I've read most of R.E. Howard's and E.R. Burroughs' books (Conan and Tarzan primarily) when I was a younger man. I would term them pure adventure, page turners that never let up on the action. That is what Hawthorne is, but with a steampunk flavor. Mr. Meeker does a great job of introducing the characters and the world setting before he plunges the reader into the action. The locales and the situations are exotic and frenetic and written in a style I haven't encountered since I closeted myself in my room as an early teen with a stack of library books with pictures of men in loincloths on the cover. To emulate the style of those adventures must have been difficult: The rhythm, the verbiage, the tone are all well done and facilitate a quick read. Mr. Meeker, you paint a very pretty picture.

Unlike other entries into the genre of steampunk fiction, which are either firmly set in the Victorian Age or placed in an alternate universe stemming from changes in that time period, this book takes place in 1835, during the reign of William IV, two years before the ascension of the young Victoria. It was, then, a time of reform in British culture which saw the abolition of child labor in factories, the emancipation of slaves in Britain's colonies (had the American colonies not revolted, slavery would have ended two generations earlier than it did, and without a bloody war), and the rise of the House of Commons over the House of Lords. And in the world of Edgar J Hawthorne, narrator and hero of this rousing adventure novel, it was a time of steam-powered horseless carriages and massive airships able to travel from England and down the length of Africa to the Cape of Good Hope, upon which is the journey young Edgar sets.

The author has paid careful attention to keep Edgar's narration in the style of the times, which means it is often verbose and circuitous by modern standards. Though it initially grates upon ears accustomed to today's streamlined and often staccato prose, it is not much more difficult to plow through than the writing of Jules Vern, H Rider Haggard or Edgar Rice Burroughs, and it does provide a rewarding immersive experience for the reader.

Edgar's trip from England to the southern tip of the Dark Continent is anything but uneventful, and he encounters everything from airship pirates to an army of Great Apes to a mysterious Egyptian who seems to control time and space. Anyone who has read the adventure novels of the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries will recognize the many nods to past masters of the genre. Likewise, you will encounter many of the same themes and archetypes, but the author incorporates enough new ideas (or successfully reworks old ones) to provide a reading experience that is as novel as it is exciting.

This is the first volume of a projected series, thus it's not unexpected that the story ends on a note that sets up for the next book, but the story told within these pages is in itself a tale that can stand on its own. If you're looking for a steampunk-themed book which recalls the great adventure stories of years' past, this might be a good choice for you.

This is a wonderful debut novel. The steampunk references are strong (airships, steam-powered contraptions, advanced science for the Victorian era) but it is more in the vein of the old time adventure pulps like Burroughs and the works of Jules Verne. This is high adventure that anyone can get into. Meeker hints at a larger world that he is building and promises to explore in the promised sequels.

The main character, Edgar Hawthorne, is a young man living on his father's estate near London who is drawn into a mystery necessitating travel via airship to an observatory in South Africa. Since this is steampunk travel is via airship. In this world these advances are considered normal and part of every day life, so when the airship is attacked by brigands a thousand feet in the air, a great battle ensues. Diversions through the jungle, a mysterious temple and a band of simians that makes Planet of the Apes seem tame by comparison brings Edgar into the company of a female passenger that starts making him second guess everything. Once down in Africa the mystery thickens with a murderous group of assassins, a mine with a secret room that would make Dr Frankenstein envious and one last battle with the main villain.

I really liked this story- in a day when everything is vampires, zombies and teen angst magic, this is an olde tyme (see what I did there) adventure story, like what you might have heard told in serial format on the radio some 60 years ago. It is very imaginative, full of twists, and is not afraid to take risks and add complexity to the plot. I have no idea where the next installment is going (well, we kind of do at the end... but I won't give it away). but I, for one, am already lining up to get my copy.

The Hawthorne Chronicles series by Christopher Meeker is a most welcome addition to the fantasy/adventure world of popular literature. I am an avid reader of many genres and enjoy science fiction and fantasy as well as historical fiction and mystery. I cut my reader’s teeth early on Edgar Rice Burroughs, H. Rider Haggard, A. Merritt and Robert W. Chambers and, having devoured everything I could find from the 30s and 40s, have hungered for that curiously rare tome that is at once familiar and yet original and compelling. This is the book and the author I’ve waited for.

Meeker tells a story with skill and finesse and creates interesting characters you will want to hear more about (and I trust there will be further offerings in the series soon). The adventure tale is sufficiently unusual with its Victorian period inventions and mystical villains to amaze and intrigue without being trite or overly stylized. It moves along with a sort of edge-of-your-chair readability but also supplies food for thought if you’re willing to look for it. A puzzle, a mystery, a struggle, heroism, exotic locals, a romantic element, a hint of magic, a fantastic airship, brutish creatures—what more could you want? Fans of pulp fiction will appreciate Hawthorne. Younger readers (and by this I mean anyone under 50 or anyone who never read a Tarzan novel) will be introduced to a straight forward adventure that need not rely on vampires or zombies for its thrills.

Whether or not Meeker’s writing falls under K. W. Jeter’s term, “steampunk” or not will be up to the reader. The airship, as I recall, is steam-powered. But it doesn’t matter. It is a satisfying read that will charm you and leave you asking for more. The descriptive prose will carry you into a realm where you will suspend disbelief. I recommend this book whole-heartedly and give it five bright shining stars.

This is one of those books that is written for a specific audience (the steampunk audience), but anyone who loves adventure and sci-fi will love it.

Hawthorne: Chronicles of the Brass Hand - Mystirio Astronomiki (Volume 1) wastes no time getting to the story, which concerns of the adventures of the titular character, Edgar Hawthorne, a young man who leaves his English 19th century home aboard an airship headed for South Africa. It seems some interesting things are going on down there at the tip of Cape Horn and Edgar, at his father's behest, is sent to investigate.

And the story takes off from there. There is a lot of mystery at play here. The airship is stocked with characters and you are never sure you can be trusted (until its too late that is). The plot is engaging and action packed. There is never a dull moment, whether it is the accidental discovery of an ancient temple, attack by airship pirates, a murderous onslaughts of wild apes (that would thrill any Planet of the Apes fan) or the outright sci-fi elements of alien worlds, secret societies and the like.

The style of the book models the Victorian writing in which is was set, which is an interesting approach for an author to take. I really felt that like was reading a newly discovered Jules Verne, or Edgar Rice Burroughs novel.

Though many will label this as a steampunk genre novel, which is most certainly is (and I think that those who identify with steampunk will love it), it is for anyone who loves the writing of Jules Verne, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Rice Burroughs,or H.G. Wells and for all who love science fiction in all of it's wondrous forms.

I definitely recommend it and can't wait for the promised Volume 2.