Gun of Ashes

As everyone can see, this book is titled ”The Ember Gun” also known as ”Second-Rate Detective and His Beloved Winchester”.

Firstly, rather than steampunk, I prefer to describe this book’s style as Victorian Fantasy. It takes place in a fictional world, within a fictional history, where boiling water has temporarily conquered everything in this godforsaken world. (So don’t fret about tech trees or anything, everything serves the story.)

About the inception of this book. The original idea was to write a cyber detective story where Sherlock Holmes is a tough detective wielding an electromagnetic rifle and EMP bombs, crushing one cyborg after another with the help of the super hacker Watson.

But due to various reasons, that idea was scrapped because my penmanship couldn’t quite handle such a cyberpunk future, eventually turning into this.

Because I feel a book based on some level of real stories would feel more authentic, certain well-known historical events will be slightly magically altered and pieced together, such as the likes of Jack the Ripper.

Before writing this book, I was actually preparing a story about urban supernatural abilities, but because it involved certain things, it probably got ganked and ended up going nowhere. So, to avoid another tragedy, many terms in this book have been magically altered from reality, like the hundred-year Radiant War, which those with a memory of history should recognize instantly.

The core of the story is based on a few of my previous ideas, adding a sprinkle of the indescribable, pouring in some mysterious SCP, resulting in a roughly established tone for this story through a mishmash of elements.

On a foggy night, the second-rate detective crazily shoots his Winchester at tentacles stretching out from the sewers... something like that?

As for the protagonist Holmes’ name and whether he’s a traveler from another world, this is a foreshadowing that you can temporarily understand as a native with memories of a traveler. He is not a protagonist who appears out of thin air and has his own past, which will be written later.

Originally, I intended to directly call him Sherlock Holmes, but after thinking it over carefully, it didn’t seem necessary to be so blatant, so I changed it to another translation, Holmes.

Then, in terms of writing style, I try my best to depict the ”solving case” aspect, because, after all, how can a detective not solve cases?

As with the previous book, rather than upgrade-driven plots or plot-driven upgrades, I still prefer purely plot-oriented storytelling, and to avoid writing getting out of control, appearing characters will be effectively managed.

As for upgrades, let’s forget it. My ability to write power systems is quite shattered, so the power system in this book will be in a very low-magical world. I think the less magical, the more varied the combat becomes. Just like playing League, with full god gear, you’re just crashing skills and comparing stats. But if both of you are in noob gear, then you end up frantically showing your moves, isn’t that more exciting than rolling faces on keyboards?

Then, the power system will also borrow some elements from the Dark Soul system—you’re like paper, and so are your enemies!

Subsequently, the main storyline of this book is to gradually uncover the extraordinary powers hidden in the shadows within this vast steam city through the perspective of this second-rate detective, the decline of steam technology, the advent of the electric era, and the end of the old times...

Finally, quoting one sentence.

Human beings can no longer live in fear. Nothing can protect us; we must protect ourselves. —SCP Foundation.