The Nightshade Cabal: Victorian Gaslamp with a Technomancer Twist
Chris Patrick Carolan
Feb 2020 · The Parliament House
2.0star
1 reviewreport
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289
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About this ebook
Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files meets Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan in this original Gaslamp fantasy-mystery debut, The Nightshade Cabal, a Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence Finalist.
hr “When technomancer Isaac Barrow is set in search of a young spellcaster, he unknowingly entwines himself into the machinations of a diabolical plot. Chris Patrick Carolan creates a world where the marriage of technology and magic yields fantastic machines, but also horrid aberrations to nature.”
- Verified Reviewer hr All Isaac Barrow wants is to be left alone to pursue his supernatural research and tinker with his inventions. But when you’re the only technomancer openly practicing the craft in 1880s Halifax, trouble has a way of finding you.
When a routine mechanical service call reveals the grisly handiwork of the Nightshade Cabal—an underground cult of necromancers—Barrow finds himself in a race against time to put a stop to the Cabal’s depredations before they can kill anyone else and turn them into... office machinery?
Then there’s the mystery of Emily Skye, a missing teenager with strange abilities of her own. Believing her disappearance to be connected to the Nightshade Cabal, Barrow agrees to help track down the missing girl. But even if he can find her, will Miss Skye aid him in his struggle against the Cabal? Or might she turn out to be the deadliest threat of all?
hr “When technomancer Isaac Barrow is set in search of a young spellcaster, he unknowingly entwines himself into the machinations of a diabolical plot. Chris Patrick Carolan creates a world where the marriage of technology and magic yields fantastic machines, but also horrid aberrations to nature.”
- Verified Reviewer hr All Isaac Barrow wants is to be left alone to pursue his supernatural research and tinker with his inventions. But when you’re the only technomancer openly practicing the craft in 1880s Halifax, trouble has a way of finding you.
When a routine mechanical service call reveals the grisly handiwork of the Nightshade Cabal—an underground cult of necromancers—Barrow finds himself in a race against time to put a stop to the Cabal’s depredations before they can kill anyone else and turn them into... office machinery?
Then there’s the mystery of Emily Skye, a missing teenager with strange abilities of her own. Believing her disappearance to be connected to the Nightshade Cabal, Barrow agrees to help track down the missing girl. But even if he can find her, will Miss Skye aid him in his struggle against the Cabal? Or might she turn out to be the deadliest threat of all?
Ratings and reviews
2.0
1 review
RedBlitzenwood
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December 8, 2023
After reading the free sample I'm sad to say that this book didn't click for me. While individual scenes work well enough they don't seem to fit together. It feels a bit like the parts of one of the main character's machines were laid out neatly next to each other and sold as a single unit without anyone connecting them. It's a bit like a one person play with someone entering the scene for our mc to monologue to before walking out again. Maybe I'm getting too hung up on this. There's more I could say. For example, the idea certainly seems ambitious, but that was my main problem with the sample and why I won't be continuing.
About the author
Chris Patrick Carolan is an author, editor, and hovercraft enthusiast, originally from Glasgow but now based in Calgary, Alberta. He writes steampunk, fantasy (urban and epic), and science fiction, though he has also been known to turn to crime to make ends meet. Crime fiction, that is. His short stories have appeared in various award-nominated anthologies, and his first novel, THE NIGHTSHADE CABAL, was published by Parliament House Press in 2020. He can be found on Twitter as @cpcwrites but consider this fair warning... it’s mostly wisecracks about McNuggets and Simpsons memes.
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