By Hostache, Henderson, Salvaggio & Izu
Publisher: Humanoids
ISBN: 978-1-59465-039-0
Set in London during 1899, this is a steampunk story of big robot-like machines known as clocks controlled by their human drivers. The clocks do a lot of the manual labour on big projects but the engineer who helped create them is on the run and has stolen some of the clocks to boot. The clocks themselves aren't powered by steam, however, but by Lucifernium, a much sought after energy source.
Once in London the engineer, Molly, and her small team meet up with Matt, an ex-policeman disgraced from the force, who has been looking into some mysterious goings on at the docks which appear to involve a large metal creature which Matt later understands to be a piloted clock.
All this shenanigans around London is fortuitous as the villain of the piece, and Molly's ex-employer, is after a massive Lucifernium reserve under the city and what he certainly doesn't want is Molly and her team of robot pilots, along with the ex-detective, getting in his way.
Humanoids have presented this book in a nice thick hardback format, and it's jam-packed with some beautiful illustration and expert colouring throughout. It really is a lovely thing to behold. However, I struggled to warm to the characters who felt devoid of personality – nobody appeared to be vulnerable, just grim or determined. It doesn't mean the book is a bad read, but it could have been better with a bit more humanity and warmth to help you identify with them. The clocks themselves are well conceived, but a bit more design-time to make them easier to tell apart wouldn't have gone amiss. The book has potential to develop into a strong series, but in order to do that we just need to be helped to care a little more.
And if you liked that: Take a look online at A Gentleman's Duel
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