Ack-Ack Macaque

In 1944, German commandos drop into Kent by parachute, and Britain's hopes rest on a Spitfire pilot known only as Ack-Ack Macaque. He is a monkey: cynical, one-eyed, fond of cigars, and increasingly unsure whether he is real at all.

A century later, France and Britain have joined into one state, and nuclear-powered airships circle the globe. Victoria Valois, a former journalist, is pulled into a dangerous pursuit with the man who murdered her husband and took her electronic soul.

In Paris, the heir to the British throne takes part in an illegal break-in at a research laboratory and becomes a fugitive. Throughout, the doomsday clock keeps moving toward catastrophe.

Gareth L. Powell is a British science fiction writer.