Can Emelia and her band of plucky outcasts save the world from a cult of fanatics intent on unleashing an ancient horror?
The Beckoning Void
by Patrick LeClerc
Genre: Gaslamp Adventure Horror
Emelia DuMond is an actress, her skill at adopting and changing her identity lifting her from her humble beginnings to success on the stage of Victorian London. And to the attention of the Ghost Society, a secret organization who work to defend the world from threats of the paranormal. After centuries of seeking, the sinister Disciples of the Void have obtained an arcane book of great power. A power that could tear the veil between dimensions and plunge the world into a dark, unspeakable future.
Now she has recruited an aging soldier of fortune burdened by a conscience, the sword wielding daughter of an Afghan brigand and an airship whose captain escaped slavery during the Civil War by stealing a Confederate vessel.
Can Emelia and her band of plucky outcasts save the world from a cult of fanatics intent on unleashing an ancient horror?
“The Beckoning Void” is a tale of cunning plots, flashing swords, skillful piloting, witty repartee and eldritch dread.
** Recently made it into the semi finals of the 2023 Book Blogger Novel of the Year Award! Details can be found at https://www.bbnya.com/ OR on Twitter at @BBNYA_Official **
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Patrick LeClerc makes good use of his history degree by working as a paramedic for an ever- changing parade of ambulance companies in the Northern suburbs of Boston. When not writing he enjoys cooking, fencing and making witty, insightful remarks with career-limiting candor.
In the lulls between runs on the ambulance --and sometimes the lulls between employment at various ambulance companies-- he writes fiction.
His work can be found at inkandbourbon.com, and quantummuse.com
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Why Did I choose an Alternative Victorian Era for “The Beckoning Void?”
Mostly because it’s a mashup of all my favorite things. History and sword fighting and adventure stories and old Hollywood banter all rolled into one. With airships.
The Victorian Era is great story fodder. You have
enormous technological and societal changes going on, and that's really where
Science Fiction as we know it today was invented. Look at Mary Shelley's
“Frankenstein” (which is probably technically Georgian, not Victorian, but on
the cusp) and Edgar Allen Poe and Jules Verne and H G Wells. This is where
authors started looking at technology and asking, “What if?” which is the basis
of all science fiction.
Plus, you can still combine all that tech with swashbuckling swordfights.
In addition to the
science fiction possibilities, I wanted a
diverse, eclectic cast, and that fits the era better than people think.
Emelia was raised in poverty, but had a talent for immitation that allowed her
to find success on the stage, reinventing herslef as an actress and then a
spy. The colonialism of the age creates
the perfect circumstances for a character like Alyah. Mixed race,
Afghan-English, raised by a father who taught her swordplay and riding who
doesn't really fit into either world, so she finds her own way. The realities
of the Famine and the new mobility . Connolly and Count Roderick are both
products of the Wild Geese, Irish exiles turned soldiers in foreign armies,
albeit with varied success. Captain Little is a great character. Escaped slave
turned airship captain.
I drew inspiration for all of these characters from historical examples. None
are exact analogues, but they certainly all have precedents.
One thing they all have in common, regardless of which side they wind up on, is that they are all outsiders. Whether due to race or class or gender, each of them has to find their way in a world that doesn’t accept them. The social, political, and technological upheaval of the Nineteeth Century gave me a terrific canvas to work with.
Not to say this is a book primarily about social issues. At its heart, it’s an action adventure swashbuckler with a touch of horror. Think the plot of the 1999 version of “The Mummy” with the banter of “The Princess Bride” and a dash of social commentary. Plus, a bit of mad science and airships.
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