Title: Clockwork Tangerine
Author: Rhys Ford and Greg Tremblay (Narrator)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: May 12, 2016
Genre(s): Steampunk
Length: 2 hrs and 10 mins
Reviewed by: Crabbypatty
Heat Level: 3 flames out of 5
Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5
Blurb:
The British Empire reigns supreme, and its young Queen Victoria has expanded her realm to St. Francisco, a bustling city of English lords and Chinese ghettos. St. Francisco is a jewel in the Empire’s crown and as deeply embroiled in the conflict between the Arcane and Science as its sister city, London—a very dark and dangerous battle.
Marcus Stenhill, Viscount of Westwood, stumbles upon that darkness when he encounters a pack of young bloods beating a man senseless. Westwood’s duty and honor demand he save the man, but he’s taken aback to discover the man is Robin Harris, a handsome young inventor indirectly responsible for the death of Marcus’s father.
Living in the shadows following a failed coup, Robin devotes his life to easing others’ pain, even though his creations are considered mechanical abominations of magicks and science. Branded a deviant and a murderer, Robin expects the viscount to run as far as he can—and is amazed when Marcus reaches for him instead.
Rhys Ford and steampunk – what a delicious combination! Ford has created an alternate universe where the sun truly never sets on the British Empire, as Queen Victoria’s realm includes St. (not San) Francisco. The title is based on the cockney phrase “clockwork orange” meaning something bizarre, which appears normal on the surface, while the novella plays on the idea of assumptions made about a person, only to realize those assumptions are incorrect and what is below the surface is much more than imagined. 
The intriguing plot begins with Viscount Marcus Stenhill saving a young man from a savage beating, only to realize he is someone he despises – the creator of a device that killed his father. But Robin Harris – a pariah in society having been branded a “sodomite” and sentenced to 2 years of hard labor – turns out to be someone entirely different than what Stenhill (and others) believe him to be. Robin has devoted his life to helping people by creating various steampunkish mechanical arms, legs, eyes, etc.
At only 2 hours and 10 minutes, the story moves fairly quickly, and in some cases, weeks or even months fly by in a matter of words. Marcus and Robin’s love story is a very slow burn until the final chapter, and it’s hard to feel the chemistry between them. The ending felt a bit hurried, and I wish this were a longer book that really fleshed out the world Rhys Ford has created.
The narration by Greg Tremblay is very easy to listen to. The narrative has an easy flow to it, and Tremblay does a beautiful job with accents and female characters, especially Marcus’ grandmother and Robin’s doctor. At times his Marcus sounded very ….. old, but that is minor when looking at the whole work. I very much enjoyed this book and would love to read / hear more from Rhys Ford in a steampunk setting!
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