The Clockwork Boys

About The Clockwork Boys

The Clockwork Boys is the first half of T. Kingfisher's Clocktaur War duology, and it opens with one of the better setups in recent fantasy: four people who have every reason not to trust each other are sentenced to a probable suicide mission because they are — in the blunt assessment of the powers sending them — expendable. A scholar named Slate, a forger with a complicated past, a warrior with a demon living in his head, and a paladin who would rather be anywhere else are given a device that will kill them all if any one of them tries to run. Then they are pointed at an army of unstoppable clockwork killing machines and told to find out where they come from. Kingfisher is doing several things at once here. She is writing a genuinely funny road-trip fantasy with strong banter and a cast that earns its affection for each other through friction rather than convenience. She is also writing about people who have been categorized as failures — criminals, cursed, broken — who turn out to be capable of more than the institutions that discarded them believed. The contentious dynamic between Slate and Learned Edmund is one of the book's more entertaining throughlines. The world-building is understated in the best way. The Clocktaur War takes place in the same universe as Kingfisher's Saint of Steel series but stands completely alone — no prior knowledge required. The clockwork soldiers are genuinely menacing as a threat, and the mystery of their origin gives the road-trip structure a destination that feels worth arriving at. At roughly novella length, the book doesn't overstay its welcome. The pacing is fast enough to feel propulsive without sacrificing character beats, and Kingfisher's voice — warm, specific, occasionally self-aware without becoming precious about it — keeps the darker material from tipping into grimness. The demon-possessed warrior is funnier than he has any right to be, which is exactly the point. The Clockwork Boys ends at a natural pause rather than a cliffhanger, but it ends mid-story. Read it directly into The Wonder Engine.

Tropes & Themes