Kingdom of Clockwork eBook Billy O'Shea
Download As PDF : Kingdom of Clockwork eBook Billy O'Shea 
When the oil and gas ran out, civilisation collapsed. Now, centuries later, mankind is once again beginning to discover the secrets of the past ... starting with clockwork.
In a future Denmark, the King’s clockmaker becomes enmeshed in a web of court intrigue and undertakes a fateful journey to the Far North, where he encounters many strange phenomena that challenge his rational nature.
Kingdom of Clockwork is a science fiction/steampunk novel by Billy O’Shea. The story takes place in a quasi-medieval society that arises in Scandinavia after the new Dark Ages. Lacking fossil fuels and knowledge of past technology, the new kingdoms of the northern lands can only draw upon the power of the wind, which they store using clockwork. But the King of Kantarborg has a plan to mine other secrets of the past, and weaves a young court clockmaker into his dangerous schemes.
Kingdom of Clockwork has been described as “alternate history, historical fantasy and steampunk”. It is a quirky, intriguing, slightly whimsical tale of reason, magic and human cunning. The story combines real Scandinavian history and locations with flights of fancy, both literal and metaphorical.
Kingdom of Clockwork eBook Billy O'Shea
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Kingdom of Clockwork eBook Billy O'Shea Reviews
The kingdom of Kantarborg (a future version of Denmark in the year 2413) has lost all the technical merits and ressources of former centuries. These are long gone, buried, forgotten or are said to be legend. The powerful church prohibits archaeology, so no scientific research is allowed. Yet still traces of former technical progress can be found in the kingdom. The king commands airships and an armade, yet this is not enough for him. So he orders the clockmaker Karl Nielsen to create a real train, based on a historical toy train. Because there is no power supply with coal, Nielsen develops a train technology based on clockwork mechanism. At the same time, he becomes enmeshed in web of court intrigue.
Soon afterwards the King, Nielsen and an army undertake a dangerous expedition to the far north.
„Kingdom of Clockwork“ is an original alternate historical fantasy novel. The author designs an alternate Scandinavia in the future with a social structure that reminds of the Renaissance. The steampunk-genre is e.g. depicted in exciting airship combats and the clockwork technology – which is described in detail.
The reader might smirk here and there when the protagonists find historical items (from our present) and have strange or even bizarre ideas about their possible functions. The protagonist Nielsen is a likeable anti-hero who gets involved in this adventure more or less by accident.
Billy O'Shea's writing style is reduced in an enjoyable way and it gets to the point on each page.
You can be damned if you question the society you live in.
This was the message I walked away with after reading Kingdom of Clockwork. As I read this book, I felt as if I were reading a philosophical debate - which isn't a bad thing. I love stories that make me think. I love characters who question their worlds. Their surroundings.
And despite his upbringing, Karl Neilsen did just that.
O'Shea's strength lies in his ability to use metaphors. The clocks in his story represented society to me. That society holds onto a strange power, which can be used to further your cause - or crush you. I loved the metaphors. I loved the philosophical questions he raised. But most of all?
I loved the language.
Writing is an art best judged by the reader. I strongly believe that. But it is the writer's job to ensure that reader gets the ultimate experience from their story. O'Shea did this for me. The elements of steampunk, the fascination with how cogs and gears worked - all of it tied into the underlying story of how a young man begins to question everything he had been taught as well as the fragile society he lived in.
For me, this is a strong read. It invokes thought. Questions. I would stop reading just to consider the concepts O'Shea was bringing to mind, then jump back into the story to see what the characters thought about the same theories. Was I right? Could there be a right answer?
Overall, this is a great steampunk novel and it is deep. Really deep. Pick it up, but don't fly through it. Think about the questions raised by this intellectual read.
And enjoy every minute of it.
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Cynthia D. Witherspoon is the bestselling author of The Oracle Series. Her books are available on .
Very entertaining and thought provoking book! I would love to see another...
Had both Kingdom of Clockwork in the for a long while. Finally last weekend, I started reading the first book. Couldn't put it down. Didn't stop until after dawn. Thanks Billy!! (When is the nextone coming out?)
I have known that this book was in the works (pardon the pun) for months, and I am thrilled that it is finally out... and yes, it was well worth the wait. But now, how do I write a review worthy of it, without letting in any spoilers?
Let me begin with a word of explanation. There are two kinds of steampunk writing one is set in an alternative present (such as Kingsley Amis' marvelous "The Alteration", which was written in 1976 and set sometime in the late 20th century... but in a world where Henry VIII's older brother did not die young, Catherine of Aragon did not marry Henry, the Catholic Church rules Europe, and science is banned), and the other, in some kind of post-nuclear future.
"Kingdom of Clockwork" is of the latter kind. It takes place in the 25th century, in the Kingdom of Kantarborg -- which has not only clocks, but foundries, airships and many other somewhat-modern things. Evidence of much higher technology is present, buried in what Kantaborgian scientists call the "Irrational Layer"; as the official scientific position would have it, the Earth itself dreams, much as people do, and the artifacts sometimes found by chance are the product of the Earth's unconscious imagination. Reference to those artifacts is forbidden in polite society; in the memorable opening scene of the book, the protagonist, Karl Nielsen, is berated by his parents as a child for using the word "railway."
Like many sweet, shy, articulate children, Karl grows up into a bright, socially awkward young man, who appears to be shaped by his destiny rather than shaping it. He is not good at much of anything at school; quite by chance he discovers that he can fix clocks. As a result, he pursues a university degree in horology -- the science of clockwork, the one more-or-less efficient means of energy transfer in his alternate world (there *is* electricity, but only powered by large, unwieldy acid batteries) -- and, through the actions of several (again, pardon the pun) deorum ex machina, becomes the King's clockmaker and counselor while still very young.
The plot rapidly thickens, with betrayal and counter-betrayal on multiple levels, mixed well with generous seasoning of various kinds, from whales to wife-swapping. I will not disclose the ending (except to say I laughed out loud when Karl, toward the end, realized that he was still quite young), but I will say this "Kingdom of Clockwork" competes quite well with "The Alteration" -- and it left me thirsty for more. Back to your desk, O'Shea -- we want another!
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