Read by Chris Kayser An epic novel of the struggle for free will, set in an alternate Jazz Age filled with magic and the wondrous Clakkers mechanical men, endowed with great strength and stamina - but beholden to the wishes of their human masters. Soon after the Dutch scientist and clockmaker Christiaan Huygens invented the very first Clakker in the 17th Century, the Netherlands built a whole mechanical army. It wasnt long before a legion of clockwork fusiliers marched on Westminster, and the Netherlands became the worlds sole superpower. Three centuries later, it still is. Only the French still fiercely defend their belief in universal human rights for all men -- flesh and brass alike. After decades of warfare, the Dutch and French have reached a tenuous cease-fire in a conflict that has ravaged North America.