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Volume 2: Veracity
A Symphony of Peril, Parody, and Powdered Wigs.
1792. Switzerland. France and Austria rattle their sabres at the borders while eyeing Swiss territory. Within the Confederacy, sedition bubbles. For our hero, the forecast is just as grim — 100% chance of catastrophe.
The scroll was just the beginning; a conspiracy awaits, connected to his past, his present… and probably his own funeral. And though his memories are back, his return to the world is, well, far from every shadow conceals a foe, every face a villain.
And so, pursued by assassins, hounded by Fortune, and played for a fool before all, he blunders through a gauntlet of humiliations, suffering aerial bombardments, vengeful piglets, even a helmet that refuses to let go.
Yet, with a shadowy cabal infiltrating the government, the questions only multiply: Will he outwit those who hold all the cards? Or will they destroy him first? Will he clear his name? Or will veracity prove the deadliest gamble of all?
Bold, betrayed, desperate, and possibly the UNLUCKIEST fellow in the Confederacy, he might — just might — survive the day... if his disguise holds and his sanity doesn’t snap first.
“Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.” — Shakespeare.
For seekers of high-stakes, conspiratorial drama laced with the biting irony and tragicomedy of a world unravelling.
Themes & 🎭 The Mask The protagonist regains his memory, only to wish he hadn’t. 🏰 The Prodigal Back from the dead, but distinctly unwelcome. 🗡️ The Wrong The classic framed for murder, wrong-man-at-the-wrong-time. 🐍 The Vipers’ The Tatzelwurms are watching, and they are everywhere. ⏳ The Eleventh A desperate race to unmask the conspiracy before the clock runs out. 🗳️ Machiavellian Spies, lies, and the chaos of 18th-century statecraft. ⚔️ The Gathering The looming threat of the French Revolution and Austrian/Prussian intervention. 🥀 Bad Evil stepmothers, scheming brothers, and a legacy of betrayal. 🧈 Dignity Under Slapstick peril involving helmets, butter, birds, and runaway pigs. 💔 Tragedy & The stakes are real, even if the hero is unprepared.
1792. Switzerland. France and Austria rattle their sabres at the borders while eyeing Swiss territory. Within the Confederacy, sedition bubbles. For our hero, the forecast is just as grim — 100% chance of catastrophe.
The scroll was just the beginning; a conspiracy awaits, connected to his past, his present… and probably his own funeral. And though his memories are back, his return to the world is, well, far from every shadow conceals a foe, every face a villain.
And so, pursued by assassins, hounded by Fortune, and played for a fool before all, he blunders through a gauntlet of humiliations, suffering aerial bombardments, vengeful piglets, even a helmet that refuses to let go.
Yet, with a shadowy cabal infiltrating the government, the questions only multiply: Will he outwit those who hold all the cards? Or will they destroy him first? Will he clear his name? Or will veracity prove the deadliest gamble of all?
Bold, betrayed, desperate, and possibly the UNLUCKIEST fellow in the Confederacy, he might — just might — survive the day... if his disguise holds and his sanity doesn’t snap first.
“Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.” — Shakespeare.
For seekers of high-stakes, conspiratorial drama laced with the biting irony and tragicomedy of a world unravelling.
Themes & 🎭 The Mask The protagonist regains his memory, only to wish he hadn’t. 🏰 The Prodigal Back from the dead, but distinctly unwelcome. 🗡️ The Wrong The classic framed for murder, wrong-man-at-the-wrong-time. 🐍 The Vipers’ The Tatzelwurms are watching, and they are everywhere. ⏳ The Eleventh A desperate race to unmask the conspiracy before the clock runs out. 🗳️ Machiavellian Spies, lies, and the chaos of 18th-century statecraft. ⚔️ The Gathering The looming threat of the French Revolution and Austrian/Prussian intervention. 🥀 Bad Evil stepmothers, scheming brothers, and a legacy of betrayal. 🧈 Dignity Under Slapstick peril involving helmets, butter, birds, and runaway pigs. 💔 Tragedy & The stakes are real, even if the hero is unprepared.
