Floating City

With The Floating City, Craig Cormick has nicely outdone himself. - The Book Plank I have a gut feeling that the author is building something here, something far bigger than I had suspected at first: a sort of network of plots meant to collide at the very end....I definitely hope my hunches are correct. - YLogs Praise for the Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire duology: Steeped in illusion and grounded in an alternative history of the Luddite Rebellion, Duncan s strong supernatural mystery serves ably as both a standalone adventure and the start to a series Strategically placed steampunk tropes inform but do not overwhelm Elizabeth s headlong quest to find a missing aristocrat sought by the Patent Office, which is fixated on both achieving perfection and eliminating unseemly science. A hazardous border crossing into the permissively corrupt Kingdom of England and Southern Wales provides ample excitement, and a glossary at the novel s conclusion hints enticingly at a much more involved story to come. Publishers Weekly It s all steampunk and circus wonder as we follow the adventures of Elizabeth Barnabas.The double crosses along the way keep the plot tight and fun, and the conclusion sets us up nicely for book two. The Washington Post, Best New Science Fiction and Steampunk A detective story with a difference Chapters begin with quotes from the legendary Bullet-Catcher s Handbook, phrases that introduce not only the idea of illusion that pervades the novel, but also the author s sly humour. [Duncan's misdirection is]subtly and well done, all the way through the book, right to a neat little twist at the end, a play on the title that had me nodding in approval.Each [character] is vividly portrayed, lively enough to feel like the heroes of their own stories, all with distinctive voices; it s always a good sign when you find yourself reading dialogue out loud, rolling your lips and tongue around the words. Rod Duncan s talent has combined inventive plot and characterisation to create a smart, amusing and fascinating tale that had me reading long into the night. Fantasy Faction Rod Duncan s The Bullet Catcher s Daughter is a magic box pulsating with energy. Compulsive reading from the get-go, the blend of steampunk alternate history wrapped in the enigma of a chase makes for first-rate entertainment in this finely crafted novel. Graham Joyce, author of Year of the Ladybird