What's so special about Lord Kelvin's machine? The diabolical Dr Ignacio Narbondo would kill to possess it and the scientist and detective Langdon St Ives would do anything to use it. For within its magical gears lies the secret of time. From the winner of the World Fantasy Award.
Lord Kelvin's Machine (Langdon St. Ives)
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From Publishers Weekly
Blaylock ( The Paper Grail ) returns to the Victorian setting of his award-winning novel Homunculus in this tale of obsessive grief, time travel, mad scientists and gentlemanly adventure. The first of the three parts finds amateur scientist Langdon St. Ives despondent after a rainy chase of his nemesis, the evil Dr. Narbondo, ends with the death of his lady love, Alice. But St. Ives turns his grief to determination as he strives to thwart Narbondo's scheme to shift the earth into a collision with a passing comet. In the second part, an array of colorful, eccentric villains (including a revived Narbondo) compete to use Lord Kelvin's electromagnetic machine in an elaborate (and unlikely) blackmailing plot. In the novel's final section, St. Ives gives in to his private sorrow, using the machine to travel back in time in an attempt to kill a younger Narbondo and thus save Alice's life. Blaylock provides plenty of action--perhaps too much--and his characters are, if not realistic, entertaining, but this novel is not among his best work. The three episodes never cohere, and the driving force behind the plot (St. Ives's grief) is explored in detail only in the concluding section. Though St. Ives's journey through time is very well handled, at once playful and thoughtful, the sum of these three parts is less than a whole.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
From Kirkus Reviews
Three-part ``steampunk''--Victorian fantasy--outing for the author of the noteworthy Land of Dreams and The Paper Grail. In part one, scientist Langdon St. Ives, despondent after the recent murder of his wife Alice by the diabolical hunchback Dr. Ignacio Narbondo, struggles to prevent said Narbondo from causing Earth to collide with a passing comet; simultaneously he must sabotage Lord Kelvin's superpowerful electromagnetic machine that, if used to repel the comet, would produce still another disaster. Part two sees St. Ives attempting to recover Kelvin's machine from beneath the English Channel while battling a cast of bad guys intent on revivifying the supposedly dead Narbondo. In part three, St. Ives seizes Kelvin's machine, which turns out to be a time machine, and sets off to make significant alterations to history- -not least, the prevention of Alice's murder. A neat enough idea, but the tone is wrong from the start, as broad comedy-adventure (part one) veers into farcical parody (part two) before subsiding into straightforward melodrama (part three). Neither is the scenario--as if Victorian America had invaded 1930's England--particularly convincing. All in all: a thumping disappointment. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
Format:Hardcover
Deftly written by James P. Blaylock (a winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award), Lord Kelvin's Machine is a fantastic steampunk saga set in Victorian London. Our intrepid hero, Langdon St. Ives, is devastated by murder and surrounded by mayhem in the midst of an uproar over (and battles to possess) a wondrous machine with the power to travel through Time itself. An astutely told science fiction adventure laced through and through with humanity, reflection, high escapades, drama, and coming to grips with the terrible specter of death, Lord Kelvin's Machine is enthusiastically recommended reading for all dedicated science fiction enthusiasts.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.7 out of 5 stars
6 reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An astutely told science fiction adventure
April 18 2003
By Midwest Book Review
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Deftly written by James P. Blaylock (a winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award), Lord Kelvin's Machine is a fantastic steampunk saga set in Victorian London. Our intrepid hero, Langdon St. Ives, is devastated by murder and surrounded by mayhem in the midst of an uproar over (and battles to possess) a wondrous machine with the power to travel through Time itself. An astutely told science fiction adventure laced through and through with humanity, reflection, high escapades, drama, and coming to grips with the terrible specter of death, Lord Kelvin's Machine is enthusiastically recommended reading for all dedicated science fiction enthusiasts.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Steampunk Novel with Plenty if Action and Adventure
May 7 2013
By C. Raso
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This book is divided into three separate stories with one theme running through all of them; Lord Kelvin's machine. In the first story, Dr. Ignacio Narbondo is trying to shift the orbit of the Earth into the path of a passing comet. The Royal Academy wants to use Lord Kelvin's machine to change the magnitude of the Earth's poles to repel the comet but Professor Langdon St. Ives believes that using the device will harm, and not help, the planet. The second tale starts with a mysterious explosion at the Royal Academy where Lord Kelvin's machine is being stored. A little while later there are reports of steel hulled ships going down off Dover. Then a creepy mother and son show up searching for an elixir that prolongs life. They think that the people who stole the apparatus also have the potion along with the cryogenically frozen Narbondo. In the third plot St. Ives is in possession of Lord Kelvin's apparatus and has turned it into a time traveling device.
