Recommended Fiction for Castle Falkenstein

Compiled by Michael Bowman
From recommendations by subscribers of Falken-L
Last updated 21 May 1997

Dates of original book publication are given.

Allston, Aaron. Doc Sidhe. 1995
It takes place in a 1930's world populated with fair folk and is a spin on the "Doc Savage" pulps. It might interest CF players, though the world is not CF. (There is a human character from modern Earth pulled through a conjuring circle into the the 1930s "Fair World," though.)
 
Baxter, Stephen. Anti-Ice. 1993
1850s: Britain discovers anti-ice, a frozen form of antimatter. 1870: British science and anti-ice-fuelled devices rule the world. Will Ned Vicars, mild-mannered Foreign Office attaché, escape from the flying machine of Sir Josiah Traveller, master of anti-ice, and recover his beloved Françoise? A wonderful book, with some great Infernal Devices.
 
Bierce, Ambrose. Collected Writings of Ambrose Bierce. 1946
 
Blaylock, James P. Homunculus. 1986
 
Bull, Emma. War for the Oaks. 1987
It is absolutely delightful, and involves the Seelie and UnSeelie courts.
 
Chesterton, G.K. The Man Who Was Thursday. 1908
 
Clark, Ronald. Queen Victoria's Bomb: The Disclosures of Professor Franklin Huxtable, M.A. (Cantab.). 1967
Novel written in the "discovered manuscript" form, which describes how England possesed the atomic bomb in the 19th century. Since it follows actual, rather than alternate history, the bomb is only detonated once, when it was tested in a remote area of India in the early 19th century. The bomb itself is a great Infernal Device -- the two halves of the uranium core are mounted on a miniature clockwork railway, which is designed to bring them together automatically after the inventor leaves the scene. The author also wrote a non-fiction account of British nuclear fission research in 1939-40, so the book is actually a plausible account, although far-fetched. Fun, though a bit tedious in the second half once it becomes clear the author is going to follow real events and not use the bomb again.
 
Conrad, Joseph. The Secret Agent. 1907
For a dark and cynical idea for an "Anarchist" plot. It's a long time since I read it, but . . . Well, let's say it could put you off Tsarist diplomats for life.
 
Crichton, Michael. The Great Train Robbery. 1975
 
Deitz, Tom. David Sullivan Series
Set in the southeast US (Georgia, mainly) (and other worlds) and involve both the Sidhe and Native American myth and magic. Very nicely done!
Windmaster's Bane. 1986
Fireshaper's Doom: A Tale of Vengeance. 1987
Darkthunder's Way. 1989
Sunshaker's War. 1990
Stoneskin's Revenge. 1991
Dreamseeker's Road. 1995
 
Dibdin, Michael. The Last Sherlock Holmes Story. 1978
Dibdin metaphorically takes a knife to the Holmes canon and does nasty Ripper-like things to it. Very astute, with a heavy psychoanalytic subtext. I was guessing right up until the end, and I'd read it before. How could I forget? If you want something radically different with Holmes then have a read.
 
Dickens, Charles
Everything by Dickens is great. My favorites are Bleak House, David Copperfield, Great Expectations and The Pickwick Papers.
 
Doctorow, E.L. The Waterworks. 1994
 
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Best Supernatural Tales of Arthur Conan Doyle. 1979
 
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Lost World. 1912
First appearance of Professor George Challenger.
 
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Poison Belt. 1913
Sequel to The Lost World.
 
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Sherlock Holmes stories.
A Study in Scarlet. 1888
The Sign of Four. 1890
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. 1892
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. 1894
The Hound of the Baskervilles. 1902
The Return of Sherlock Holmes. 1905
The Valley of Fear. 1915
His Last Bow. 1917
The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes. 1927
 
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan, and William S. Baring-Gould. The Annotated Sherlock Holmes. 1967
It has a wealth of period information about customs, mores, carriages, etc., buried in the annotations.
 
Edgerton, Teresa. Goblin Moon and The Gnome's Engine. 1991
The Gnome's Engine is a perfect Infernal Device, Lord Francis Love Skelbrooke and Lady Sera Vorder are terrific Heroes, Jarl Skorskgra and the Duchess are excellent Villains . . . a very CF pair of books. I recommend them heartily.
 
