A Steampunk Scooby Doo

According to Tor.com, my Ulysses Quicksilver Pax Britannia novels are: "a steampunk Scooby Doo with a Queen’s Agent instead of German shepherd, a cool-headed butler instead of Shaggy, and a kick-ass Rolls Royce called the Silver Phantom instead of the Mystery Mobile."

I quite like the analogy actually, apart from the fact that Scooby Doo is a Great Dane rather than an Alsatian.

Pax Britannia - New Reviews!

Even though the first Pax Britannia novel was published almost ten years ago, some people are still coming to the series for the first time. And when it's someone who enjoys the stories they devour the lot pretty quickly, thanks to the wonder of eBooks.

One such reader is Bob Marlowe who has recently posted reviews of all the Pax Britannia books - Al Ewing's as well as mine - and here's what he has to say about them.

Unnatural History
"A readable style which flows along nicely with enjoyable characters... Very enjoyable evocation of a pulp style and there are plenty more to come. A recommended read."

Leviathan Rising
"Here we have a cocktail of Agatha Christie, Titanic, The Poseidon Adventure, the X-Files and dear old Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and with Green's enjoyable pulpy style, it's a good read."

Human Nature
"The story itself is quite simple but well structured (things in the prologue that seem irrelevant are revisited later) and the good pulpy style of Green makes for a well paced roller coaster."

Evolution Expects
"As ever, a cocktail of monsters, steam punk and nods to well know characters & stories etc. including this time a Bond like board meeting scene, a character named Brundle after the 1987 version of The Fly and a bit of Talons of Weng Chiang amongst others... This series shows no signs of letting up, both novel and novella are a well-paced read, guaranteed to liven up any journey to work."

Blood Royal
"The writing is of the usual high standard with a monster infested St Paul's Cathedral especially well described... I love this series -and am sad I've less than halfway to go to the end."

Dark Side
"I had the feeling Jonathan Green had as much fun writing this as I had reading it. There's the usual tributes to films, book et al that he's enjoyed , the First men in the Moon and Voyage dans la Lune and every chapter takes its name from a film e.g. The First Men in the Moon, Sphere... These stories will never be on the Booker Prize shortlist but the Booker winners I've read were never this much fun!"

Anno Frankenstein
"Naturally this is a blockbuster mix that we have come to expect of monsters and set pieces and does not disappoint, Green handling all the ingredients with his usual skill."

Time's Arrow
"The influences here are Edgar Allen Poe's Murder in the Rue Morgue, The Island of Dr Moreau and The Phantom of the Opera, characters names including Moreau and Leroux. The new characters work well and the story races along at Green's usual pace."

If you're yet to sample the delights of the Pax Britannia steampunk universe, you can buy the books and eBooks here.

Happy Anniversary Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland!

Kickstarter kindly emailed me today to let me know that a year ago Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland funded, thanks to you! And what a year it's been!

Working with Kev Crossley for the first time, creating the first in what I hope will become a new series of gamebooks, printer delays, books shipped from Eastern Europe the day before the launch, a unique deck of playing cards created by Saskia Powys, a colouring book that's been phenomenally successful in the United States, and an awards nomination. And then today I was sent these bookmark mock-ups, created by a gamebooks fan!

Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland has received 31 5-star reviews on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com, but there's always room for more. ;-)

And what was I working on today, a year on from Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland funding? Why, only the second in the series!

The Kickstarter for The Wicked Wizard of Oz will launch on Saturday 1st October 2016 - or should that be Oztober?

Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland

Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland, my dark steampunk take on Lewis Carroll's world famous original, is proving popular on both sides of the Atlantic.

Here's what readers in the US have been saying about the book:

"It's not at all what I thought it was going to be... It's BETTER!"

"This book is so creative and cool! Its basically Dungeons and Dragons meets Goosebumps choose your own path set in Wonderland."

"I'm so excited to have this book!"


And here's what readers in the UK have had to say about Alice's Nightmare:

"Really well done, absorbing little game with definite replay value."

"Last year I rediscovered the joy of fighting fantasy style gamebooks with that old classic the Warlock of Firetop Mountain. I had forgotten how much fun these were when I was a kid! Now, take that concept and make it a lot darker, add a soupcon of steampunk, a dash of diceplay and a whole lot of the delightfully demented Alice stories by Lewis Carroll and you are a starting to get this book."

"Many of the classic Wonderland characters are featured in the story (the White Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts etc), but with the horrific, steampunk-infused twist that Green injects into many of his stories."

