New Books: July/August 2021

Here’s our roundup of recent book releases, including titles from Gareth Ward, Noah Lemelson, Jeannie Lin, Jessica Lucci, Jonathan Fesmire, Robert Adauto III, Catherine Stein, Angel Favazza, Shane Emmett, D.N. Bryn, Anna Applegate and Angela Sanders, Katherine Macdonald, Jack Castle, Steven McKinnon, Angela Roquet, Lars Hannig, K.A. Maier, and Velora Venn.

Walker Books Australia released The Rise of the Remarkables: The Thaumagician’s Revenge, the sequel to Gareth Ward’s Brasswitch and Bot. The series is set in a steampunk Victorian version of York, “where mutated humans known as aberrations are hunted down by a government agency known as the Regulators,” the author explains.

One such aberration is the heroine, a 15-year-old apprentice engineer named Wrench. She’s “a Brasswitch who can control machines with her mind,” Ward says. “Because of her powers, she is recruited to Cabal Thirteen, a specialist department of the Regulators, by maverick mechanoid Bot. Wrench and Bot must work together to stop an uprising of aberrations whilst also fending off attempts to discredit Cabal Thirteen by vengeful colleague, Captain Flemington.”

The Thaumagician’s Revenge is available worldwide in paperback from Book Depository. In New Zealand, you can order it from the author’s own independent bookshop, Wardini Books. See his website for more info.

Top Shelf Productions and IDW released A Last Call, the third and final book in The Jekyll Island Chronicles, the critically acclaimed dieselpunk graphic novel series. The story takes place in the aftermath of World War I, as a team of heroes with special powers seek to thwart a group of anarchists. The heroes are joined by real-life historical figures Nikola Tesla, Henry Ford, and Charles Proteus Steinmetz.

The story was written by Steve Nedvidek, Ed Crowell, and Jack Lowe, with art by Prentis Rollins. The creators, who do business as Lost Mountain Mechanicals, funded the first and third volumes on Kickstarter. See the website for more info.

Jeannie Lin released a standalone digital edition of Big Trouble in Old Shanghai, a novella originally published as part of Tales from the Gunpowder Chronicles, her 2019 collection. Part of The Gunpowder Chronicles steampunk fantasy series, the story is set an alt-history version of 19th century Shanghai amid a local rebellion and the Qing Dynasty’s Opium War against the British empire.

The e-book is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Scribd. See the author’s website for more info about the series.

Jessica Lucci is out with her latest novel, Salem Switch. It tells the story of Tess Alset, a late 19th century professor who is transported back in time to Salem, Massachusetts in 1690. She’s accused of witchcraft, and along with her clones, she must figure out a way to get back to her own time.

It’s available in e-book and paperback formats from Amazon. See the author’s website for more info.

Jonathan Fesmire released Bodacious Creed and the Jade Lake, the second book in The Adventures of Bodacious Creed, his steampunk western series. The story involves an undead private investigator in 19th century San Francisco who’s on the trail of a secret society that uses illegal machinery to alter and control women.

It’s available in e-book and paperback formats from multiple booksellers. See the author’s website for more info.

Robert Adauto III is out with Coyle and Fang Curse of Shadows, a steampunk fantasy about a detective named Sherlyn Coyle who joins forces with a vampire assassin to hunt for a madman who has stolen a dangerous book. The author describes it as “John Wick meets Sherlock Holmes.”

It’s available in e-book and paperback formats. See the author’s website for more info.

Writerpunk Press released Taught by Time: Myth Goes Punk, an anthology in which myths and legends are re-told in different punk genres, including steampunk, cyberpunk, dreadpunk, nanopunk, biopunk, and atompunk. Profits benefit PAWS, an animal shelter and wildlife rescue organization in the Seattle area. The anthology is available in e-book and paperback formats. See the Amazon page for info.

D.N. Bryn released Once Stolen, a novel set in the same steampunk fantasy world as the author’s Our Bloody Pearl. The story involves an autistic mer-snake named Cacao who botches a robbery and accidentally poisons a self-proclaimed hero who has a hidden stash of precious stones. Then the mer-snake “must guide the hero to her cure in the swampy homeland that banished him—if the two unlikely allies don’t destroy each other first.”

It’s available in e-book, hardcover, and paperback formats from multiple booksellers. See the author’s website for more info.

Jack Castle is out with Stranger Desert, the fourth novel in his young adult Stranger World series. The stories take place in a civilization dominated by futuristic theme parks with steampunk elements. This one involves a team of misfits who seek to save humanity from extinction.