Farmer, Philip José. The Other Log of Phileas Fogg. 1973
A fun twist on much genre fiction taking place in the period.
 
Flynn, Michael. In the Country of the Blind. 1990
The book describes the machinations of The Babbage Society, a secret group of Americans who, in the 1830-40s successfully build Analytical Engines and develop "Cliology" -- the science of history (think of Asimov's Psychohistory or Heinlein's Social Calculus) in order to steer the world into Utopia and make themselves rich and powerful (guess which are easier). This story is actually set in present day, with the Society, and a splinter group, still struggling for control of the forces of future history and with each other, all the while trying to keep their Secret. Still there is lots of material in the book about the Society's early activities.
 
Fraser, George MacDonald. The Flashman Papers.
Flashman. 1969
Royal Flash. 1970
Flash for Freedom! 1971
Flashman at the Charge. 1973
Flashman in the Great Game. 1975
Flashman's Lady. 1977
Flashman and the Redskins. 1982
Flashman and the Dragon. 1985
Flashman and the Mountain of Light. 1990
Flashman & the Angel of the Lord. 1994
 
Frost, Mark. The List of 7. 1993
A conspiracy thriller set in the 1880s starring Arthur Conan Doyle.
 
Frost, Mark. The Six Messiahs. 1995
Sequel to: The List of 7. Not as good.
 
Gardner, John. The Return of Moriarty = Moriarty. 1974
 
Gardner, John. The Revenge of Moriarty. 1975
 
Garrett, Randall. The Lord Darcy Books.
Set in modern-day, but the culture and technology are very Victorian. Set in an alternate world with magic. Basically Sherlock Holmes-ish mysteries with magic thrown in.
Too Many Magicians. 1967
Murder and Magic. 1979
Lord Darcy Investigates. 1981
 
Gelman, Peter. Manifest Destiny, or, The Rough & Ready Balloon Invasion of the Lunar Peninsula of Texas. Yellow House, 1995.
Suppose the entire Earth was comprised only of that area covered by the United States of America (as they stood in the year 1848 -- 29 states). Suppose the sun and inner planets orbited that earth, and the outer planets orbited the sun. Suppose you could reach those other planets by balloon. If you were an American in such a curiously ordered solar system, it would be obvious to you that the Manifest Destiny of the United States would be to expand over all the new worlds. Moonifest Destiny is a strange book, the memoirs of Jack Borginnis; a private in the army, under Gen. Zachary Taylor, invading the moon. This invasion is based on the real American invasion of Mexico, right down to the names of the officers involved. All of the familiar steam-punk elements are there, from space travel to Voltaic bayonets to mechanical men, but the book doesn't read like any steam-punk book I've ever read, partly because the author wrote it before hearing of the steam-punk movement. Moonifest Destiny is about the conflict between Faith and Reason. (The strange celestial mechanics are based on Tycho Brahe's attempt to rationalize observed planetary movement to conform to religious doctrine: ie, the Earth being the centre of the universe. It's obviously very well researched, and written in a period style with references I sometimes found hard to follow. (I'm not that familiar with American history.) It's also a little depressing, but if you liked The Difference Engine, you'll probably like this too. Moonifest Destiny is self published by the author. It can be ordered for $3 from:
The Yellow House
2312 - 26th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55406-1243
gelma001@maroon.tc.umn.edu
 
Gibson, William, and Bruce Sterling. The Difference Engine. 1990
The definitive depiction of the dark side of steampunk. The idea of the Steam Lords and of gadgetech seems to have come from here. Lots of ideas.
 
Gilbert and Sullivan.
Although not filled with swashbucking or daring-do, they are filled with terrific character archetypes, absurd comedic tales of romance and the calamities of mixing social classes.
HMS Pinafore. 1878
Patience. 1881
The Pirates of Penzance. 1880
Princess Ida. 1884
Ruddigore. 1887
The Sorcerer. 1877
Trial by Jury. 1875
The Yeomen of the Guard. 1888
 
Greenland, Colin. Harm's Way. 1993
A neo-Victorian age in which sailing ships can travel the æther, and Earth's empires extend to the stars. The story is a very Dickensian tale of a young waif searching the inner planets for her origins. More a sourcebook for Space 1889, but good for CF in its portrait of a multi-racial Victorian society.
 
