cover image The Forever Engine

The Forever Engine

Frank Chadwick. Baen, $15 trade paper (352p) ISBN 978-1-4516-3940-7

Legendary game designer Chadwick taps into his popular Space: 1889 steampunk setting with this exciting prequel novel, which sees soldier-turned-historian Jack Fargo catapulted from 2018 to an alternate 1888 by a mysterious, explosive event. Though alternately amazed and baffled by a world that features airships, interplanetary travel, America split into the Confederate States and the United States, and Europe laid out along different political lines, Fargo just wants to go home. Unfortunately, the one man who might be able to help—the infamous inventor Nikola Tesla—is likely to destroy the world with his terrifying new technology. Though some of the temporal mechanics are grounded in technobabble, the worldbuilding is rock solid, the plot fast paced, the action visceral, and the stakes high. Chadwick balances scientific theory, steampunk imagery, and memorable characters with flair, delivering an entertaining story that serves well as an introduction to the game. (Jan.)