Books

Ganymede: A Review

By Philip Schweier
August 26, 2011 - 13:46

Ganymede is the latest in Cherie Priest’s Clockwork Century series of steampunk novels, though to refer to them as a series is not entirely accurate. Each is its own story and can be easily enjoyed without being dependent on the others. In the books, American history has become slightly skewed; the time period is approximately 1881, and the American Civil War has been in full swing for more than two decades. Texas is its own republic, and while remaining somewhat neutral, clearly its sympathy lies with the Confederates.

In the book, Josephine Early, a “woman of negotiable affections” in Texas-occupied New Orleans, has a problem. And a secret. Actually, she has many of both, not the least of which is she is currently sitting on the South’s latest achievement in the art of naval warfare, a prototype submarine christened Ganymede. As for her problem, it has everything to do with the locating the right man to pilot the vessel down the Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico, to rendezvous with a Federal warship.

Despite the belief that a sailor is the right man for the job, Josephine instead enlists the help of an old flame, Andan Cly – privateer, opportunist and skipper of the dirigible (see what I mean about history being skewed?) Naamah Darling. But Cly isn’t quite so carefree as he once may have been; he’s looking to maybe settle down, and to do that, he need funds to establish his own air station in what used to be the city of Seattle. When business interests there present him with the opportunity to head East in search of supplies, Josephine’s telegram offering him a dangerous job presents him with a destination and the opportunity for double payment.

At first I was disappointed the book wasn’t as lengthy as I might have hoped, but that’s only noticeable when it’s placed on a shelf with her previous books, Boneshaker and Dreadnought. But I soon realized it’s a thinner book because the author keeps the story lean, with no discernible padding that is so common to overly-franchised fiction. Priest’s writing is witty and sharp, keeping the tension high and the drama taut. It’s strength lies in the fact that even though there is not much action – an encounter with zombis early in the book and a later mad-dash run against the enemy at the climax – it is a page-turner I couldn’t put down until the very end.

Priest has once again crafted a strong, intelligent woman character without sacrificing feminimity. Other writers with a lesser grasp of their characters too often resort to cookie-cutter short-cuts that cheapen the narrative at best, and at worst fall into the realm of cliché. But Josephine Early, like Briar Wilkes and Mercy Lynch before her, is a multi-dimensional individual, complete with the character flaws and admirable qualities. It’s populated with clear, distinct individuals, many of whom might graduate to starring roles in subsequent novels.

Is it science fiction? Not like one might expect. It’s closest relative would be steampunk, consisting of many of the story elements we’ve come to enjoy, such as airships, the dawn of the age of invention and the occasional perversion of mechanized marvels. But throw in a charming Texas Ranger, a devil-may-care airship captain reminiscent of Malcom Reynolds, and pre-industrial America in danger of being overrun by undead zombis, there’s no way the book can fail to entertain.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12