Yesterday's giveaway was a short break from steampunk. But hey, you want steampunk? You got steampunk!
The Falling Machine by Andrew P. Mayer (Pyr)
Andrew P. Mayer's debut novel, The Falling Machine, is the first in a series called the Society of Steam. Based in New York City, the book details the shenanigans and machinations of the Society of Paragons, a team of superheroes of sorts, who protect the city with the help of mysterious "fortified steam" energy. Like any self-respecting semi-secret cabal, however, the Society has its own internal issues and conflicts, which are kept away from the general public.
Sarah Stanton, the daughter of Paragon member "The Industrialist," wants to be part of the league but, unfortunately, has the bad luck to be a woman in 1880. (Fortified steam has arrived in New York, but feminism hasn't yet.) The Falling Machine begins with a bang atop the recently-constructed Brooklyn Bridge, with Sarah witnessing the death of a mentor at the hands of the "Sons of Eschaton," which appear to have aspirations of becoming the Legion of Doom to the Paragon's Justice League. Sarah investigates, with the help of a self-aware automaton named Tom who has his own secrets locked inside him, and finds she can trust no one but herself as the plot thickens.
If this sounds rollicking and a little confusing, it is -- there are a lot of characters to introduce, a lot of intrigue to cover, and the plot moves fast. It's not giving anything away to say the book ends on a cliffhanger -- a sequel, of course, is on the way -- and the next book in the series may explain a lot that goes unsaid as we're introduced to Sarah and the world in which she lives. It's always great to have a spirited woman in the steampunk world, and Sarah has the makings of a heroine; it'll be interesting to see how things develop in this Society of Steam.
The Falling Machine is not out in stores until May 24th, but we have an Advance Reader Copy to give away! To enter the contest, post a comment below and tell us your favorite female steampunk/Victorian-era person. She can be a real person or a fictional character, anything goes. All entries will be put into a top hat and the winner will be drawn at random, perhaps by a snarky steampunk puppet. The deadline for entering the contest is 11:59 pm EST Friday, May 27; we'll hold the drawing sometime over Memorial Day weekend and post the winner straight away. Good luck!
(More information on The Falling Machine can be found on Pyr's website; Andrew P. Mayer has his own website and is a member of the Steampunk Empire, and it looks as if the Society of Steam has constructed their very own website as well!)
The latest I have enjoyed is Alexia Tarabotti from Gail Carriger's The Parasol Protectorate series.
Posted by: Alden Ash | May 12, 2011 at 06:10 PM
If Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp had not invented herself in The Age of Steam, the task of creating her would have fallen to an author of The Age of Steampunk. It is difficult to comprehend how flesh and blood could ever produce or contain Josie Marcus Earp's combination of beauty, spunk, self-reliance, intellect, artistic ethos and gift for self-promotion. Wyatt Earp never knew what hit him and, apparently, neither did anyone else who ever crossed paths with the diminuitive force of nature named Josephine. Broken hearts, beauty marks, bustles, brass knuckles, and knuckle-dusters were all strewn in the wake of the head-strong and adventuresome Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp!
Posted by: Page Turner | May 13, 2011 at 08:47 AM
I would think the obvious choice would be Ada Lovelace -- both the real one and the fictional version in the Difference Engine.
Posted by: Liam | May 13, 2011 at 03:13 PM
To quote from the web-"When you think of great Victorian explorers inevitably you have an image of Darwin or Livingston, rucksack, pith helmet and machete in hand. Not a little middle-aged women with a collection of brushes and an easel, painting in the heart of the Brazillian jungle. “Well Marianne North, I presume”. Victorian botanist, painter, explorer. I like how she didn't even begin her travels until middle age.
Posted by: Linda | May 14, 2011 at 11:06 PM
Warehouse 13 has a female H.G. Wells. By the way, it looks like she may get a spinoff. I would love to see a new steampunk TV series.
Posted by: Barry Huddleston | May 15, 2011 at 11:11 AM
OK, Gail Carriger's Alexia Tarabotti, already mentioned, is a very strong contestant: I just love her (and who doesn't?). On a different note, any of Cherie Priest's strong female lead stars - Briar Wilkes, Maria Isabella Boyd, and Mercy Lynch- warrants a mention, too.
That being said, my heart will always belong to Irene Adler...
Posted by: Soundofthunder | May 16, 2011 at 03:58 AM