The Wonder Engine by T Kingfisher is the second book in the Clocktaur duology, so this review will contain spoilers for the first book, The Clockwork Boys.

What a rare thing it is to find a duology where both books are as fantastic as each other. This is a masterful sequel that takes up all of the carefully woven threads of book one and crafts them into a gleefully entertaining romp that will have you cackling and crying in all the right places.

Slate, Caliban, Brenner, the Learned Edmund, and their newfound gnole friend, Grimehug, have finally made it to Anuket City where they need to track down a missing scholar and discover the secrets (and hopefully weaknesses) of the terrifying and mysterious clockwork boys that are terrorising the Dowager City and every settlement that finds its way in their path. 

To say that Slate is apprehensive about returning to the city she had to flee so many years ago is an understatement, but the carnivorous tattoos on her and her companions’ arms leave them no choice and they dive straight into the belly of the beast.

I find that main characters in epic fantasies like this can often feel like an empty silhouette going through the motions: ideal conduits for reader self-insertion. Slate is by nature a completely non-descript, forgettable person – she’s safer that way as a forger – but her character traits shine through in clever ways that make her feel like a fully fleshed out human, avoiding the silhouette trap completely. She’s flawed and funny and always ready to glower at any one of her companions for their own insufferable flaws, but my favourite part about her is her undiluted pragmatism in the face of the insane circumstances she has landed in.

The fact that I didn’t hate the romance plotline in this story is a feat in itself – Caliban and Slate are a good pairing and they don’t rush things. It’s a slow burn all through the first book and into this one thanks to some miscommunication tropes (not my favourite, but tolerable and amusing in this instance) and the moment where they finally pull their heads out of their asses is deeply vindicating.

Life-threatening mission aside, the most intriguing bit of this story for me was the introduction of gnole society and culture and its integration into Anuket City. Grimehug is a snarky job-gnole, a badger-like creature in a social class that gives him ‘he’ pronouns be default and a very specific role to play in gnole society. Gnoles are fond of humans in the way that someone might be fond of a useless child and regularly snoot at their terrible sense of smell and lack of whiskers. Despite this, they take on some of the most menial jobs in human society such as dealing with the dead, various forms of waste and debris, and the jobs no one else wants to do. There are consistent themes of prejudice and xenophobia throughout this series and the gnoles are fantastic, endearing, and long-suffering victims throughout.

My one complaint with this book is that we didn’t get enough of an explanation or aftermath of some of the events towards the end. A disappointing stumble when the entire plot hinged those events.

Overall this is a fantastic conclusion to this duology and I’m so pleased that even though this particular story is over, there are so many more set in this world with just enough overlap to get excited about. I would hugely recommend this series to people who like epic fantasy but get a little overwhelmed by traditional examples, and for those that like a hefty dose of humour to balance out some of the grimmer themes.

The Wonder Engine is due for rerelease from Titan Books on 17th March – you can order your copy on Bookshop.org