The Book Plank

Best Steampunk Steampunk. My first introduction to this weird theme was with the movie Wild Wild West . the big spider etc in the western setting won me over. Steampunk can be used in various different time lines be it western, in the Victorian setting, even our current day or in the future. Steampunk is often accompanied by gears and sprockets flying around your ears but it can also be subtle element hidden within the story brief glimpses to enliven the surroundings of the story. Once Upon a Time in Hell is the second book in the Heaven's Gate Trilogy by Guy Adams. This is truly the weird west at it's top. Guy Adams nicely integrates Steampunk into his world by letting it be modes of transport and some nifty gadgets the characters have. This story is big and bold and I am looking forward to seeing where this story ends. Rod Duncan's The Bullet-Catchers Daughter is something of an Victorianesque inspired story following a young women Elizabeth Barnabus that leads an int...

Review Round-up October Another month has passed, time for another Review Round-Up. These were some of the titles that I enjoyed very much. Which were your favorites? Cheers, Jasper ------------------------------------- 1. A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller, Star Wars Rebels #1 A New Dawn is a great kick off for the animated Star Wars: Rebels series that will readily get you in the mood for watching the show. But if the notification of this new series has escaped your attention you can also read this book as a stand alone, and there it also offers an action packed story. You do not need to have read any books prior to this series, so it also offers a nice stepping stone for those who are just starting in the Star Wars Extended Universe books. Since I hadn't saw the show yet prior to picking up A New Dawn everything was new for me, the characters and the setting. I have to say that John Jackson Miller did a very nice job in showing the different characters of the...

Gideon Smith and the Brass Dragon by David Barnett, Gideon Smith #2 Nineteenth century London is the center of a vast British Empire, a teeming metropolis where steam-power is king and airships ply the skies, and where Queen Victoria presides over three quarters of the known world—including the east coast of America, following the failed revolution of 1775. Young Gideon Smith has seen things that no green lad of Her Majesty’s dominion should ever experience. Through a series of incredible events Gideon has become the newest Hero of the Empire. But Gideon is a man with a mission, for the dreaded Texas pirate Louis Cockayne has stolen the mechanical clockwork girl, Maria, along with a most fantastical weapon—a great brass dragon that was unearthed beneath ancient Egyptian soil. Maria is the only one who can pilot the beast, so Cockayne has taken girl and dragon off to points east. Gideon and his intrepid band take to the skies and travel to the American colonies hot on Co...

(p)review forecast October part one Which books will you be reading in the coming weeks? Cheers,  Jasper ------------------------------ 1. Falling Sky by Rajan Khanna, Pyr Ben Gold lives in dangerous times. Two generations ago, a virulent disease turned the population of most of North America into little more than beasts called Ferals. Some of those who survived took to the air, scratching out a living on airships and dirigibles soaring over the dangerous ground. Ben has his own airship, a family heirloom, and has signed up to help a group of scientists looking for a cure. But that's not as easy as it sounds, especially with a power-hungry air city looking to raid any nearby settlements. To make matters worse, his airship, the only home he's ever known, is stolen. Ben must try to survive on the ground while trying to get his ship back. This brings him to Gastown, a city in the air recently conquered by belligerent and expansionist pirates. When events ...

Author interview with David Barnett  Author bio: David Barnett is an award-winning journalist, currently multimedia content manager of the Telegraph & Argus , cultural reviewer for The Guardian and the Independent on Sunday, and he has done features for The Independent and Wired .  He is the author of Angelglass (described by The Guardian as “stunning”), Hinterland , and popCULT! --------------------------------- Hi David, welcome over at The Book Plank and for taking your time to answer these few questions for us. BP: First off, could you give us a short introduction as to who David Barnett is? What are your hobbies, likes and dislikes? DB: David Barnett is a mild-mannered journalist who spends his nights fighting crime wherever he finds it. Hang on, that’s not right. I am a journalist by day, but I generally spend my nights writing fiction – latterly this has mainly been the Gideon Smith series of steampunk/alternate-history SF/Fant...