Cross-pollinating famous 19th-century fictional characters and historical figures from disparate sources, this wild, steampunk fantasy presents two consecutive tales of madcap adventure. Hilarious and unpredictable, the first section follows Wild Bill Hickock, Annie Oakley, George Custer, Sitting Bull, and Buffalo Bill Cody’s headwhich is affixed to the top of a mechanical bodyas they take the Wild West Show to Japan by zeppelin. Further exploits involve Frankenstein as an aphrodisiac for a local shogun, encounters with Captain Bemo” and his submersible, and a trip to the island of Dr. Momo.” The second phase of this nonstop romppartly inscribed by a courageous young seal on his trusty notepadaccompanies Mark Twain and Jules Verne against the backdrop of a Martian invasion. Escaping the carnage on a speedboat converted into a touring balloon, the boisterous group encounters more perilous experiences in the form of an island of pirates, a steam-powered robot, a Kong-sized ape, and multiple tears in the space-time continuum. Raucous and inventive, this dime-store pulp parody is rife with absurdist comedy while maintaining a literary scope.
Industry Reviews
"Like 10-alarm chili, Lansdale is pretty strong stuff ... He has become a cult figure." -People Magazine "A madcap excursion." --Shelf Awareness "The comparison to Alan Moore's great comic series is probably the most apt, both in the form of a collection of historic and literary characters and in the tone of Moore's delight in the obscene. Lansdale ramps both up to hilarious excess." --Voyages Extraordinaires "Lansdale reminds me somewhat of Terry Pratchett, if Pratchett was an irascible cuss with an affection for scatological humour... If you want your steampunk serious, sombre, or squeaky-clean, stay far away from Lansdale. For myself, he's a breath of flatulent air in the midst of steampunk taking itself far too seriously." --Steampunk Scholar Praise for Zeppelins West "Irrepressible, irreverent and unpredictable... Legends of the Old West, plus characters both real and fictional, enliven the shenanigans... [T]his novel is one big joyride from start to finish." --Publishers Weekly Praise for Flaming London "Wait a minute! What's going on here? Only one of the wildest-alternate-worlds, rip-in-space-time, SF-pastiche romps this side of fifties B-movies." --Booklist