Morlock Night- K.W. Jeter
Publisher: Angry Robot
E-Copy courtesy of netgalley and Angry Robot - Available now
JUST WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE TIME MACHINE RETURNED? Having acquired a device for themselves, the brutish Morlocks return from the desolate far future to Victorian England to cause mayhem and disruption. But the mythical heroes of Old England have also returned, in the hour of the country's greatest need, to stand between England and her total destruction
A semi-sequel to HG Well’s classic The Time Machine, Morlock Night picks up the night the inventor returned to 1892 and told his story to his dinner companions. Commonly known as one of the first Steampunk novels(first published in the the 1970s), this has so many ideas packed in, sometimes it’s difficult to breathe! As well as the underground-living, time travelling Morlocks from the distant future, there are elements of King Arthur and Merlin, and the long-lost city of Atlantis thrown into the mix. This means there is so much happening, the story cracks along at a sprinting pace. Both danger and exposition leap at our heroes from all sides.
The characters are minor points in this play with all the focus on the various ideas and action sequences. Reading it felt like watching a two hour blockbuster with a huge special effects budget as so many separate ideas merge and roll the action forward. I loved the scope and sheer scale of what was happening, but I did miss deeper emotional depth My one disappointment was the sudden ending – it seemed to be over much too quickly after all the build up. Still this is a summer reading for steampunk and classic fans who want a roller coaster of action and adventure in Victorian London – after all who doesn’t love the idea of Arthur fighting Morlocks? J
Recommended for fans of HG Wells & James Rollins. 7.5 out of 10.
Interesting idea, and I love the cover. I haven't read The Time Machine yet, although I have read The Island of Dr Moreau and The War of the Worlds and enjoyed both.
ReplyDeleteOh I've been into steampunk lately. I'm going to have to check it out! thanks!!
ReplyDeleteOh I thought this was another one of your oldies o_O it just looked very old fashioned
ReplyDeleteOkay, so I see this is an older book, but I've never really heard of it. Shame on me. But it sounds like a really neat read. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSo this is where Steampunk came from. I'd been wondering. I'm still trying to get into the genre, but sometimes it feels like there is still much I don't understand.
ReplyDeleteFun review Mel.