Kindle Spotlight -- Hell's Gate: A Steampunk Lovecraft Adventure

This week we have a recent release by Brent Nichols, Hell's Gate: A Steampunk Lovecraft Adventure. As the title suggests, it is an H.P. Lovecraft-inspired steampunk tale.

The story takes place during the roaring '20s around Washington, D.C. Colleen, the protagonist, is a young woman who works for a top secret government agency dedicated to investigating the occult (think Hell Boy). Said agency just happens to be in possession of a mystic stone sought by the evil Cult of Katharsis. They waste little time attacking the agency's HQ to get the stone so they can open a portal to the realm of the dark god Katharsis. With the help of her friends and her gorilla-esque automaton Woody, Colleen sets out to save her mentor and thwart the cult's attempts to release Katharsis into the world.

Like many of the Kindle books I review on this site, Hell's Gate is really just a novella at around 75 pages. However, it is well-written with likeable characters. I particularly enjoyed the scenes with Dirk, the former member of the team who had to be institutionalized because of his experiences with the realm of Katharsis and the monsters that dwell within it. Dirk's plight is described so well that I had no trouble believing his mind has been severely damaged by his experiences.

At $2.99, this book is well worth a read, and I'd like to see more steampunk stories take advantage of the rich culture of 1920s America.