Absolutely loved this! A read in one sitting book filled with a great cast of characters, high stakes fantasy adventures, humorous shenanigans and a whole lot of heart. I love that Kingfisher has so much humour in her books (much of it laugh out loud) but they never become silly. Her plotting is tight, her world building imaginative and she always creates such a great sense of camaraderie between her misfit bunch of characters

I can’t find no fault in any Kingfisher’s novel and I couldn’t find any in this mix of fantasy and steampunk. I think she could write exciting and gripping shopping list and do not hesitate to buy and read it as it will keep you turning pages

T. Kingfisher is one of those authors I keep meaning to read more of as I know I’ll like their work. 

The Clockwork Boys follows the story of Slate, a criminal forger who has been given the task of finding out more about the terrifying Clockwork army instead of facing prison. 

In order to fulfil her task, she recruits a cocky assassin, a formerly possessed paladin and an uptight monk who accompany her on the dangerous journey to the city where the Clockwork Boys were created. 

I had so much fun reading this little novella. Slate was a compelling main character, and I loved watching her deal with leading a group of difficult men, all whilst dealing with the dangers of travelling into a warzone. (Including the horrors of riding horses 😂)

Each character feels fleshed out, and you get to see their growth as they come up against unfriendly forest dwellers, flighty horses and very strange forests.  By the end of the book, each one has wormed into your heart a little —even the rather misogynistic monk 😂

The dynamic between Slate and Caliban (the paladin) was particularly fun to read and I can't wait to read more of them in the next book.

If you’re looking for an entertaining, humorous and kinda cosy read, definitely pick up this. I will be eagerly waiting for the next book so I can continue the journey with these characters.

I've read Nettle and Bone and Thornhedge by the same author, enjoyng both and this is no exception. Her writing style is very easy for me to read and I find I can visualise it well.

This is only a short book but worth it if you've enjoyed her other works and I look forward to reading the duology.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC

Clockwork Boys, we learn in the acknowledgements, was originally the first half of a much longer book. Whilst this leads to a rather abrupt ending, I enjoyed the meandering quest-style narrative (although I have a feeling that the second book may be quite different). My favourite sections were the small details and side characters - the carnivorous tattoos were such an intriguing idea, and I was immensely fond of Grimehug. Overall, I found Clockwork Boys to be surprisingly light-hearted considering the context, with some spots of real humour. It's a fun read, but could do with some work on the pacing. I've already started the second installment!

T Kingfisher is an auto buy author for me and this is a re-release of one of her earlier books.

What she does best is write characters that feel real, they are fleshed out and often hilarious with snappy dialogue.

I’m glad this duology will be read by a whole new audience now!

Clockwork Boys absolutely swept me off my feet—in steel-toed, muddy adventuring boots, no less. From page one, this story moves at a brisk, addictive pace, pulling you into a world that’s cleverly and succinctly built. There’s no info-dump fatigue here—just enough detail to spark the imagination and then it’s off to the races.

What truly makes this book sing, though, is the characters. This is a character-driven story in the best possible way. Instead of heavy exposition or inner monologue marathons, the characters come to life through snappy dialogue and interactions that feel natural, smart, and so entertaining. The banter? Chef’s kiss. The relationships develop with a pace and depth that feels genuine—layered, funny, sometimes awkward, often poignant. It’s like traveling with old friends you haven’t met yet.

As someone who always plays a paladin in games, I’m used to the trope of the grim, righteous, can’t-take-a-joke holy knight. But here? We get a paladin who is nuanced, complex, and (gasp) actually human. It was incredibly refreshing to read a take on the archetype that didn’t feel like a parody or a checklist of clichés. I loved every moment with him and I’m honestly giddy to dive into the second book right away.

Another delightful surprise? The romance subplot. It's subtle, grounded, and—bless—between actual grown-ups. The characters are in their 30s, come with baggage, self-awareness, and the emotional vocabulary to deal with it all. No angst-for-the-sake-of-angst here. Just two people navigating something real amid war, demons, and sarcastic assassins.

If you love fast-paced fantasy with bite, wit, and a whole lot of heart—Clockwork Boys is a ride worth taking.

I'm off to read book two!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC.

The first (half) of a duology (single book), Clockwork Boys follows a motley suicide squad: Slate, cynical but talented forger; Brenner, somewhat psychopathic assassin; Caliban, former Paladin champion of his God, now left to rot in a cell somewhere; and Learned Edmund, a smart young man so brainwashed by his own religion that he fears even speaking to a woman will liquefy his insides. Their mission: infiltrate their enemy, and discover how the hideous Clockwork Boys are created, or how to stop them, before the brutal siege machines wipe out their entire kingdom.