"A great combo of storytelling and gaming... The children's classic is twisted into a dark adult tale of horror and fear combined with gameplay which is adventurous and challenging, leaving Alice's fate in your hands."

The Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland Colouring Book has also proved very popular, especially in the US.

Unnatural History still feelin' the love!

The very first Pax Britannia novel Unnatural History may have been published over 8 years ago(!) but some people are still discovering it - and loving it - for the first time.

The following quotes are from just some of the people who've enjoyed Ulysses Quicksilver's opening adventure in the last year.

"A real Boy's Own type adventure story from a bygone era. Loved the characters."

"A real rip-roaring adventure full of spills, thrills and quite little digs at modem society... an excellent read."

"The characters are well rounded and interesting, the hero's are both square jawed and stiff upper lipped."

"Very much enjoyed this adventure, well worth it. The characters are fun and the story moves at a fast pace that keeps the eager hooked."

"A rip-roaring read of a Steampunk alternate modern day universe."

"The pace is quick, and the action exciting."

"This is an effortlessly entertaining pulpy read."

And do you know what else? Unnatural History is currently ranked
#14 in Kindle Store > Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Steampunk.

You can download your copy here, for free!

A new 3-star review of The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus appeared on Amazon recently.

Now, I'm used to Pax Britannia not being everyone's favourite thing - each to his own - but I have never read a review that claimed the Steampunk elements of the books are bolted on before.

"This omnibus volume provides a perfect introduction to Jonathan Green's series of Pax Britannia Steampunk adventure novels. I say "Steampunk", but to me, most of the Steampunk elements seem rather bolted on; these are fine and entertaining adventure novels using a retro-science fiction approach, but much of the late 1990s setting of Magna Britannia is vague, sketchy and doesn't really convince me."

Pax Britannia was conceived as a Steampunk series, and the Victorian-styled tech has always been integral to the stories. The reviewer goes on to say:

"Green's plots - at least in the three novels and two short stories that are contained here - read more as detective/adventure stories than hardcore, Steampunk sci-fi."

What I want to know is, why can't Steampunk stories also be detective/adventure stories? What do you think? Is Pax Britannia Steampunk or not?

Another Unnatural History review

Someone else has just discovered Pax Britannia: Unnatural History for the first time, and here's what they had to say about the book.

"A real rip-roaring adventure full of spills, thrills and little digs at modem society... an excellent read. The characters are well rounded and interesting, the heroes are both square-jawed and stiff upper-lipped, without being two dimensional. The villains equally have depth enough not appear cartoon-ish."

More Pax Britannia Reviews

Unnatural History - 5 stars!

Unnatural History is the first book in the steampunk-flavoured alternative history series Pax Britannia. Author Jonathan Green has crafted a vision of contemporary Britain where Queen Victoria still reigns over a British Empire that covers a quarter of the world.

The police are staffed largely with automata, airships crowd the skies, and London Zoo's Challenger Enclosure is stuffed full of dinosaurs. Against this backdrop, dandy adventurer Ulysses Quicksilver is engaged to investigate an apparently routine break-in at the Natural History Museum...

The pace is quick, and the action exciting. Quicksilver is not a bulletproof hero, and gets thoroughly smashed up on a number of occasions. His principal ability appears to be his sheer dogged tenacity to get the job done even when battered to a pulp... This is an effortlessly entertaining pulpy read, and seems to be pretty much perennially free on Amazon Kindle. Do take a look, chaps.



Anno Frankenstein - 4 stars!

My first foray into the steam punk universe of Pax Britannia, but pleasingly the novel does not require you to have read the previous books, it stands well on it's own... An easy book to get into and a hugely enjoyable read and I will now be seeking out the further books in this series. Packed with action and adventure this is like a novel version of a 2000AD comic and I don't mean that in a bad way.

More Pax Britannia reviews

Some more, rather pleasing, reviews of my various Pax Britannia books have appeared online recently, which are all the more pleasing when you consider that the first book in the series was published seven years ago! Here are just a few of them:

Unnatural History
"Jonathan Green is most surely one of the futuristic-steampunk heroes the literary world has. His writing is fantastic fantasy that has you gripping the edges of the book to prevent yourself from being sucked in. Quicksilver is the sort of hero OTHER heroes look up to. He's dashing, suave and can give and take a good kicking like the best of them. This entire series is fabulous. Buy them. BUY THEM ALL."

Leviathan Rising
"I bought this book as something to read that night in the hotel. I could not put it down. I stayed awake in delight reading into the early hours to discover if my guess about the villain was correct - no I did not 'get it' immediately, but it dawned on me as I read onward. The whole reminded me of the adventure movies I used to watch in the late 1950's on a Saturday morning when I was a child. I loved it. Well done, Mr Green. I shall now look for the next book with interest."

