Giving up on page 53 - too florid, too melodramatic, and while I was going to stick around for the potential of Grimalkin, the wide-eyed "but that's impossible!" face-off exchange sucked the optimism out of that one for me. Moving on.

1785 and Britain is at war with France, an invasion with Bonny Prince Charlie is rumoured. Daniel Quare, is an ambitious member of the secretive guild “The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers” and he is been sent after a much sought after innovative watch. A watch that everyone wants, even as they fear it and Daniel is going to be dragged into a nightmarish world of intrigue and murder, of dragons and gods.

A strange, wayward book. A book that holds the idea of genre trope of fast paced fantasy action adventure with huge contempt. This is a book that stops what it's doing to let a minor character (at that point) to tell his story and only then do you begin to grasp how fantastic this duology(?) is going to be.

It is a book that starts off seemingly happy to play with the urban fantasy/clockworkpunk genre within Georgian British empire and it's secret society stockpiling the latest time technology. It has a female master thief and clueless everyman, political machinations and sword fights, doomsday devices and flying machines. It is all good fun if a tad genteel but when that character takes our hero and spins a tale, oh boy do you start to see its riches. The slow unfurling of magic in the world, the power that Time has and the shifting hidden meaning of the "other" world. Although at no point is the book completely honest with you, it’s a hidden nefarious, lying book and well that is part of the fun

Whilst it is layered it does follow a relatively simple plot arc and luckily this holds the weight of the complex, mutable world. It helps too, that its hugely visual with some evocative moments: the dark labyrinth streets of a snowed in mountain top village, a chase through the dark canyons of underground London under the mesmerising rain of glowing mushrooms.

Of course it will not be to everyone's taste, those with more prudish sensibilities be warned, the humans reaction to the "other" is sexual. Witcover’s style is rich and it took me a page or so to get into the flow. I think I have already put off anyone who dislikes complexity or confusion, anyone who needs a rollicking ride but again be warned. It could be said to be overblown and too full of, well everything, but to be honest I would disagree. The main protagonists is a passive idiot too but oddly this didn't drive me mad.. Lastly it is part of a series and does end mysteriously on a cliff hanger that makes you go "what the?".

But look it does become gripping. No really. Plus it has dragons and ninja monks, well I think it does at least, and the creepiest town clock ever.

Recommended, although whether you wait for the sequel is up to you, it’s a rich experience in itself ( )