Of Machines and Magics

✍ Scribed by Adele Abbot

• Publisher: Barking Rain Press
• Year: 2012
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 231 KB
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN: 1935460293

✦ Synopsis

Billions of years ago, humans abandoned their cradle and are now scattered across the galaxies. But the legends speak of a time when the sun threatened to burn away the inner worlds of the solar system when it became a red giant, and a remnant of mankind returned to Earth from the farthest stars to install a machine to move humanity’s cradle out of danger.

Since then, the remnant communities built settlements in the cracked and broken slopes of the old continental plates, exposed to the elements when the Earth was moved. Now nestled in the outer reaches of the solar system, Earth faces a new challenge—the sun has begun to collapse into a white dwarf. As the sun grows smaller and the world gets colder, the quest for the mythical machine that can move the planet closer to the fading sun becomes a race to save the planet from final extinction.

"Blending steampunk, fantasy, and science fiction concepts, 'Of Machines & Magics' is a riveting read that is hard to put down." — The Midwest Book Review

"An engrossing Steampunk quest to save our dying future planet. Fresh off selection as a finalist in the Anywhere But Here, Anywhen But Now contest, Adele Abbot is a writer to watch!"—David B. Coles, Author, The Tourist and The Last Free Men

"Adele Abbot has a new take on past and future history alike. A fascinating and refreshing view which has a great filmic quality to it. Echoes of Terry Pratchett, perhaps?"— Jack Everett, Author, 1/1: Jihad-Britain and The Faces of Immortality

About the Author

ADELE ABBOT graduated from Manchester University, where she majored in law. Her interest in Fantasy was first fired when she came across the Lyonesse series by Jack Vance. Working backwards from there, Adele discovered Vance’s earlier works, including the Dying Earth series, and was immediately fascinated by the way violence and evil could be hidden behind beautiful prose or absurd situations.

After several false starts and plenty of encouragement from friends and family, she began writing her first book, Of Machines & Magics. While shopping for a publisher, Adele began work on another fantasy, Postponing Armageddon, which she entered in the “Anywhere But Here, Anywhen But Now” contest for aspiring debut novelists, sponsored by Sir Terry Pratchett and Transworld Publishers. Out of more than five hundred entries, Postponing Armageddon reached the prize shortlist of just six novels.

In addition to pursuing a writing career, Ms. Abbot is a full-time law partner by day. She currently resides in Yorkshire in the United Kingdom with her son. Find out more at her website, www.adeleabbot.info.