Blood Royal
"So many characters, plots and more that speed you towards an extraordinary action-packed finale. If you like a smidgen of Steampunk in your library make it this series!"

Of course, you could pick up the next Pax Britannia book for your collection at the forthcoming Steampunks in Space event at the National Space Centre in Leicester. Maybe I'll see you there...

"Car chases and dirigibles and what not." - Unnatural History, a new review

It might be more than seven years since my first Ulysses Quicksilver novel was published, but there are still readers discovering it for the first time. One such is Black Library fan Abhinav Jain.

"Unnatural History is an extremely fun and fast-paced action-adventure... We have Charles Babbage’s difference engines. The Challenger Enclosure at the London Zoo (reference to the Lost World!), and more such things. There is an Overground instead of the Underground in London. You’ve got car chases and dirigibles and what not. There’s a lot to take in here and Jonathan also takes the time to point out the more era-related stuff as well, especially with regards to the whole... Britishness of the whole thing, I suppose. That’s what really completes the novel I think."

You can read his full review here, but what I've taken away from the review are two things in particular. The first is that he scored the book 8.5/10*! The other was this:

"Unnatural History itself proved to be a far better novel than I had expected, considering my ambivalence towards Jonathan’s Warhammer work for Black Library, and that’s a good thing because he did manage to surprise me and made me a fan in the end."

So, someone who wasn't particularly a fan of mine, converted to the joys of JG books by the steam-powered world of Pax Britannia. Happy. With. That.

You can pick up Pax Britannia: Unnatural History for your eReader (for free) here, or you can buy it in the tried and tested processed tree carcass format as part of The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus: Volume 1.


* And if he liked Unnatural History he's going to love the books that come after.

Time's Arrow reviewed by the Crinoline Robot

Here's a link to a new review of Time's Arrow, by the Crinoline Robot. And here's the opening paragraph, just to give you a taster:

"You could be forgiven for thinking Jonathan Green is one of my favourite writers as I've reviewed more books by him than by any other author on this blog. I've reviewed three of Green's other 'Pax Britannia' novels with their dashing dandy hero Ulysses Quicksilver: Blood Royal,Dark Side and Anno Frankenstein. I said in my review of the latter that it showed a lightness of touch not evident in the earlier novels. Time's Arrow shows a similar playfulness, while returning to the more Victorian setting of the ones beforeAnno Frankenstein. I really do think it's the strongest book in the series so far. I don't think Green is one of my favourite writers yet, but if he carries on writing like this he'll definitely be on my must-read list."

The Crinoline Robot's reviews of my other books aren't quite so flattering (other than the one about Anno Frankenstein) but at least it would appear that I'm improving with every book, which can only be a good thing.

To pick up your own copy of Time's Arrow, click this link.

Deutschland liebt Pax Britannia

What can I say? German readers have taken to Pax Britannia: Unnatural History like Steampunks to corsets and top hats. Here are just some of the latest, rave reviews from Amazon.de...

"Gelungener Auftakt." (4 stars)

"Eine interessante Mischung." (5 stars)

"Ein rasantes Lesevergnügen." (4 stars)

"Spannend!" (5 stars)

To pick up your copy of the German translation, click here. To pick up a copy of the original English edition for FREE, click here.

Unnatural History der Deutsch Ausgabe

So these arrived today...

In case you're not up to speed, this is the German edition of my first Steampunk novel Pax Britannia: Unnatural History, and doesn't it look smart?

In other news, the reviews continue to roll in from Germany. Now I'm no linguist, but 96% is good, right?

Germany loves Pax Britannia!*

What more do I need to say? It would appear that German readers have taken Ulysses Quicksilver and his exploits into their hearts.

My first steampunk novel has only been out for five minutes in its brand-spanking-new German edition, and yet it has already received three 4 star and two 5 star reviews on Amazon.de which say nice things like this**:

"Exciting! Unnatural History is like a colourful bag in terms of genre, there are some horror elements that make a hair stand on end, but to also enjoy the classic adventure novel, with a wink. In addition, the allusions are gorgeous."

"Pax Britannia is a rather ingenious homage to Pulps. It is a real pleasure to see the many allusions... Whether because dinosaurs are shipped from the Lost World in the London Zoo, the personal physician of Queen Victoria, a certain Doctor Moreau is, it's just funny."

"Quicksilver looks like a cross between James Bond and Indiana Jones and rushes from one action scene to the next, without the story suffering. The novel is a summer blockbuster in book format."

