Cover art by Glendon Haddix – a cover I find quite appealing

Flash Gold is a steampunk novella set in the Yukon. As bad as I am at being able to place my litterature in categories, even I am able to discern when something is steampunk. It is the steam that gives it away. Other than that, there seems to be some kind of mystic element involved (supernatural, magic, paranormal and so on).

In Moose Hollow, a small town of Yukon, a young orphan woman named Kali McAlister lives. She has taken over her father’s workshop in an attempt to stay independent. The citizens of Moose Hollow suspect Kali is something more than she seems. Perhaps she is using frowned upon magic??????

A stranger called Cedar drops into her life at the same time as she has entered a contest to win enough money to keep her doing what she loves most – tinker and invent. He applies for an Assistant position as musher for the Barton Race. Kali has no money to pay Cedar with but he is willing to take a cut of the winnings.

Forty Mile Creek, Yukon, Alaska

What Cedar ends up being is part assistant and part body-guard. It seems there are several parties who are interested in how Kali manages to get her machines to work so well. The two of them end up in a race for their life as much as a race for the money.

Flash Gold is filled with plenty of humor – humor that I actually get – and action. I like action filled books that have a humorous twist. Lindsay Buroker presents her steampunk in a manner that makes me want to read more of her stuff.