NNO Book Club: The Clockwork Dynasty

So much to celebrate this month! This humble little book club first met in May 2015 and three YEARS later, here we are – still reading, chatting books and eating great food. Over our three years, we’ve read a wide variety of fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian fiction and even some non-fiction – but always great “nerdy” books suggested and selected by our members.

That being said, May is also my birthday month and the one time each year I exercise “host’s prerogative” – i.e. I pick a book I really love or have been wanting to read and fervently hope everyone else doesn’t hate it.

For May, we are reading The Clockwork Dynasty by Daniel H. Wilson. I have not read this one but it’s been on my “to read” list for ages. We have cyborgs and steampunk, historical events and the present day and my personal obsession – the Russian empire. Sounds like a good time!

From Goodreads:
Present day: When a young anthropologist specializing in ancient technology uncovers a terrible secret concealed in the workings of a three-hundred-year-old mechanical doll, she is thrown into a hidden world that lurks just under the surface of our own. With her career and her life at stake, June Stefanov will ally with a remarkable traveler who exposes her to a reality she never imagined, as they embark on an around-the-world adventure and discover breathtaking secrets of the past...

Russia, 1725: In the depths of the Kremlin, the tsar's loyal mechanician brings to life two astonishingly humanlike mechanical beings. Peter and Elena are a brother and sister fallen out of time, possessed with uncanny power, and destined to serve great empires. Struggling to blend into pre-Victorian society, they are pulled into a legendary war that has raged for centuries.

The Clockwork Dynasty interweaves past and present, exploring a race of beings designed to live by ironclad principles, yet constantly searching for meaning. As June plunges deeper into their world, her choices will ultimately determine their survival or extermination.

This month's restaurant selection:
Returning for a third time to an old favorite – Gino’s Bar and Grill. This local standard serves great traditional Italian fare, burgers and sandwiches and I’ve never had anything less than delicious here. If there is anything this book club has held sacred over the years besides being game for reading out of our comfort zones, it is our passion for great food.

Not sure about book club or never been to one before?
Read the book (or some of the book). Come to the Meetup. Eat yummy food and chat with folks about what you thought about the book. REPEAT!

Didn’t finish/hated this book?
Come to the Meetup anyway! We have some of the best conversations ranting about what we didn’t like about the book.