The book we’re covering in this post is The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley!
First off: I am not sure what I expected going into this book, but I can safely say that it wasn’t that I got. This book is weird, in a way that shouldn’t work, but somehow does.
The start of the book is a little rough to get through, as the protagonist we follow is painfully ordinary and boring, but once things start blowing up (literally) it gets so much better. There’s a lot of things that will have you scratching your head, especially as the genre seems to be a mash-up of historical, steampunk and science fiction. But the main characters, Thaniel and Mori, are adorable – and utterly dysfunctional – and it makes you want to see what happens even when you’re confused.
I can honestly say I didn’t see the ending coming.
Oh, and the octopus on the cover now makes sense to me. I half-feared C’thulu would make an appearance when I started reading…
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street
by Natasha Pulley
1883. Thaniel Steepleton returns home to his tiny London apartment to find a gold pocket watch on his pillow. Six months later, the mysterious timepiece saves his life, drawing him away from a blast that destroys Scotland Yard. At last, he goes in search of its maker, Keita Mori, a kind, lonely immigrant from Japan. Although Mori seems harmless, a chain of unexplainable events soon suggests he must be hiding something. When Grace Carrow, an Oxford physicist, unwittingly interferes, Thaniel is torn between opposing loyalties.
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street is a sweeping, atmospheric narrative that takes the reader on an unexpected journey through Victorian London, Japan as its civil war crumbles long-standing traditions, and beyond. Blending historical events with dazzling flights of fancy, it opens doors to a strange and magical past.
