The Cloud Chamber
On the eastern shores of the Quiet Sea lies the grime-ridden sprawl of Stelinople, a city of industry ruled by the Magnate Trust. Searching for new energies to fuel its furnaces and mills and manufactories, the Trust has fixed its gaze squarely upon the Jashem, seeking the mystical energy of that scoured desert land. As well as the Yürük Çin who draw upon it.
When Yürük scout Khyrg al Wahid and his headstrong daughter witness a Trust airship crash, they discover survivors — Trust researchers. Aiding the researchers becomes a furious flight across the Jashem, sweeping Khyrg up in the Trust’s schemes, thrusting him toward Stelinople, the city that holds his deepest secret, his darkest shame.
All the while, researchers at the University conduct morbid experiments around the clock to bend the energy of the Jashem to their will.
Sweet. I love magic.
I’ll tell you, it’s hard to write magic well. I’m busting my hump over here trying to make it happen. Hopefully it’ll pay off.
Magic always pays off.
Johnathan: just came across your site through a site through Twitter. Just wanted to to say good luck in your writing of “Shadow of the Black City”.
I have been writing (no way near as far along as you) an urban fantasy/new weird novel myself, where the city, “Gwij”, is one of the main characters. I am enthralled with the new weird movement. I do not consider it dead, like many people. I just got into it! My main attraction to new weird is the focus on The City – I guess literal “urban fantasy”
I see you are reading “The Scar” now. Great book. Mieville is great influence for me. My favourite of his is this second novel “Perdido Street Station. I just finished his latest “Kraken” just a couple days ago.
Look forward to reading your novel when you debut it!
Thanks for the kind words. I’ve been having a blast writing Shadow and seeing it develop (never fast enough, mind you). I like me some weird. If done correctly, it gets people are out of their comfort zones, defies expectations and plunges them into these strange new worlds.
I want more!!!
I feel the need to ask, “Is it called ‘The Cloud Chamber’ or ‘Shadow of the Black City’?”
I changed the name to be more reflective of the centerpiece of the novel. Thanks for asking.
OK. I was just curious. How’s it coming along?
Pretty good. 3rd draft is done. Now I’m revising. Take a spin around the blog, it should tell you all you’d ever want to know about it. And then some.
Mayhap it’s just me but I can’t seem to find much recent stuff about he book. I can only find articles about what your reading and things of the nature.
The best I can tell you is to click The Cloud Chamber tag. Between those posts and the blurb, that’s what I’ve got. All in all it’s going well.