Dennis O'Flaherty

In 1877, an America threatened by a Russia that controls everything west of the Mississippi and led by Secretary Ed Stanton is on the verge of a meltdown. The aftermath of the Civil War has led to a police state, where citizens spy on one another and where an elite class rules with an iron fist.

In this world, Liam McCool, safecracker and leader of a New York gang, is trying to clear himself by spying on a coal miners' terrorist group. When his lover Is killed, he vows to find her murderer, but this may lead him farther afield than he ever expected.

Dennis O'Flaherty lends his years of experience writing films and television to create a nice mix of To Catch a Thief and Little Big Man with steampunk trimmings. And by steampunk, I don't just mean dirigibles and automatons, although they're there. The key to good steampunk is in the punk - that rebellious, fight the man attitude that this sort of book should have. This one really reminded me of the classics like Tim Powers' The Anubis Gates. Recommended!… (more)