This book is a challenge to review. It is not for everyone. It shouldn’t even appeal to me. But I loved it, and I am in awe of the writing style.

This is essentially an epic prose poem in a personified Steampunk setting, the ultimate “man versus environment” conflict, because the city itself is a major character.

And, since usually excess description gets in the way of the story, how could I enjoy a novel that was mostly description? But this book is filled with the poetry of decay. It is imbued with the myriad smells and sounds of rot and rancid oil, falling buildings, leaking steam pipes and shorted electrics, sweat and human fear.

This writer handles the English language better than most of the poets who present their volumes for review, showing the superior power of poetry to evoke emotion. One can picture it as a black-and-white surrealistic film from 1920.

The tale is steeped in metaphor at many levels. The biggest comparison is that of human spirit to mechanical strength, and the concern that each will fail under stress. The difference, is that humans can respond by becoming stronger.

Meanwhile, technical jargon flows like spilt oil, but always within the scope of our ability to understand the action.

We also get brief glimpses of the point of view of the other side in the battle: not sympathetic, but at least understanding. This should lessen the suspense, but the way this author presents the characters, our split viewpoint merely confirms the idea of a never-ending conflict in the human psyche: freedom versus control, and the danger of becoming the authority we struggled against.

Unfortunately, the brevity of the terse action information sometimes leaves us uncertain about what is happening. There are gaps in the plotline and many unexplained events. For example, the Heartcoil appears out of nowhere on page 66, already in play, and we don’t even know what it is. Likewise the Ghostframe.

There are also a couple of strange, repeated sections, and given the experimental nature of the writing, I can’t tell if they are purposeful or in error.

The only structural complaint I have is the sameness of tone. This is a dreary, destructive universe, and we could use a few more of the relaxed, human-to-human moments that flash between the two main characters.

Highly recommended for fans of emotional and poetic writing. And of course, Steampunk.

Five stars

This review was originally published on Reedsy Discovery.