A prequel to 'A Christmas Carol' - Clement and Saxby fight tick-tock monsters, commanded by Jacob Marley, who is threatening Victorian London with ruin.
The story itself is based around the literary question: What was it that killed Jacob Marley, the famous banker who haunts Mr. Scrooge in A Christmas Carol? The cause of death is very mysterious. This is the story of how it came about, and is set in a fantasy Victorian London, where writers and their creations live and collide over the course of their lives, and classic Victorian stories combine together in unexpected ways.
This is a book which combines genres and different areas of appeal. There are references to classical Victorian stories, including A Christmas Carol, The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Sherlock Holmes. While these are references which will be known, it is not important to the plot to understand the story. These should appeal to more literary readers.
The plot is intelligent and paced to appeal to those who enjoy thrillers and drama, and it is action packed enough to appeal to those who prefer their fiction with gunfights, cart chases and explosions. It will also appeal to the growing steam punk genre, as it features many strange engines and weird Victorian science.