The Qwillery is delighted to share an excerpt from Romulus Buckle and the Engines of War by Richard Ellis Preston, Jr., which is published today. Please join us in wishing Richard a very Happy Publication Day.
Romulus Buckle and the Engines of War
(Book 2 in The Chronicles of the Pneumatic Zeppelin series)
By Richard Ellis Preston, Jr.
EXCERPT
“The kraken descended, its huge wings beating, a flesh-and-blood nightmare shedding the unreality of myth, an alien beastie so ravenous that no aviator unfortunate enough to face one had ever come home alive. The fables described the kraken as a hunter of human sweetmeats, devouring entire crews in mere minutes, a pitiless crusher of airships.
For an instant, all Buckle could do was stare. The kraken resembled a giant squid, reddish yellow in color, though the head was almost blue, nestled amidst countless muscle-bound tentacles, the tubular body long and sheathed in an armored carapace, crowned with a horn-lined frill—a triceratopian head. The four sweeping wings, bat-like with their translucent, veined flesh and protuberance of the skeletal structure beneath, beat slowly but powerfully, each one casting massive vortexes in the snowstorm, each one as big as the Arabella itself. Blue-white arcs of electricity crackled back and forth across the kraken’s skin.
And the eyes—the beasties always had such terrible, glowing eyes. The kraken had seven of them—one huge, multi-chambered orb in the center of the head and three smaller eyes aligned on each side. They were hypnotic, drenched with malevolence, and frightful in their intelligence.
It had to be killed and killed quickly. And all Romulus Buckle had in his hand as he hurled aside his safety line—a deadly hindrance now—and scrambled amidships with a heart firing like artillery … well, all he had was a blunt axe.
It would have to do.”
For an instant, all Buckle could do was stare. The kraken resembled a giant squid, reddish yellow in color, though the head was almost blue, nestled amidst countless muscle-bound tentacles, the tubular body long and sheathed in an armored carapace, crowned with a horn-lined frill—a triceratopian head. The four sweeping wings, bat-like with their translucent, veined flesh and protuberance of the skeletal structure beneath, beat slowly but powerfully, each one casting massive vortexes in the snowstorm, each one as big as the Arabella itself. Blue-white arcs of electricity crackled back and forth across the kraken’s skin.
And the eyes—the beasties always had such terrible, glowing eyes. The kraken had seven of them—one huge, multi-chambered orb in the center of the head and three smaller eyes aligned on each side. They were hypnotic, drenched with malevolence, and frightful in their intelligence.
It had to be killed and killed quickly. And all Romulus Buckle had in his hand as he hurled aside his safety line—a deadly hindrance now—and scrambled amidships with a heart firing like artillery … well, all he had was a blunt axe.
It would have to do.”
The Chronicles of the Pneumatic Zeppelin
Romulus Buckle and the Engines of War
The Chronicles of the Pneumatic Zeppelin 2
47 North, November 19, 2013
Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook, 486 pages
The swashbuckling steampunk adventure continues …
As the Snow World teeters on the brink of war, Captain Romulus Buckle is desperate to solve the mysteries which haunt him, mysteries which hold the key to his survival and the survival of the Crankshaft clan. Buckle journeys into the treacherous Tehachapi Mountains to discover the true identity of a crashed enemy zeppelin, a wreck brimming with skeletons and secrets. Trapped by a bloodfreezer storm, Buckle is surrounded by hordes of alien sabertooth tigers. And when his beautiful half-Martian lieutenant, Max, comes to his rescue and is horribly injured, both end up fighting for their lives. But this is just the beginning of the battles against the elements and the alien beasties.
Arriving at the Crankshaft stronghold at the Devil’s Punchbowl, Buckle joins his father, Balthazar, in a meeting of wary clan ambassadors. Whispering spies have revealed that the powerful but resource-strapped Founders clan is readying for a war of conquest and enslavement and every other clan in the known world is at terrible risk. With assassins and saboteurs lurking in the shadows, Buckle and his crew are forced to team up with former enemies. In a race against time, the crew of the Pneumatic Zeppelin must secure the grand alliance before the Founders invaders can mobilize.
More secrets rise to the surface, carried by moonchildren and half-melted robots. And for Romulus Buckle, the search for his lost sister Elizabeth is verging on obsession.
Romulus Buckle and the City of the Founders
The Chronicles of the Pneumatic Zeppelin 1
47North, July 2, 2013
Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook, 456 pages
In a post-apocalyptic world of endless snow, Captain Romulus Buckle and the stalwart crew of the Pneumatic Zeppelin must embark on a perilous mission to rescue their kidnapped leader, Balthazar Crankshaft, from the impenetrable City of the Founders. Steaming over a territory once known as Southern California – before it was devastated in the alien war – Buckle navigates his massive airship through skies infested with enemy war zeppelins and ravenous alien beasties in this swashbuckling and high-octane steampunk adventure. Life is desperate in the Snow World – and death is quick – Buckle and his ship’s company must brave poisoned wastelands of noxious mustard and do battle with forgewalkers, steampipers and armored locomotives as they plunge from the skies into the underground prison warrens of the fortress-city.
Captain Romulus Buckle must lead the Pneumatic Zeppelin and its crew of never-do-wells on a desperate mission where he must risk everything to save Balthazar and attempt to prevent a catastrophic war which could wipe out all that is left of civilization and the entire human race.
Read Trinitwo's View of Romulus Buckle and the City of the Founders here.
Read a recent Guest Blog by Richard - The Art of Genealogy in World Building - here.
The beautiful covers for the Romulus Buckle novels are by Eamon O’Donoghue.
About Richard
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sounds like a great book. Can't wait to read it. thanks for the review and excerpt.
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt! I can't wait to read it. :) Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI love this type of book. I hope to read it soon.
ReplyDeletedebby236 at gmail dot com
Congrats Richard on the release of the newest Romulus Buckle book. I loved the first book, Romulus Buckle and the City of the Founders. I can't wait to read this one.
ReplyDeleteWould love to read this book
ReplyDeleteWow..
ReplyDeleteGreat giveaway / contest.
I hope I can have similar giveaway like this too.
Hope everyone enjoy it. Good luck.
Sounds different
ReplyDelete