Mainspring

A universe of gears, literally. Mainspring really explores the idea of a gear-based universe to the extreme with the universe a giant clockwork being wound up by a mainspring, first having been wound up by God, but now abandoned. Young clockmaker apprentice Hethor Jacquest must find the Key Perilous so the mainspring can be wound up again, or the world will perish.This is a steampunk novel with a huge vision that doesn’t always work, but the idea itself is pretty grand. However, the execution leaves a lot wanting – I found part of the book pretty boring and the motivations of the characters did not always make sense. Worth a mention if you are looking for grand-idea based steampunk.