It’s available in e-book and paperback formats from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sellers. See the author’s website for more info.

Tiny Fox Press released The Sightless City, the debut novel by Noah Lemelson. Set in an alternative fantasy world, it combines elements of steampunk, dieselpunk, science fantasy, and “a little post-apocalypse,” the author says. It’s the first book in a planned trilogy.

“The technology is an anachronistic mix of late 1800’s to early/mid 1900’s, with some technology that has never been possible,” Lemelson explains. “Think aeroships, automobiles, rifles, mechanical limbs, early radio/film equivalents. It’s all glued together with a magic system based on aether-oil, a substance that allows engineers to construct machinery at will, and infuse mechanical devices with near magical attributes. The world’s been through a lot of war and destruction, so many machines and tools are hobbled together and scavenged.”

The story involves a private investigator who uncovers a plot to conduct sinister experiments that could lead to genocide.

The Sightless City is available in digital, hardcover, and paperback formats from multiple booksellers. See the author’s website and publisher’s website for more info.

Catherine Stein released Dead Dukes Tell No Tales, Book 3 in her Sass and Steam steampunk romance series. This one follows the adventures of Clifford Kinsley, a scrap metal mogul and single dad who inherits an unwanted dukedom. Saddled with debt and seeking to escape his new title, he teams with next-door neighbor Sabine Diebin on a worldwide treasure hunt. Sabine happens to be an infamous airship pirate.

The book is available in digital and paperback formats from multiple booksellers. Learn more on the bookseller page and the author’s website.

Hiraeth Publishing released The Oculist’s Daughter, a YA steampunk western by Angel Favazza. The title character is 16-year-old Lizzie Liberti, whose father is kidnapped after inventing a pair of goggles. In her quest to find him, she’s assisted by allies including an Arapaho tracker named Sky Hawk.

The book is available in paperback. Learn more on the author’s website and the Hiraeth Publishing website.

Anna Applegate and Angela Sanders released Defying the Rogue, Book Two in The Sky Pirate Trilogy. The authors describe the steampunk fantasy romance series as “Pirates of the Caribbean meets Stardust.”

It’s available from Amazon in e-book and paperback formats. Book Three, Killing the Rogue, is scheduled for release on Sept. 26. See Applegate’s website for more info.

Tar & Feather Publishing is out with Obscura Book 2: The Eagle and the Vanishing Ballerina, a new novel by Australian author and actor Shane Emmett. The story involves a woman named Angelique who enters an upside-down parallel world to find her mother, a Parisian ballerina who disappeared a decade earlier. It’s available as an e-book and paperback from Amazon.

Katherine Macdonald is out with A Rose of Steel, described as a steampunk retelling of Beauty and the Beast for adults. It’s Book 1 in a series dubbed The Mechanical Kingdoms Quartet.

It’s available as an e-book and paperback. See the author’s website for more info.

Steven McKinnon is out with Choir of the Damned, the final book in The Raincatcher’s Ballad trilogy. The story, combining epic fantasy and steampunk elements, involves an orphan possessed by a demon and a former assassin who has lost his superhuman skills. It’s available in e-book and paperback formats. See the author’s website and the Goodreads page for more info.

Angela Roquet released Time Peace, Book 3 in World Clock Journals, a dystopian steampunk romance series. The novellas are set in early 20th century Boston following a disaster in which a time machine has shattered reality. Learn more on the author’s website.

Lars Hannig, a German author, released an English-language translation of The Case of Mister Krumm, a 49-page steampunk detective story with supernatural elements. Set in 1917, it’s the first in a series featuring investigator Robert Fox. The stories take place in Vernia, an alt-world version of Europe.

The English-language edition was edited and translated by the author’s wife, Natascha Herkt. The author also works as a freelance writer and independent game developer. The e-book is available on Amazon.

K.A. Maier released Clockworks, Queens, and Other Dangerous Things, a young adult steampunk novel set in The Netherlands in 1897. The story involves the young Dutch queen, who’s assisted by a clockworks apprentice to fend off attacks by clockwork insects.

It’s available as an e-book and paperback. See the Amazon page for more info.

Velora Venn released her first novel, Aerth’s Aetheric Aegis. She describes it as a blend of steampunk, fantasy, science fiction, dystopian, and romance, set in a world ruled by genetically altered aristocrats. Venn also illustrated the book. Learn more on her website.