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REVIEW: "Mainspring" by Jay Lake
  'MAINSPRING" by Jay Lake jaylake

Powered equally by imagination and chutzpah, Mainspring takes the reader on a steampunk adventure pitting a sixteen-year-old clockmaker apprentice against a host of villains whose motives are never quite clear and whose villainy is a matter of perspective as well. At the center of this classic adventure tale are questions of Christian religious relevance which, though essential to the telling of this tale, reduce in some way the power of the story to a specific framework that others the religious and philosophical choices of different cultures. It is a grand exploration of Christianity and setting aside the hard slant it offers a marvelous canvas to imagine the questions of religion and self in mechanistic terms. I enjoyed its challenges nearly as much as I mourned its limitations. This is a powerful book and a clear thumbs up and I invite everyone to read him if you haven't.