Gurney, James. Dinotopia: A Land Apart in Time. 1992 ; Dinotopia: The World Beneath. 1995
These are beautifully illustrated and are wonderful source material for a "Lost World" context when characters go exploring. The main character is shipwrecked on an island where humans have successfully created a society in harmony with dinosaurs.
 
Hambly, Barbara. Those Who Hunt the Night. 1988
Victorian vampires, this time hiring a mortal to track down the person who is killing them off one by one.
 
Hambly, Barbara. Traveling with the Dead. 1995
Sequel to Those Who Hunt the Night. Involves lots of international espionage in London, Vienna and Istanbul.
 
Hjortsberg, William. Nevermore. 1994
Does not take place in England, but anybody interested in Sherlock Holmes and Harry Houdini should enjoy this one. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Houdini team up to solve a series of murders based on the stories of Edgar Alan Poe. Contains references to the occult, Egyptology, ghosts, etc. Very entertaining, but to me an unsatisfactory ending.
 
Hoffmann, E.T.A. Tales of Hoffmann. 1913
Almost anything by E.T.A. Hoffmann, jurist, composer, and poet. OK, he lived at the beginning of the 19th century, but his stories work just as well for the 1870s. And they are perfectly Falkenstein in nature.
 
Hope, Anthony. The Prisoner of Zenda. 1894
 
Hope, Anthony. Rupert of Hentzau: From the Memoirs of Fritz von Tarlenheim. 1896
Sequel to The Prisoner of Zenda.
 
Jeter, K.W. Infernal Devices: A Mad Victorian Fantasy. 1987
Steampunk and a brilliant, complex parody of the Cthulhu mythos.
 
Jeter, K.W. Morlock Night. 1979
The Morlocks, using the secret of time travel stolen while repairing the Time Traveller's machine, make an attempt to invade London.
 
Kipling, Rudyard. Puck of Pook's Hill ; Rewards and Fairies. 1906, 1910
About two small childern that are befriended by Puck. I can't remember exactly what kind of creature he is. He can't come near iron, but he can interact with humans much more easily than the fairies in the stories. Anyway Puck delights the children by telling them stories and occasionally taking them into the Fairy World. These are fun to read although somewhat simplistic stories. The one that stands out in my mind right now is about how the fairies raise an orphaned human. He can live amoung them as long as he never touches iron. Once he does touch iron he must return to the world of humans and the first piece of iron that he touches will claim his destiny. For example, if he touches a horseshoe, he will become a blacksmith, if he touches a plow a farmer, etc. These stories would be a good place to find common beliefs on limitations to fairy powers.
 
Kurland, Michael. The Lord Darcy Books.
Continuation by another hand of Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy books.
Ten Little Wizards. 1988
A Study in Sorcery. 1989
 
Lackey, Mercedes. Burning Water. 1989
This one is set in Dallas and deals with Aztec sacrifice magic. This is one of the Diana Tregarde books and you get a lot of New Age witchcraft that doesn't seem to fit into the CF world, but it is a good source if you want to use the Aztecs and have a generally good read, like most of Lackey's works.
 
Lackey, Mercedes. Sacred Ground. 1994
It is not really CF. It takes place in modern Oklahoma, but much of the background on American Indian magic and beliefs could be useful if you are running in the US. There are some strong parallels that could be seen as a different, but still true to form as the Seelie/Unseelie are in Europe.
 
MacIntyre, F. Gwynplaine. The Woman Between the Worlds. 1994
A woman appears in 1898 London. A war between dimensions, this involves the occult and shapechangers.
 
McKinley, Robin. The Blue Sword. 1982
It's not set on earth, but it definitely has a Victorian feel about it.
 
