It has been a while since Ariel and I have read a book together. Our last one was Kaikeyi back in April 2022 and we are super excited to finally have time in our lives again to read together. We decided to get back into it with Chainbreaker, the second book of the Timekeeper series which we had started back in January. You can find our review of the first book, Timekeeper here.
Clock mechanic Danny Hart knows he’s being watched. But by whom, or what, remains a mystery. To make matters worse, clock towers have begun falling in India, though time hasn’t Stopped yet. He’d hoped after reuniting with his father and exploring his relationship with Colton, he’d have some time to settle into his new life. Instead, he’s asked to investigate the attacks.
After inspecting some of the fallen Indian towers, he realizes the British occupation may be sparking more than just attacks. And as Danny and Colton unravel more secrets about their past, they find themselves on a dark and dangerous path–one from which they may never return.
Content notes include Bood, Death, Murder, Racism, Colonization, Homophobia, Sexism.
Chainbreaker
Whole book Discussion
We read Timekeeper back in March, and eight months later we got around to reading the sequel. This year has been a busy one for us, so it felt right returning to a familiar world to resume our buddy reads.
We got to meet up this year! And it felt great to get back into familiar routines with familiar books. Chainbreaker starts a new chapter in Danny’s life. Timekeeper and its events introduced us to him, the youngest Timekeeper ever, and the world and magic of time and spirits of the clock towers. When I was in London, I saw Big Ben (who is a prominent feature in the world of this book), and I wished I had this book with me haha.
Yes! That would have been perfect!
Anyway, Chainbreaker did a good job of recapping the events of the last book and while Timekeeper does not have to read before diving into this one, a connection with the characters and their backgrounds is very helpful. Chainbreaker expands the world at an uneven pace but I felt, overall, it grew my knowledge of history and magic. What did you think of the world building in this one, Ariel?
I enjoyed how we learned more about the background lore, and how that differed in India as compared with England. We also got a little more information about a main character from Timekeeper, Colton, and that really fleshed out his character as well.
One of the reasons I was interested in picking up Chainbreaker was because of its connection to India, my home country that I just visited! I am finding there are a few different experiences – to read about a place I am living in, to read about a place I used to live in, to read about a place I have visited. Having just travelled a bunch, Chainbreaker felt like it belonged in all categories.
Yes, plus you were recently travelling in both India and London! What I was anticipating about the sequel the most was that we would see more of a secondary character from book one, Daphne, and the story would shift gears to India. I liked the idea of a change of pace and was very hopeful to have some points of views from Daphne!
It would have been a different book – one I might have liked way better – if Daphne had been the point of view. Danny was a good protagonist in the first book but compared to other characters in the book, he isn’t as interesting to me. I am glad we got some insight into Daphne but I craved more.
Being in India was an opportunity to give commentary on how women’s place was supposed to be at home and clock mechanics like Meena were a rarity. Daphne is half Indian and her experiences of exploring a country that she only heard about would have been valuable! She is an anomaly there with her being from England. In any other story I would have understood gender roles containing the characters – here I do not understand why Daphne and Meena could not have had more centre stage. Their narratives would have been key to developing India.
I agree. I think it would have been poignant to explore more of Daphne and Meena’s points of views as women during this era, and biracial and Indian (respectively) women at that.
When I am reading about India, I am always worried. It is a strange feeling to have to know a place so well that I can tell when a depiction of it does not do it justice. Chainbreaker overall did not disappoint.
I am quite impressed with the timing of the book. The revolt of 1857 is an important part of Indian history that is likely not common knowledge in other parts of the world. Setting Chainbreaker in the 1870s, so close to the events of that time, was a great move. The coronation of Queen Victoria, the unrest in the population, it’s not a setting I have read about ever so I was very happy to be in it. It gave a tension to the plot though Danny and Colton’s connection to it was forced. What did you think of the portrayal of India, Ariel? Maybe Clinton’s photos of cows on the road helped a little bit?
I have very limited knowledge of 1857 India so I felt like this was a great learning opportunity for me. Once the characters were settled after their journey to India and they began to explain what they saw around them, I really felt immersed! Reading about the stark difference between the “British Areas” and where the locals lived was clearly distinguished, and I appreciated how the narrative clearly showed how unwilling the English were wanting to “exchange” or “trade” culture/ideas, but rather try to forcibly change the cultures around them to be more like their idea of “civilized.” I appreciated seeing Clinton’s photos as a modern-day comparison, and given how different India is from the West in a myriad of ways, it is an example of how the power of culture and resistance still has its ripple effects today.
Many second installments of trilogies have the challenge of keeping the same momentum of the first book while also setting up for the finale. It’s a bit of a balancing act, and I thought that Chainbreaker mostly accomplished it. The pacing towards the beginning was a bit slow, and I was very interested in the new character Xavier and I would have liked to see him earlier in the book and/or some points of views from him.
Agreed. It will be interesting to see how these new characters develop and how the storyline resolves itself. I am a little worried though because the task ahead is a big one that brings to question the whole existence of clock mechanics and clocks.
Overall, while I’m intrigued to finish the trilogy eventually, I don’t think this series has quite fully captivated me to a “binge” level, per se. I look forward to our eventual buddy read of the finale!
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Cover Photo by jaikishan patel on Unsplash
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