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The Steampunk Detective
An orphan. The world’s greatest detective. A planet dominated by airships, steam powered spacecraft and towers that stretch into orbit.
Welcome to the world of The Steampunk Detective.
Jack Mason is an orphan wanting a new life. Ignatius Doyle is an aging detective who needs an assistant. When Jack goes to work for Mr Doyle, he has no idea what lies ahead.
They are called in to locate a missing scientist by his daughter, the beautiful Scarlet Bell. As Jack and Mr Doyle investigate, they discover links to Leonardo da Vinci and the Phoenix Society, a clandestine organisation that has been secretly developing technology for centuries.
As they close in on the missing scientist, they discover other forces at play. The Nazis want the technology of the Phoenix Society as does the mysterious Napoleon of Crime, Professor M.
With the world teetering on the verge of war, a weapon of mass destruction is stolen from the Phoenix Society and London held to ransom.
Will Jack and Mr Doyle find the missing scientist? Will they track down the weapon before London is destroyed? And what is the true identity of Professor M?
Filled with references to Sherlock Holmes and the world of Victorian literature, The Steampunk Detective is an action packed adventure for readers of all ages as it brings together a boy in need of a family and a man in need of a son.
Welcome to the world of The Steampunk Detective.
Jack Mason is an orphan wanting a new life. Ignatius Doyle is an aging detective who needs an assistant. When Jack goes to work for Mr Doyle, he has no idea what lies ahead.
They are called in to locate a missing scientist by his daughter, the beautiful Scarlet Bell. As Jack and Mr Doyle investigate, they discover links to Leonardo da Vinci and the Phoenix Society, a clandestine organisation that has been secretly developing technology for centuries.
As they close in on the missing scientist, they discover other forces at play. The Nazis want the technology of the Phoenix Society as does the mysterious Napoleon of Crime, Professor M.
With the world teetering on the verge of war, a weapon of mass destruction is stolen from the Phoenix Society and London held to ransom.
Will Jack and Mr Doyle find the missing scientist? Will they track down the weapon before London is destroyed? And what is the true identity of Professor M?
Filled with references to Sherlock Holmes and the world of Victorian literature, The Steampunk Detective is an action packed adventure for readers of all ages as it brings together a boy in need of a family and a man in need of a son.
306 pages, Nook
First published July 21, 2011
38 people are currently reading
442 people want to read
About the author
Darrell Pitt
52 books163 followersDarrell Pitt is a long-time fan of comics, science-fiction, and anything that would make the 'cool kids' cringe. Seriously, he remembers literally sprinting home from school one day to watch the next episode of Doctor Who because the previous episode ended on a cliffhanger (although, didn't they all?).
He has a lifelong interest in superheroes, monsters, science fiction and anything involving spaceships or zebras. (If your eyes furrowed at the mention of the word, zebras, yes, it’s true. He really likes zebras. He hasn’t written a book yet that features an all zebra crew on a spaceship where they encounter superheroes or monsters – but there’s still time!)
He has a lifelong interest in superheroes, monsters, science fiction and anything involving spaceships or zebras. (If your eyes furrowed at the mention of the word, zebras, yes, it’s true. He really likes zebras. He hasn’t written a book yet that features an all zebra crew on a spaceship where they encounter superheroes or monsters – but there’s still time!)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
January 14, 2012
I'm the author so I'm biased, but this is what other readers have had to say about "The Steampunk Detective"
The story is seamless, flawless... Your writing is magnificent. Natural, flowing, funny, sharp - it's addictive to read, and smart. Your characters are lovable, interesting, different. Jack is ingenious. I mean, YOU are ingenious, the inventions and the plans you come up with through your characters.
Melissa Norris
…an entertaining read that flies by, filled with action and intrigue.
Mena Grazie
Without a doubt this was the best dollar I have ever spent! I could not put it down and was starting to get behind on things I should have been doing. Thank you for the wonderful adventure.
Curtis McCully
I thoroughly enjoyed your book and I hope there are more adventures to follow. I could not stop reading! It was extremely engaging and the characters well fleshed out so I hope there is more ahead for this wonderful duo.
Laura Golston
The story is seamless, flawless... Your writing is magnificent. Natural, flowing, funny, sharp - it's addictive to read, and smart. Your characters are lovable, interesting, different. Jack is ingenious. I mean, YOU are ingenious, the inventions and the plans you come up with through your characters.
Melissa Norris
…an entertaining read that flies by, filled with action and intrigue.
Mena Grazie
Without a doubt this was the best dollar I have ever spent! I could not put it down and was starting to get behind on things I should have been doing. Thank you for the wonderful adventure.
Curtis McCully
I thoroughly enjoyed your book and I hope there are more adventures to follow. I could not stop reading! It was extremely engaging and the characters well fleshed out so I hope there is more ahead for this wonderful duo.
