A Scar Of Avarice

by Mark Hayes

Step in from the cold, through the saloon door of the strangest bar in creation.

Esqwith’s Passing Place, where everyone has a story to tell..

Hannibal Smyth Esquire, formally of ‘She whom is seldom amused’ Royal Air Navy, rogue, thief, scoundrel, unwilling agent of The Ministry, and on occasion hero, but only if he can't find a way to avoid it, drops into the Passing Place with a story on his lips.

Richard the resident Piano Player in Esqwiths improbable bar, listens on and wonders, just how did Hannibal get that scar?

But only because the cat told him to ask…

So What follows is a tale of avarice, of strange things in the mountain temples of Nepal, airships, clockwork queens, Russian pirates, Fung-Fu monks, the sexual politics of pork scratchings, of high adventure and low doings.

’A Scar of Avarice’ is a cross over novella, set in both the steampunk present of Hannibal Smyth, and the universe of Passing Place: Location Relative.

Praise of Passing Place

"...swimming in a rich sea of worlds..."

"...creepily beautiful..."

"...keep's you drawn into the web of the story..."

99 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 18, 2018

About the author

Mark writes novels that often defy simple genre definitions, they could be described as speculative fiction, though Mark would never use the term as he prefers not to speculate.

When not writing novels Mark is a persistent pernicious procrastinator, he recently petitioned parliament for the removal of the sixteenth letter from the Latin alphabet.

He is also 7th Dan Blackbelt in the ancient Yorkshire marshal art of EckEThump and favours a one man one vote system but has yet to supply the name of the man in question.

Mark has also been known to not take bio very serious.

Reviews

[Robert Treadwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short novel which gives us a taster and a warm and quick hello to the authors next steam punk “hero” as he crashes through the passing place bar - drinks anyone under the table and raises a smile before leaving us wanting to find out more about him

[Amy Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘A Scar of Avarice’ is the collision of two existing (and wonderfully strange) universes, introducing Hannibal Smyth (of Spider in the Eye) to the inhabitants of Esquith's Passing Place. The book can be read alone if you haven’t read either ‘Passing Place’ or ‘Spider in the eye’ but is probably best enjoyed as part of the larger collection of stories.

The story is funny and well-written and a great introduction to Hannibal’s universe.

Also included are some non Hannibal / Passing Place short stories at the end of the book. These run the gamut from funny to downright unsettling and are definitely worth a read.

[Joseph Carrabis · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Scar of Avarice is a small book of chapters meant for Hayes' Passing Place (which is an amazing, brilliant, worthy, magical, captivating read) and which Hayes tells the reader didn't fit the overall novel, hence were gathered into a separate book.
Unfortunately, these stories rely heavily on the Passing Place mythos to work. A Scar of Avarice has none of the voice, tone, or power of Passing Place, and relies on a series character who definitely wouldn't fit in (as written) in the Passing Place mythos.
Sorry, Mark, I hoped for more.

[Madeleine Holly-Rosing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the steampunk universe of Hannibal Smyth, this novella takes place in a bar called The Passing Place where strangers from other times and places can sit down for a chat before venturing off into the unknown.

Initially, told from Richard, the piano player's viewpoint, we meet Hannibal Smyth, who is in between adventures yet tells a tale of his own. This is a fun short story, well-written and concise. Not having ventured into this world before, I think I would have gotten more out of it if I had read the other books in the series first.

But overall, a nice distracting to have sitting by the fireplace having a cup of tea.

[Mark Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterpiece ( which is of course exactly what I would say as the writer...)
This short novelette is both a mini-sequel to Passing Place and a mini-prequel to my force coming Hannibal Smyth steampunk novel 'A Spider In The Eye'
It also has three extra shorts with it including a story about goblins...