Clockwork, Patchwork and Ravens by Peter M. Ball

“Clockwork, Patchwork and Ravens” is a 2009 science fiction novelette by Peter M. Ball. It is about an old patchworker and his clockwork man who save a girl terrorized by a group of mutant bird people.

Steampunk and Bird People

I haven’t read a lot of Steampunk, so I am not super versed in the subject. However, this story very much reminded me of one of my all-time favorite novels: China Mieville’s Perdido Street Station. Maybe it was the dark and gritty setting, or maybe it was the reconstructed and mechanical people, or maybe it was the strange bird people. Whatever it was I found myself instantly drawn to this wonderful, award winning story and the unique world in which it took place.

Non-spoiler Summary in a Nutshell

Randal owes a lot to Jackson, the man who found him nearly dead and fixed him up all fine and dandy. In fact Jackson is a really nice old man who loves ancient fairy-tales and helping people who are almost dead. So when he happens upon a girl who was beaten by a group of the mutated Corvidae he obviously brings her back to his workshop to restore her body. There are a couple of problems though – like the tiny, expensive parts that will be needed to reconstruct her tongue. Oh – and the murderous gang who wanted her dead in the first place!

My Two Cents…

• I liked all of the main characters in this story. Jackson, Randal, Rose, Pelican and even Rook3 were all very interesting and fun to read about.
• Of the many fascinating things in the story, I found Jackson’s love of retro design coupled with helping severely hurt people to be the most touching. Yet it wasn’t Utopian – there was still that little hint that one needs to be careful around Jackson.
• I did feel that the ending was too abrupt. I longed to know more about what happened to the characters. Oh well, I guess that is sign of a good story right? Leaving you wanting more and all.

Interesting Tidbits About This Story:

• Page Count: 14
• Word Count: 7,540
• “Clockwork, Patchwork and Ravens” was the winner of the 2009 Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Short Story.
• Did you know that Peter M. Ball is working on a post-graduate thesis on the Gothic? Yep. You can learn more about this fascinating author at his web site.

Where You Can Find Clockwork, Patchwork and Ravens:

• This story was originally published in the May 2009 edition of the online magazine Apex Magazine – where you can still read it for free – sorry, no longer available.

Craving More Stories?

If you liked “Clockwork, Patchwork and Ravens” then you’ll probably also enjoy Exhalation by Ted Chiang.

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