Laura Golston
March 21, 2012
This is a wonderful book, filled throughout with Sherlock Holmes' references, which only made it all the more fun. This is book the worlds greatest detective is a man named Mr. Doyle who is about in his sixties. He lost his son in a war and his son's family blames him for it. He hires an orphan to help him with his cases, 16-year-old Jack. Together the two embark on a fast pasted mystery that lands them into all kinds of trouble and allows them to met many new characters.
They travel from London, to Germany, to the Swiss alps, and to France. The descriptions are amazing and the inventions are fun. Steam trucks that can go on both land and water, ships that can fly into space, and towers that reach into the skies and past.
Also, I loved the characters. Mr. Doyle isn't exactly a Sherlock, not a young one. He acts more as his older self would have, more opened with his feelings and not ashamed to show affection toward his friends.
And Jack pulls off a younger Watson well, saving Mr. Doyle's life, being a little slow with clues. But the best part is how they are always picking on each other. Mr. Doyle making it a point to embarrass Jack in front of the girl he likes.
A wonderful, fast paced read. Highly recommended.
They travel from London, to Germany, to the Swiss alps, and to France. The descriptions are amazing and the inventions are fun. Steam trucks that can go on both land and water, ships that can fly into space, and towers that reach into the skies and past.
Also, I loved the characters. Mr. Doyle isn't exactly a Sherlock, not a young one. He acts more as his older self would have, more opened with his feelings and not ashamed to show affection toward his friends.
And Jack pulls off a younger Watson well, saving Mr. Doyle's life, being a little slow with clues. But the best part is how they are always picking on each other. Mr. Doyle making it a point to embarrass Jack in front of the girl he likes.
A wonderful, fast paced read. Highly recommended.
October 10, 2011
What if the world's greatest detective wasn't Mr. Holmes? What if Dr. Watson was a 16-year-old orphaned circus performed? What if the atomic bomb had been invented during Victoria's reign?
These and other burning questions are answered in "The Steampunk Detective". It's an entertaining read that flies by, filled with action and intrigue. Easier to resolve than one of Mr. Holmes' cases, but still an enjoyable romp on a summer's day or weekend afternoon.
These and other burning questions are answered in "The Steampunk Detective". It's an entertaining read that flies by, filled with action and intrigue. Easier to resolve than one of Mr. Holmes' cases, but still an enjoyable romp on a summer's day or weekend afternoon.
May 18, 2013
This is definately a YA oriented story. I found the plot simplistic and the references to Sherlock Holmes distracting. I was looking for the Steampunk Detective, not a less capable clone of Sherlock Holmes.
The characters would be engaging to the YA crowd.
So the bottom line to me is if you are over 30 just pass this book right by, if under 30 you will probably enjoy it.
The characters would be engaging to the YA crowd.
So the bottom line to me is if you are over 30 just pass this book right by, if under 30 you will probably enjoy it.
April 24, 2012
This is a fun read. it is one i think my teen son would enjoy. i hope there is more adventure with these characters....cross fingers.
March 30, 2012
A fun interesting read that puts interesting twists into history!
April 16, 2012
very confusing in some parts
August 15, 2018
I was led to believe it is a Sherlock Holmes story, but it only borrows (liberally) from the SH canon. It's more of a young adult steampunk story, which is okay, but I found it predictable in places.
November 20, 2020
Great, fun read. Loads of historic and literary references. I really enjoyed this book.
February 2, 2014
Well, after re-reading "The Steampunk Detective" by Darrell Pitt, I've come to a couple of conclusions. Not only does the story stand up to repeat readings, it actually gets better, in my opinion. Various details and nuances came to my attention that made me appreciate Jack and Mr. Doyle's adventures even more. However, let me present an overview of the story before going further. The two main characters of the tale are Jack Mason, a sixteen year old orphan; and Mr. Ignatius Doyle, consulting detective. The setting is a steampunk version of Victorian England. Despite a rocky first meeting, Jack and Mr. Doyle gradually become true friends and partners. Engaged in a case to find Miss Scarlet Bell's missing father, the duo stumble upon a much greater plot that endangers the world itself. Up against Nazi's, a secret society, and the nefarious M, can the two save the day? Mr. Pitt takes some elements from a more established consulting detective, combines them with his own unique characters, and then turns them loose in his wonderful alternate history setting. Rest assured, this is not a homage or a pastiche. Mr. Pitt takes some inspiration from the world of Sherlock Holmes, but the story he tells here is both well-crafted and uniquely his own. The level of world building put into the setting and it's history is inspiring, and Mr. Pitt's prose is both fluid and highly cinematic. I could easily see this being adapted either into a graphic novel or on the big screen. The world really comes to life through the wonderful prose. The plot itself is seamless, and a grand adventure. Moving from more character-driven moments, to large scale action scenes, to moments more focused on Jack himself, the story behaves organically; nothing is superfluous, everything lends to character development and the advancement of the plot. The characters are well drawn, and as they journey, the journey changes them. They are not the same as they were before their adventure, and have grown considerably. Basically, the story is well written, and a joy to read. I'd like to thank the author, and I look forward to reading more of his wonderful adventures. I enthusiastically recommend "The Steampunk Detective" to anyone wishing to lose themselves in a grand adventure. 5 out of 5 stars.
August 29, 2012
It's a likable book that needs more care with its worldbuilding and structure. Well worth the 99 cents, though.
Jack Mason is a teenage orphan who is given employment with an eccentric man named Ignatius Doyle. It turns out that Doyle is a consulting detective who uses his keen deductive mind to solve difficult cases for queen and country. When a young woman named Scarlet seeks his help, it leads into a wild case involving a shadowy secret society from the time of Da Vinci, and some very modern foes.
There's some issues. First of all, the universe is somewhat arbitrary and inconsistent. You'd think at the start it was dated roughly around the 1890s, but further events in the book put it at 1935 or so. Yet they are still using dirigibles, and steam power. They talk of women's suffrage. They also go the other way: we seem to have some form of manned space flight, and the metrotowers have skyhook-like qualities. It's a hodge-podge of various elements that don't mesh all that well: the book doesn't feel either like true steampunk, or true alt-30s fiction.
Secondly, the book really needed its main adversary to be more of a presence, and it's secondary adversary disappears as a threat. The main adversary has a nice twist that I would love to see more of in future books, but you are led to believe it is the secondary villains, and they just fizzle out. The book is also rough in plot structure-Jack likes to jump on vehicles a lot, Scarlet I don't think was ever explained why she wears aviator goggles, and Ignatius tends to show near magical skills of deduction at times. The people who mentioned the whole "Robin meets Sherlock Holmes" thing are right too.
But with all this, it still remains a likable and fun romp. The pastiche of elements is fun, and there's enough action to make the book move along at a good pace. It's not going to rock your world, but it's not going to annoy you either, and it's a good light read for fans of steampunk if they don't mind forgiving the book of the things I've listed above. It's a great value at 99 cents.
Jack Mason is a teenage orphan who is given employment with an eccentric man named Ignatius Doyle. It turns out that Doyle is a consulting detective who uses his keen deductive mind to solve difficult cases for queen and country. When a young woman named Scarlet seeks his help, it leads into a wild case involving a shadowy secret society from the time of Da Vinci, and some very modern foes.
There's some issues. First of all, the universe is somewhat arbitrary and inconsistent. You'd think at the start it was dated roughly around the 1890s, but further events in the book put it at 1935 or so. Yet they are still using dirigibles, and steam power. They talk of women's suffrage. They also go the other way: we seem to have some form of manned space flight, and the metrotowers have skyhook-like qualities. It's a hodge-podge of various elements that don't mesh all that well: the book doesn't feel either like true steampunk, or true alt-30s fiction.
Secondly, the book really needed its main adversary to be more of a presence, and it's secondary adversary disappears as a threat. The main adversary has a nice twist that I would love to see more of in future books, but you are led to believe it is the secondary villains, and they just fizzle out. The book is also rough in plot structure-Jack likes to jump on vehicles a lot, Scarlet I don't think was ever explained why she wears aviator goggles, and Ignatius tends to show near magical skills of deduction at times. The people who mentioned the whole "Robin meets Sherlock Holmes" thing are right too.
But with all this, it still remains a likable and fun romp. The pastiche of elements is fun, and there's enough action to make the book move along at a good pace. It's not going to rock your world, but it's not going to annoy you either, and it's a good light read for fans of steampunk if they don't mind forgiving the book of the things I've listed above. It's a great value at 99 cents.
January 10, 2012
A quick and fun read. The book is set in London after the first world war. The detective and his new assistant solve a case of a missing person, and we are led in a tour of London in the solving of the crime. The principal characters are the best feature of the book. It would have been nice to see the villain's character better developed.
There were a few places where it was obvious that the author is not from the UK (several anachronisms).
One complaint is that there are airships equipped with many cannon. In real life this would not work well, since for every force there is an equal and opposite force, thus firing cannons would move the airship in the opposite direction of the firing direction.
There were a few places where it was obvious that the author is not from the UK (several anachronisms).
One complaint is that there are airships equipped with many cannon. In real life this would not work well, since for every force there is an equal and opposite force, thus firing cannons would move the airship in the opposite direction of the firing direction.
June 20, 2012
Any book that has good characters with some level of depth gets a high score for me.
New to the steampunk Genre this was an experiment that I enjoyed and await further adventures of what to me could become a great new detective partnership.