289 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 15, 2024
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About the author
Justan Autor
7 books2 followersA partisan to the picaresque and pastiche. Not for fans of simple sentences.
Justan Autor came late to the wicked joy of novels, having first tried his hand at most of the civilised arts: he painted pictures, trimmed hedgerows into obedience, stitched respectable garments, and wooed a pianoforte into confessing melodies. Only thereafter did he discover that narrative mischief suited him best.
A devotee of the 18th and 19th‑century masters, he writes in a classical key with a modern tempo—history that crackles, characters with inconvenient desires, and a burlesque glint when daggers flash. His first novel ushers readers into 1790s Switzerland: mountains, intrigue, and a hero who frequently collides with his own better judgement.
If you fancy Dumas for the dash, Fielding for the grin, Austen for the bite, and Dickens for the sweep—served with present‑day verve—do make his acquaintance.
Pray, if any of this author's works have earned your good opinion, a kind word on GoodReads (even Amazon) would be a most welcome reward. Should this author's works have failed to please, pray, let your judgement be rendered with mercy!
Justan Autor came late to the wicked joy of novels, having first tried his hand at most of the civilised arts: he painted pictures, trimmed hedgerows into obedience, stitched respectable garments, and wooed a pianoforte into confessing melodies. Only thereafter did he discover that narrative mischief suited him best.
A devotee of the 18th and 19th‑century masters, he writes in a classical key with a modern tempo—history that crackles, characters with inconvenient desires, and a burlesque glint when daggers flash. His first novel ushers readers into 1790s Switzerland: mountains, intrigue, and a hero who frequently collides with his own better judgement.
If you fancy Dumas for the dash, Fielding for the grin, Austen for the bite, and Dickens for the sweep—served with present‑day verve—do make his acquaintance.
Pray, if any of this author's works have earned your good opinion, a kind word on GoodReads (even Amazon) would be a most welcome reward. Should this author's works have failed to please, pray, let your judgement be rendered with mercy!
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 9, 2024
The second part of the series is even more exciting. While the first book’s main focus was to discover the identity of the hero, in this second instalment it’s the hero’s backstory and the intricate web of conspiracy, secrecy and mystery that he finds himself entangled in which comes to the front. Dramatic and emotional scenes take centre stage. The stakes are now higher, not only affecting the personal life of the protagonist and those closest to him, but also the whole of Switzerland. New sidekicks and antagonists appear, each one brilliantly and memorably portrayed. The author does an excellent job weaving the bigger plot into the story. The language is superb, the imagery and action spectacular as the reader becomes more and more immersed into the hero’s valiant but riddled with unsurmountable obstacles struggle to expose the villains and protect the people and the country he loves.
October 25, 2025
Authentic historical fiction with lots of twists
After having read the first volume, I just had to take off on a journey with the sequel. I was not disappointed. The language is just superb — sometimes playful, other times deep and sweeping, but always brilliant. The plot gets thicker and the twists and turns will not let the reader relax even for a page or two. A parade of new, well crafted characters will entertain you while you cringe for the hero’s welfare as he meets the villains and struggles to clear his family’s name. The author’s witty and cheeky remarks made me smile and sometimes even laugh out aloud.
Told in a remarkable and inimitable author voice, this is a highly entertaining novel about French Revolution era Switzerland that will make you itch to learn what happens in the following installment of the series.
After having read the first volume, I just had to take off on a journey with the sequel. I was not disappointed. The language is just superb — sometimes playful, other times deep and sweeping, but always brilliant. The plot gets thicker and the twists and turns will not let the reader relax even for a page or two. A parade of new, well crafted characters will entertain you while you cringe for the hero’s welfare as he meets the villains and struggles to clear his family’s name. The author’s witty and cheeky remarks made me smile and sometimes even laugh out aloud.
Told in a remarkable and inimitable author voice, this is a highly entertaining novel about French Revolution era Switzerland that will make you itch to learn what happens in the following installment of the series.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews