Dreadnought by Cherie Priest (author of Boneshaker)
Discussion at the R.F.Burton Library
Saturday, January 19 at 2 pm slt
“Cherie Priest is the high priestess of steampunk.” The Seattle Times
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. Goodreads review
Join us for what promises to be a lively discussion on January 19.
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