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The Boneshaker by Kate Milford

Fans of Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes will find lots of echoes in Kate Milford’s debut novel The Boneshaker. It’s a connection that is impossible to avoid, what with the small-town young protagonist facing off against a mysterious carnival filled with creepy workers and an even creepier head showman. But this is no rip-off of Bradbury; nor is it simply a pleasant homage. From the same basic plot trappings Milford has woven her own highly original and enjoyable tale, one that builds slowly and patiently into a wonderfully compelling and satisfying conclusion.

Arcane, Missouri 1913 is a town at a crossroads. The literal one is comprised of two highways:  one going east-west coast-to-coast and the other traveling south-north from Louisiana to Canada. The metaphorical c... Read More

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The Broken Lands by Kate Milford

Kate Milford’s The Boneshaker was one of my favorite books when it came out, and at the end of my review I said it was clear there were more stories to tell in Arcane (the novel’s setting) and “I for one would love to see them.” Now Milford is back with a follow-up novel, The Broken Lands, and though it is set in a different place at a different time (though sharing some characters), it still has that great Boneshaker feel — and yep, I loved reading it.

The Broken Lands is set in pre-1900 Coney Island when Brooklyn and New York City are soon to be joined by the Brooklyn Bridge, a true physical and metaphorical “crossroads” in place and time, and, as the opening line of the novel tells us, “A crossroads can be a place of ... Read More

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Bluecrowne by Kate Milford

In 2010, I put Kate Milford’s The Boneshaker on my list of favorite books of the year. In 2012, I put her The Broken Lands on my list of favorite books of the year. Well, another two years have passed, Milford is out with another story, and, well, you know the rest . . .

Though maybe not all the rest, as there’s a bit of a twist to her newest work, Bluecrowne. Like her last work, The Kairos Mechanism, this brief novel (220 pages) is part of her Arcana Project, a Kickstarter project to self-publish smaller stories that weave in and out of her BONESHAKER world, acting as both a sort of connecting tissue binding together the larger, traditionally published novels and as a tide-you-over gift to t... Read More

Kate Milford’s recent novel The Broken Lands is set in the same universe as her earlier The Boneshaker, though it involves different characters and takes place some years earlier. The Boneshaker made it onto my top ten list for 2010, and The Broken Lands appears set to repeat that feat for 2012 (read my reviews). Recently, Kate took some valuable time out of her schedule to answer some questions for us. I hope you'll enjoy learning more about Kate's wonderful stories. Leave a comment for a chance to receive a copy of The Boneshaker,  The Broken Lands, and their companion novella The Kairos Mechanism. 

Bill Capossere: What made y... Read More