"Steampunk + agent + London seems almost to be a standard for the genre. But the big difference to other novels is the year in which the action takes place. Not the end of the 19th Century, but in 1997. It is a completely different approach."

"The book offers a colourful action-packed story with witty and wacky ideas. I have enjoyed reading it and look forward to continuing with the series."

"Unnatural History is not easily pigeonholed. It is a blend of Steampunk, Thriller, Adventure and Horror, topped with a good sense of humour."***

You can pick up your German edition of Unnatural History here, or the old-fashioned English original as part of The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus Vol. 1 here.


* Which is ironic when you consider what happens later on in the series...

** At least that's what Google Translate tells me they say.

*** A bit like me really.

Pax Britannia: Time's Arrow for Best Novel

The Victorian Steampunk Society Awards 2013 are now open for nominations, so please consider the following...

Time's Arrow for Best Novel

9 out of 10 for Time's Arrow from Starburst Magazine: "This is a pun-fueled, fun-filled romp for people who like wearing the colour brown and decorating everything they own with cogs."

The Eloquent Page: "Who knows where steampunk-ninja Jonathan Green will take Ulysses Quicksilver next, I can’t wait to find out."

Steampunk Thursday: Time's Arrow

A new review of my eighth Pax Britannia novel Time's Arrow appeared recently on Amazon.co.uk.

It doesn't start off in the most flattering manner (you can read the whole review here) but then the reviewer goes on to say:

I have to say the lad is back on form again, and I look forward to more of the same. The plot? well there's another super-villain or two, a super-heroine, more marvellous machines, monsters, death and destruction, and temporal confusion. In short, the mixture as before. Buy some!

Which is nice.

You can buy your copy of Time's Arrow (if you haven't already done so) here.

Time's Arrow - review and giveaway!

"This is silly fun at its best, and it gets to the heart of the steampunk genre. It doesn’t take itself seriously, isn’t at all bothered about history and simply exists to be the wildest tale it can be."

That's what Ed Fortune has to say over at the Starburst Magazine website about Pax Britannia: Time's Arrow. But I think he likes the book since he's also given it 9 out of 10 stars.

You can read Ed's review in its entirety here, and if after reading it it makes you want to read the book, then you might be interested in Upcoming4's giveaway here.

Pax Britannia Week: Time's Arrow - the first review!

The following review (and the first, as far as I am aware) is by Matt Sylvester, founder of the Exonian Friendly Society of Steam & Burlesque. Take it away, Matt!


First things first, Jonathan Green is one of the most humble authors I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, almost as if he truly is not aware as to just how good he is. Fortunately, this makes writing this review easy.

Time's Arrow - released on November 13th 2012 - is the eleventh book in the Pax Britannia series under the Abaddon banner and the eighthUlysses Quicksilver adventure. For those not aware of who Ulysses is, the easiest way to describe him is as a mix of Bertie Wooster, the Scarlet Pimpernel, James Bond and the Saint. Only far cooler as he lives in a present-day Victorian Empire (if you want to know more, buy the books!). Not only that, this book was originally written in three parts and, this is what makes the book unique in my not so humble opinion, it was entirely driven by the wishes of the readers.

Jonathan initially started by writing the first third. When that was completed, he released it and asked the readers what they wanted to happen in the next installment. When this was written he did the same and wrote the third and final installment. I know of no other author that has approached writing his book in such a way and I have to say that I love this approach. Despite being broken down into three parts when he was writing it, the reader would never know that it had been broken down in such a way.

Time's Arrow, as with all of Jonathan's Pax Britannia books is packed with popular culture references. It was at a reading that he gave whilst speaking at Asylum 2012, that I asked whether he used to play a certain video game obliquely referenced in a pivotal moment of the story, and there were a number of other references, both subtle and unsubtle liberally sprinkled through the story, some of which made me chuckle and some that made me groan.

The story as a whole is just like the other Ulysses Quicksilver books, they start off at a nice quick trot and then start to canter. Before you know it, trumpets are sounding, lances are lowered and you find yourself charging full pelt in a flurry of excitement and action that keeps you turning the pages until you either reach the end of the book, or your legs turn numb and you realise that you have become one with Armitage Shanks.

Full of love-sick whores, terrorists, animal abuse, murder, bombs and beautiful women, as well as some time travel, this book is a perfect addition to anyone's bookcase - or kindle - and I heartily recommend that you purchase it, it is truly a tale of valour to divert and enthrall.

I heartily recommend that you get this book. Now.