Moorcock, Michael. The Nomad of Time = A Nomad of the Time Streams. 1981
Oswald Bastable finds a nexus to alternate worlds, and tries vainly to find his own. Several alternate Victorian worlds; good for Infernal Devices
The Warlord of the Air. 1971
The Land Leviathan. 1974
The Steel Tsar. 1981
 
Nesbit, E.
These are all set in the late 1800s, are set in Victorian England, and are mainly focused on juveniles, but are still enjoyable reading.
Five Children and It. 1902. Five children find a Psammead (ancient sand-fairy) who can grant wishes. These wishes never turn out the way the children plan, for example, their house becomes a beseiged castle.
The Phoenix and the Carpet. 1904. Instead of the grumpy Psammead, they are now dealing with a conceited legendary bird, the Phoenix.
The Story of the Amulet. 1906. The children find the Psammead again and an Egyptian amulet, with which they travel through time to Ancient Egypt, Babylon and Atlantis.
The Enchanted Castle. 1907. Children on holiday find a so-called enchanted castle, which turned out to have some magical elements after all.
Story of the Treasure Seekers. 1899
The Wouldbegoods. 1901
The New Treasure Seekers. 1904
The Railway Children. 1900. Lots of adventures around steam trains.
 
Newman, Kim. Anno Dracula. 1992
Count Dracula makes a vampire of Queen Victoria, and suddenly vampirism is the rage among England's Smart Set. The cast of characters alone makes this worthy of a CF player's attention.
 
Norfolk, Lawrence. Lempriere's Dictionary. 1991
This book is not written as 'Steampunk' and also does not fall into the Victorian Age. However, it does contain most of the elements of the genre. It takes place in London in the mid-1700s, with flashbacks to certain events in France in the mid-1600s. It contains murders fashioned on the pattern of certain mythological events, cyborgs, secret societies, commerce, revenge, incest, etc. I've heard that the American edition is different from the English edition, and that the English edition is better. The book is a bit difficult to 'get in to,' but well worth the effort!
 
Perry, Anne. Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novels.
A delightful, scary little monster of a Victorian mystery. Does quite a lot to show the morals and prevalent thoughts of the age.
The Cater Street Hangman. 1979
Callander Square. 1980
Paragon Walk. 1981
Resurrection Row. 1981
Rutland Place. 1983
Bluegate Fields. 1984
Death in the Devil's Acre. 1985
Cardington Crescent. 1987
Silence in Hanover Close. 1988
Bethlehem Road. 1990
Highgate Rise. 1991
Belgrave Square. 1992
Farriers' Lane. 1993
The Hyde Park Headsman. 1994
Traitor's Gate. 1995
Pentecost Alley. 1996
Ashworth Hall. 1997
 
Perry, Anne. William Monk Novels.
The Face of a Stranger. 1990
A Dangerous Mourning. 1991
Defend and Betray. 1992
A Sudden, Fearful Death. 1993
The Sins of the Wolf. 1994
Cain His Brother. 1996
Weighed in the Balance. 1996
 
Powers, Tim. The Anubis Gates. 1983
 
Pullman, Philip. The Ruby in the Smoke. 1985
 
Rohmer, Sax. The Fu Manchu stories.
The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu = The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu. 1913
The Devil Doctor = The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu. 1916
The Si-Fan Mysteries = The Hand of Fu Manchu. 1917
The Golden Scorpion. 1919
Daughter of Fu Manchu. 1931
The Mask of Fu Manchu. 1933
Fu Manchu's Bride = The Bride of Fu Manchu. 1933
The Trail of Fu Manchu. 1934
President Fu Manchu. 1936
The Drums of Fu Manchu. 1939
The Island of Fu Manchu. 1941
Shadow of Fu Manchu. 1948
Re-Enter Fu Manchu = Re-Enter Dr. Fu Manchu. 1957
Emperor Fu Manchu. 1959
The Wrath of Fu Manchu and Other Stories. 1973
 
Rushton, William. W.G. Grace's Last Case, or, The War of the Worlds, Part Two. 1984
W.G. Grace, England's greatest cricketeer (and croquet champion), teams up with Dr. Watson to forestall a second Martian invasion of Earth. Silly, but fun.
 
Saberhagen, Fred. The Holmes-Dracula File. 1978
A confrontation between (a sympathetic) Dracula and Sherlock Holmes, part of his revisionist Dracula series. Quite good.
 