Despite the constant threat of mortal danger, this is a very fun and lighthearted book. The characters are all very distinct and likable, and there’s enough repetition in the banter between them to make them truly feel like old friends, without going overboard. The plot itself is very short (as I mentioned, half of the true book - of course I immediately bought The Wonder Engine/book 2) and has a decent pace to it. There are new fantastical creatures and a few ongoing mysteries dotted around to keep you curious the whole way through, as well.

My only criticism is littered throughout the previous two paragraphs - it feels like half a book, and ends very abruptly. I hadn’t read the second one yet but I’m fairly sure I’ll feel confident that it should have been published together, as one book, rather than split.

Overall a good read, and enjoys poking fun at the very serious and devout paladin trope. 3.5-4/5.

Three condemned criminals, a forger, an uncouth (but efficient) assassin, and a disgraced paladin in possession of a dead demon, are given a second chance. If they can travel to the neighbouring country and find out how the terrifying clockwork boys (deadly manufactured beings, more siege engine than creature) are made and how to stop them, they'll get a pardon. It's not much of a chance. They all think it's going to be a suicide mission. They are joined on their journey by a scholar, all innocence and preconceived ideas.

This is a quest tale. Four disparate individuals forming some kind of team, but what lifts it well above average is the characterisation and dialogue. Bleakly funny and heartbreaking by turns, I raced through this and immediately bought the second book, The Wonder Engine, because this is a story of two halves. This book deals with the journey, and now i need to know what happens when they arrive.

T. Kingfisher does it again with this superb re-release of one of their older titles. This was a fantastic read from start to finish and I can't recommend it enough!

I love T. Kingfisher's writing, and even though <i>Clocktaur War</i> isn't my favourite read by her I still adored her kind of humour and the unique, very flawed and very loveable characters she introduced us to. It should be mentioned that the ending is rather abrupt, but at least it made me want to read the second book immediately so there's that.

The world Kingfisher builds is once again incredibly intriguing. So are, as mentioned above, the characters: a forger that has to somehow lead this merry band of criminal weirdos, a paladin with a dead demon in his head, an assassin with an uncanny ability to guess a man's clothing size (he's also good at killing) and a scholar with the most misogynist religious beliefs to ever grace the world. Add to that a weird little creature that they meet later in the story and the perfect party for a fun quest is assembled. And then there's also the Suicide Squad situation going on: the first three all have a tattoo that literally eats them alive should they ever go against the orders they were given - to find out more about the menacing titular Clockwork Boys and ways to defeat them. There is a romance simmering that I actually didn't enjoy that much, mostly because it's very instalusty and that's just not my thing as a dedicated connoisseur of slow-as-fuck burns. But I still very much enjoyed the relationships built between the characters, of which I hope there is a bit more development in the second book between some of them.
The story is fun, the stakes are high, the antagonists are scary. All in all, Kingfisher strikes once again. I do feel that she's grown as an author since writing this work and I love her more recent novels more, but if you like her style of stories, this one is definitely a recommendation.

At this point I'm willing to read everything Kingfisher has ever written. Clockwork Boys is another wonderfully weird tale that manages to hit the perfect balance of adult but whimsical. I loved all of the characters, even if the Paladin had me rolling my eyes at his stubborn naivety. The world building is the highlight as always, I did struggle a little to picture the clocktaurs but it was no detriment to my experience.

I am slowly making my way through T. Kingfisher's blacklist and have so far enjoyed absolutely every book of hers that I have picked up!

Clockwork Boys is the first in a duology and has recently been re-released. It's set in the White Rat world, same as the Saint of Steel series, and is the first book in the Clocktaur War duology.

The novel is centered around a group of four characters who set off on an espionage mission to Anuket City. Forger Slate was convicted of treason and her death sentence was converted to leading what is essentially a suicide mission. She selects demon-possessed and disgraced former paladin Caliban for her missing, as well as her ex-lover and assassin Brenner. Last, Learned Edmund, an irritating scholar, is assigned to the group to represent the interests of the church.
The quartet are tasked with finding out about the Clockwork Boys, deadly mechanical soldiers who have been terrorising their lands.

The plot essentially takes the form of a classic quest, but it shines with Kingfisher's usual quirky elements, a touch of horror, and gentle humour as her characters face their challenges. There's a strong focus on Slate's olfactory gift - for me, smell is something powerful and I appreciated the importance and the descriptions of smells in Clockwork Boys. I loved the dynamics between the characters and how their perception of each other changed, I snorted at some of the dialogue, and generally grew to care for this band of misfits thrown together on this dangerous quest.

I already look forward to reading the second book in this duology and will also be picking up the Saint of Steel series.

