Description: Myth! Intrigue! Dirigibles! Literacy! This action-packed anthology that benefits public libraries is filled with pairs of steampunk and alternate history stories set twelve hours apart. Read the first story and see what happens Twelve Hours Later.
Review Quotes:
Twelve Hours Later contains a fantastic collection of twelve paired short stories for a total of 24, with steampunk themes that involve time travel, Japanese myth, demons, magic, mysterious antiquities, and more. They take place in exotic locations such as London, Japan, Greece and Egypt. Each paired story is set twelve hours apart. The authors have all done an excellent job of creating intriguing characters that sparked my interest. I enjoyed following the heroes and heroines as they set out to find answers to mysteries and challenges with which they are faced.
One of my favorites, written by Anthony Francis, is about a young lady named Jeremiah. Yes, that is correct, she has a man's name. Jeremiah is a cadet who gets handed some pretty heavy challenges which include defeating a mechanical werewolf and having to travel through time. I was happy to discover that I will get to see Jeremiah again in upcoming books in this series and that she even has her own novel.
I found myself getting hooked on many of these tales, and wishing they were longer. Fortunately, there is a section in the back of the book, that provides information about the contributing authors and their other books. It is the first book in The Later Series. Thirty Days Later: Steaming Forward: 30 Adventures in Time follows and then Some Time Later is the third in the series. Having now read two, I cannot wait to get my hands on the third.
I have never been a big fan of the Victorian era. Too me, it represents a time when women were expected to be well behaved, have few rights, and dress in clothing that was heavy and uncomfortable. Plus, they didn't have modern conveniences like we do today, especially regarding technology. Steampunk fiction totally blows my complaints about this time period out of the water, because many stories feature women who are investigators or explorers, and they have access to interesting mechanical devices. I am totally hooked on this kind of alternative history. I think my love for the writings of Jules Verne got me started.
Twelve Hours Later filled my cravings for some steampunk stories and helped me find some new writers who, I am confident, are destined to become my favorites. Twelve Hours Later is a must read for fans of steampunk fiction.
Paige Lovitt for Reader Views