**Based on audio books.
These books have really not been what I expected. I imagined steampunk adventure and these are more steampunk historical fiction drama with just a little bit of fantasy (magical realism? a little science-gone-wrong?) thrown in (and, to be fair, there are moments of "action/adventure" in all three books, with the first one probably being the quickest paced). But I've nevertheless enjoyed them, especially once I shifted my expectations. Priest does a fantastic job with the characterizations (most certainly helped along by the narrators who have read the first 3 books) and the scene, and I well-pictured everything that was happening, who was speaking, as well as emotions and all the subtleties that make a book something you can sink into. The next 2 in the "series" (they can each be standalone novels, but there are loose connections between them, including a handful of characters who recur in non-essential ways and, of course, the world) I have in paperback (not audio), and I am definitely looking forward to seeing if the excellent narrations are met by Priest's writing. Four stars. ( )

Another look at Cherie Priest's alternate reality, full of airships and zombies where the Civil War did not end in 1865. It is the third book in her Clockwork Century series but exists well as a standalone.

There are two separate main character storylines: Andan Cly, an airship pilot and pirate who smuggles sap (more on that later) and is based out of the Seattle area. The other is Josephine Early, madame of a bordello in New Orleans, a city now occupied by Texians (as spelled in the book). They were once lovers a decade ago, and now their lives intertwine in a truly steampunk way.

Cly is called to Early's city as a pilot, a journey of about a week, to help her and her brother with bringing a submersible to the Federal forces anchored in the Gulf of Mexico, as a way to end the War. As Cly makes his way to this city, the Texians decide to launch a siege on the hideaway near Barataria Bay where the famous pirate, Jean Lafitte, had his headquarters for years. The Texians suspect that the submersible is there and they want to seize it first.

Along with the occupation, the citizens of New Orleans have to contend with zombies and a sunset curfew. This is all new to Cly, who remembers the nightlife of New Orleans and has come from the underground of Seattle. Readers of this series know that the poison gas released during the events of "Boneshaker" caused Seattle to become a city surrounded by zombies; it turns out that the sap Cly has been running creates more zombies and most of them are ordinary soldiers in the Federal and Confederate armies who become addicted to the stuff.

The lives and times in this alternate history are well-drawn and the steampunk dress leaves costumers' imaginations full. There is a note of caution for readers: Priest uses the term "colored" throughout her descriptions of the non-white residents of New Orleans, in keeping with the norms of the time. Otherwise, the characters of the many human races in this novel are well-respected and each has their own part in the mystery and drama of these events. ( )

I give up. I finally have to give one of Cherie Priest's books 5 stars. It's not perfection and it's not literature, but it's well written and darn good fun. I was disappointed to have reached the end, not because it was bad, but because I wanted more. This is the best story in the series so far. Since the others all got 4 stars, this gets 1 more.

This book, like the others, is full of wonderful characters, most with wonderful, arcane names. What's different is that in this one the relationships between the characters get explored a bit more richly and broadly. This is a result of a somewhat more laid back pace, which wasn't lazy, but does allow for more exploration of characters and the setting.

A few things didn't work. Much was made of leaving Andan Cly's airship somewhere to get refitted. But the result is glossed over or omitted. A supposedly shocking revelation was made about one of Josephine's girls. But the point of it eludes me. It did not seem to make any difference to the story. I felt a bit cheated by the climactic battle. There was tension and danger. (minor spoiler coming) But we were never given an all-is-lost moment. And then things wrap up quickly.

The next book in the series can't come out too soon for me. ( )

This book made me miss my train stop several times. ( )

As I'm reading more books set in this world, I feel they are delivering diminishing returns. New characters and locations get introduced, and there's a new steampunk contraption or other, but overall, it felt very much like the same thing. It didn't help that I found the "Movie in your mind" production of these Graphic Audio CD to be more than a little distracting. It was more radio play than audio book, with a big cast of voices and constant sound effects. ( )