The Strange Affair Of Spring-Heeled Jack AND SEQUEL(S) by Mark Hodder

[Mr Peter Harrow, Esq]

"It is 1861, and Albertian Britain is in the grip of conflicting forces.

Engineers transform the landscape with bigger, faster noisier and dirtier technological wonders; Eugenicists develop specialist animals to provide unpaid labour; Libertines oppose restrictive and unjust laws and flood the country with propaganda demanding a society based on beauty and creativity; while The Rakes push the boundaries of human behaviour to the limits with magic, sexuality, drugs and anarchy.

Returning from his failed expedition to find the source of the Nile, explorer, linguist, scholar and swordsman Sir Richard Francis Burton finds himself sucked into the perilous depths of this moral and ethical vacuum when the Prime Minister, Lord Pamerston employs him as "King's Spy" His first mission: toinvestigate the sexual assaults committed by a weird apparition known as Spring-Heeled Jack; to find out why chimney sweep are being kidnapped by half-man, half-dog creatures; and to discover the wherabouts of his badly injured former friend, John Hanning Speke."

A glorious read! Well constructed all tge disparate strands come together at the end in a satisfyingly plotted conclusion. To say any more would be a spoiler but messenger parakeets! Genius.

I strongly recommend this first novel by Mr Hodder. Published by Snow Books ISBN 978-1-906727-20-8

[Slackratchet]

That sounds wonderful. I'm reading Freedomland right now but I'll add that to my To Do list. Thanks!

[Mr Peter Harrow, Esq]

Mr Hodder uses a lot of real Victorians as characters with a sublime twist. In an afterword there is a short note on each to show where they vary from their 'real' world counterparts, so it is educational.

The above post is the blurb from the rear cover, which it exceeds in expectations.

[pakled]

And all this time I thought it was a Smiths song....

[Mr Peter Harrow, Esq]

And all this time I thought it was a Smiths song....

Not depressing enough.

[Capt. Dirigible]

Bought this on Mr Harrow's recommendation last Tuesday (thank you for bringing it to our attention, Sir)and finished it last night. I absolutely LOVED it!! Just brilliant! I look forward with great anticipation to any further adventures of 'Burton & Swinbourne' by Mark Hodder.

[Mr Peter Harrow, Esq]

It is the joy that a true and accurate historical piece has morphed into an almost Lewis Carroll like world due to the actions of an unfortunate time traveller.

The time travel element is as well plotted as anything by Heinlein such as "by his bootstraps", "Door into Summer", or "All You Zombies", with the plotting not disrupting but enhancing the narrative. In my view a better representative of the genre than The Difference Engine. This is the book to recommend as to what steampunk is or should be. There is a joy in it on both the part of the writer and the reader, as it is both factual and counterfactual.
Bugger an airship, I want a rotor chair! Long live King Albert!

I will use my professional contacts to see when the sequel may be expected.

 

[ladyelsie]

Sound a very good read. Peter, by using your connections could Mr Hodder be persueded to visit the Asylum. Just a thought.
L.E.

[Mr Peter Harrow, Esq]

The problem is that Mr Hodder currently lives in mainland Europe, which would make it expensivefor him to attend. His publisher is the independent Snow Books who also publish George Mann and I have no connections with them unfortunately, they have never attended the small press jamborees such as Altfiction, Eastercon, or Fantasycon. For an small imprint they appear to have a disproportionate (or is that proportionate) number of new steampunk authors.

I will Pm you with some thoughts.

[Capt. Dirigible]

bugger an airship, I want a rotor chair!

They sound so cool, don't they!

I don't know if this is the American pressing but I think it's a better cover than the one available

[Mr Peter Harrow, Esq]

And don't forget the giant mutants Swans created by the Eugenicists!, although the messenger parakeets are the most fun!

[Mark Hodder]

Hi chaps and chapesses

My sincere thanks for your words of praise! THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF SPRING HEELED JACK was a blast to write and I'm delighted that it's being received so well. The US edition by PYR is due out in September. Also in September, the sequel will be published by SNOWBOOKS in the UK. I believe it'll appear in the US in Sept 2011. It's entitled THE CLOCKWORK MAN OF TRAFALGAR SQUARE and looks at the alt. history version of the famous Tichborne case (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tichborne_Claimant). I'm currently working on the final couple of chapters. The third volume of the initial trilogy will be EXPEDITION TO THE MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON. (The fabled mountains of central Africa, rather than anything on the actual moon!).

If the B&S books prove popular, I'll definitely write more ... but I hope to work on a different project, too. My lips are sealed, except to say there will definitely be steampunkery involved.

In terms of me visiting the Asylum, yes, you're right -- I live in Spain, so the cost would be prohibitive for a fledgling author. I'm happy to engage in discussions/interviews via forums or email though.

Again, my thanks for your warm response to my debut.

Keep your flywheels oiled and your furnace burning!

Mark Hodder

[Mr Peter Harrow, Esq]

Thank you Sir, both for the book and on contributing to this forum.

The news of sequels and other projects is gratefully received, and whilst you are ensconced in Spain, please keep an eye on the Geographical Section of the forum for The Child Boards for both the UK and Europe, you would be welcome to any events which conveniently match up with your itinery.

Are you aware Sir of the work of Dr David Clarke of the Sheffield Hallam University? He co-authored an excellent treatise on Jack (as Sheffield has its own version with the Cholera monument.), and gave an excellent lecture on the subject at the National Science Fiction Convention (Eastercon) in Bradford last year at my behest. He is currently researching the recorded history of encounters between the Royal Navy and Sea Monsters, right up you street! Dr Clarke, like myself is an expert on the Freedom of Information Act.

