The Havoc Machine
PRAISE FOR THE
CLOCKWORK EMPIRE SERIES
The Dragon Men
“[
The Dragon Men
] continues to demonstrate its original premise and to showcase the inventive pair who strive to save a world.”
—
Library Journal
The Impossible Cube
“Action, adventure, dirigibles, and mad scientists, oh my! I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed
The Doomsday Vault
and looked forward to continuing the adventures of Alice and Gavin in
The Impossible Cube
. I wasn’t disappointed.”
—Night Owl Reviews
“The characters and their plight are so easy to become invested in, and I found myself rooting for them every step of the way. So I cannot recommend the books in the Clockwork Empire series, especially
The Impossible Cube,
any higher. Whether you are a fan of steampunk or not, these books promise to be an exhilarating roller-coaster ride from start to finish that you won’t want to miss!”
—A Book Obsession
“The Clockwork Empire books are changing what we know as steampunk!…An exuberant novel that takes the reader on an action-packed adventurous thrill ride.”
—Nocturne Romance Reads
“A fantastic amount of action…. If you are looking to jump into steampunk for the first time, I would recommend these books.”
—Paranormal Haven
“An exciting adventure thriller that starts off with action and never slows down.”
—Genre Go Round Reviews
The Doomsday Vault
“Inventive and fun.”
—Paranormal Haven
“Harper creates a fascinating world of devices, conspiracies, and personalities…. Filled with danger and narrow escapes, Alice and Gavin fight to survive and to find love in this steampunk coming-of-age story. Harper’s world building is well developed and offers an interesting combination of science and steam.”
—SFRevu
“You’ll have great fun exploring the Third Ward, and the author created such a rich and lavish world for his characters…. Twists and turns abound, and the author managed to lob some shockers at me that I’ll admit I didn’t see coming…. If you love your Victorian adventures filled with zombies, amazing automatons, steampunk flare, and an impeccable eye for detail, you’ll love the fascinating (and fantastical)
Doomsday Vault
.”
—My Bookish Ways
“
The Doomsday Vault
is a good way to start off a new series in a highly specialized genre. Its combination of science and fantasy and good versus evil work well…a clever and worthwhile take on the steampunk universe.”
—That’s What I’m Talking About
“A fun and thrilling fast-paced adventure full of engaging characters and plenty of surprises….I particularly enjoyed all the interesting and unexpected twists that kept popping up, just when I thought I had the story figured out.”
—SFF Chat
“The great thing about having all these awesome characters is that [they’re] all snuggled up against a really great plot, several intermingling subplots, and pretty dang great steampunk world building. And excellent writing…[
The Doomsday Vault
is] fun, funny, and a damn fine romp of a read.
So
much goodness packed into this book! Highly recommended.”
—Lurv a la Mode
“A goofy excursion in a style reminiscent of Foglios’s
Girl Genius
graphic series…a highly entertaining romp.”
—
Locus
“Paying homage to the likes of
Skybreaker
,
2D Goggles
, and
Girl Genius
,
The Doomsday Vault
is
awesome
. One of my favorite steampunk-zombie novels. Abso-freaking-lutely recommended.”
—The Book Smugglers
Books by Steven Harper
THE CLOCKWORK EMPIRE
The Doomsday Vault
The Impossible Cube
The Dragon Men
The Havoc Machine
THE
H
AVOC
MACHINE
A N
OVEL OF THE
C
LOCKWORK
E
MPIRE
STEVEN HARPER
ROC
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, USA
USA | Canada | UK | Ireland | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa | China
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
For more information about the Penguin Group visit penguin.com.
First published by Roc, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
First Printing, May 2013
Copyright © Steven Piziks, 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA
ISBN: 978-1-101-60198-3
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
If your family is wonderfully strange, oddly off-center, built from mixed parts, or simply created out of thin air, this book is dedicated to you.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Gratitude everlasting to the Untitled Writers Group (Christian, Cindy, David, Diana, Erica, Jonathan, Mary Beth, and Sarah) for reading many drafts in a great hurry. The same also to my tireless agent, Lucienne, and my sharp-eyed editor, Anne.
THE STORY SO FAR
W
e find ourselves rather chagrined.
Once that most amazing of volumes
The Dragon Men
went to press, we were quite positive there were no more stories to tell about the Clockwork Empire. Our entire staff prepared to go on holiday, content in the knowledge of a job well done. However, just as our dear secretary Mrs. Wentworth was shutting off the gas and picking up her hatbox, a package arrived that proved our assessment was…erroneous. Fallacious. False. It seems that an entirely new set of thrilling adventures was happening right under our very noses during that time when Gavin Ennock and Alice, Lady Michaels were dealing with a giant squid in the Caspian Sea. Therefore, with a breathless excitement and a certain delighted embarrassment, we bring forth
The Havoc Machine.
To our established readers, we offer a warm greeting and a joyful handshake at your return. If you feel quite comfortable with your memory of previous events, you are encouraged to thumb your way over to the first chapter, in which a beautiful woman makes one Thaddeus Sharpe a mysterious and intriguing offer. But if you need a refresher, or if the library in your cranial implant is still malfunctioning, you may find the following information of use.
To our new readers, we offer a hearty welcome. If you have not perused the previous astonishing volumes in
the Clockwork Empire (specifically
The Doomsday Vault, The Impossible Cube,
and
The Dragon Men
), fear not! This fourth volume provides the perfect entry portal. To be honest, readers hungry for adventure may skip over all the dry exposition that follows here and begin straightaway with chapter one (though we humbly point out that an even more fascinating method for acquainting oneself with the Clockwork Empire is to purchase copies of the three thrilling novels that make up the first part of the story, if one is so inclined, and we thank such readers for their kind patronage).
Finally, established readers may also note that Gavin and Alice, our protagonists from the first three books, seem to be entirely absent. We do hope that no one takes serious umbrage or fishes about for expired fruit to throw. Alice and Gavin’s story comes to a tidy, if suspenseful, close at the end of
The Dragon Men,
and it would hardly be fair to rake everything up again, though a tiny bit of paper clipped to the last page of this latest manuscript advises us that Alice and Gavin did not live out their final years in quiet desperation, so we may yet hear more of them. In any case, we daresay that our highly intelligent and discerning readers will find Thaddeus Sharpe and his strange companion Dante compelling in their own right. Additionally, Mr. Sharpe is quite handsome.