Join us as we follow the strange stand-alone train known as the Sleipnir (pronounced Schlipnear); eight cars of free traveling steam powered might. Able to lay her own tracks, as well as pick them up again, the train is a marvelous feat of engineering, and as an unbound entity she can travel anywhere her master desires. The only trouble is the trouble she attracts. Her owner and creator, one Professor Hieronymus J. Dittmeyer, can’t seem to help but catch the attention of all manner of odd characters, including an undead conductor and ghostly guardian. But even a well meaning ghost can’t help the crew. From run of the mill outlaws to world-class super villains, the crew of the Sleipnir needs protecting and they need it fast!

Enter Rodger Dodger, dead-eye marksman and all around vexed soul. Dodger finds he is inexplicably drawn to the Sleipnir and her crazy crew, though he is reluctant to return to the work of a gunslinger after a dreadful history of bloodshed and violence. At the request of a restless spirit, Dodger takes on the work, straps on the biggest guns this side of the Mississippi and soon finds his life will never be the same again. (Which is just fine with him because he didn’t like the one he had anyways.)

On a train that can go anywhere, anything is bound to happen!

Railroad Volume One: Rodger Dodger is one of my first forays into the world of steampunk and if this is what steampunk is all about I LOVE IT! The characters created by Tonia Brown are fantastical and vivid…highly entertaining. Rodger Dodger is exactly the type of person you think of when you read his name, but maybe with a slight more compassionate quality then his name might suggest.  Professor Hieronymus J. Dittmeyer, well, just his name is loveable, but he’s that quirky professor you wish you had in college, but never was lucky enough to end up in his class. Highly intelligent, kind and considerate to a fault, but with that eccentric quality that makes him just plain likeable. Ched, the engineer is right up my alley, too for reasons that you will have to read to determine. Rodger, Dittmeyer and Ched are not the only characters in Railroad Volume One: Rodger Dodger, there are other lifeforms in this tale of the odd and amusing, but the Sleipnir could be viewed upon as a character. She is a magnificent wonder of the modern world and is able to run without tracks to wherever location the Professor deems worthy of an adventure. 

Set in the Old West, Railroad Volume One: Rodger Dodger has that feel of ever present danger of a gunfight just about to happen as a tumbling tumbleweed rolls past. The combination of the Old West with its saloons, steam trains, Colt revolvers and the out of this world abilities of the Sleipnir and her crew make this a highly imaginative and entertaining read. Seriously, I could not put it down and I CANNOT WAIT for Volume Two…did you hear that, Mrs. Brown?

Obviously, I definitely recommend Railroad Volume One: Rodger Dodger to purchase and read multiple times. You can find it for Amazon Kindle by clicking the cover image above or you can find it for other eReaders at Smashwords (HERE)

You can learn more about Tonia Brown and her alter ego (pen name) Regina Riley, as well as, her other work by visiting her website The Back Seat Writer  She can also be stalked…I mean followed on Twitter: @ToniaBrown1

Espresso rating: Quad