Stormbuckler
Stormbuckler and the Leviscopic Engine is a steampunk novel by Neil Mach that was first published in March 2023
When two working-class teens uncover dark vanishings inside a ruthless American tycoon’s steam empire in Victorian Staines, they must choose between the thrill of ground-breaking steam-tech or the survival of humanity!
The Protagonists
Stormbuckler — Having escaped the Staines parish poorhouse, Stormbuckler is a resilient young man looking for a way forward. After saving one of the factory workers during the launch of the Spry Shimmerfly, he is offered a job in the drawing office at the steam-power operation. He becomes the moral centre of the story—fascinated and increasingly obsessed with revolutionary steam technology, yet caught in a deep internal conflict as he begins to see the dark, human cost behind it.
Mayotte — Determined to escape a life of domestic servitude with a prominent local family (the Oldcornes), Mayotte takes a job as an administrative assistant at the machine plant to better herself. Pragmatic and sharp-eyed, she picks up on the financial and procedural irregularities inside the industrial empire, playing a crucial role in uncovering the sinister secrets behind the company's facade.
Antagonists & Catalysts
Asher John Lindwürm — A ruthless, multimillionaire American steam-mill owner who sets up massive manufacturing plants in Victorian Staines. Lindwürm represents hyper-industrialization and corporate tyranny—he is wildly ambitious, highly persuasive, and entirely unbothered by the human collateral damage caused by his grand projects.
Lindwürm’s Second-in-Command — Mr. Ligore Lassiter is a wicked and calculating overseer who manages the day-to-day operations at the secretive "Steam Shed Seven". He harbours his own nefarious schemes and acts as the brutal hand who enforces Lindwürm’s wicked orders.
The Armed Enforcers / Goons — A crew of vicious mercenaries hired by Lindwürm and supervised by Lassiter who work to keep local residents in line, suppress dissent, and ensure that the dark vanishings taking place inside the plant stay hidden.
The Ministry Agent — The secret agent's investigation sets the mystery in motion. The agent has uncovered a terrible secret regarding Lindwürm's machinery, initiating a trail of evidence that Stormbuckler and Mayotte must piece together.
The Blackwing Mystery
Toad Blackwing is an ancient, snowy-haired hermit who claims he's from an indigenous tribe in North America. He lives on the fringes of Staines in an animal skin shelter. When Mayotte encounters him, his presence adds a vivid, almost primal contrast to the cold, metallic industrialism of Lindwürm’s steam empire.
Blackwing serves as a wild card and an outsider voice—someone living completely detached from the mechanical hierarchy that grips the rest of the Staines area, making his interactions with Mayotte stand out against the backdrop of factory smoke and corporate secrecy.
Toad Blackwing stands as the ultimate counterweight to Lindwürm’s industrial machine, embodying two completely opposing ways of existing in Victorian Staines.
1. Primal Survival vs. Industrial Dominance
Lindwürm represents an aggressive attempt to conquer and tame the environment—flattening land, building massive factories, and harvesting steam power for profit.
By contrast, Toad Blackwing lives in an animal skin shelter on the periphery of town. His way of life relies on living in harmony with nature rather than exploiting it. Where Lindwürm’s empire is built on complex, artificial machinery, Toad survives on raw, elemental self-reliance.
2. Dehumanized Cogs vs. Unshackled Freedom
Inside Lindwürm’s factories, human beings are treated as replaceable parts—workers are slaved to exhaustion, enforced by mercenary goons, and easily discarded (or worse, made to vanish when they uncover secrets).
Toad Blackwing exists completely outside this hierarchy. By living on the fringes of industrial society, he rejects the factory clock, the corporate authority, and the societal expectations demanded by industrialisation. For Mayotte, who is struggling against the rigid tracks of servitude and corporate control herself , meeting Toad Blackwing offers a glimpse of someone who is entirely free from the machine.
3. Artificial Progress vs. Ancient Grounding
Lindwürm sells the vision of a dazzling, steam-powered future, but behind the curtain, his ambition is fuelled by corruption, secrecy, and human sacrifice.
Toad Blackwing —with his "ancient" appearance and "snowy-white hair"—brings a sense of timelessness. The old man isn't caught up in the frantic rush toward "progress." Instead, Blackwing's presence grounds the narrative, reminding the characters (and the reader) that human existence pre-dates smokestacks and conveyor-belts, and that true humanity might lie closer to the wild earth than to the factory floor.
