The Falling Machine: The Society of Steam, Book 1

This tale of an alternate Victorian New York is something of a boy's own adventure with a feminist heroine. The Paragons are members of a secret society that's part steampunk superhero league and part shadowy scientific cabal. After their morally unimpeachable leader, Sir Dennis Darby, is murdered, his inventions are stolen and his masterwork, the self-aware automaton Tom, is treated like trash. Tom and Darby's student Sarah Stanton decide to investigate the circumstances behind Darby's death as the Paragons are distracted by an internal power struggle and infiltrated by evildoers. A few loose threads and unanswered questions are to be expected in a series opener, but readers will be frustrated by how much is left for future installments. (May)