Published: Jan. 15, 2011
Words: 133,421 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781452460772

Short description

When a mysterious explosion destroys an airship, four strangers come together to uncover a vast conspiracy to plunge the nation of Marrakesh into a devastating war.

Extended description

When a mysterious explosion destroys an airship, four strangers come together to uncover a vast conspiracy to plunge the nation of Marrakesh into a devastating war.

Taziri Ohana, inventor of the experimental airship Halcyon, leads the investigation across the length of the country. With the aid of a brutal detective, a holy swordsman, and an exiled princess, she discovers clandestine meetings, deadly beasts, horrific experiments, and bizarre machines that reveal a far-reaching plot against the royal family and her countrymen.

With hired killers lurking in every shadow and worker riots erupting on every street corner, Taziri learns to defend herself as only an engineer can - with her inventions. But despite all her efforts, her country's only hope for peace may be her beloved airship Halcyon plummeting out of the burning sky. (Read more) When a mysterious explosion destroys an airship, four strangers come together to uncover a vast conspiracy to plunge the nation of Marrakesh into a devastating war.

Taziri Ohana, inventor of the experimental airship Halcyon, leads the investigation across the length of the country. With the aid of a brutal detective, a holy swordsman, and an exiled princess, she discovers clandestine meetings, deadly beasts, horrific experiments, and bizarre machines that reveal a far-reaching plot against the royal family and her countrymen.

With hired killers lurking in every shadow and worker riots erupting on every street corner, Taziri learns to defend herself as only an engineer can - with her inventions. But despite all her efforts, her country's only hope for peace may be her beloved airship Halcyon plummeting out of the burning sky.

The Halcyon trilogy of steampunk thrillers:
Book 1: The Burning Sky
Book 2: The Broken Sword
Book 3: The Bound Soul
(Less)

Adult-content rating: This book contains content considered unsuitable for young readers 17 and under, and which may be offensive to some readers of all ages. For more information, see the Support FAQ.

Tags

thriller, adventure, action, fantasy, conspiracy, steampunk, princess, ghost, africa, morocco, western, secret society, airship

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Reviews

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Review by: Willow Webster on Oct. 16, 2012 :
Another great book by this author. This is the 4th book of his books i've read. Every one was just great.
(review of free book)

Review by: Nikki Greis on Dec. 12, 2011 :
I want to start off completely honestly and say that I never thought I'd finish reading this book. It's not a terrible long book, but I am a reader who likes to get lost in the world of the story and this is one hell of a world. The "steampunk" fad always seemed interesting to me, but it wasn't even until I finished the book that I thought about whether or not this term applies. The thought of inflatable airships and a world where lights out is at sundown simply took my breath away.

This story begins with Taziri, but this is in no way Taziri's story. It took a while to get all of the characters straight, but soon you realize how intricately woven their lives really are. The synopsis leads you to believe Taziri is the main character, and personally she was the character I connected most with. As a mother with a young daughter, I could imagine the pain and worry associated with the fantastic journey she gets to go on.

There is only one aspect of the novel that truly bothered me, and that involved Dr. Medina's experimentation. While I understand that her actions were aimed to show the moral character of both her and Lady Sade, the basement of the prosthetics shop is somewhere that left me with nightmares. Once again, Lewis described it in great detail, but the feeling of being there is something I could have lived without.


Altogether I think that this was the best science fiction I've read in a long time. This is one story that really had my mind going as it pulled me right into it. If you enjoy fantasy, science fiction, or really any kind of adventure, grab a copy of The Burning Sky by Joseph Robert Lewis.
(review of free book)

Review by: cdhtenn2k10 on Aug. 28, 2011 :
I liked this novel very much. The world Lewis creates is an excellent alternative history, incorporating extinct megafauna from around the last ice age. Some of my favorite "monsters" from prehistory make an appearance in the story. I'd hesitate to call this steampunk. While I think some s'punky elements are here, I think this is more a world-that-could-have-been tale based on a different ecology rather than technology. Could this be ecopunk? Actually, I think the book is better than any sort of crappy genre name.

The characters are all clearly realized individuals. Sometimes, their intentions and motives aren't made clear to the reader, and there are some vagaries about the societies and the characters themselves that will leave the reader wondering. Over all, though, Lewis' sharp writing and the world we step into more than make up for any of those short comings.
(review of free book)

Review by: MrsFlicker on Aug. 15, 2011 :
Joseph Robert Lewis takes the idea of "What If?" to an entirely new and exciting dimension. He recreates our world by asking "what if" so many times that he is able to create an entirely new, entirely believeable world. Most importantly, however, Mr. Lewis is able to create multi-faceted characters who are as flawed as anyone in THIS world. For this reason, even at its most fantastic, seemingly unbelieveable moments, readers are still captured by the fast moving plot and characters who seem real enough to touch.
(review of free book)

Review by: N.M. Martinez on March 23, 2011 : (no rating)
This book happens over the course of days. It literally starts off with a bang and then keeps moving forward with multiple story lines that carry the momentum along and make the book difficult to put down.

But it is never exhausting. The action and adventure is perfectly balanced by strong and interesting characters. One of Lewis' strengths are these multidimensional characters that have opinions and motives no matter what side of the conflict they're on. No one is truly good or bad although their actions can be questioned.

It's the entire reason I get drawn in and keep coming back to read more and will be back again.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Steve Wales on Feb. 15, 2011 :
I've liked the idea of 'steampunk' historical fantasy settings for a while but not really got around to reading anything from that sort of genre but this, with its steam-powered airships, certainly counts and I really enjoyed it.

Set against the imaginative backdrop of a world where the northern hemisphere never really emerged from the last ice age, Taziri Ohana flies her airship in the skies above Marrakesh. After a huge explosion destroys the airfield, she is the only pilot left. She and marshal Syfax Zidane discover this is only a part of a huge conspiracy aiming to take down the government.

A great mix of intrigue, action and adventure. I'm already looking forward to more in the series.
(reviewed the day of purchase)

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