Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

This was my 1st foray into the Steampunk genre and it did not disappoint.  I mean it's a book about 1800's Seattle in vain of Jules Verne and has zombies!  It's basically Jules Verne/George Romero hybrid.  BUT and there's a big but, and not the Sir-Mix-A-Lot good kind of big but.  It was a far cry from the thought provoking, imagination bending prose of Verne and far less scarier than Romero's works. 
Book synopsis:  Cherie Priest's much-anticipated steampunk debut has finally arrived in the form of a paperback original. Its plot features the sort of calibrated suspense that readers of her Four and Twenty Blackbirds would expect. Boneshaker derives its title from the Bone-Shaking Drill Engine, a device designed to give Russian prospectors a leg up in the race for Klondike gold. Unfortunately, there was one hitch: On its trial run, the Boneshaker went haywire and, long story short, turned much of Seattle into a city of the dead. Now, 16 years later, a teenage boy decides to find out what is behind that mysterious wall. Can his mother save him in time? Zombie lit of the first order


JaSexxy's Synopsis: It didn't suck, not at all, but it wasn't OMSJ good either. I did enjoy it and it did keep me involved and entertained, it was just Priest's style wasn't that great.  She used italics wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too much.  I mean like there was a word in italics every other bleeding sentence.  That got a bit annoying.  The characters are likable and you do sympathize with their plight and the machinery and vehicles were pretty cool.  There's a gun that sends off a huge sonic boom that immobilizes zombies for like 5mins, which I thought was pretty inventive and cool.  And made me want to invent it to have b4 the zombie apocalypse actually happens. I'll keep you updated on my progress with that.  Anyway, back to the book. It wasn't a typical zombie book and it wasn't a "You're the chosen one" kind of book, which I liked b/c I feel I've read too many of those of late.  This was the 1st book in The Clockwork Century series and I plan on continuing the adventure, but it isn't like I need to run out and get book 2 right now.  It ended open-ended but not with a cliffhanger.  Though I am looking forward to finding out what happens next, I'm not chomping at the bit (bit of zombie ref for ya), to get to it.  Overall I give it a XX rating (that's out of 3X's) maybe 1 1/2 X's.  I def rec it but wouldn't say, GO NOW AND GET IT!  I will read more of this genre though b/c I think it's wicked cool.  Stay Booked! Happy Reading!