Clash of Empires (37 page)

Authors: Brian Falkner

“A true magician will never say,” Cosette says.

“Let us just say that we had a little help from my father, and an old friend,” Willem says.

Frost loses his smile. “How is Sofie?”

“She mourns her son,” Willem says. “As many mothers have mourned many sons over the many months of this war. But she has great spirit, and she is enjoying London.”

“What of HÃ©loÃ¯se?” Frost asks. “I heard you had sent people to look for her.”

Willem smiles.

“They did not find her,” he says. “But I did not need them to. I know where she is.”

“And where is that?” Frost asks.

“She is home,” he says.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Unlike
Battlesaurus: Rampage at Waterloo
, this book is pure fiction.
Rampage at Waterloo
was as historically accurate as I could make it, right up to the actual Battle of Waterloo. However, this alternative history diverged significantly from real history at that point.

Even so, I have again tried to accurately portray the times and locations: the forts in Ireland and France, the streets of London, and the peculiar and terrifying world that was the Bedlam Lunatic Asylum.

I again owe a great debt to some excellent books:

Bedlam: London and Its Mad
, by Catharine Arnold

Ten Days in a Mad-House
, by Nellie Bly

The Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon
, by Gunther E. Rothenberg

Many of the characters in this story are real historical figures. I have tried to depict them as accurately as possible in this alternative version of our history. My apologies for any inaccuracies.

Some of the fictional characters are named after real people. These are the grand-prize winners of my school competitions. Congratulations to:

â¢Â Â Â Â Ethan Arbuckle

â¢Â Â Â Â Hunter Frost

â¢Â Â Â Â Joe Hoyes

â¢Â Â Â Â Sam Roberts

â¢Â Â Â Â Jack Sullivan

â¢Â Â Â Â Dylan Townshend

â¢Â Â Â Â Harry Wacker

â¢Â Â Â Â Dylan Wenzel-Halls

â¢Â Â Â Â Ben Wood

â¢Â Â Â Â Lewis Wood

And a special thanks to:

Sofie Thielemans, Somerset College, Gold Coast, Australia

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brian Falkner
was born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, and now lives in Australia. He is the award-winning, best-selling author of several action-adventure novels, including the Recon Team Angel series and
Brainjack
. You can sign up for email updates
here
.

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CONTENTS

Title Page

Dedication

Prologue

ChÃ¢teau de Brest, France

A Proud and Lucky Ship

An Unexpected Visitor

Book Two: The Mission

The Siege of Fort Carlisle

Life and Death in a Meat Cart

The Wizard of Gaillemarde

Tricornes

By the River

Riding to Calais

In the Name of the Devil

Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers

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First hardcover edition, 2016

eBook edition, July 2016

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The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Falkner, Brian, author.

Title: Battlesaurus: clash of empires / Brian Falkner.

Description: First edition.|New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2016.|Series: Battlesaurus; 2

Identifiers: LCCN 2015047553|ISBN 9780374300777 (hardback)

Classification: LCC PZ7.F1947 Bap 2016|DDC [Fic]âdc23

LC record available at
https://lccn.loc.gov/2015047553

eISBN 9780374300791