About the Author

George Mann is the author of The Affinity Bridge, Ghosts of Manhattan and The Human Abstract, as well as numerous short stories, novellas and an original Doctor Who audiobook. He has edited a number of anthologies including The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, The Solaris Book of New Fantasy and a retrospective collection of Sexton Blake stories, Sexton Blake, Detective. He lives near Grantham with his wife, son and daughter.

Reviews

"Mann's imagination has clearly run wild in this quirky and well realised version of the world, and this is no bad thing!It's fun, it's exciting, and Mann has a very agreeable hand that's easy to appreciate!He has a sharp talent for writing and a surplus of enthusiasm for the genre..." SCIFI Now "The author does a superb job of recreating nineteenth century London...a thoroughly engaging story!Excellent world building; captures the Sherlock Holmes feel; never a boring passage. Bottom line: A hugely entertaining book. 4.5 out of 5." SF Signal. "I absolutely loved it" Lou Anders "Fans of Alan Moore's work will likely enjoy Mann's depiction of Victorian asylums, slums, aristocratic soirees and things that go bump in the night." Strange Horizons "Automata, clattering railway carriages, hansom cabs and 'pea soupers', gas lit streets and the doffing of caps, gruff policemen, mad scientists, arrogant industrialists, seances, pentagrams, addictions to laudanum and a few ravening zombies...Mann is at the forefront of the new generation of UK genre movers and shakers." SFRevu.com "The Affinity Bridge is a carefully plotted and entertaining steampunk mystery, and Sir Maurice Newbury and Veronica Hobbes emerge as engaging characters readers are likely to want to see again--a desire the publisher promises to fulfill with a sequel, The Osiris Ritual, announced for 2009." F. Brett Cox, SciFi.com "a science fantasy novel that should appeal to lovers of both genres... one of the biggest surprises of the year and I can't recommend the book enough." Fantasy Book Critic "An enormous pile of awesome" Chris Roberson, World Fantasy Award finalist and Sidewise Award Winner. 'Mann is at the forefront of the new generation of UK genre movers and shakers.' SFRevu.com 'The author does a superb job of recreating nineteenth century London...a thoroughly engaging story.' SF Signal 'Mann is leading the charge.' The Guardian 'Fans of Alan Moore's work will likely enjoy Mann's depiction of Victorian asylums, slums, aristocratic soirees and things that go bump in the night.' Strange Horizons 'A carefully plotted and entertaining steampunk mystery.' SciFi.com '[Mann] has a sharp talent for writing and a surplus of enthusiasm for the genre' Sci Fi Now 'Highly, highly recommended' fantasybookcritic.com

Adult/High School-In this steampunk mystery, Sir Maurice Newbury maintains an office at the British Museum but actually works in a secret capacity for Queen Victoria, who is still alive, in late 1901, by means of an elaborate mechanical life-support system. Veronica Hobbes arrives to become Sir Maurice's assistant, and together the two investigate a series of incidents: a missing man, a crashed airship, automatons gone berserk, a string of murders apparently committed by a blue-glowing policeman, and a plague that is turning residents of London's Whitechapel into revenants (zombies). Mann may be trying to do a little too much here, but both Newbury and Hobbes are engaging characters and the world-building is done well. The last third of the novel is nonstop action, including a classic train-top chase scene. The author introduces some elements that are obviously intended to carry over into future books, and the epilogue reveals new information and clearly sets up the next episode. Fast-paced and well-written, this novel is likely to appeal to genre fans.-Sarah Flowers, formerly at Santa Clara County Library, CA Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

SF editor Mann (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction) sets this leisurely mystery, published in the U.K. by Snowbooks in 2008, in an alternate 1901 London where steam-powered taxicabs fill the streets and brass automatons have begun to replace human labor. Sir Maurice Newbury, British Museum anthropologist and occult connoisseur, and his Watsonesque assistant, Miss Veronica Hobbes, are summoned to investigate the crash of a cyborg-piloted helium zeppelin. Meanwhile, a plague is spreading through London's poorer quarters, turning everyday citizens into bloodthirsty, zombielike "revenants" and threatening the stability of the Empire. Mann's stiff-upper-lipped Victorians chat at great length over cups of Earl Grey and occasionally whack zombies and robots in arduous action passages, and the unnecessary details and painfully stilted dialogue bring nothing fresh to the steampunk subgenre. (July) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.