BRIDGE OF STORMS

Hired to guard a mobile town of archaeologists while it makes one final journey, the doughty crew of the airship Fire’s Astonishment find themselves battling foes ranging from a traitor within to bloodthirsty pirates and a mad reanimated brain.

It seems like an easy enough gig at first: Having accepted mighty London’s offer to peacefully ingest its invaluable collections of ancient books and artifacts, the small city of Museion is poised to fire up its long-dormant engines and set out toward the planned rendezvous. But the journey quickly takes on a Mad Max quality. Hot pursuit by scruffy nomads riding roaring kampavans and the predatory, segmented Experimental Suburb of Crawley (abetted by a traitorous insider) keeps fearless young Tamzin Pook, one-armed cyborg warrior Eve Vespertine, and their trio of companions on their toes. Reeve expertly raises the stakes while shepherding his rolling battle to a properly melodramatic climax at the high and dangerously rusted titular bridge. This follow-up to Thunder City (2024) features full measures of Reeve’s customary combination of violent action, gruesome twists, and sneaky sense of fun (a character’s throwaway “Fool of a Pook!” will elicit chuckles from Tolkien fans). Most main characters present white, and Tamzin has olive skin and black hair.

Pedal to the metal action, roaring over rutted terrain in a steampunk dystopian future.