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The Secret Notebook of Michael Faraday: An Airship Flamel Adventure
Nicodemus Boffin rose from a boyhood in the ash heaps of East London to reach the pinnacles of British science when he is mentored by the great scientist, Michael Faraday. When he finds a secret laboratory notebook in which Faraday has described incomprehensible experiments, Nicodemus wonders if his mentor has discovered a new science, or lost his faculties. Nicodemus's rival, Viscount Whitehall-Barnes, seeks to gain the notebook by any means necessary to study the descriptions of a strange orange mineral with unusual properties which he believes is the alchemists' Philosopher's Stone. Realizing that the Viscount must never learn of secrets of the orange stone, Nicodemus takes action to keep the knowledge hidden, protect his family, and preserve the legacy of his mentor.
247 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 25, 2017
4 people want to read
About the author
Michael Tierney
6 books3 followersMichael Tierney writes steampunk-laced alternative historical fiction stories from his Victorian home in Silicon Valley. After writing technical and scientific publications for many years, he turned his sights to more imaginative genres. Trained as a chemist, he brings an appreciation of both science and history to his stories. He has just finished his third book. Visit his blog at www.airshipflamel.com.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 3, 2017
Michael Tierney's sophomore effort brings us into the world of Victorian science ... with a smattering of steampunk just for fun.
We first meet the protagonist, Nicodemus Boffin, as the poor kid with an interest in learning. His father is Noddy Boffin, a name you may recall from Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend. Indeed, it is through the offices of Mr. Dickens that young Nicodemus is eventually apprenticed to a bookbinder so that he may learn a trade.
While working at the bookbindery, Nicodemus reads anything he can get his hands on. He also has an opportunity to attend the so-called Ragged Schools and further his education. It is through all of this that he is next apprenticed as a young man to the titular professor Michael Faraday ... and then, as the old saying goes, the adventure begins.
Peopled with characters from both history and classic literature, this novel takes readers along for the ride as Nicodemus grows up both personally and as a scientist. He's determined to take up where his mentor, Faraday, leaves off on a secret project -- and thus runs afoul of banditry, air pirates, and more.
I enjoyed the story for a variety of reasons. Nicodemus is a likeable character, first and foremost. Second, the book takes place in locations of which I have fond personal memories, particularly the lovely Scottish village of Tobermory.
Fans of steampunk tales will find much to love here.
We first meet the protagonist, Nicodemus Boffin, as the poor kid with an interest in learning. His father is Noddy Boffin, a name you may recall from Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend. Indeed, it is through the offices of Mr. Dickens that young Nicodemus is eventually apprenticed to a bookbinder so that he may learn a trade.
While working at the bookbindery, Nicodemus reads anything he can get his hands on. He also has an opportunity to attend the so-called Ragged Schools and further his education. It is through all of this that he is next apprenticed as a young man to the titular professor Michael Faraday ... and then, as the old saying goes, the adventure begins.
Peopled with characters from both history and classic literature, this novel takes readers along for the ride as Nicodemus grows up both personally and as a scientist. He's determined to take up where his mentor, Faraday, leaves off on a secret project -- and thus runs afoul of banditry, air pirates, and more.
I enjoyed the story for a variety of reasons. Nicodemus is a likeable character, first and foremost. Second, the book takes place in locations of which I have fond personal memories, particularly the lovely Scottish village of Tobermory.
Fans of steampunk tales will find much to love here.
Displaying 1 of 1 review