I am thrilled to share the cover and concept for my next historical fantasy novel. Set in China during the Mongol invasions, DRAKEMASTER brings together an unexpected team of rivals to find a mechanical wonder based on Su Song’s astronomical clock of 1090 CE.
The year is 1257, the place, Mongol-occupied Kaifeng, China: a captured bellmaker, the warrior who enslaved him, an astronomer, a monk, and a spy race to uncover a clockwork doomsday device that draws down the power of the stars. This epic novel unites my enthusiasm for early technology, Mongolian culture and history, and human dynamics. I hope you’ll love it!
Want to find out more about the book? Drop by the publisher’s website, Guardbridge Books!
You can also download a free sample including the first three chapters. DRAKEMASTER comes out on April 14! And here is a drawing of the astronomical clock that inspired the book. According to the historians of the day, Su Song left out a few key details from his diagrams so that his work couldn’t be imitated. Alas, that meant, when the clock was disassembled from Kaifeng to be moved south, even his own son was unable to put it back together again.
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E. C. Ambrose 