Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

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I was so, so disappointed in this book. It was on my TBR list for probably two years before I got around to listening to it. I don’t feel like the author connected the readers to her characters so the whole time I was listening to what happened to people I didn’t care about. When you don’t feel anything about the characters, none of what they go through makes you excited, anxious, or concerned. This makes for a very boring read.

My biggest issue, aside from not connecting with any of the characters, is how Briar, the mother and one of the two main characters, is portrayed. This woman hardly has a backbone and feels so sorry for herself. Once she realizes that her son, Zeke, has left the outskirts of Seattle and is headed into the walled-off downtown area, her only show of will or drive is that she must go get him and bring him home. Other than this motherly instinct, Briar and Zeke don’t seem to have much of a relationship and hardly talk to each other.

Once Briar decides to go over the wall, she pretty much stops making decisions for herself and finishes her quest solely by having the supporting characters carry her there. She doesn’t know how to survive on the other side, doesn’t know how to go about finding anyone, and doesn’t know the good guys from the bad. She’s one of the most pitiful characters I have had the misfortune of meeting.

The underworld created for Boneshaker is only mildly interesting and the “zombies” seem to be there because the author wanted to create another obstacle for her characters rather than have them serve an actual purpose or create a more interesting story line.

There was also very little to do with Steampunk. There were a few dirigibles in the beginning and end and one woman had a mechanical arm, but that’s it. This should not be included in the Steampunk genre, even a little bit.

Bah. I would not recommend this book and I have zero desire to read any more from this series. I would maybe consider reading something different from this author to give her another chance (because I have heard a lot of good things), but it would definitely be through the (free) library.

1/5 Stars.