Details:
- author: Sean Lusk
- full title: The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley
- narrator: Bert Seymour; Clare Corbett
- genre: historical fiction
- topics: #steampunk
- publisher: Dreamscape Media
- publish date: 05 Dec 2023
- timing: 10:34:00
My Rating of the Audiobook:
- content: 💙💙💙.5
- narration: 💙💙💙💙💙
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| Goodreads |
Excerpt from the Book:
Abel takes him and holds him, looking into his fierce dark blue eyes, their gaze fixed and penetrating, as unnerving as some creature wrenched from another universe entire, and asks him quietly whether he knows what a great calamity has accompanied his arrival, his tears falling on to the child’s face. He loosens the swaddling to examine the wonder of him more thoroughly, causing his son to squirm and whimper and grasp Abel’s index finger in his own tiny pink hand. He grips with such remarkable strength that it makes Abel wince. Are all newborns so strong, he wonders? Perhaps this resolve is what a motherless infant is given, as a fledgling cuckoo is given the vigour to push the other hatchlings out the nest and into oblivion. But there are no other chicks, thinks Abel. They are quite alone, the two of them, father and son.My Thoughts:
Abel Cloudesly is a renowned maker of clocks and automata. The year is 1754. After his wife dies in childbirth, Abel raises his son, Zachary, alone. Zachary grows up in the workshop, surrounded by his father’s inventions. He is a bright and curious boy. After an accident in the workshop, he barely survives and loses an eye. Abel now admits he is not the right one to raise a child and leaves Zachary to his old aunt, Frances. Aunt Frances is not a classic maternal image either. She is single, without children, wealthy, and highly educated. She is interested in various scientific fields, as well as philosophical ideas of the time.Later, Abel has to leave London and go to Constantinople to operate his chess-playing automaton. After a while, he disappears without a trace, and the family does not hear from him for many years.
I like the steampunk genre, but I rarely find something I like. This was something I thought I would enjoy more than I did. I really liked the first half of the story. For me, the continuation in Constantinople was a lot less interesting.
About the Author:
Sean Lusk is an award-winning short story writer, winner of the Manchester Fiction Prize, the Fish Short Story Prize and runner-up in the Bridport and Tom-Gallon Trust prizes. He has lived in Greece, Pakistan and Egypt, working variously as a gardener, speechwriter and diplomatic official. He now lives near Forres on the Moray Firth. The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley is his debut novel.
About the Narrator:
Bert Seymour has an honest, friendly, approachable and rich voice.
A London born actor, he trained at LAMDA and since graduating he has worked on both stage and screen, with some of his TV credits including: ‘Bridgerton' (Netflix), 'The Diplomat' (World Productions), 'The Girl Before' (BBC + HBO Max), 'Masters of the Air' (Apple TV), and ‘Endeavour' (ITV). His recent Theatre credits have included: ‘Pressure' (UK Tour and West End) and ‘Perfect Nonsense’ (Frinton Summer Theatre).
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Experienced and full of character, Clare Corbett has worked extensively in voiceover. Over 200 audiobooks, over 250 radio plays, multiple video games and cartoons and commercials … need we go on? There really isn’t much that Clare hasn’t recorded — no need to take a leap of faith with her proven track record. A director’s dream, she has great instincts and takes notes swiftly.
Clare has an ear for accents and has a particular talent for very young voices; indeed, Clare could voice an entire family and the listener would never guess it all arrived from the same actor. Testament to her talents, Clare’s voice can be heard on BritBox’s ‘Spitting Image’.
