Romulus Buckle & the City of the Founders (The Chronicles of the Pneumatic Zepplin Book 1)

Title: Romulus Buckle & the City of the Founders

Author: Richard Ellis Preston Jr.

Name of Series: The Chronicles of the Pneumatic Zepplin

Series Began: 2013

Number in series: 1

Main Characters:

Romulus Buckle- Captain of the Pneumatic Zepplin and adopted son of Balthazar Crankshaft
Sabrina Serafim- Chief Navigator
Max- Chief Engineer

Location:

Romulus Buckle and the City of the Founders is set in a post-apocalyptic America where the sun is all but blotted out by the haze of clouds and snow falls deep on the remains of Hollywood.

Plot Synopsis: 

From the jacket: 

In a post-apocalyptic world of endless snow, eighteen-year-old Captain Romulus Buckle and the stalwart crew of the Pneumatic Zeppelin must embark on a perilous mission to rescue their kidnapped leader, Balthazar Crankshaft, from the impenetrable City of the Founders. Steaming over a territory once known as Southern California–before it was devastated in the alien war–Buckle navigates his massive airship through skies infested with enemy war zeppelins and ravenous alien beasties in this swashbuckling and high-octane steampunk adventure. Life is desperate in the Snow World–and death is quick–Buckle and his ship’s company must brave poisoned wastelands of noxious mustard and do battle with forgewalkers, steampipers and armored locomotives as they plunge from the skies into the underground prison warrens of the fortress-city.

Captain Romulus Buckle must lead the Pneumatic Zeppelin and its crew of never-do-wells on a desperate mission where he must risk everything to save Balthazar and attempt to prevent a catastrophic war which could wipe out all that is left of civilization and the entire human race.

Closing thoughts:

So, this to me was a fun read. If you enjoy using the world around you as a springboard into the unknown, Romulus Buckle & the City of the Founders  works! Those who enjoy Steampunk will get a kick out of Romulus and his crew as they fly into the unknown to save their clan leader. Descriptions of technology are decent, characters are fair if slightly flat at times. This is an easy read, and the author does a decent job of relaying the world around the characters and their thoughts without it being Melville or Tom Clancy level on detail. Storyline: to some degree the overall arc is not altogether unpredictable, yet it's still a fun ride with many twists and turns. 

What I really was surprised about was how much action was packed into this novel as well as the breakneck speed at which the characters hurtle through their obstacles. I kept waiting for some sort of extended lull for the characters and readers to take a breath; alas! The only breather you will probably get is when you set this book down before moving onto the next one.

Readers' Advisory PS:

If you enjoy steampunk and want a read-alike for Romulus Buckle & the City of the Founders, definitely check out Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl. Similar tone, alternate history instead of distant future, little more bawdy, plays with known historical literary characters, equally fun. Definitely worth a look if this novel piqued your interest.