The Doomsday Machine: An Astounding Horatio Lyle Adventure Hardcover – January 24, 2008

Excellent delivery and excellent work!

The Doomsday Machine is the sequel to  The Obsidian Dagger: Being the Further Extraordinary Adventures of Horatio Lyle , and thus the third book in the Horatio Lyle series. You really need to have read the first book in the series, The Extraordinary and Unusual Adventures of Horatio Lyle, for this to make any sense.In the London of 1865, Special Constable Horatio Lyle sets out to find the scientist Andrew Berwick, when it becomes obvious that his missing friend is the target of an urgent hunt. He stumbles into a plot to eliminate the Tseiqin, a race of sidhe-like beings, using the science he loves and has devoted his life to. He knows better than most the threat the Tseiqin pose to humanity, but genocide? And how can he stop the Machine when the forces opposing him are so strong and are threatening the lives of his friends, Tess and Thomas?The Doomsday Machine has the same strengths as previous entries in the series - engaging and likable characters, an atmospheric setting, a plot with consequences, exciting action sequences and an appropriate ending - but it also has some weaknesses that made it less enjoyable for me. Lin Zi, a Tseiqin woman sent to assist Lyle, is supposed to be quirkily charming but I just found her annoying. Havelock is so very black, and his past history with Lyle so completely lacking in depth, that it's hard to take him seriously as a character at all, let alone the arch-villain. Lyle is put through so much in this book that I almost thought I was reading The Martyrdom of Horatio Lyle. Webb appears to have had an attack of political correctness, throwing in elements lacking from the previous books so 21st-century sensibilities can be demonstrated by the good guys. Thomas' father forgets that he knows perfectly well who Lyle is and has met him before, and his character keeps changing to fit the needs of the moment. Thomas himself simply isn't given enough to do.Yet other readers may not be bothered by these factors at all. The Doomsday Machine maintains the series' positive attitude towards humans and their works and there's a lot of fun and humour to balance the dark moments. Webb's distinctive style won't be to everyone's taste, but this is a very well constructed tale. Due to the complexity of the language, this book is suitable for older children. There's no sex or swearing, and while there's a reasonable amount of violence, there's no lingering over the gory details. Anachronisms do appear and there's no pretence that the language is purely period-accurate. Lame cover, too, which is nowhere near as good as the original.Well worth reading if you're looking for a Victorian adventure with a touch of magic, but it's not a stand-alone.

This is the fourth book in this series and, while I enjoyed it, I am beginning to find the books rather same-y: Horatio Lyle, Tess and Thomas get into danger and eventually get out of danger, with a bit of help from Charlie the bobby, Lyle's mum, Lin Zi the Tseiquin, and one or two others. This episode creates an excellent 'villain', develops the relationship between Lyle and Lin Zi a bit more, and has some effective set pieces.This is a series which I don't think quite reaches its potential. It has potentially fascinating characters but they don't fully ring true for me. Why, for example, did Lyle take Tess in and rapidly begin to treat her as his daughter - she doesn't seem all that charming to me. In fact, she hasn't seemed to change at all during the four books, learning nothing from her extreme good fortune in being taken in by this rich eccentric scientist. Similarly with Thomas - I like the way his relationship with his real father, Lord Elwick, has developed into something sweet, but Thomas himself also doesn't ring true for me. I know a lot of fifteen year old boys, and he seems unlike any I've ever met. Not that this is insurmountable - a character doesn't have to be 'realistic' to be enjoyable. But somehow, though I like Tess and Thomas, I find them a bit irritating too. Also, the lovely floppy-eared dog, Tate, is a great character but a bit superfluous - he never actually contributes much to the plots and seems if anything to get in the way. Would Tate really take him to some of the places he goes? I sometimes feel that characters don't act in the way I'd expect, and they often don't speak in the way I'd expect - Catherine Webb in all her incarnations tends to really like the 'long speech' form of dialogue! And I think that in all the books in this series the story is spread out rather thinly over too many pages, leading to passages of over-writing which get a bit dull.Having written all this, I have to say that I had misgivings after book one BUT I still read the rest of the series so far so they must have enough in them to grip me. I think Catherine Webb is a brilliant writer at her best and I've read a lot of her novels, so I don't want to sound churlish towards a writer who has given me so much reading pleasure during the past few years.

For some reason the descriptive prise reminds me of the late, great Mr. Pratchett. Totally enamoured with these books and thus far this is probably the best. The plots are excellent in themselves but seem to provide a background for the development of the characters. Really pleased that I happened on this author and would heartily recommend her to all and sundry. Guttersnipe and bigwig alike.

No problems with product or delivery.At this point I'm simply addicted to this series.Whether you get excited at simply hearing the words 'lead nitrate' or not, this book will certainly make you grin, groan and laugh. And of course, fall in love with Catherine Webb's creations.I can only give this a glowing recommendation.Anything less for Horatio would be blasphemy =D

Enjoyed this installment. Book 2 was a little OTT for my liking, hence I gave it 4 stars, but this, Book 3 was as good as Book 1 in my opinion. Definitely the series is best read in order and although sufficient background to the characters is given for an "out of sequence read", there are enough references to Books 1 and 2 to make it worth "starting at the beginning.

Good book