I was not totally lost by reading the third volume of three before the first two, but it may have been easier to discern the characters traits and their behaviors having some background history. Some authors give a brief catch-up for those of us just climbing aboard the airship, this may have benefited from that at the beginning. Lots of action, some romantic tension and oodles of fun. Imagine a battle with cannon and flamethrowers between airships. Wee-dogies! My thanks to the author and LibraryThing for a complimentary copy. ( )

This was an excellent conclusion to this steampunk series. There is a lot of action and intrigue and things are tied up nicely. While I didn’t enjoy this as much as the first two books (too much politics and war), it was still well done. You definitely want to read the two previous books in the series before reading this one, this book does not stand alone well.

Taya and Cristof are being sent to Alzana to try and prevent a war between Alzana and Ondinium. Enroute they are ambushed and are wrongly accused of killing the Alzanan rulers. They end up on the run with an Alzanan princess and find out that both Alzana and Ondinium are preparing ancient machines for war. Taya and crew end up in Cabisi and find out that Cabisi has been selling dangerous war tech to the Alzanans. Can Taya and Cristoff figure out a way to prevent Alzana from decimating Ondinium?

The book is very fast-paced with our heroes racing from one disaster to another with no breaks. There are a lot of politics and a lot of war scenes.

I continue to enjoy the unique world that this story is set in. I also really enjoy Taya and Cristof as character; they have a wonderful and respectful relationship together. I was a bit disappointed that we spent so much time racing between one disaster to another and less time exploring the interesting parts, cultures, and inventions of this world.

Things are wrapped up very nicely and I enjoyed how everything played out.

Overall a solid conclusion to this unique steampunk fantasy series. I really enjoyed the characters and the world, but thought the pace was almost too fast. Our characters are just thrown from one dire situation to another the whole book without any breaks for character development. I would recommend if you enjoy fantasy steampunk reads that tend a bit more towards epic fantasy in style. ( )

Taya and Cristof are sent to Alzana as ambassadors to try to avert the coming war. However, the Alzanan nobility rise up against their king and frame Taya and Cristof for the assassination of the royal family. Taya and Cristof are forced to flee Alzana in an ancient ornithopter. Low on fuel, they land in Cabiel to refuel and repair their ship, where they learn that the Alzanans have purchased advanced weaponry from the Cabisi. Taya and Cristof must hurry back to Ondinium to warn the Council before the Alzanan army invades.

I loved this book, from the aerial battles to the sightseeing and shopping trips in Cabiel to Taya playing matchmaker for Lieutenant Amcathra. ( )

This book starts at an execution, quickly transitions into an ambush, and leaves our heroes on the run, accused of regicide, and trying to get out of enemy territory. Taya and Cristof have been sent to Alzana to try to prevent them from going to war with Ondinium. However, it turns out that they were just buying time for their country to dig out old weapons and prepare for the war.

They manage to get to another country - Cabisi - while they are fleeing from Alzanan forces in their aircraft. Cabisi sells weapons to the Alzanan; weapons which are going to be turned on Ondinium. Taya and Cristof have to get back home before the enemy gets there and sets off a bomb that will destroy the Great Engine. Along the way they rescue one Alzanan princess and kidnap another.

This book as air battles, land battles, daring deeds, and all sorts of characters who each have their own agendas. I like the relationship between Taya and Cristof. I like the way they are learning to care for each other's needs. Taya and Cristof don't look at the world in the same way. Taya is more optimistic and more religious. Cristof is much more cynical.

This was an interesting fantasy series that had some wonderful steampunk elements. ( )

I have an unwritten rule to never begin reading the third book of a trilogy without previous knowledge of the first two. Heavy Fire is book three of the series, Clockwork Secrets. So I proceeded as best I could which proved to be exceedingly difficult. It wasn’t until Chapter 7 that I became at least familiar with Dru Pagliossotti’s Clockwork world. Ms. Pagliossotti world appears to be written for teen girls with the female hero being an “Icarus” from Ondinium who can fly with the aid of her ondium wings. OK, I can accept that, but she borrows on of the techniques used by J.K. Rowling, but instead of using a variant form of Latin for spells, Pagliossotti makes quick work of the dictionary to describe political factions and a non sequitur take on various mythologies. As mentioned the main character is an “Icarus”. Am I to believe this fictional world has some resemblance to our own including Greek mythology? Rather interesting since Icarus tragically died from his own self pride. The author continues with curious sounding words such as Thalassocracy also Greek to define a state with a primarily maritime realm. It is used correctly, but why not use a term more germane to her created world? Just a page later is the word, “justiciar” which again is used correctly if she were writing about medieval Scotland, or the Plantagenet’s era.

I realize this book is in the genre of Steampunk Fantasy. Nevertheless I have a hard time with this signification. Steampunk is wonderful as a genre of Science Fiction, but in Fantasy it just doesn’t work. More so even in Steampunk the facts still should remain. One cannot write that thunderclouds are the highest of clouds when they are indeed the lowest since they are weighed down with water. In another passage she writes of igniting “phlogisticated atmospheric aether” Sorry, but phlogisticated atmosphere cannot ignite due to the lack of oxygen. I don’t mean to be picky, but I do respect the laws of nature. If an author chooses to do so there should come a warning to leave your brain at the door.

As far as the story line. Yes, Dru Pagliossotti does know how to spin a good yarn. As long as you are not bothered by the misuse of science or a predictable plot then Heavy Fire is a fun read. ( )