The Rise of the Iron Moon

by Stephen Hunt

Overview

From the author of The Court of the Air and The Kingdom Beyond the Waves comes a thrilling new adventure set in the same Victorian-style world. Perfect for fans of Philip Pullman and Susanna Clarke.

Born into captivity as a product of the Royal Breeding House, friendless orphan Purity Drake suddenly finds herself on the run with a foreign vagrant from the North after accidentally killing one of her guards.

Her strange rescuer claims he is on the run himself from terrible forces who mean to enslave the Kingdom of Jackals as they conquered his own nation. Purity doubts his story, until reports begin to filter through from Jackals’ neighbours of the terrible Army of Shadows, marching across the continent and sweepign all before them.

But there’s more to Purity than meets the eye. As Jackals girds itself for war against and army of near-unkillable beasts serving an ancient evil with a terrible secret, it soon becomes clear that their only hope is a strange little royalist girl and the last, desperate plan of an escaped slave.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780007301881
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	02/05/2009
Series:	Jackelian Series
Sold by:	HarperCollins Publishers
Format:	eBook
Pages:	455
File size:	474 KB

About the Author

Stephen Hunt is the author of the highly acclaimed ‘The Court of the Air’. He set up one of the first science fiction and fantasy websites, www.SFcrowsnest.com, in 1994. Today the site has 700,000 readers a month. Stephen Hunt lives with his wife and children in Surrey.

Stephen Hunt is the author of several fantasy titles set in the Victorian-style world of the Kingdom of Jackals and is also the founder of www.SFcrowsnest.com, one of the oldest and most popular fan-run science fiction and fantasy websites, with nearly three quarters of a million readers each month. Born in Canada, the author presently lives in London, as well as spending part of the year with his family in Spain

Editorial Reviews

This campy postapocalyptic steampunk environmental morality tale brings together several characters from 2009's The Court of the Air and 2010's The Kingdom Beyond the Waves and takes them on a hair-raising rollercoaster of an adventure. When the Army of Shadows threatens the Kingdom of Jackals and the Quatérshift, the two countries must set aside their differences and work together against the monstrous and dangerous foe. The Shadows appear to be a completely unknown form of life, and their nature compels destruction of everything in their path. Molly Templar, Commodore Black, Duncan Connor, Coppertracks the Steamman, Oliver Brooks and a few new faces must race the clock to stem the tide of this horrendous evil. A dash of earth magic and a dose of environmental angst make this a bumpy but enjoyable ride. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

“To say this book is action packed is almost an understatement…a wonderful escapist yarn!” —Interzone on The Rise of the Iron Moon

“Compulsive reading for all ages.” —Guardian on The Rise of the Iron Moon

“Wildly imaginative and compelling, this charming steampunk yarn plays out against a backdrop of civil war and failed rebellion, layered and complex treachery, and love in surprising corners.” —Publishers Weekly on The Kingdom Beyond The Waves

“A Dickensian atmosphere with shades of Indiana Jones featuring a strong-willed adventuress that will appeal to steampunk fans.” —Library Journal on The Kingdom Beyond The Waves

“Steampunk fantasy and SF with a Victorian-era feel… A rip-roaring Indiana Jones-style adventure.” —RT Book Reviews (4 stars) on The Kingdom Beyond The Waves

From the Publisher

Third fantasy set in Hunt's teeming, mind-boggling steampunk universe (The Court of the Air,2007, etc.), this time complete with interplanetary invaders courtesy of H.G. Wells.

Astronomer and steamman Aliquot Coppertracks notices odd celestial events: signs of civilization on supposedly dead Mars; the abrupt return of a comet centuries before it's due; and, impossibly, stars shifting their positions in the heavens. Kyorin, representative of Martian humans who have been resisting evil overlords for eons, makes contact with author Molly Templar, who in turn rouses wily old U-boat captain Commodore Black, the eerie outlaw Oliver Brooks and others. But in advance of the invading Army of Shadows and their irresistible superscience have come bloodthirsty "slats" in pursuit of Kyorin and his message. What do the evil Martians want with humanity? In a word, lunch. Once the impending invasion can no longer be ignored, the rival realms of Jackals (think Victorian Britain) and Quatérshift (post-revolutionary France) form an uneasy alliance. An expedition to Mars must be mounted, so that Kyorin's people can pass on their fading knowledge in the hope of defeating the monstrous slats. Along the way, Hunt splendidly ridicules both the pompous Victorian scientific establishment and the French Revolution's more pretentious aspirations. Once again, however, the narrative's overstuffed and overcomplicated, which Hunt fans evidently relish, and improbably prolonged, with a showdown that recedes almost as fast as the plot rushes toward it.

A swaggering, eye-filling, brain-swizzling extravaganza, though Hunt's hyperkinetic saga may be a taste not all readers will wish to acquire.

Kirkus Reviews