Book Review: Alex in Wunderstande: The Clairvoyance Clock

As I began a vacation to Florida, I needed a good book to keep me occupied during my flights. I picked up Alex in Wunderstande: The Clairvoyance Clock by Kale Lawrence, and this fast-paced steampunk adventure kept me turning the pages throughout my travels.

Spoiler-Free Synopsis

For seventeen-year-old Alexander Rosengrant, the recent war in Wunderstrande was anything but victorious. Haunted by visions of his friends’ last memories as soldiers, Alex finds himself emotionally distant toward his Uncle Brody, Lancaster’s star general. Unexpectedly, the mention of a mad scientist’s strange artifact propels Alex on a risky journey, leading him to unravel a tangled mess of lies. But one inconceivable discovery surrounding the heart of the war catches Alex off guard–one that threatens his very existence.

What I Liked

Something I loved from very early in the book is that it does a fantastic job of dripping bits of information to the reader. Instead of large passages of information dumping, history and character connections are revealed in pieces and in a natural way. Each of these moments feels like a significant revelation in a way that I don’t think could be achieved if everything was told to the reader early on.

As this information was dripped to me, I became increasingly invested in the cast of characters. All of the characters feel multi-dimensional and are more than they seem on the surface. They all have layered motivations and relationships which bring them to life. The world of the book is also well-developed and is rich enough that I can’t wait for more books in the series to explore more of it.

The writing in this book is fast and light, which made it very easy to push through in a few hours.

What I Didn’t Like

I don’t really have any complaints about this books. There were a couple of parts where I wondered if some of the younger characters sounded older than they were, but the world of the book seems to force young people to mature faster, so it’s possible that those portions are just due to that.

Verdict

If you’re looking for an excellent and quick steampunk book, I highly recommend picking up Alex in Wunderstande: The Clairvoyance Clock. I was hooked from the beginning and can’t wait to see what author Kale Lawrence does next in the series.

You can find Alex in Wunderstande: The Clairvoyance Clock by Kale Lawrence here on Amazon.

You can also read my interview with Kale Lawrence here.