This is what I imagined steampunk to be; real scientists from history working on impossible technology during the Victorian era with plenty of action and adventure. There really was a scientist named Lord Kelvin who developed the absolute temperature scale called the `Kelvin scale,' formulated the second law of thermodynamics, and worked to install telegraph cables under the Atlantic. Another real scientist mentioned the novel is Sir Alexander Fleming who discovered penicillin. These aren't just science fiction stories they are also adventure stories. Professor St. Ives has a group of men, including his faithful valet Hasbro, who follow him as he tracks down the evil Narbondo and saves the day. I look forward to reading more books in this series.
This is what I imagined steampunk to be; real scientists from history working on impossible technology during the Victorian era with plenty of action and adventure. There really was a scientist named Lord Kelvin who developed the absolute temperature scale called the `Kelvin scale,' formulated the second law of thermodynamics, and worked to install telegraph cables under the Atlantic. Another real scientist mentioned the novel is Sir Alexander Fleming who discovered penicillin. These aren't just science fiction stories they are also adventure stories. Professor St. Ives has a group of men, including his faithful valet Hasbro, who follow him as he tracks down the evil Narbondo and saves the day. I look forward to reading more books in this series.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Evil Scientist, Time Travel and Deadly Machine
May 6 2013
By VicG
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
James P. Blaylock in his new book, "Lord Kelvin's Machine" a new book in Tale of Langdon St. Ives series published by Titan Books gives us another adventure with scientist/explorer Professor Langdon St. Ives.
From the back cover: Within the magical gears of Lord Kelvin's incredible machine lies the secret of time. The deadly Dr. Ignacio Narbondo would murder to possess it and scientist and explorer Professor Langdon St. Ives would do anything to use it. For the doctor it means mastery of the world and for the professor it means saving his beloved wife from death. A daring race against time begins...
If you like science fiction then this book is for you. I have to admit I do not know much about this genre "Steampunk" however I do know and enjoy Jules Verne stories and Mr. Blaylock has captured quite a bit of what Mr. Verne used to put in his stories. Dr. Ignacio Narbondo has murdered Langdon St. Ives wife, Alice. Now he has the intention of causing the Earth to collide with a passing comet. Despite his grief St. Ives must stop Narbondo and the use of Lord Kelvin's superpowerful electromagnetic machine. He does but then has to battle villains, who are attempting to restore to life Narbondo using the machine, so St. Ives has to recover Kelvin's machine from beneath the English Channel. Finally St. Ives goes back in time to kill a young Narbondo and thus stop the murder of his wife. Mr. Blaylock has given us a rip-rousing adventure yarn that will grab your attention and keep you flipping pages as fast as you can read them. If you enjoy your fiction with science out of sync with the time period then this is for you. This is an exciting book and I am sure you will enjoy this book as well.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Titan Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
From the back cover: Within the magical gears of Lord Kelvin's incredible machine lies the secret of time. The deadly Dr. Ignacio Narbondo would murder to possess it and scientist and explorer Professor Langdon St. Ives would do anything to use it. For the doctor it means mastery of the world and for the professor it means saving his beloved wife from death. A daring race against time begins...
If you like science fiction then this book is for you. I have to admit I do not know much about this genre "Steampunk" however I do know and enjoy Jules Verne stories and Mr. Blaylock has captured quite a bit of what Mr. Verne used to put in his stories. Dr. Ignacio Narbondo has murdered Langdon St. Ives wife, Alice. Now he has the intention of causing the Earth to collide with a passing comet. Despite his grief St. Ives must stop Narbondo and the use of Lord Kelvin's superpowerful electromagnetic machine. He does but then has to battle villains, who are attempting to restore to life Narbondo using the machine, so St. Ives has to recover Kelvin's machine from beneath the English Channel. Finally St. Ives goes back in time to kill a young Narbondo and thus stop the murder of his wife. Mr. Blaylock has given us a rip-rousing adventure yarn that will grab your attention and keep you flipping pages as fast as you can read them. If you enjoy your fiction with science out of sync with the time period then this is for you. This is an exciting book and I am sure you will enjoy this book as well.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Titan Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
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3.7 out of 5 stars
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