I'm fairly new to Steampunk, but the few movies I've seen and the one short story I've read prior to this book were enough for me to be interested in trying out more of the genre’s offerings. The Sunken by S.C. Green has the added benefit of being Horror AND there’s dragons! However, the dragons aren't the main cause of the horrific events. Needless to say, the combination of these elements is surprising and interesting.

Unfortunately, I have to give a trigger warning, since the story contains what could be considered an unnecessary rape scene that is horrifically graphic in detail. I was angered by one of the female character’s reaction to finding out about the rape, but I understand that it was considerably liberal for the times in which the story takes place. However, the rape scene itself automatically docks a star off this book. The rest of the story is fantastic and has all of what I enjoy about Steampunk.

I’m feeling a bit hesitant on who to recommend this book to, despite it being a good story overall. I would say it’s for anyone who loves Steampunk, but if anyone in that category doesn't like Horror or is triggered in any way by graphic sexual violence, I have to say stay away from this book. If neither of those apply to you, then maybe give it a chance. ( )

This was my first foray into Steampunk. There’s a generous mix of Alternate History in this book alongside the Steampunk elements, this is primarily noticeable in the ‘dragons’, the Industrial Religious sects, and the mention of historical figures like Charles Babbage.

The infamous madness of King George takes on a far more sinister element in this book, and the end result is amazeballs. Intrigue runs high, and it’s hard to know who to trust among the characters sometimes. It took me a while to get into the formal language, but it's worth it. ( )

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This is one of the weirdest books I've read in a very long time. I don't even know how to describe the weirdness correctly.

Imagine London in the first half of the Nineteenth Century. Now take away everything you know about that. Add to that a lot of steam engines, a complete class of people to man them, a vampire George III and what possibly is the weirdest religion system I've come across with. The Church of England has been replaced with the Gods of the Industrialisation. And then there are several churches based on different ideas. These churches have their Messiahs (like the best engineer in that class) and they are quite competitive. O, and did I mention it has dragons as well? (Although they're not quite given a large enough part of the book).

All of this together was quite the culture shock as I kind of expected Victorian England.

It took me some time to get into the story, as all the ideas where so weird, and although I recognized names from famous engineers from that era, like Stephenson and Brunel it was weird for me to see them as the main characters in this story, that has such a different reality going on.

After reading half of the story I started feeling a little less lost and enjoyed the story more. There were plot points that still don't make sense to me. It also feels like there are multiple massive plot lines that are all mixed up in one book by accident. The dragon-problem, the Luddite-problem and the robots, the whole The Passage-like vampire-problem. It felt like these problems could've better been dealt with in different books as this book was confusing.

And so, I feel conflicted about this book. For one, it's definitely an original story, the alternate steam-punk history is for once really alternate. (Perhaps even a bit too much so). All the things that were thought of really show there must have been a lot of work in making it. On the other hand, not every major plot twist made sense, and so much different stories were going on it was hard to keep track and try to understand anything from the world in this book. It was kind of messy.

However, it was, in its own way fascinating, so I might just give the second book a try when it's going to be published.

The Sunken is the first book in the Engine Ward Series. The second book has yet to be announced.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )

I really didn't care much for this book. It was well written. But it had trouble holding my interest. I like steampunk, but this book was just not for me. Parts were good. I liked some of the characters. It just took me forever to read and I would find myself drifting while trying to read it. ( )

A tragic death among a group of “Stoker” boys sends each into a different journey in life only to meet back up again when the time is right. Stokers are those who stoke the fires to keep the city alive and the engines running. A group of boys is learning the trade when one amongst them meets a gruesome death being crushed by the machines. Isambard stays in London, he harbors a bit of resentment towards his circumstance. His father was blamed for the boy’s death and building machines when he was not allowed, he was found guilty and incarcerated. Isambard however holds dear to his father’s desires and begins to build a machine in secret. He enlists the help of Aaron, the brother of the boy who died, to build the machines. James and Nicholas go abroad with the Navy. James becomes an officer only to be stricken with a crippling and blinding disease and losing his place. Despite his challenges he studies hard and becomes a doctor. Nicholas who is a seaman kills an officer and is saved by Jaques who is barricaded in a refuge in the mountains in France. He travels with him to his place and stays as a guest for a time until he realizes his true nature and escapes finding his way back to London. The three eventually meet up again after Isambard has revealed his machine and become a hero so to speak. Isambard is honored by the king who desires him to build a wall enclosing the city to supposedly protect it from dragons which keep ravaging the city, but that is not the only reason. The king is mad and has begun to build an army of lead children known as the sunken. He desires that they will conquer the city and rule together.
The story is well thought out but I fail to see the relevance of the side stories of Nicholas and James. The dragons, other than being a reason to build the wall offer no point behind them as well. Perhaps the dragons will have a further place in subsequent stories since the ending is left with more possibilities to come. ( )