The Shadow Conspiracy III: Clockwork Souls

This is a collection of seven short works in a shared alternative history where (mostly) humanoid robots have been built to increase the slave population during the American Civil War.

The stories explore this theme of slavery, and what is is to be human, without being too heavy handed.
All of the pieces are well written and worth exploring although of course some will be viewed as better than others dependant on your personal taste. For me the opening story was a well judged work, taken from the viewpoint of a practising Quaker during those turbulent times, and I would happily have read on had it been longer.

The remaining tales are also well crafted and each takes a different viewpoint on broadly the same worldview. But, as each story show more stands alone, the variations on a theme becomes for me a little worn by the end. This is not to take anything away from the individual stories but I would have liked to have seen some development of theme as time progressed.

I do however recommend this collection for your consideration.

(I received and reviewed this book for free as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Programme) show less

This series of short stories were intriguing and thought-provoking. They were loosely connected and featured automatons in the time of the Civil War. The question arises about whether automatons should be used as slaves. Each story had a twist on the subject and explored this interesting topic. They reminded me of Bradbury's robot stories and the dragon stories of Novik.

Having read The Shadow Conspiracy II, I was interested to see what was on offer for The Shadow Conspiracy III. The stories are placed within an alternate history timeline, as is typical for steampunk.
Among Friends by Deborah J. Ross addresses the complication of automaton as person, set in the time of slavery and with Quaker hosts. The concept that the soul used to motivate the automaton is enslaved fits within the anti-slavery sentiment expressed by the protagonist.
Until We Are All Free by Nancy Jane Moore approaches the issue of slavery and automatons from the perspective of Jasmine, a slave who is skilled at constructing automatons. Again the issue of souls is raised - the automatons she creates are not ensoulled, but the show more Emancipation Proclamation includes the ensouled automatons in addition to human slaves.
Mr. Lincoln's Elephant by Brenda W. Clough is a brighter story, where the protagonists must save the President from an assassination plot. The author balances a serious topic - attempted assassination - with humor in a story that reminds me of less serious detective stories.
The Crater by Pati Nagle features the formation of the Automaton battalion for the Union Army, and its abuse by men who consider the machines no more than cannon fodder.
A Need for Expanded Abilities of a Discreet Nature by Patricia Burroughs features a woman posing as an automaton, a model with "abilities of a discreet nature" who was purchased for an entirely different purpose.
Sucundus by Brenda W. Clough is a reimagining of the meeting of Amy March and Teddy (Laurie) Lawrence in Europe, with an automaton twist.
Weapon of Mass Destruction by Irene Radford features a soul and intellect being transferred into an automaton body designed for another, complicated by the brother-versus-brother element of the Civil War when the original intended's brother is captured and encounters his not-brother.
Overall, this anthology fits within the Civil War period rather smoothly, and the authors' similar approaches to the topic of automatons and soul transfer create a shared world where all of the stories could exist. show less