TIMESLAYERS

May 13, 2024

TIMESLAYERS

Colin Sephton

GENRE: Steampunk Adventure Mystery

In a Steampunk Oxford, Ignatius and Indigo are both agents for the Union Jacks, a secret organisation. The role of the Union is to protect the British Empire, which is at the height of its powers, and help in its technological advances. They have discovered the existence of the mystical Book of Consciousness written by the creator of the cosmos, the genderless Omnisoul. The book is the history of everything that is, that has been and that will be. The agents are aided by Skye, who accidentally calls forth seven merciless immortals called the Charon.

Known as the Beautiful and the Damned, the Charon are the Infernal Dukes of Hell, created to carry out the will of the Omisoul. But they are tired of their immortality and want to end their existence. Elsewhere, the sorcerer Ragnar of Roc has conjured a hole in spacetime, allowing the draconic Elder God Calabi Ya to re-enter the cosmos from the Ghost Worlds. He is as old as the Omnisoul and wants the book to learn his destiny. The two Union Jacks leave Oxford and are taken on a journey across the cosmos in the great ship Taraka, which sails through space and time. Ignatius and Indigo are mere pawns in the cosmic ocean of fate, carried to fabled places, witness to bloody massacres, and half-willing conspirators in the Charon’s plot to thwart the Omnisoul’s plan and defeat the protectors of the Well at the Centre of Time.

Enjoy an Excerpt:

He ran his hand through a shock of blonde hair that looked permanently wind swept. Isambard Ignatius was a tall young man; he was handsome, dressed in a frock coat of check tweed and an engineer’s waistcoat, complete with a large silver pocket watch and chain.

From previous research, Ignatius had discovered a vague reference to an archaic manuscript that was said to hold the key to reality, the story of the whole cosmos – what had been, what was and that which was to come. This was said to be the biography of the cosmos. Legend had it that the book was unique in being older than the earth, indestructible, and that whoever read it could see the events described within pass before their eyes. Ignatius didn’t believe this but did believe that in the wrong hands the book could be very dangerous.

Ignatius was beginning to realise that the body was, as many eastern aesthetics had taught through the ages, surplus, just a vehicle for the mind. This was a philosophy and science that would make religion obsolete. The view that the real world was nothing more than the physical world was destined to come crumbling down and be lost in the debris of all religious buildings. He knew this was why the Administorium were trying to keep an eye on his activities.

About the Author:

Colin was born in Coventry and worked in the automotive industry for over twenty years before becoming an Engineering teacher. Obtaining his first library card at the age of thirteen, he became an avid reader of Fantasy and the mysteries of the Universe. He has an inbuilt curiosity for lost knowledge and ancient texts that may help to unlock the secrets of consciousness and the universe. Living in Oxford for many years, he has now moved back to his home county of Warwickshire where he enjoys creating and working with his wife on their garden in which he writes and entertains their two grandsons. He has always been an artist and writer and is inspired by the worlds created by Robert E Howard and Michael Moorcock, with the artwork of Frank Frazetta.

Q&A With the Author:

What was your inspiration for writing this book?
My inspiration for the book came from a variety of sources. It started out as a hobby, something to keep me busy and became something much bigger. I have always been an avid reader of fantasy books, particularly those of Robert E Howard and Michael Moorcock. Using those two authors as my initial inspiration and my love of all things to do with the ancient world, the stars and planets and my fascination with consciousness, all mixed together and my love of the Marvel Comics Universe, I guess it all just came together into my creation of Timeslayers. I have also read the books of H P Blavatsky the great Theosopher and her theory that there is a great source of knowledge that once existed which she called the Secret Doctrine. This was probably my biggest influence for the Book of Consciousness that forms the core of the adventure in Timeslayers.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
What I enjoyed most was the complete freedom to create an entire cast of characters from scratch who inhabit a cosmos which has never been perceived before. The places they go, how they get there, it’s all from my imagination and because its my own creation, nobody can dispute it. Its all mine and by writing it, I got to know the characters more, how they would react, their personalities. It is a real feeling of freedom.

Do you have any other books you are working on that you can tell us about?
I have completed the second book in the series. It is called Shadowslayers. It takes place immediately after events from the first novel, and I am currently writing the third novel in the series. In Shadowslayers the two protagonists have developed, and we see the struggles they begin to have, to see how events from their adventure has affected them. They are human but have come face to face with immortals and gods, they have discovered a whole cosmos that they didn’t know existed and, as one would expect, this takes a lot to process.

Can you tell us about what you have planned for the future?
For the future I have a third book in the series which I am currently writing. It has a title, but I am not prepared to let it out yet as this may change. Currently I am enjoying the further developments from the first two novels and feel I know the characters even more. When I write I know exactly how they are feeling and how they would react. I am also enjoying the research needed for this third novel. After that, I’m not sure. I may write a series of short stories using the same characters.

Anything more you would like to say to your readers and fans?
Thank you for reading my debut novel, I hope you enjoyed it. If you are a reader of fantasy novels and never been too sure about steampunk, read it. It may surprise you as I don’t think this is like other steampunk novels, it’s an adventure that takes place amongst the stars and draws on current thinking regarding the universe.