''Homunculus'' is a comic

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

novel by American writer James P. Blaylock. It was published in 1986. It was the second book in Blaylock's loose

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and Applied arts, aesthetics inspired by, but not limited to, 19th-century Industrial Revolution, industrial steam engine, steam-powered machinery. Steampun ...

trilogy, following '' The Digging Leviathan'' (1984) and preceding '' Lord Kelvin's Machine'' (1992). The book was originally published as an Ace paperback by the Berkeley Publishing Group and is included in the ''Adventures of Langon St. Ives'' collection. Blaylock used the book ''

London Labour and the London Poor ''London Labour and the London Poor'' is a work of Victorian journalism by Henry Mayhew. In the 1840s, he observed, documented and described the state of working people in London for a series of articles in a newspaper, the '' Morning Chronicle' ...

'' by

Henry Mayhew Henry Mayhew (25 November 1812 – 25 July 1887) was an English journalist, playwright, and advocate of reform. He was one of the co-founders of the satirical magazine '' Punch'' in 1841, and was the magazine's joint editor, with Mark Lemon, in ...

to research the period setting.

Plot summary

dirigible An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat ( lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding ...

with a dead pilot has been passing over

Victorian London During the 19th century, London grew enormously to become a global city of immense importance. It was the List of largest cities throughout history, largest city in the world from about 1825, the world's largest port, and the heart of Financial ...

in a decaying orbit for some years, arousing the interest of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

, as well as scientist-explorer Langdon St. Ives and the evangelist/counterfeiter Shiloh. Shiloh is convinced that the dirigible carries his father, a tiny space alien, but withholds this knowledge from

vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for Animal test ...

ist Dr. Ignacio Narbondo, who he is paying to reanimate Shiloh's dead mother, none other than

Joanna Southcott Joanna Southcott (or Southcote; April 1750 – 26 December 1814) was a British self-described religious prophetess from Devon. A "Southcottian" movement continued in various forms after her death. Early life Joanna Southcott was born in the h ...

. Narbondo and the evil millionaire Kelso Drake have their own interest in the alien; Drake possesses its spacecraft, which he uses for perverse purposes in one of his chain of stop-and-go

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

s. St. Ives and his friends of the Trismegistus Club are more concerned with the inheritance of Jack Owlesby, a fine young fellow affianced to Dorothy, the beautiful daughter of toymaker/inventor William Keeble, who builds jolly boxes for space aliens, oxygenators, and gigantic emeralds. Jack's late father bequeathed him just such a gem, but also left behind dark knowledge developed in association with the evil Narbondo. St. Ives and the heroic tobacconist Theophilus Godal suspect that Narbondo and his assistant, the pimply Willis Pule, are using this knowledge to raise the dead, possibly for nefarious purposes. When poor Bill Kraken steals what everyone assumes to be Owlesby's emerald in a fit of alien-induced

delirium tremens Delirium tremens (DTs; ) is a rapid onset of confusion usually caused by withdrawal from alcohol. When it occurs, it is often three days into the withdrawal symptoms and lasts for two to three days. Physical effects may include shaking, sh ...

, the ambitions of Shiloh, Narbondo, Drake, and Pule collide with the heroism of St Ives and Godal and the scientific greed of Parsons of the Royal Academy as

Hampstead Heath Hampstead Heath is an ancient heath in London, spanning . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London Clay. The heath is rambling ...

turns into a carnival of flying skulls, crumbling ghouls, crashing spaceships, and the sparking perversity of the dreadful Marseilles Pinkle.James Blaylock, ''Homunculus'', Babbage, 2000.

Awards

''Homunculus'' was awarded the Philip K. Dick Award in 1988.

References

Sources

* {{Philip K. Dick Award 1986 science fiction novels Comic science fiction novels American steampunk novels 1986 American novels Novels about extraterrestrial life Novels set in London Ace Books books

Plot summary

Awards

See also

References

Sources