Cover Love #19

An alternate 1895... a world where Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace perfected the Difference engine. Where steam and tesla-powered computers are everywhere. Where automatons powered by human souls venture out into the sprawling London streets. Where the Ministry, a secretive government agency, seeks to control everything in the name of the Queen.

It is in this claustrophobic, paranoid city that seventeen-year-old Sebastian Tweed and his conman father struggle to eke out a living.

But all is not well...

A murderous, masked gang has moved into London, spreading terror through the criminal ranks as they take over the underworld. as the gang carves up more and more of the city, a single name comes to be uttered in fearful whispers.

Professor Moriarty.

When Tweed’s father is kidnapped by Moriarty, he is forced to team up with information broker Octavia Nightingale to track him down. But he soon realizes that his father’s disappearance is just a tiny piece of a political conspiracy that could destroy the British Empire and plunge the world into a horrific war.

What a cover, eh? Admittedly, it doesn't immediately scream "steampunk," but it does look like fun. As far as I can tell, the characters are period appropriate. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. I love that the girl looks ready for action. No pretty, cumbersome dresses for her! I don't know what's going on with the glowing cube thing on the right, but the image of London in the background is a nice touch.

Of course, I'm dancing around my favorite part of the cover - the gas masks up top. Thanks to Doctor Who, I have a not-so-secret terror of people in gas masks, so their inclusion on this cover made me gasp. So creepy!

Lastly, what a series name, eh? Tweed and Nightingale. J'adore.

What cover are you loving this fine Thursday?