The Launch of the Spry Shimmerfly
1. The Illusion of Progress and Wealth
The vibrant scene on the grandstand highlights the 'dazzling' and 'high-stakes' world that initially seduces Stormbuckler. For the wealthy elite of Staines, the Spry Shimmerfly is a marvel of innovation and a symbol of national pride. Their celebratory mood reflects a blind faith in Lindwürm's technology, prioritizing the spectacle of wealth over the ethical cost of its creation.
2. Technological Obsession as Spectacle
The launch is depicted as a moment of triumph. However, the sheer size and raw power of the steam yacht—with its ominous black smoke—hint at the 'dangerous machinery' that increasingly consumes Stormbuckler’s focus. The Shimmerfly isn't just transportation; it's a floating advertisement for the very power that threatens to displace the working class and pollute the town's environment.
3. Class Division and Industrial Reality
The launch of the steam yacht explicitly separates the classes. The grandstand represents the insulated, celebratory world of capital, while the background—choked by the soot and smokestacks of Lindwürm's factory complex (with Steam Shed Seven) —is the source of that wealth.
4. The Missing Danger
While the Spry Shimmerfly was cheered as it splashed into the water, a terrifying accident was about to happen: an important worker was saved by a poor orphan (Stormbuckler) who nobody had noticed. The quick-thinking physical heroism demonstrated by this orphan boy saved a man's life. Yet, even after the dramatic rescue of the man, who happened to be one of Lindwürm’s most valuable workers, the orphan's selfless and public-spirited act was overlooked and dismissed. This pivotal scene is a defining moment for the entire novel and acts as a profound thematic microcosm of the story's key conflicts, set out (in 5 and 6 below):
5. Class Dehumanization
The fact that the boy's heroism is "overlooked and dismissed" powerfully reinforces the novel’s critique of the class system and industrial capitalism. To the wealthy elite celebrating on the grandstand and to the ruthless corporate structure of Lindwürm's factory, the "poor orphan" is literally invisible. His individual humanity, courage, and moral value are completely erased because he holds no recognized social or economic status. This event sets the tone for how Lindwürm views and treats all his workers: not as valued individuals, but as replaceable and ultimately disposable parts of a grand machine.
6. Heroism and Selflessness vs. Greed and Obsession
The orphan boy, an individual with the least to gain and the most to risk, acts instinctively with pure, selfless courage. His behaviour stands in direct moral opposition to the calculated greed, and purely self-serving ambition of the novel’s principal antagonist. The boy’s act is the only truly "valuable" human expression witnessed during the entire Spry Shimmerfly launch—and yet it is the one element that the powerful refuse to acknowledge. This moral tension sets the stage for Stormbuckler's own journey and his internal struggle as he gets drawn deeper into Lindwürm's steam manufacturing world, forcing the boy to choose between his personal fascination with technology and his own humanity.
Key Themes of Stormbuckler and the Leviscopic Engine
Technological Obsession vs. Morality: A central question of the novel is whether relentless technological advancement corrupts the human soul. As Stormbuckler gets pulled into the dazzling, high-stakes world of steam innovation, his fascination with dangerous machinery threatens to blind him to its moral cost.
Industrial Exploitation & Dehumanization: Set against the backdrop of industrial expansion, the book explores how corporate greed turns people into disposable cogs. The novel critiques hyper-industrialization where human lives are sacrificed for profit and secret mechanical projects.
Class & Social Mobility: Both protagonists—Stormbuckler (escaping a parish poorhouse) and Mayotte (leaving a life of domestic servitude)—struggle against rigid social hierarchies. Their journeys explore how vulnerable individuals attempt to forge their own paths in an unforgiving economic landscape.
Corporate Secrecy and Resistance: Behind the sleek promise of modern industry lies a sinister underworld of armed enforcement, corruption, and mysterious disappearances. This steampunk story highlights the power and importance of standing up against unchecked corporate tyranny.
Stormbuckler and the Leviscopic Engine is available from all good bookstores or direct from the author, and is available in eBook, paperback, and audio formats.
Neil Mach is a prolific English author known for his clean urban fantasy (like his popular 'Moondog' series) and his historical fiction. Neil claims English Roma heritage. He lives in Staines, Surrey and describes himself as a 'Hippy Grandad". As well as his writing, Neil is also a well-known public speaker, and a creativity advisor. Neil has a background in rock journalism. He frequently shares his expertise on writing and the music business with television, radio, and on podcast channels. Since its launch in 2019, his extremely popular Myth & Magic podcast has provided enthusiasts of fantasy literature and fantasy art with over 125 hours of audio enjoyment.
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