Lady Jessica, Monster Hunter: Heart of the Empire

by Keith Dumble

London, 1889.

Lady Jessica McAlpin is the commander of The Black Diamonds, the Great British Empire's covert monster-hunting division.

With her crew of criminals, misfits and desperadoes, Lady Jessica soars above the land in the airship HMS Zephyr, tracking down the diabolical foes of the Empire.

When rumors surface of a vampyre nest in the heart of the Capital, Lady Jessica and her companions are sent to investigate. What they discover is more terrible than their worst imaginings, leaving them shaken, scarred and in some instances changed forever.

Heart of the Empire is the first episode in a series of action and character driven steampunk adventures featuring Lady Jessica and The Black Diamonds.

Genres: Steampunk

84 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 21, 2014

About the author

I have lived in Edinburgh all my life, but I have spent at least one day in every continent on the planet. Unless Antarctica's a continent. I've not been there.

I've been fascinated by stories ever since I can remember. I recall paging through books on Greek mythology and Scottish legends when I was a boy and being fascinated by the magical otherness of them all.

Back in the mists of time, I wrote sci-fi short stories, several of which were published in (long defunct) anthologies and fanzines. I won third prize for something to do with creative writing when I was at school.

After years in the wilderness of the real world, I've recently returned to writing. It feels like coming home.

I am addicted to custard creams, still have dreams of being in a band, and have finally learned to stop stressing about the matching lengths of my sideburns.

I still live in Edinburgh. It inspires me.

Even if I end up living in Antarctica, it always will.

Reviews

[Gypsy Madden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun adventure. It’s a shorter work, but personally, I like the length. It means I’m not spending weeks slogging through it. It’s a light-weight, steampunk adventure. It’s got the vampire/monster fighting of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, the outlaw crew of Firefly/Serenity, the vampire theater of Interview with the Vampire/Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, and the living ship from Farscape. All things I totally adore! Why not a full 5 stars? While I liked the adventure, it was missing background info for all of the characters (except for Flint-which was probably why I liked him marginally better than the other characters), and it was missing history of the world itself. While that seems like a minor complaint, it felt like I was missing important information like why was a group of outlaws working for the Empire? I wondered if Flint might be the same Captain Flint as in Treasure Island, so I was wondering if the other characters were also supposed to be famous literary characters like in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but I didn’t find anything on the others. Lady Jessica really seemed like she was missing something. As in, she didn’t dress like a lady, she certainly didn’t act like a lady, she didn’t do anything that a proper lady would be doing, and she didn’t seem to have any money or any land. The other thing that was lacking was emotion. There was some emotion in a climactic scene toward the end, but without that emotion, I end up not sympathizing with any of the characters. There were also some really cliché/convenient things that popped up integral to the plot (the tooth communicators and there was something at the end that also felt too convenient, but I won’t spoil). I also should mention that the murders, aside from being a string of murders set in Whitechapel during the Victorian period, they have nothing to do with Jack the Ripper. So, all those Ripper fanatics will be disappointed (I'm in that number). So, if you’re looking for a light steampunk adventure that doesn’t bother with depth or emotional heart-strings or that pesky thing called romance, this is perfect for you.

[pdarnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rag-tag group of monster hunters. Steampunk world and gadgets. Fights, flights and derring-do. Paranormal creatures, the Black Diamonds are called upon to deal with them. Lots of action and adventure. What's not to like? A fun read and I'm looking forward to further adventures with Lady Jessica.

[Clay Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would have made a good read on Halloween.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read--longer than many short stories, yet shorter than many novellas. Steampunk meets vampires/vampyres in an alternate Victorian-era London (Queen Victoria II, anyone?).

Barely enough background on the characters to make us care about them, but it is there. This is not the first adventure for the Black Diamonds (Jessica, William, Atsu, Tommy, and a sentient craft, the Zephyr). This is the first of their adventures we as readers are privy to.

I found the group and the idea of the Black Diamonds intriguing enough that I will read more of their tales.

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable adventure and a fast read. The premise, while not completely original, is not so commonplace as some. From the little we know of the characters' background, they seem to make an interesting group but there needs to be a bit more to them to make the readers care for them than what is here. For a fast monster-kicking story this is a great choice that makes you wonder about the rest of the series.

[william barton · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was wonderful

It had me spell bound from the beginning to the end the book was to short it really leaves u hanging

[Loretta Edgar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

Fun read. Some steam punk along with vampires, and other supernatural beings needing to be stopped without the rest of the world being aware.