There are 10 short-to-novella length pieces included in the collection. Several were previously published in other anthologies, but are collected here with additional material for the first time. They're built around an alternate steampunk timeline in and around Pittsburgh (PA). The two lead characters Mitch and Jacob are partners and agents of the Department of Supernatural Investigation. This gives the authors very broad scope for a range of 'things which go bump (or whizzzz) in the night'.
The stories are well written, genuinely entertaining steampunk fantasy. Some of them (Airship Down) end without a real denouement. I'm not sure if the plotline is taken up in other longer works or not, but I found myself wondering what happened.
Worth mentioning, the electronic ARC I was given for review purposes has a nifty interactive table of contents and hyperlinked resources. Presumably the ebook version does as well.
One of the things I love about collections and anthologies is tjat they usually include extra author/editor information about the stories themselves or the writers. This is completely missing here. The stories are very well written however and it's not a crippling deficiency. The authors do include an afterword about their alt-steampunk Pittsburgh.
I grew up in the area and these stories are obviously written by authors who are intimately familiar with P'burgh and environs.
Strong stories, well written, with mostly appealing protagonists. They are worth a read, definitely.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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