Secrets of the Fire Sea - Softcover

Hunt, Stephen

3.86

807 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0765366118 ISBN 13: 9780765366115

Publisher: Tor Fantasy, 2013

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The isolated island of Jago is the only home Hannah Conquest has ever known. But her carefree existence comes to an abrupt halt when her guardian, Archbishop Alice Grey, is brutally murdered. Someone desperately wants to suppress a secret kept by the archbishop, and if the attempts on Hannah's own life are any indication, the killer believes that Alice passed the knowledge to her ward before her head was separated from her neck.

Meanwhile, a deadly power struggle is brewing on Jago. And as Hannah digs deeper into the mystery Alice left behind, assisted by two rather different detectives, she must race to unravel a chain of ancient riddles in order to save not just her own life, but her island home itself!

Secrets of the Fire Sea is a rollicking tale of high adventure and derring-do set in Stephen Hunt's Victorian-style clockwork world filled with steammen and aliens, fantastical creatures and dastardly villains...and some remarkable heroes that steampunk fans will cheer for.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

"Mind-boggling invention ... explosive."--"Kirkus Reviews""" "Steampunk and horror fans will enjoy the omnipresent sense of danger and horror in Hunt's ... latest adventure."--"Library Journal""" Praise for "The Rise of the Iron Moon" "A roller coaster of an adventure... A dash of earth magic and a dose of environmental angst make this an enjoyable ride." --"Publishers Weekly" "A swaggering, eye-filling, brain-swizzling extravaganza!" --"Kirkus Reviews" "Compulsive reading for all ages." -- "Guardian (UK)" "All manner of bizarre and fantastical extravagance." --"Daily Mail" (UK)

Praise for "The Rise of the Iron Moon"

Mind-boggling invention ... explosive. "Kirkus Reviews"

Steampunk and horror fans will enjoy the omnipresent sense of danger and horror in Hunt's ... latest adventure. "Library Journal"

A roller coaster of an adventure A dash of earth magic and a dose of environmental angst make this an enjoyable ride. "Publishers Weekly on The Rise of the Iron Moon"

A swaggering, eye-filling, brain-swizzling extravaganza! "Kirkus Reviews on The Rise of the Iron Moon"

Compulsive reading for all ages. "Guardian (UK) on The Rise of the Iron Moon"

All manner of bizarre and fantastical extravagance. "Daily Mail (UK) on The Rise of the Iron Moon""

"Mind-boggling invention ... explosive." --Kirkus Reviews

"Steampunk and horror fans will enjoy the omnipresent sense of danger and horror in Hunt's ... latest adventure." --Library Journal

"A roller coaster of an adventure... A dash of earth magic and a dose of environmental angst make this an enjoyable ride." --Publishers Weekly on The Rise of the Iron Moon

"A swaggering, eye-filling, brain-swizzling extravaganza!" --Kirkus Reviews on The Rise of the Iron Moon

"Compulsive reading for all ages." --Guardian (UK) on The Rise of the Iron Moon

"All manner of bizarre and fantastical extravagance." --Daily Mail (UK) on The Rise of the Iron Moon

From the Author:

1. Your novels are a blend of adventure, action, thriller, fantasy and steampunk! How would you categorise them?
If I had to pick one traditional category, I guess fantasy adventure would cover it. I was thinking about this topic the other day, and I actually came up with a clever new genre name to cover most of my work to date: Fanta-sci, which is fantasy with a sweet twist of sci-fi added to the glass. You heard about it here first!

2. Your book covers are very striking and attractive – do you have a favourite?
I’m a sucker for a Jules Verne-style submarine, so the Nautilus-like submersible craft of my second novel, THE KINGDOM BEYOND THE WAVES, has always grabbed me. That being said, all the covers are very nice, with a seamless continuity of style that makes them stand out on any reader’s bookshelf.

3. All of your novels work as standalones, but certain characters do appear in all three. Are these characters your favourites, or did you feel that they had more of a story to tell?
I think my linking characters are a little like the novels’ covers – they help provide the reader with a thread to follow through the novels, while keeping the books as standalones and not creeping into the endless trilogy territory. It’s quite similar to how Terry Pratchett handles his Discworld novels. You’ll often get little crossovers from Rincewind and the other wizards or the City Guard, even when Terry’s main focus is on someone totally new. You could say that semi-reformed u-boat privateer Commodore Jared Black is my Rincewind.

4. Do you have a favourite scene from the books so far?
That’s a little like asking a parent to tell you which one of their children is their favourite! (the stock answer is, of course, ‘all of them’). I always have a lot of fun with the endings of my novels, though. There’s normally a grand battle or showdown in the style of Ian Fleming’s Bond books or Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe series of historical adventures. As long as I’m writing on the gallop, I know readers will be turning the pages on the gallop.

5. Do you plot out your books in great detail or start writing and see where they take you?
I have an overactive imagination, so I find that plotting in great detail helps me keep the show on the road – although I know there’ll still be a few off-piste twists and turns to incorporate as I get to know the characters and their personal situations better.

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