Steampunk, like Hansel, is so hot right now, and that’s a good thing because here at LHP we’ve got a soft spot for period pieces and settings like that. We also think we’re on the cusp of a new Renaissance in the genre of space opera. Let’s face it: when the SyFy channel has a bunch of new shows that fit nicely into the mold, and they’re all pretty good (or at least, look good from what we’ve seen in previews), you know that readers will once again start turning their minds toward the stars, and the ships that ply the lanes between them.
Local Hero Press is pleased to announce a new book release coming late next month: The Oilman’s Daughter, by Allison M. Dickson and Ian Thomas Healy. It’s an epic adventure mixing up the genres of steampunk and space opera in a fun and exciting way. Imagine a world where atomic power exists side by side with steam, but nobody ever developed the refinement process to turn crude oil into gasoline. In this world, steam-powered spaceships cruise around Earth orbit, fueled by coke-powered furnaces, while an atomic powered train runs along orbital rails between Houston, Texas and Paris, France. Young businessman Jonathan Orbital, heir to the fortune of the family who built the Circumferential Rail, meets a mysterious Frenchwoman who possesses a secret that could change the scope of the world’s economy nearly overnight. When she is kidnapped by the dashing space pirate Phinneas Greaves, captain of the cutter Ethershark, it launches a high-powered adventure ranging from the lava caves of the Moon to Nikola Tesla’s distant Lagrange Sargasso to the Dustbowl of the Midwest.
The Oilman’s Daughter releases September 29, 2015. Preorders will be available soon!
Concept character art by cover artist Chaz Kemp:
