Clocktaur War by T. Kingfisher

As part of my attempt to read through Reddit's list of Top Fantasy Books by Women, I started to dig into T. Kingfisher's World of the White Rat, which is the duology of the Clocktaur War, followed by a standalone novel, followed by a trilogy.  Is that confusing? Yes. Am I here for it? Yes. 

First up is Clockwork Boys, the first novel in the Clocktaur War duology.

So, three criminals are recruited to help the Dowager's city. One is a forger, one is a disgraced paladin, and the other is an assassin. They are joined by a scholar. The four of them set out on what appears to be a suicide mission to find some important documents and get passed the dangerous clocktaurs, mechanical soldiers from the nearby kingdom. Antics ensue.

I love how Kingfisher is playing with tropes here. The paladin isn't in charge - no, the female forger is. They have no idea what they are doing - they are frequently lost and in pain from riding horses. The true villains are probably not the clocktaurs in the end. 

This is funny and quite compelling. There was a bit of a slowdown in the middle of this book, but on the whole, I was very pleased with it and can't wait to read more. 4/5 stars

Lines of note:

Minor wonderworkers were common enough, often possessing very specific talents. Still, what kind of turns did a life have to take before you discovered that your personal gift from the universe was making carnivorous tattoos? (page 27)

Do you ever wonder how people come to learn they can do certain things? Or how anyone ever learned that heating corn would make a delicious treat? 

He’s got a heart of gold…cold, metallic, and made of money. (page 42)

I thought this line was hilarious. I laughed for way longer than perhaps was necessary.

The Dreaming God was there. He was in His temple. He was looking down at His faithful. Caliban knew it. He believed it, not as an article of faith, but as he believed in sunrise and sunset and the turn of the seasons. He could feel the god. Words and incense and holy fire. Strength and certainty and the sword. (page 68)

Sometimes I wonder about people with faith. It must be comforting. This passage felt comforting.

Hat mentions:

“I could dress you up as a really big leper,” she said. “Or put you in a packing crate and arrange for delivery during a service. That’s about as much as I’ve got in the way of disguises.” 

“I thought…perhaps a large hat…” Dear god, he’s serious. “It’s gonna take more than a hat,” said Slate. (page 64)

...everyone caught out in the downpour were wearing cloaks and heavy hoods or broad brimmed hats of their own...(page 65)

She got off her horse, rummaged in the saddlebags, and pulled out a hat. It fit low over her eyes and she honestly hadn’t expected to live long enough to need it. (page 223)

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The second book is The Wonder Engine. It picks up right where we left off. Our quartet is in Anuket City and now they have to defeat the undefeatable machines. 

What a lovely little book. I greatly enjoyed the dialogue and interactions among the characters here. I also love how the problems were all resolved in the end (with the exception of a pesky detail about how a guy who hunts demons managed to not notice a demon for a very long time). I loved how absolutely terribly the female lead handled romantic complications and overall, it was a propulsive narrative. 4/5 stars

Lines of note:

She had worked for thirty years to become invisible and most days she managed it very well indeed. (page 10) 

As someone who sat in the furthermost corner in the jury room today, trying to hide, I get this.

“It could,” acknowledged Slate, “but show me a clandestine operation without leaks, and I’ll show you one where everybody involved is dead.”
 “We’re a clandestine operation,” said Caliban. There was an awkward silence. (page 53)

These books were very funny. 

“Like hell you are!”
 “Do you think I don’t know how to act around thieves and ruffians?” 
“The fact that you even use a word like ‘ruffians’ is not filling me with confidence, no.” (page 81)

The dialogue pleased me so much.

She’d always liked the Guild Library. The Guild itself could be a bunch of hidebound, backbiting, condescending bastards, but the Library was organized. Everything that came in was indexed and the index itself was neat, legible, and once you understood the system, easily navigated. (page 159)

The way Kingfisher writes about libraries shows me a shared love that makes me think she'd be fun to go out to dinner with.

Hat mention:

She adjusted her hat, pulling it low over her eyes. (page 11)

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Solid duology from Kingfisher here.