I...

Oh, boy. I don't know what to say.

I can't recall the last time I was so bored with a book.

This book is a sequel to K.W. Jeter's <em>Infernal Devices</em>, which I have not read. And based on this, I'm going to stay away from it.

Jeter is credited with coining the phrase "steampunk" and since the term has developed a bit of a cult following with cosplayers dressing up in steampunk garb, I thought it would be fun to read a book in the (sub)-genre by the man who coined the phrase. But boy was I wrong. It was not fun.

This is the tale of George Dower whose most significant accomplishment through this book is that he is the son of a famous inventor (see previous book, apparently). Some "mysterious players" (I'm quoting the description as found on Goodreads) offer some untold riches if George can find one of his father's inventions and make it work. Of course there are some obstacle in the way, not least of which is the slow pace at which this story moves.

I greatly prefer character-driven stories over plot-driven (a good blend of the two is best) but this features neither. Dower has nothing going for him that would draw us to him or make us care about what he does. I'm more interested in his inventor father (though not enough so to read his story yet). And the plot? Workable, certainly, but what might be an interesting search for a lost invention is inexorably drawn out so that we stop caring about it as well.

This was not my first attempt to try to read the book, but I hate giving up on a book and so I persevered, but it wasn't really worth it and I would not recommend this to anyone. This was a huge disappointment from an author who cites Philip K. Dick as an influence (one of my very favorite authors).

Looking for a good book? <em>Fiendish Schemes</em> by K. W. Jeter is a sequel to his book <em>Infernal Devices</em> and <em>maybe</em> if you've read that book, you would enjoy this second, but I highly doubt it.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.