The Kingdom of Ohio

by Matthew Flaming

Overview

An elderly man living in present-day Los Angeles is forced to revisit the history he has spent years trying to deny-the tale of a young frontiersman who comes to New York City in 1901 and quickly finds a job digging the first subway tunnels. He meets a beautiful mathematical prodigy who speaks of the vanished Kingdom of Ohio. Against the electric, mazelike streets and tunnels of New York City at the beginning of the mechanical age, the couple will find themselves involved with Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, J.P. Morgan-and wrestling with the nature of history, technology, and the unfolding of time itself...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780425236949
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	12/07/2010
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Matthew Flaming was born in Los Angeles and studied philosophy at Hampshire College. He has an MFA from New York University. His work has appeared in 3River Review, Timber Creek Review, and Hobart Pulp. He lives in Portland.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Todd McClaren gives a soft-spoken, carefully navigated reading that allows the author's beautiful descriptions to woo the listener with their simplicity." —-AudioFile

Editorial Reviews

Flaming tells his story with a dash of steampunk flair, hurtling along toward a clever, even shocking ending.
—The Washington Post

Sara Sklaroff

Men ahead of their time wrestle with the fabric of the universe. Flaming's debut ushers us into a mystifying world, but its intriguing premise and inherent mystery are impossible to resist. Marrying poetic prose with hints of steampunk aesthetics to an arcane, time-wrenching plot that includes a healthy dose of wistful romance, the author unleashes an absorbing adventure about warring scientists, lost princesses and the genius who created modern New York City. In the present day, an aged narrator describes his dogged research into the collision of two unlikely characters. His confession hints at narrative ambiguity ("Telling the story is easy. It's just deciding which parts to include, finding a space to fit them all in, that gives me trouble"), but the author's execution is sure-footed. The story within takes readers back to the turn of the century, as Peter Force arrives in Manhattan just in time to start digging the city's newfangled subway system. Through his young protagonist's eyes, Flaming captures a city on the cusp of technological revolution, as electricity, airships and other marvels make all futures seem possible. Peter's work is interrupted by Cheri-Anne Toledo, refugee from a mythical Midwestern kingdom founded by a minor European royal. She blames her sudden appearance on the misfire of a device created by Nicola Tesla, the acclaimed "Sorcerer of Electricity," which has sent her quite astray. The fantastic story line that follows revolves around the heated rivalry between Tesla and his rival, genius/patent thief Thomas Edison, who is being backed here by robber baron J.P. Morgan. "Villainy is a complicated thing, Miss Toledo," Morgan says, revealing a plot to gamble againstthe future. Though not as lush as Kurt Andersen's Heyday (2007), Flaming's wildly inventive fantasy is more fun to read and begs to be followed to its hurtling, heart-rending end. A marvelous fable about the worlds beneath our feet and the conspiracies that turn our heads.

Kirkus Reviews