Lou Wilham’s The Girl in the Clockwork Tower is a steampunk, fairytale retelling of a trapped, tender-hearted Rapunzel. The world is split between humans and the preternatural beings called “the enhanced” with humans acting in the role of oppressors of any other creatures.
Persinette, the girl in the clockwork tower, works for the evil organization MOTHER and her handler Gothel. Persinette’s special abilities include having visions of the enhanced and being able to pinpoint their locations. When she relays this information, MOTHER moves in and sends them to the camps, similar to Nazi concentration camps. At the start of the novel, Persinette, or Persi, struggles with her conscience for her years of betraying her own people. She contemplates resisting or subverting MOTHER, but knows she’ll eventually be caught and sent to the camps.
Meanwhile, riding high above the population, Manu Kelii, a pirate captain who is part of the faction who oppose MOTHER known as the Uprising, sets off on his next mission in his airship. He is to make contact with Persi and have her feed him information to help save the enhanced. Captain Manu is a flamboyant flirt and one of the more humorous characters in the novel.
This novel is far more than a simple retelling. The world is richly populated with a diverse number of enhanced, each with their own special powers. The setup, especially the conflict between humans and non-humans, recall Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles with steampunk replacing space opera. An enjoyable interpretation, Wilham builds a lot on the short Rapunzel story and creates a lavender-haired main character who is both loveable and admirable—a great heroine. Manu is more than just a foil for Persi, and he finds his world changed by her meek resolve. Wilham uses clever devices to give these two many scenes together even when they are physically separated.
As the novel progresses, Persi’s situation becomes more and more dire, and Manu is forced to make a hard decision. The author keeps the tension high to the action-packed climax. Rarely in multiple POV novels do both characters come off as strong-willed but they do here. And while not every thread is wrapped up in a bow, the main narrative concludes with a satisfying result.
Steampunk elements appear through the novel, but this genre doesn’t really drive this novel. While technically it is a steampunk book, if you’re hoping for the usual mechanical companions or fantastic inventions associated with the genre, you might feel slighted. The focus here is on the fantasy elements. But these errors are small details when compared to the solid plot, engaging characters, and creative situations.
Wilhem promises more novels in this series and here’s to hoping she continues. More than a few threads started in Clockwork Tower could be explored. This richly-rendered first offering deserves a full-on series.