed to find good or even interesting ones. This story is both. The plot is engaging and the characters are well written. It's definitely worth reading.

Stalemate is a super fresh steampunk alternate history of the U.S. Civil War in the years 1863 to 1864. And wait—there’s so much more to this fast-paced reimagining of a nation divided. The opening scene quickly develops into an immersive chaotic battle reminiscent of Terminator. Brisk prose supports a narrative sprint that reinforces a sense of urgent mayhem in the challenging circumstances Union Colonel Julius Montclair, Princess Ayita, Scarlet, Copperhead, and company are overcoming.

In tone of unexpected artistic range, Stalemate follows in the tradition of Cherie Priest’s Clockwork Century series. There are clever nods to Yoda from Star Wars, Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid (Welcome, Cobra Kai!), a little Kung Fu with David Carradine, Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins mysteries, and even a bit of a “Deep Throat” vibe from Watergate infamy. Its tangible elements of emotional depth interwoven into the action sequences should also appeal to fans of Meljean Brook’s Iron Duke series.

Often the most engaging steampunk fiction blends the primitive tech of the past with modern sensibilities and integrates that mix into an organic social commentary about the evolution of human society, revealing that some things remain unchanged over generations. From superficial “it” factors in the marketing of political candidates as one character remarks on pages 41—42: “… A face simply made for a daguerreotype. With that jawline and that hair? He has ‘president’ written all over him.” to deeper, more complicated issues of the racial hierarchy of extended families in Louisiana’s Creole society, Stalemate is layered in provocative ideas.

The author conveys a clear and steady undertone of the racial strife at the core of the divide between the Union and the Confederacy without including the expected, explicit racial slur until beyond the halfway point in the story. Usage of incidental standard profanity is minimal almost to the point of nonexistence. Some passages are poetic in composition as in this phrase seemingly inspired by Emily Dickinson on page 184, “Like some hell-beast belching smoke and brimstone, the locomotive roared by.”

The ending of this first entry in the Clockwerk Thriller series lays a strong foundation for future intriguing installments.


Inclusion Roll Call: named indigenous people, interracial* people, all socioeconomic classes from subsistence to privileged elites, non-hetero people**, and people of all ages and body types***
*Actually interethnic since humans are all members of one species
**Rendered in stereotypes reflective of an unconscious, hetero-centric hypermasculine bias
***A featured character who is obese is described in terms that reflect the unconscious bias of someone who is very physically fit and/or fat-phobic.

A solid Steampunk fantasy that has a good baseline in Historical fiction and throws in some romance to boot. Very enjoyable and I am looking forward to future books by this author.

This tale resonates with historical facts and machination concerning the war of great proportion that was fought between the Confederates and Union. A sci-fi blend of historical facts with modern machinery, steeped deep in political espionage, betrayal, treason, hatred and downright greed and bigotry. The atrocities that took place during this battle was an aggressively torturous one, even if the frontline soldiers were clockwerk men and women. It’s an action pack adventure with the right mechanics, that slowly draws your attention to the detailed facts and keep you glued to the pages even through all its gruesomeness. Reliving historical facts through this fast space action pack tale is quite an interesting one, I find the graphical description to be a bit too much for my palate, but it is an exceptionally well written, interesting and fascinating book.