The Cataphract Oath by Marc Edmond Best

THE THREE MUSKETEERS meets GUNDAM in this swashbuckling clockpunk mecha adventure! He needs a job. She needs an engineer. The kingdom needs a hero. For centuries, the kingdom of Leovaix has been protected by its Cataphracts: ancient, towering war machines powered by clockwork and alchemy, piloted by the bravest souls in the kingdom. Journeyman Victor Brinden has studied for most of his life to be one of the honored few allowed to work on these venerable machines, but when his thesis experiment explodes in front of the most powerful man in the Kingdom, his career prospects are left in shambles. With no other options, Victor enters the employ of Countess Fenvale, a noble with little to her name but a sharp sword, a large dog, and the Huntress, a Cataphract in dire need of repair. It's a simple proposition: If Victor can restore the Huntress, then Lady Fenvale can reclaim her birthright. But what should be a straightforward salvage job grows far more complicated as they soon find themselves facing roving highwaymen, scheming nobles, and playwrights of dubious talent. It’ll take all of Victor’s ingenuity and Lady Fenvale’s valor to make it out alive. But will even that be enough to carry the day, or will Victor’s career end as explosively as it began?

New Adult • Science Fiction/Military SF • Science Fiction/Agripunk, Hopepunk, and Solarpunk