Jeffrey Cook
Author of Steampunk
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Author Jeffrey Cook lives in Maple Valley, Washington,
with his wife and three large dogs. He was born in Boulder, Colorado, but has
lived all over the United States. He's contributed to a number of role-playing
game books for Deep7 Press out of Seattle, Washington, but the Dawn of Steam
series are his first novels. When not reading, researching or writing, Jeffrey
enjoys role-playing games and watching football.
Dawn of Steam: First Light
This is the first book in the Dawn of Steam
Series
In 1815, in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, two of
England's wealthiest lords place a high-stakes wager on
whether a popular set of books, which claim that the
author has traveled to many unknown corners of the
globe, are truth or, more likely, wild fiction. First Light is
an epistolary novel, told primarily through the eyes of former aide-de-camp
Gregory Conan Watts, describing the journeys of the airship Dame Fortuna and its
crew
through
journals
and
letters
to
his
beloved
fiancee.
The first recruit is, necessarily, the airship's owner: war hero, famed genius, and
literal knight in steam-powered armor Sir James Coltrane. Persuading him to lend
his talents and refitted airship to the venture requires bringing along his sister, his
cousin, and the crew that flew with him during the Napoleonic Wars. Only with
their aid can they track down a Scottish rifleman, a pair of shady carnies, and a
guide with a strong personal investment in the stories.
When they set out, the wild places of the world, including the far American West,
the Australian interior, darkest Africa, and other destinations are thought to be
hostile enough. No one expects the trip to involve a legendary storm – or the Year
Without a Summer of 1815-1816. The voyage is further complicated by the
human element. Some parties are not at all happy with the post-war political
map. Most problematic of all, the crew hired by the other side of the wager seem
willing to win by any means necessary.