As I am a lawyer I am somewhat familiar with part of the Tichbourne Claimant story, so I await a sequel with bated breath. I did like the fact that at the end you untangled your history from the accepted version of history. It mean't after finishing the book it had not only been a good read, but felt also that it it had been an 'improving' book.

[darkshines]

Mr C is reading this at the moment, he adored it but told me not to read it. I get upset over things like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen that take existing texts I know and love and TWIST them (possibly why I dislike Burton's Wonderland so much). I am very, VERY familiar with Spring Heeled Jack from a fortean stance, perhaps he sees the use of something I am familar with as a red rag to a bull? I would love to read the text and give my own opinion!

PS I have no problem with people using existing characters if they are used with ACCURACY, but changing the original authors work REALLY upsets me. Like when people make Mr Hyde huge and human, um no, when Jeckyll turned into Hyde he gradually got smaller and ape-like (a possible observation on the theories of degeneration in the fin de siecle). If they kept the characters as they were written just added MORE narrative (the horrendous acts Hyde got up to, what the tincture was made from, etc) instead of changing huge swathes as if they had never read the source text, then I find that tolerable.

All that aside, I look forward to reading this book!

[Mr Peter Harrow, Esq]

I will try to refrain from spoilers, but a considerable amount of research has gone into the story so it does not play fast and loose with the established historical narrative, except where this is deliberate and part of the plot. I too deplore lazy adaption you always compare to the original source material and the comparison is often not conplimentary. What Mr Hodder has done is deliberately create his own narrative based upon historical fact and extrapolation. His characters are historical personages, set in an alternate World, not literary creations, which is different to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen which is a metafiction.

[darkshines]

Oh fantastic! It does sound good, I shall have to steal Mr C's copy......

[Mr Peter Harrow, Esq]

Mr Hodder's take on steampunk 'supervillains' is .... Refreshing, not a Moriarty clone in sight.

[Capt. Dirigible]

Mr Hodder, Sir. A pleasure to have you with us. I haven't enjoyed a book as much as I did SAoSHJ in a long time. The alternative history you created was truly wonderful. Having familiarised myself with the Tichborne case I look forward with anticipation to The Clockwork Man of Trafalger Square.

[Mr Peter Harrow, Esq]

Indeed Captain, the temptation is to read up on the 'real' history once reading SHJ, I can recommend D Clarkes treatise.

Darkshines,  our principle protagonist is Sir Richard Francis Burton, who was accredited an expert mesmerist, a skill he deploys in SHJ, so this falls in with your area of expertise. Mr Hodder, you might want to consult with Miss Darkshines on Victorian mesmerism, if memory serves me correctly Miss Darkshines is undertaking postgraduate work in this very area.

This is the joy of Brass Goggles, it opens up all sorts of peculiar but wonderful connections to explore. We are an eclectic lot.

[darkshines]

Excellant! Yes, I wrote my Masters dissertation on it, and I'm currently in the process of applying to study a Master of Science in Occult Science and Parapsychology

I can't wait for Mr C to lend me this book now, haha!

[Capt. Dirigible]

Indeed Captain, the temptation is to read up on the 'real' history once reading SHJ

I loaned my copy to Rockula yesterday saying "you have to read this!". I advised him to spend a few minutes reading the Wikipedia entry  on SHJ before starting it to familiarise himself with the 'facts' as it were and it will only enhance his enjoyment of the book and he'll appreciate  the story even more.

[Mr Peter Harrow, Esq]

Anyone else read this yet? Feedback would be appreciated.

[Pratchett]

I am currently about halfway through this book and I must say that it has been a sublime read so far. As a fan of the tales of a certain Mr. Sherlock Holmes I am ever vigilant for Victorian-era detective novels and this does not disappoint. Mr. Hodder's writing style is refreshingly vintage and I really think he has captured the stylings of the time in a modern frame.

If Mr. Hodder comes round this way agan I hope he is not insulted by the Sherlock Holmes reference, as I meant it with a love of his characters. I await the remaining books of this trilogy with baited breath and look forward to his future projects.

I wonder if he has a website? I looked but could not find.

To Capt. Dirigible I would say that I prefer the UK (Euro?) cover of the book

[Rockula]

Half way through. Enjoying enormously. Will be buying my own copy for my library and will advance order the sequel.

I must say though, part of my enjoyment has been because of vague similarities with my other favourite books, the Pax Britannia 'Ulysses Quicksilver' series, although they are perhaps in a more 'pulp' style than Mr. Hodder's.

[Mark Hodder]

What ho!

Yes, I'm still lurking! I pop into the forum on a weekly basis (if writing duties allow it) to catch up on the various steam-driven shenanigans. It's one of my favourite online destinations!

Am I insulted by the Sherlock Holmes reference? You've gotta be kidding! Of course not! I'm a huge Holmes fan, not least because my great-grandfather counted Sir Arthur Conan Doyle among his friends. The Holmes stories are most definitely a big influence, but I should draw your attention to Sexton Blake, too, as this other Baker Street Detective played a major role in my decision to start writing. My website — www.sextonblake.co.uk — is a celebration of all things Blake. I've posted some of my own Sexton Blake stories on it, including Sexton Blake versus Fu Manchu. Unfortunately, my current B&S projects mean the site hasn't been updated for ages, but there's still plenty there to see.

With regards to the Pax Britannia comparison, I've never read those books. Which is the first in the series? I might order it from Amazon.

Book two of the Burton & Swinburne trilogy is almost finished. I'm currently working on the final couple of chapters. In fact, I should get on with it ... ...

Pip pip!