An auto buy author for me, fully cemented after reading this.
A suicide mission, with a rag tag gang tasked with gathering intel on the murderous monsters set on invading the kingdom, can they succeed where others have failed? An adventure full of pitfalls and failings, heart and snarky. First in a duology with a cliffhanger, yet satisfying ending.
I just adore the vibes and solid beautiful writing style, the humour, the horror, the romance, the instantly loveable characters, the mystery and the fantastical. Great pace and world building. The character work is so well done, the banter between the misfits is great and there's so much emotion portrayed within the individualality of their personalities. I gobbled this up, it was a lot of fun and a joy to read! Can't wait for the next book.
Thanks to Titan Books and Netgalley for the arc, all thoughts are my own and left voluntarily.

seriously LOVED this book, it was such a fun journey of a dark fantasy type world! I’m so eager to see what the author does next in this series….

Forger slate is convicted of treason, she faces a death sentence. However, her unique gift for sniffing out magic earns her a reprieve of sorts. She is given the task of heading along on a mission with formerly demon possessed paladin named Calliban, her murderous ex lover and an irritating sexist scholar. Their mission together is to learn about the Clockwork boys, deadly mechanical soldiers from a neighbouring kingdom who have been terrorising their lands.

Will they succeed? If they do rewards await them, but they must survive a long treacherous journey up against mythical dangerous creatures. They must reach Anuket City, however people before them have never survived this journey, Slate has a bad feeling she and her fellow travelers won’t be returning….

This was a really fun, magical and compelling read. It had me gripped from the beginning, had me laughing throughout and eager to know what happens next. I can feel a slow burn romance on the cards in the next books… I’m excited to see how the other books turn out, and of course it ended on a cliffhanger 😭

I've been in a reading slump for an entirety of march and picked this up on a whim. Best decision EVER.

This was it funny and witty, the writing was just so easy to sink into.

This is to me is a found family. A dysfunctional found family BUT STILL they understand and accept each other for who they are, they learned from each other, and they show love how they could with the capacity that they had.

Caliban has the patients of a SAINT because I defo would have offed Edmund from the first interaction. Thankfully he becomes less of a cretin lol. (She writes her characters so well that even the worst ones draw out a strong reaction within me lol)

Another great T. Kingfisher book! After reading and loving Paladins Grace last month I didn’t expect anything less.
Once again the author combines dark humour with typical fantasy elements giving them just that little twist that makes it all feel fresh and entertaining. We have a quest storyline, a band of lovable misfits and lots of humour.
I think this would make a great first book to start with if you’re new to T. Kingfishers stories.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC!

Clockwork Boys is the newest captivating fantasy release from T. Kingfisher and like all the T. Kingfisher books I've read in the past, I absolutely could not put this one down.

The story follows an unlikely group (headed by Slate the forger) as they attempt to infiltrate enemy lines and discover the secrets behind the clockwork boys - the mechanical soldiers that are destroying the kingdom's army. The mission is likely a death sentence but can this ragtag ground band together to survive the mission and uncover the truth?

I really love Kingfisher's beautiful writing and this book hooked me right from the very first chapter. This is an engrossing, well paced read and I thought the premise was such a fascinating idea. I cannot wait to see where the story will go in book two and I'm already counting down the days till it releases.

While I really enjoyed the plot of this story, my favourite aspect was the characters. I loved this little group and I really enjoyed seeing the dynamics between them, especially as the story progressed. I thought Slate was a brilliant main character and I particularly liked seeing how things developed between Slate and Caliban.

Clockwork Boys is a unique, engaging fantasy tale, full of T. Kingfisher's trademark wit and banter. If you're looking for an entertaining adventure story that will keep you hooked till the very last page, you won't want to miss Clockwork Boys.

Let it be known - I absolutely love T. Kingfisher! (like really, is there another author out there who creates such oddly charming demon possessed characters?... I think not)

Clockwork Boys is the exact compelling story with top tier humor and blend of fantasy that I need in my life. In this first installment of the Clocktaur War duology, we follow a bit of a rag-tag bunch of ‘heroes’. Caliban - a former Paladin, Brenner - an assassin, Slate - a forger and finally The Learned Edmund - a scholar who is one of the few who is not some sort of criminal fugitive of the state. The bunch find themselves on a suicide mission to investigate a neighbouring country that’s creating deadly killing clockwork monsters...yeah, I know. SIGN ME UP.

This was a fun read from start to finish and I had SUCH a good time and I fully recommend it, also, absolute bonus is that it’s a duology (yes more of them please) AND it’s not too long, the perfect little slice of reading time!

Thanks so much to @titanbooks for having me on the tour!

A forger, paladin, assassin and scholar team up to go on a potentially suicidal mission to find out more about dangerous mechanical soldiers known as Clockwork Boys.
I very much enjoyed the interactions and chemistry between the various characters. My main issue was that I would have liked to have seen the world fleshed out a bit more. There was a bit more world building towards the end of the book and would have appreciated this earlier too.