The Dream of Perpetual Motion

Harold Winslow retells his life story while sitting in a flying prison, explaining how such a ordinary guy like himself got tangled up with the formidable Prospero Taligent and his daughter, Miranda, and how it all went so wrong. With airships and robots, the story is a fantastical jaunt through a magical world elaborately imagined—with help from The Tempest and The Wizard of Oz. Palmer creates a fabulous steampunk pastiche—at one point he, too, appears in the narrative—that breaks all the rules and is marvelous messy fun. William Dufris has some great moments as he keeps up with the shifting narrative and works his tone magnificently during the more ironic moments. He does well with the voice of Harold as a boy, though he has some trouble morphing it into an adult voice, and his female voices are a bit wobbly. A St. Martin’s hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 19) (Mar.)