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus. 1818
 
Smith, L. Neil. Their Majesties' Bucketeers. 1981
Set on a desert world of intelligent crabs, it's Sherlock Holmes gone alien. Utterly alien and utterly Victorian. And lots of fun. Check it out.
 
Snyder, Midori. The Flight of Michael McBride. 1994
This is a perfect sourcebook of campaigning in America. It involves Faerie, Native American spirits (as Faerie) and the American Southwest.
 
Stoker, Bram. Dracula. 1897
 
Sumners, Mark.
Devil's Tower. 1996
Devil's Engine. 1997
Magic appears during the Civil War, and many people develop talents: scribbling, chattering, changing, etc. Wonderful setting.
 
Trow, M.J. The Adventures of Inspector Lestrade = The Supreme Adventure of Inspector Lestrade. 1985
Has a mix of steampunk and high society.
 
Turner, Michael R., ed. Parlour Poetry: A Casquet of Gems = Victorian Parlour Poetry: An Annotated Anthology. 1969
 
Twain, Mark.
All of Twain's travel writing is highly recommended.
 
Van Ash, Cay. The Fires of Fu Manchu. 1987
Sequel to: Ten Years Beyond Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes Matches Wits with the Diabolical Dr. Fu Manchu.
 
Van Ash, Cay. Ten Years Beyond Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes Matches Wits with the Diabolical Dr. Fu Manchu. 1984
Sherlock Holmes is dragged away from his retirement and beekeeping by Dr. Pertrie to save Nayland Smith from the evil Dr. Fu Manchu. Has spot on Holmes, and manages to drag Fu out of the "yellow peril" stereotype.
 
Verne, Jules. De la Terre À la Lune ; Autour de la Lune = From the Earth to the Moon Direct in 97 Hours 20 Minutes, and a Trip Around It. 1865, 1870
 
Verne, Jules. L'Île Mystérieuse = The Mysterious Island. 1874-75
Sequel to Vingt Mille Lieues Sous les Mers
 
Verne, Jules Maître du Monde = Master of the World. 1904
Sequel to Robur le Conquérant
 
Verne, Jules. Robur le Conquérant = The Clipper of the Clouds = Robur the Conqueror. 1866
 
Verne, Jules. Le Tour du Monde en Quatre-Vingt Jours = Around the World in Eighty Days. 1873
 
Verne, Jules. Vingt Mille Lieues Sous les Mers = Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. 1870 [recommended translation: Naval Institute Press]
 
Verne, Jules. Voyage au Centre de la Terre = Journey to the Center of the Earth. 1863
 
Wellman, Manly Wade. Sherlock Holmes's War of the Worlds. 1975
Sherlock Holmes teams up with Professor Challenger to forestall a second War of the Worlds. The portrait of Holmes is a bit off, but Challenger is right on.
 
Wells, H.G. The First Men in the Moon. 1901
 
Wells, H.G. The Invisible Man. 1897
 
Wells, H.G. The Island of Doctor Moreau. 1896
 
Wells, H.G. The Time Machine. 1895
 
Wharton, Edith. The Age of Innocence. 1920
 
Willey, Elizabeth. The Well-Favored Man: The Tale of the Sorcerer's Nephew. 1993
Willey, Elizabeth. A Sorceror and a Gentleman. 1995
Willey, Elizabeth. The Price of Blood and Honor. 1996
While they are not directly Victorian, they are a marvelous mixture of culture and magic, similar to a cross between Margaret Wells' The Element of Fire and Roger Zelazny's Amber series.
 
Wrede, Patricia C., and Caroline Stevermer. Sorcery and Cecilia: An Epistolary Fantasy. 1988
Set in Regency England but includes many CF elements: feuding magicians, spies, damsels in distress, damsels saving the day, and so on.
 
Zelazny, Roger. A Night In the Lonesome October. 1993
A tongue in cheek comedy in Victorian London with a cast worthy of CF. Told from the viewpoint of Jack The Ripper's dog, Snuff. Various personalities and their animal sidekicks are trying to either open a door to let the Great Old Ones in, or keep it closed.

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Michael Bowman (bowman@io.com)