Asian American Literature Fans

By Stephen Hong Sohn

Okay, so let’s start out with the fact that Tara Sim’s Chainbreaker is the sequel to Timekeeper, one of my favorite YA reads from last year. I was really excited to see this next installment coming out, and it’s evident by the conclusion that we’re in that requisite trilogy form that’s become so common. The B&N page provides us with this editorial description: “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.”

This background doesn’t really do enough work for us because there’s quite a few other characters beyond Danny Hart that are critical to this particular novel. Indeed, you’ll find a useful page on Tara Sim’s official website with cool sketches of the major characters thus far in the whole series. Danny Hart heads over to India, but he’s going there with his one-time rival Daphne Richards, who is actually part South Asian. In the world building offered by the first installment, you need to understand that—in this steampunk inspired world, filled with air ships and other similar modes of travel—clocks are vital to keep time running in cities. What occurs in India defies the laws of the fictional universe, as time seems to keep running in those cities even after the clock towers have blown up. Despite the fact that time keeps going, some problems remain: the blowing up of these buildings obviously causes damage and potential loss of human life (for anyone in the local vicinity). For someone like Danny, who has intimate knowledge that each clock tower actually houses a spirit, the tower bombings hold extra significance: he knows that such acts could kill off these mystical beings. Danny goes to India, fully realizing that he is not only helping investigate what is going on, but potentially figuring out how to keep his own romance with Colton safe.

The best thing about this installment is Sim’s willingness to engage in the ethnic history and culture of India as part of the clock/ tower world. I had wondered about the use of clocks in other locations, especially because it was mentioned in Timekeeper, so Sim seemed to be telegraphing that query and answering what we were all already thinking. The other cool element is the twinned “queer” romance plots. While Colton’s takes the form of a fellow teenager, the problem with this romance is less about the fact that Colton and Danny are both boys, but that Colton is a clock spirit. Such romances are forbidden. On the other hand, Daphne ends up engaging in her own socially questionable romance when she begins to fall for Akash Kapoor, who is brother of Meena Kapoor, an Indian clock tower mechanic. For all intents and purposes, Daphne’s South Asian background is shrouded in secrecy, effectively leaving her in the closet for a period. The novel thus gestures to multiple forms of “queer” desires that such romance plots more textured than the typical iterations.

If there is a drawback to this novel, it’s that I felt the plotting and pacing were uneven. There was a point where the exposition really dragged down the momentum, and I impatiently desired to move toward the final pages. Even then, the resolution left a lot to be desired, which is a common issue related to the middle installment in any trilogy. On a final note: I did really appreciate Sim’s exploration of the fictional world’s spiritual belief systems. We get a sense that Gods really do exist in this world and that the clock towers and their spirits are involved in some sort of massive shift in the way time must work. The final installment is tentatively scheduled to be published either in late 2018 or early 2019 and is entitled Firestarter. The title has me exceptionally curious about where the series is actually going. I have no idea why fires would need to be started, so color me intrigued and ready to go for the conclusion.

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Review Author: Stephen Hong Sohn
Review Editor: Leslie J. Fernandez

If you have any questions or want us to consider your book for review, please don’t hesitate to contact us via email!
Prof. Stephen Hong Sohn at ssohnucr@gmail.com
Leslie J. Fernandez, PhD Student in English, at lfern010@ucr.edu