Jay Lake’s first trade novel is an astounding creation.  Lake has envisioned a clockwork solar system, where the planets move in a vast system of gears around the lamp of the Sun. It is a universe where the hand of the Creator is visible to anyone who simply looks up into the sky, and sees the track of the heavens, the wheels of the Moon, and the great Equatorial gears of the Earth itself.

 

Mainspring is the story of a young clockmaker's apprentice, who is visited by the Archangel Gabriel. He is told that he must take the Key Perilous and rewind the Mainspring of the Earth. It is running down, and disaster will ensue if it's not rewound. From innocence and ignorance to power and self-knowledge, the young man will make the long and perilous journey to the South Polar Axis, to fulfill the commandment of his God.

Praise

“A dark, wild mix of machine and magic—an impressive debut novel from short story maestro Jay Lake.”--Greg Bear on Mainspring
 
"In Mainspring, Lake has created a grandiose, thoroughly engaging blasphemy.
This book blends the best of nostalgic adventure fiction with a genuinely
fresh voice and ideas. An instant steampunk classic." --Cory Doctorow, author of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town 

"From the sweeping mechanisms of his clockwork world, down to the subtle movements of his characters, all drawn with a clockmaker's eye, Lake gives us a story both grand and intimate, smart and savvy... and a whole lot of fun to boot."  --Hal Duncan, author of Vellum on Mainspring
 

About the Author(s)

Jay Lake

Jay Lake is the winner of the 2004 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. He is the author of over 100 published short stories, and has been nominated for the Hugo Award and the World Fantasy Award.

photo: Mary Elizabeth Lake

Jay Lake's Website

Jay Lake's Blog

Jay Lake on Twitter

Excerpt

Chapter 1
The angel gleamed in the light of Hethor’s reading candle bright as any brasswork automaton. The young man clutched his threadbare coverlet in the irrational hope that the quilted cotton scraps could shield him from whatever power had invaded his attic room. Trembling, he closed his eyes.
His master, the clockmaker Franklin Bodean, had taught Hethor to listen to the mechanisms of their work.

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