In the first installment of Robert McGough's thrilling "Clockwork and Horror" series, mercenary Rumor stalks prey both human and otherwise through a set of riveting short stories, culminating in the novella "Death in the Mountain." The genre-busting series is set in a dark world that blends the mechanistic aesthetics of Jules Verne with the fantasy adventure of Tolkien. Rumor moves from hunt to hunt, exploring cities more marked by savagery than civilization, and wilderness where terrifying legends are real. The darkest horrors he finds aren't in otherworldly beasts and mechanical nightmares, but in the inner desires of mankind.