Dreadnought, Cherie Priest
Dreadnought, Cherie Priest
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Dreadnought
A Novel of the Clockwork Century

Author: Cherie Priest

Narrator: Kate Reading

Unabridged: 13 hr 23 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/28/2010

Categories: Fiction, Science Fiction


Synopsis

Nurse Mercy Lynch is elbows deep in bloody laundry at a war hospital in Richmond, Virginia, when Clara Barton comes bearing bad news: Mercy's husband has died in a POW camp. On top of that, a telegram from the west coast declares that her estranged father is gravely injured, and he wishes to see her. Mercy sets out toward the Mississippi River. Once there, she'll catch a train over the Rockies and—if the telegram can be believed—be greeted in Washington Territory by the sheriff, who will take her to see her father in Seattle.

Reaching the Mississippi is a harrowing adventure by dirigible and rail through war-torn border states. When Mercy finally arrives in St. Louis, the only Tacoma-bound train is pulled by a terrifying Union-operated steam engine called the Dreadnought. Reluctantly, Mercy buys a ticket and climbs aboard.

What ought to be a quiet trip turns deadly when the train is beset by bushwhackers, then vigorously attacked by a band of Rebel soldiers. The train is moving away from battle lines into the vast, unincorporated west, so Mercy can't imagine why they're so interested. Perhaps the mysterious cargo secreted in the second and last train cars has something to do with it?

Mercy is just a frustrated nurse who wants to see her father before he dies. But she'll have to survive both Union intrigue and Confederate opposition if she wants to make it off the Dreadnought alive.

About Cherie Priest

Cherie Priest debuted to great acclaim with Four and Twenty Blackbirds, Wings to the Kingdom, and Not Flesh Nor Feathers, a trilogy of Southern Gothic ghost stories featuring heroine Eden Moore. She is also the author of Fathom, Dreadnought, and Boneshaker, which was nominated for a Nebula and Hugo Award and won the PNBA Award and the Locus Award for best science-fiction novel. She is an associate editor at Subterranean Press. Born in Tampa, Florida, Priest went to college at Southern Adventist University and earned her master’s in rhetoric at the University of Tennessee. After spending most of her life in the southern United States, she recently moved to Seattle, Washington, with her husband, Aric, and a fat black cat named Spain.

About Kate Reading

Kate Reading is the recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards and has been named by AudioFile magazine as a “Voice of the Century,” as well as the Best Voice in Science Fiction & Fantasy in 2008 and 2009 and Best Voice in Biography & Culture in 2010. She has narrated works by such authors as Jane Austen, Robert Jordan, Edith Wharton, and Sophie Kinsella. Reading has performed at numerous theaters in Washington D.C. and received a Helen Hayes Award for her performance in Aunt Dan and Lemon. AudioFile magazine reports that, "With subtle control of characters and sense of pacing, Kate’s performances are a consistent pleasure."


Reviews

Goodreads review by Sandi on October 30, 2010

Cherie Priest's Dreadnought is set in the same alternate history as Boneshaker but really doesn't connect with it until the last couple of chapters. It's the story of a Confederate Civil War nurse who receives a letter telling her that her husband, a Union soldier, has died. A couple of days later,......more

Goodreads review by David on March 01, 2011

(Received my ARC via Goodreads) It's all about the journey, not the destination, in Priest's third entry in The Clockwork Universe. A journey undertaken via airship, steamship and the eponymous Dreadnought, a monstrous Union war train carry more guns than the Texas chapter of the NRA. It's a journe......more

Goodreads review by Cherie on March 04, 2017

Absolutely amazing! I wasn't sure how this story was going to tie into the story from the first book, but it definitely did. Another strong woman character and the alternate history of Civil War torn America world building continues. Mercy Lynch, a nurse in a Confederate Army hospital finds out her......more

Goodreads review by Megan on April 10, 2015

Three books seems to be about the amount I need to decide whether or not I'm going to continue to read an author's books, unless they do something right away to piss me off. This is the third Cherie Priest book I've read. Unless something major happens, it's also likely to be the last. I'm just not......more

Goodreads review by Adam on July 29, 2011

I was about to dismiss Cherie Priest and her Clockwork Century series as over hyped, finding them pleasant enough while being slightly confused by enthusiastic praise being heaped on them. But, this final scheduled volume (hopefully there will be more) changes most of my concerns. This is a great ad......more


Quotes

“Maternal love faces formidable challenges in this stellar steampunk tale…. Intelligent, exceptionally well written and showcasing a phenomenal strong female protagonist who embodies the complexities inherent in motherhood, this yarn is a must read for the discerning steampunk fan.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review on Boneshaker

“A mash-up of action, history, and science that is everything good about steampunk. If you like the genre, you'll love this, and if you've been worried that it's getting stale or trendy then you will be thrilled with Priest's way of taking the formula and turning it inside out. The setting is solid but the characters are what makes Boneshaker sing. Give Cherie Priest fifteen minutes of your time-- trust me--you won't look back.” —Bookslut on Boneshaker

“Cherie Priest is high priestess of steampunk.” —Seattle Times on Boneshaker