Rise of the Iron Moon is the newest novel set in Stephen Hunt's fantastical steampunk universe

Born into captivity as a product of the Royal Breeding House, friendless orphan Purity Drake suddenly finds herself on the run with a foreign vagrant after accidentally killing one of her guards.

Her strange rescuer claims he is on the run himself from terrible forces who mean to enslave the Kingdom of Jackals much as they conquered his own nation. Purity doubts his story until reports of the terrible Army of Shadows, marching across the continent and sweeping all before them.

Purity has felt little love for her country but realizes that the bad acts of a government gone wrong aren't enough to condemn an entire people.

There's more to Purity than meets the eye. As Jackals girds itself for war against an army of near-unkillable beasts serving an ancient evil, it becomes clear that the country's only hope is a strange little royalist girl and the last, desperate plan of an escaped slave.

Stephen Hunt has covered arts and entertainment for the Globe & Mail, Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Press, Saturday Night, the CBC, National Public Radio and Britain's FQ. He has had a number of plays produced Off Broadway, including The White Guy, purchased for television by Warner Brothers and Quincy Jones in 1999. He is arts editor for the Calgary Herald.

Stephen Hunt's profile page

“To say this book is action packed is almost an understatement…a wonderful escapist yarn!” —Interzone on The Rise of the Iron Moon

“Compulsive reading for all ages.” —Guardian on The Rise of the Iron Moon

“Wildly imaginative and compelling, this charming steampunk yarn plays out against a backdrop of civil war and failed rebellion, layered and complex treachery, and love in surprising corners.” —Publishers Weekly on The Kingdom Beyond The Waves

“A Dickensian atmosphere with shades of Indiana Jones featuring a strong-willed adventuress that will appeal to steampunk fans.” —Library Journal on The Kingdom Beyond The Waves

“Steampunk fantasy and SF with a Victorian-era feel… A rip-roaring Indiana Jones-style adventure.” —RT Book Reviews (4 stars) on The Kingdom Beyond The Waves