Clockwork

A fairy-tale sort of story that turns itself inside out. Creepy enough to entertain without being horrifying, and with enough humor and wryness (and the occasional sweet moment) to keep it from being too heavy. The illustrations set the story off well. A quick read which I'm glad I indulged in.

In a time when clocks were run by cog wheels, springs and gears, in a small German village comes a story of "An apprentice clockmaker facing failure, a writer with an unfinished story, a prince whose mechanical heart is winding down, a clock work knight with murderous tendencies and a doctor who

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has mysterious where abouts." As these mysterious stories comes together piece by piece like the complex structure of a piece of clock work, as the bits and pieces fit together, a wonderful piece of clock work is made a one so chilling and so full of suspense it will send other supernatural/ horror books flying of the shelf. In Clock Work one of Philip Pullman's out standing work; winner of the 1997 silver medal smarties prize and other awards the author of the popular Golden compass comes back with this fascinating tale of Clock Work, which every age and gender will love, it is truly one of those unforgettable books you will remember for the rest of your life.

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This story is aesthetically pleasing. It is no more, or less, problematic than any other german fairytale, and fits right in with the tradition of the Grimms.

A young apprentice clockmaker is morose and desperate as he sits in Glockenheim's White Horse tavern on the last day of his apprenticeship; he has not been able to deliver a clock figure as all apprentices over the ages have done before him and his reputation is about to be ruined and he shares his

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despair with the town's storyteller, young Fritz. Fritz assures him that his difficulties are nothing compared to the hardships of creating stories, as he is expected to tell the townfolk gathered there his latest story in a few minutes, and though he has a new tale to tell them, he hasn't managed to write an ending for it in the night, but must somehow invent it as he goes along. And so begins a fantastic dark tale featuring a prince and princess and a dark forest and a suspicious ghastly death which features a mysterious character... who very suddenly appears in the tavern as Fritz introduces him in his storytelling and offers the apprentice a Faustian pact which promises to solve all his problems and bring him great fame and wealth, but will also put the lives of two innocent children in mortal danger. A wonderful tale in the tradition of the best Germanic storytellers of old such as E.T.A. Hoffmann and the Brothers Grimm, this is a tightly paced novella which is here wonderfully narrated by Anton Lesser on the audiobook version.

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This was an extremely gratifying fairy tale. It was extremely similar to the Pinnochio tale of a machine waiting to be come a real boy. The side tale about the Dr. Kalmenius and the Fritz had the element of be careful what you wish for that these types of stories always have. Dr. Kalmenius is also

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extremely creepy, giving it that element that today's sanitized fairy tales are often missing.

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An easy, quick read, “Clockwork” throws a few twists and turns that make you do several re-takes. This is a fun, fantastic story housing bits of life-lessons within its magical scenes. Fun, tense, and exciting, Clockwork is worth the time.

Its a good read, more of a bed time story, it leads you on a twisting path that no one can follow, unless you have the map. I liked it, the author took an interesting tale and twisted it around, I had to read it twice and ir was as enjoyable the second time as the first, I strongly recomend this

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book for younger kids over the age of eight. It may be frightening for younger kids. (It was a shock for me!)

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A short engaging read that had me thinking all the way. Lots of twists and turns and i liked the inserts that helped tell the the intertwined tales.

if the brothers grim had written steam punk, this might have been a story they'd have written.

Basically, this book was perfect. It was a sweet, quick read. The writing was fantastic, and the pictures did not lull the story. It wrapped up very tidily. It is written at a level where it can be enjoyed by people at any age.

Highly creative and captivating, I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of an apprentice clockmaker who cannot meet the necessity of the job and resorts to unethical tactics. The list of characters are well developed with stories that all weave together, like a clock ticking, ticking, ticking.

Recommended!

This was an extremely gratifying fairy tale. It was extremely similar to the Pinnochio tale of a machine waiting to be come a real boy. The side tale about the Dr. Kalmenius and the Fritz had the element of be careful what you wish for that these types of stories always have. Dr. Kalmenius is also

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extremely creepy, giving it that element that today's sanitized fairy tales are often missing.

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This book was quite disturbing. Although I enjoyed it, I would not recommend it for anyone under 10. There are some scary characters and darks things that occur throughout this book.

I'm not sure this would've made publication if the author hadn't written The Golden Compass. It was a nice little 'fairy tale' with some thrills and some thoughtfulness, as well as interesting illustrations, but I only recommend it to youngsters who can't get enough Thurber and Van De Velde etc.

Brief tale with a sophisticated narrative structure. Parts were quite funny.

This was an extremely gratifying fairy tale. It was extremely similar to the Pinnochio tale of a machine waiting to be come a real boy. The side tale about the Dr. Kalmenius and the Fritz had the element of be careful what you wish for that these types of stories always have. Dr. Kalmenius is also

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extremely creepy, giving it that element that today's sanitized fairy tales are often missing.

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This is a short, scary story about a clockwork prince, a darker version of the Pinocchio tale. As with all of Pullman’s books that I’ve read, the prose is exceptional. The edition I read was enhanced by dreamlike illustrations.

This was a cute story that reminded me of something kids would tell around a campfire.
It's a story within a story that collide, started by a local writer in an inn, telling it to the local people but it all goes awry when the story comes to life...

This book has some gruesome imagery. I could image this as a horror film. I don't see how it's meant for children. Its creepy, and the illustrations don't help. It's not bad, just a strange story to tell kids. It ends kind of abruptly. I would have liked to know what happened to a couple of the

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characters. Ah well.

Overall, not terrible, just weird. It's quick and interesting and worth a read.

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Think this might give some young readers the willies! It had me on edge. My first Philip Pullman story and I'm off to see what else he has written.

A quick read that is creepy and page turning. A character from a tale in an inn walks in on his own story being told. An apprentice is 'so afraid of failing he never really tried'. Contrasts between those who sacrifice themselves for others and those who sacrifice others for themselves.

This was a quick purchase from a daily deal on Audible again, picked up because I recognized Pullman's name on it. I found this to be beautiful and archaic. There focus on time, clocks, and winding was lovely and here throughout the whole piece. I loved how the story was both being told and being

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lived, and how they collided, and how the ending was more of a door still swinging in the wind than one that was left open or closed entirely.

Bravi.

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Leave a night light on after you read this one. Wonderfully spooky story of time and love and I loved the illustrations.

In the German town of Glockenheim it's tradition that the clockmaker's apprentice make a figure for the main clock but Karl didn't. Fritz, the town story teller is in the inn reading is latest writiings about an Evil Dr. just then an Evil Dr. walks in! This book had some good parts but very much a

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short story. It has the same reading level and vibe as "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman.

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