Boilerplate

Boilerplate: A Penny Dreadful Review

            Let me tell you about the most novel of novels.  Boilerplate, by Paul Guinean and Anina Bennett is an alternative history framed as a coffee table book, complete with historical documents and photographic evidence.

            This unique work chronicles the adventures of a mechanical soldier created in 1893 and his inventor Archibald Campion, from his unveiling in Chicago to his ultimate disappearance in World War One.

            I find it delightful that one must do careful research to determine which parts of this book are fabrication and which are reality.  The automaton has been seamlessly grafted into history, and the authors entirely nailed the tone and look of a history book.

            I give it four out of five gears for sheer ingenuity.  In a couple of places, the supposed chronology is unclear, and at one point I was confused by an apparent gap, but it all made sense in the end.  I recommend seeking out Boilerplate.

            See more at www.boilerplaterobot.com.

Your Correspondent from the Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather