The Clockwork War Review

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Quick review

It’s written for younger, chapter book readers. It can be appreciated by older children and adults.

Action, adventure, cool clockwork creations

Gentle lessons

A doll attack and a giant clockwork dragon

Long Review

The Clockwork War was an Ollie’s find for me, and fits the description of “Good Stuff, Cheap!” perfectly.

It follows Karlheinz Indergarten (Karl), a boy whose best friend loses his imagination in a lightning strike. Karl is sent away to learn about clockwork, while his best friend, Leopold Croak, goes on to industrial enterprises. Their paths eventually put them back onto a trajectory of conflict!

This is a super quick read; I started and finished it within a few hours. That said, the pacing doesn’t feel rushed. There is a lot of ‘cutting to the chase,’ where the author forgoes building tension for very long and just lets things happen. For early readers or readers with shorter attention spans, it’s a fitting stylistic choice.

As a reader, I have little to no critiques. Reading this book was nostalgic, like reading a book from my childhood, except that I was getting to experience it for the first time.

Technical Notes

In the technical side of things, Adam Kline is a master of using the English language. From clockwork allusions to dramatic overtones of a very mundane issue (see the opening chapter, where a little girl has sequestered herself into a fortress of pillows and blankets, refusing to parley with anyone except her parents’ secret weapon), Kline paints scenes with words that are beautifully captured by the accompanying illustrations.

The artistic voice is very much an oral storytelling, which matches the setup of the book. Just like the pacing of the action, it tells you what is what, in a very matter of fact tone, but holding a poetic, lyrical style. There are also some moments, like a white roach being defeated by a mechanical ship and crew, that might be recognizable to adults and not children. Unlike most adult references in children’s books, however, they are not suggestive.

One of my favorite lines is used in describing a character’s passing. I know, it’s a weird place to have a favorite line, but as a writer, it can be difficult to write about someone passing away, in a tender and gentle way that doesn’t startle readers. But, it’s a necessity when writing a book for younger readers, especially when that death isn’t a villain meeting their fate or a hero making a final stand (which also happens in this book).

To do this, Kline sets the scene by highlighting the character’s increasing age. As an adult, it’s clear where this section is heading, and even though we don’t want it to follow, we know it must, and that it’s okay.

In the close, Kline writes this: “As the clockmaker was falling asleep, he thought about the butterfly, and the robins, and Pim. He was very proud. And as the clockmaker’s thoughts turned to Karl, his heart stretched its wings and flew away.”

I sat with that statement for a long time before moving on.

The thing that makes it so peaceful is that it calls back to the butterfly, which was one of Karl’s creations. Providing the image of the clockmaker’s heart fluttering away, instead of stopping like a watch, lets the reader imagine a world where the clockmaker’s heart still flies on. Instead of ending and finality, there’s a breath of hope in passing.

This is different than when a magnificent creature dies, later in the book. There, it is the classic slow descent, until the final finishing moment. It too, relates sadness, but mostly through the eyes of a character who loves the creature very much.

Readers Beware!

The section title is just clickbait. This is just a way to provide some warning for parents, guardians, teachers and others who might know their child better than I do. You know what they do or don’t like, so here are some thoughts.

Like I mentioned, the roach. Not a big thing, but it’s there if you don’t do bugs in the bath.

There is an instance of bullying, and the fix is to give the kid who’s being bullied a mechanical suit to help him fight back. It comes up later to help in other ways, too, but… Know your child.

There is an attack of animatronic dolls against a clockwork dragon, where the dolls melt and slow down, then stop the dragon. The image just didn’t sit with me right, so I thought I’d mention it.

Final Thoughts

There are some great themes in this book. First to mention is the power of imagination. Whatever Karl can dream up, he can make. And, if it hadn’t been for the loss of his imagination, Leopold Croak would not have become what he did.

Secondly, there is a recurring theme of being redeemable. Every villain or foe has some small redemption, whether it’s the dolls, who go from being controlled by the bad side to being controlled by the good side, or the big scary henchman (the victim of the dolls after they switch sides), who is chased far away, but finds religion and decides that “punching was a wicked thing to do”, or even the main antagonist, Leopold Croak, who ends being reunited with his daughter and helping rebuild the town.

It’s in smaller things, too. A dog, who snarls at Karl, but Karl responds by feeding it. Later, this dog helps Pim, the clockwork mouse, escape a precarious situation. The idea is highlighted in this quote: “Some rats are evil, Pim,” sighed Karl. “I won’t argue that. But they’re almost never born that way.” And this is true – of rats, of cats, of dogs and everything else. It’s especially true of people.”

Now, from the total depravity perspective, which says that we’re all born evil, or at least with the inclination to rebel against God, some might feel it’s a message we shouldn’t be preaching. But the larger message is that anyone – even the most unimaginative, uncaring person – is redeemable and worthy of being fixed.

And that’s a message I think is worth hearing.

There are other themes, too – goodwill, never giving up on friends, the power of community and the threat of commercialism and pollution, but these first two are the ones that stuck out to me the most.

All in all, it’s well worth the read, whether it’s being read to a little one, scared of kindergarten, or by an older one, who can appreciate more of the deeper messages.

Where to Buy or Read

If you get lucky, you might be find this book at Ollie’s.

For another thrifty option, check it out on Alibris!

Other options would include Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your local library.

(Some of these links are affiliate links. Learn what that means at our affiliate disclosure page. If you’d like to request a book review, just let me know!)