This new steampunk adventure is a race around the world. Tim Barnabas is a submariner from the Cuttlefish, a coal fired submarine. Clara Calland is the daughter of a scientist who carries a secret formula that threatens British Imperial power. After a daring chase across the globe, they have brought the secret to Westralia. Here, much of Australia is simply too hot to be habitable by day. People are nocturnal, living underground and working outside at night. To cross the deserts they use burrowing machines know as "steam moles." With the Cuttlefish out of action, her crew takes jobs on these submarine-like craft. Duke Malcolm, of the Imperial Security Service, transports Clara's rebel-father to a prison in Eastern Australia, hoping to bait her into attempting a rescue. Clara looks to Tim for help, only to find he has fled a racist incident into the desert. She takes a steam mole in search of him. The two head to Eastern Australia, where they discover an invading force with plans to take Westralia. Forced to survive in the desert, they encounter the intolerance meted out to the aboriginal people. Can they save Westralia from falling under British rule? And should they?" From the Hardcover edition.
1 of 1 copy available
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
December 11, 2021 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781616146931
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781616146931
- File size: 735 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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October 15, 2012
In 1953, on an alternate Earth still powered by steam, high-level political intrigue and racism in the Outback threaten Clara Calland and her family. Clara and her scientist mother fled Duke Malcolm, brother to the king of the British-German Empire, with the secret to manufacturing ammonia. His men chased them to the wild desert of Westralia, the one place the Empire didn't care to own. Their steam-sub Cuttlefish needs repairs, and that will cost her crew money. While they hire themselves out to various railroad companies, Clara and her mother try to convince the Westralian government to purchase their secret...but Clara's mother falls ill. Clara seeks the help of her beau, Tim, of the Cuttlefish's crew, in deciding what to do about her mother and perhaps finding her father in jail in Eastern Australia. Duke Malcolm has plans for the secret of ammonia synthesis and the rich mines of Westralia; Clara and her family are in his sights. Adult author Freer's second for a younger audience is set in a sharply imagined alternate world, but readers will need to either be familiar with the first or read the extensive backmatter to keep their heads above the desert sands. Action sags in the middle as the various characters, split by circumstance, reconnect. Diverting, if not riveting fare for fans. (Steampunk. 11-15)COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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July 1, 2013
In an alternate London with a domineering government, Clara meets Tim, a member of a rebel group. Tim takes work on the Cuttlefish--a smuggling submarine that eventually carries Clara and her scientist mother to safer Westralia. But the British Imperial power becomes a threat there, too. Extended descriptions and bland characters impede the narrative pace of these first installments.(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
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