
A woman with the strength to rebel. A shapeshifter who wears the souls of the dead. Together, they face a lethal enemy. Em helped create it. Now she must craft its defeat. In a city owned by industrialists, Em sells her magic to make ends meet. The extraction procedure is brutal and potentially deadly. Desperate for change, she joins an underground resistance movement to weaponize her magic and stop the abuse of workers. Meanwhile, a mysterious voice wakes Ruk from a decades long slumber and compels him to become human. He wants to break free but is torn between his shapeshifter instincts and the needs of the soul that sustains him. On streets haunted by outcasts and predatory automatons, a new danger emerges – an ever-growing corruption of magic and science. Em and Ruk must put aside their differences and pursue it – each for their own reasons. What they discover will forever change their lives… Or end them. "Victoriana comes to Sydney in an alternative 19th Century, bringing dark Dickensian factories and even darker souls. Mages too, practising heart magic and skin magic, along with shapeshifters, demons and automata. Mix in a mad scientist, a touch of romance and a plot to keep you guessing—wild! What’s not to love? Highly recommended."—Richard Harland. Edited by Amanda J Spedding & Pete Kempshall.
Author

Carol Ryles is an Australian author who began her professional life as a registered nurse and then moved to Hainan Island, China, where she worked in occupational health, learned Mandarin and tutored English at various institutions. She now holds a BA in English (Hons 1) and a PhD focussing on the process of writing in the sub-genre of steampunk. She is a graduate of Clarion West 2008, and has worked as a Steering Committee member and editorial consultant for Trove (renamed Tenderfoot) an online journal of creative writing from The University of Western Australia. Her stories have appeared in a number of Australian publications including Eidolon, Aurealis and The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy Horror (2013). When not writing, Carol enjoys the art of quilting and is also turning her backyard into a forest.