The Kingdom Beyond the Waves

By Stephen Hunt

A fantastical version of Dickens, filled with perilous quests, dastardly deeds and deadly intrigue – perfect for all fans of Philip Pullman and Susanna Clarke

Professor Amelia Harsh is obsessed with finding the lost civilisation of Camlantis, a legendary city from pre-history that is said to have conquered hunger, war and disease – tempering the race of man’s baser instincts by the creation of the perfect pacifist society. It is an obsession that is to cost her dearly. She returns home to Jackals from her latest archaeological misadventure to discover that the university council has finally stripped her of her position in retaliation for her heretical research.

Without official funding, Amelia has no choice but to accept the offer of patronage from the man she blames for her father’s bankruptcy and suicide, the fiercely intelligent and incredibly wealthy Abraham Quest. He has an ancient crystal-book that suggests the Camlantean ruins are buried under one of the sea-like lakes that dot the murderous jungles of Liongeli.

Amelia undertakes an expedition deep into the dark heart of the jungle, blackmailing her old friend Commodore Black into ferrying her along the huge river of the Shedarkshe on his ancient u-boat. With an untrustworthy crew of freed convicts, Quest’s force of female mercenaries on board and a lunatic steamman safari hunter acting as their guide, Amelia’s luck can hardly get any worse. But she’s as yet unaware that her quest for the perfect society is about to bring her own world to the brink of destruction…

Format: ebook
Release Date: 04 Sep 2008
Pages: None
ISBN: 978-0-00-728350-7
Stephen Hunt is the author of the highly acclaimed ‘The Court of the Air’. He set up one of the first science fiction and fantasy websites, www.SFcrowsnest.com, in 1994. Today the site has 700,000 readers a month. Stephen Hunt is in his thirties and lives with his wife and children in Surrey.

Praise for The Court of the Air: -

”'An inventive, ambitious work, full of wonders and marvels” - Lisa Tuttle, The Times

”'The characters are convincing and colourful, but the real achievement is the setting, a hellish take on Victorian London … the depth and complexity of Hunt’s vision makes it compulsive reading for all ages” - Guardian

”'Wonderfully assured … Hunt knows what his audience like and gives it to them with a sardonic wit and carefully developed tension” - Time Out

”'Studded with invention” - Independent

”'Rich and colourful … keeps you engrossed … a confident, audacious novel” - SFX

‘Like a magpie, Stephen Hunt has plucked colourful events from history and politics and used them for inspiration … Hunts tells his full-blooded tale with lip-smacking relish, revealing a vivid, often gruesome imagination … ‘The Court of the Air’ brims with originality and, from the first, its chase-filled plot never lets up’ Starburst -

”'The best book of 2007 … Think Joan Aiken for grown-ups, with echoes of Susanna Clarke … hugely enjoyable” - Historical Novels Review