Is there anything I didn't like, well I kept expecting more circus stunts to come forward after all the main character is from a circus family and those skills I look forward to being expanded in the next book (please let there be a next book Darrell) and also some scenes set in the Detectives offices which would be a great place to demonstrate SteamPunk physics and Forensics as we see the the relationship between the two characters develope.
Looking forward to thier next great adventure.
New to the steampunk Genre this was an experiment that I enjoyed and await further adventures of what to me could become a great new detective partnership.
Is there anything I didn't like, well I kept expecting more circus stunts to come forward after all the main character is from a circus family and those skills I look forward to being expanded in the next book (please let there be a next book Darrell) and also some scenes set in the Detectives offices which would be a great place to demonstrate SteamPunk physics and Forensics as we see the the relationship between the two characters develope.
Looking forward to thier next great adventure.
April 28, 2012
A quick read. The premise was interesting with a Sherlock type character and a young ex-circus performer orphan as a sidekick in a steampunk alternate universe. Unfortunately it suffers from the same problems as the original Holmes tales in that the author doesn't provide the reader all the clues needed to solve the mystery. Instead he relays on the main character's encyclopedic knowledge to provide the next clue in the chain.
July 9, 2012
This was one of the first books I bought when I got my Kindle Fire. Now for 99 cents I was not expecting the next great American novel. But I did enjoy myself. Now it did have some cheesy parts or a high Velveeta factor (because it's the cheesiest). It had some very strong comparison to Sherlock Holmes. The main characters name is Doyle really and the young orphan has a lot in common with Robin (from Batman). But for what U pay it's a good read.
December 11, 2012
I really enjoyed this book from Darrell Pitt and look forward to reading any additional books in this series, if it is a series. The characters were likable and I thought the writing done well. I liked the nod to Holmes throughout the book and the steampunk elements where things are sorta like they are in history, but not quite. It is a YA book and I knew that going into it, so wasn't expecting adult steampunk :-)
June 18, 2012
It's a simple tale, well told. Comes across initially as being more like fan-fiction than a standalone work of it's own, but warms up along the way. Sadly, this is the first work of fiction that I'm reading this year, so I rushed through it at breakneck speed, but whilst it was a decent enough read, I'm not sure it's worth re-reading, at least not in the near future.
May 30, 2017
A Fun Book That Touches Nearly All Steampunk Bases.
I enjoyed this book. It was a quick reading experience. It includes nearly all the elements I like in the Steampunk genre: alternative history, 19th Century technology, early 20th Century figures, and high adventure. Darell Pitt obviously loves this type of fantasy storytelling and shares his love with his readers.
I enjoyed this book. It was a quick reading experience. It includes nearly all the elements I like in the Steampunk genre: alternative history, 19th Century technology, early 20th Century figures, and high adventure. Darell Pitt obviously loves this type of fantasy storytelling and shares his love with his readers.
May 8, 2012
This was a $.99 Kindle book, it started out rather intersting, but it can't decide if its a Holmesean mystery or a YA book or what. It's confusing, the idea is interesting, just didn't quite pull it off in my opinion...
August 16, 2012
Quite enjoyable. The identity of the bad guy was actually fairly obvious but that did not detract from it. Reminded me of a (slightly better written) steampunk Alex Rider.
I will be interested if a sequel comes out and will heartily recommend it to my teenage sister.
I will be interested if a sequel comes out and will heartily recommend it to my teenage sister.
October 10, 2012
really enjoyed this book. i'm a sucker for victorian adventure stories, so this was right up my allley. characters that i actually found interesting (if not a little familiar), and a great caper story to boot. eagerly waiting for the inevitable sequel.
January 13, 2013
I thought this book was pretty good. There were some parts where it was a little long winded or didn't flow but overall a good read! I enjoyed how the author took real life events and turned them into the story with a Steampunk twist.
January 9, 2013
I liked this. Not quite enough steampunk for me but probably perfect for the younger readers it was intended for. Good story that moves quickly and the characters are great there was just something not there for me to rate it higher than 3 stars.
January 27, 2013
Great read at a bargain price! It's a YA Steampunk tale that reminded me of the Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld. Fast moving, good action, and nice development of the relationship between Jack and Mr. Doyle. I hope this becomes a series!
June 20, 2012
I loved this adventure. Twists and turns all over the pages. I was on edge until I completed this one.
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September 15, 2012A cute twist on classic Sherlock Holmes. The hero even at 221 Bee St. If you like YA adventure stories, you'll love this one.
April 4, 2013
Very fun book! Really enjoyed this story and it's creativity. I will definitely read more from this author!
March 22, 2013
I hate it so much
May 13, 2013
3.5 Stars. Lots of adventure.
May 17, 2013
Would recommend this for 'tween readers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews