David Barnett'sGideon Smith and the Brass Dragonis a fantastical steampunk fable set against an alternate historical backdrop: the ultimate Victoriana/steampunk mash-up!
Nineteenth century London is the center of a vast British Empire, a teeming metropolis where steam-power is king and airships ply the skies, and where Queen Victoria presides over three quarters of the known worldincluding the east coast of America, following the failed revolution of 1775.
Young Gideon Smith has seen things that no green lad of Her Majesty's dominion should ever experience. Through a series of incredible events Gideon has become the newest Hero of the Empire. But Gideon is a man with a mission, for the dreaded Texas pirate Louis Cockayne has stolen the mechanical clockwork girl Maria, along with a most fantastical weapona great brass dragon that was unearthed beneath ancient Egyptian soil. Maria is the only one who can pilot the beast, so Cockayne has taken girl and dragon off to points east.
Gideon and his intrepid band take to the skies and travel to the American colonies hot on Cockayne's trail. Not only does Gideon want the machine back, he has fallen in love with Maria. Their journey will take them to the wilds of the lawless lands south of the American colonies to free Texas, where the mad King of Steamtown rules with an iron fist (literally), where life is cheap and honor even cheaper.
Does Gideon have what it takes to not only save the day but win the girl?
David Barnett is an award-winning journalist, multimedia content manager of the
Telegraph & Argus, cultural reviewer for
The Guardianand the
Independenton Sunday, and has done features for
The Independentand
Wired. He is the author of
Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl,
Angelglass(described by
The Guardianas stunning ),
Hinterland, and
popCULT!
![Gideon Smith and the Brass Dragon [Paperback]](/itemImage/2/0/4/0/2_3537644.jpg "Gideon Smith and the Brass Dragon [Paperback]")