Maiden Voyage of the Rio Grande: A Bartleby and James Adventure
By
Michael Coorlim
Published by
PoMoCo Press
$1.99
Rating:


(3.00
based on
1
review)
Published: Jan. 29, 2012
Words: 8,541 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN:
9781465830876
Short description
Brilliant but socially-awkward inventor and engineer James Wainwright has been accused of murder most foul, and only his savvy partner Alton Bartleby can clear his name. The clock is ticking, though, as the true murderer's sabotage threatens to crash the world's largest airship into the teaming streets of London below.
The Bartleby and James Adventures novelettes are a series of steampunk mysteries following the cases of consulting detectives Alton Bartleby and his engineer partner James Wainwright. Together the protect London from the foes that Scotland Yard cannot handle. In their second adventure, the detectives face ruthless saboteurs.
Brilliant but socially-awkward inventor and engineer James Wainwright has been accused of murder most foul, and only his savvy partner Alton Bartleby can clear his name.
The clock is ticking, though, as the true murderer’s sabotage threatens to crash the world’s largest airship into the teaming streets of London below. (Read more)
The Bartleby and James Adventures novelettes are a series of steampunk mysteries following the cases of consulting detectives Alton Bartleby and his engineer partner James Wainwright. Together the protect London from the foes that Scotland Yard cannot handle. In their second adventure, the detectives face ruthless saboteurs.
Brilliant but socially-awkward inventor and engineer James Wainwright has been accused of murder most foul, and only his savvy partner Alton Bartleby can clear his name.
The clock is ticking, though, as the true murderer’s sabotage threatens to crash the world’s largest airship into the teaming streets of London below.
This 8,000 word story is the second in the Bartleby and James cycle of steampunk mystery novelettes.
Excerpt
The detention cell was a far cry from the cabins that the luxury airship provided its honoured guests. I only can assume that, should one find oneself to be clapped in irons and escorted to the brig, that one no longer is classified as ”honoured.” While my previous appointments had plush carpeting, elegant wallpaper, carved hardwood furniture, and delicate electric lighting, the brig (as the American crew chose to call it) was uncomfortable and utilitarian. Frost formed on the bulkhead's unadorned steel, and beside the crude bench a bucket in the corner served as the totality of its amenities. A grate in the entrance hatch the only access given the outside world.
To say that I was uncomfortable would be an understatement. I can only imagine the dreariness of being left alone in that miserable hole for the duration of a voyage. Without a task to occupy my mind and hands I had little doubt that I would go mad after only a few days. Fortunately that didn't seem to be the Captain's intent, for half-an-hour after my incarceration he returned with one of his officers.
"Wainwright." Captain Nussbaum conveyed a military demeanour that matched his uniform.
While the Rio Grande was a civilian vessel, the crew's uniform was based loosely on that of the American Navy, perhaps a little more ornate and a little less saturated. If the Captain was a retired German officer, they were a far cry from what he would have worn during his term of service.
He refrained from further comment, standing near the hatch as a trio of airmen brought in a small folding table and a pair of chairs, which they set up in front of me so that the seats were across from my bench. When they'd left, shutting the hatch behind them, Nussbaum and his officer sat.
"You have already met Herr Dewit?" Nussbaum asked.
Dewit, First Mate by his insignia, scowled at me. As the man had walked in on me amidst a blood-soaked murder scene I cannot entirely fault him, though I must admit to some annoyance at the entire business.
"Let's cut to the quick, Wainwright," First Officer Dewit said. "Why did you murder the Second Engineer?"
"He was an engineer?" I asked. "Pity."
(Less)
Tags
thriller,
adventure,
murder,
mystery,
action,
short story,
victorian,
steampunk,
london,
series,
alternate history,
sabotage,
novelette,
airship,
victoriana,
clockpunk,
steampunk mystery
Single purchase gains access to all formats. How to download ebooks to e-reading devices and apps.
| Format |
Full Book |
Sample First 30% |
| Online Reading (HTML, good for sampling in web browser) | Buy | View sample |
| Kindle (.mobi for Kindle devices and Kindle apps) | Buy | Download sample |
| Epub (Apple iPad/iBooks, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, others) | Buy | Download sample |
| PDF (good for reading on PC, or for home printing) | Buy | No sample available |
| RTF (readable on most word processors) | Buy | No sample available |
| LRF (Use only for older model Sony Readers that don't support .epub) | Buy | Download sample |
| Palm Doc (PDB) (for Palm reading devices) | Buy | Download sample |
| Plain Text (download) (flexible, but lacks much formatting) | Buy | No sample available |
| Plain Text (view) (viewable as web page) | Buy | No sample available |
Reviews
Log-in to write a Review
Log-in to add a Video Review
Review by:
Madison Keller
on Aug. 23, 2012 :
I loved "And they called her Spider" but this second helping of Bartleby and James disappointed me. It started out promising, but the so-called mystery was a bit of a flop, and solved with brute force. After the wily intelligence of the first story I really expected more.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)