Mission Clockwork: Gefahr Für Das Brittische Empire (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
Boy, this took me a while to get into it but I'm glad I stuck with it. A shape-shifting hunchback and an orphan are both agents for this powerful guy in Victorian London. They're trying to figure out why orphans are disappearing off the streets and what is going on behind the doors of the Young Londoners Exploratory Society. The investigation moves from the rooftops to the streets and down into the sewers in this Steampunk adventure. The family stayed up a little past bedtime to finish this book last night. We had to, because we were so close, and ALL of us were dying to learn how it would end. This story borrows some characters from literature (like Quasi Modo and Dr Hyde) but then does something really creative and amazing with them. A great deal of the story is told from the perspective of Modo, who has been raised from childhood to work for a secret organization that seeks to protect Britannia. I don't want to include any spoilers, but suffice it to say there are lots of really funky-cool creatures and inventions, mysterious organizations and dastardly double-crossers. My sons, (ages 6 and 8) were SO INTO THIS BOOK. Not only did we have to read it in just three short days, they also peppered me with endless questions about how the mechanics might work, who I thought might be the real bad guys, and what might happen next. I have promised to get the next one ASAP so that we can dive right in. Cool world building, excellent characters, and a fab plot.
What do You think about Mission Clockwork: Gefahr Für Das Brittische Empire (2011)?
I loved the Hunchback Assignments. It is so much more than just a spy book!
—lilpippy
It was okay, pretty good. I won't read the second one, though.
—Cassie
In a nutshell, the hunchback of Notre Dame vs. Doctor Hyde.
—david
