Shooting the Sun
In 1840, Selena Cott finds herself traveling the Santa Fe Trail with a painter, an eccentric Englishman, an adventurer, and a gruff wagon train driver. This group of misfit characters is on an expedition to photograph a total solar eclipse in the American Southwest.
Charles Babbage, the real-life British inventor who invented the Difference Engine—the precursor to the modern-day computer—uses the machine to calculate the exact time and place of the next solar eclipse. Selena cannot pass up the opportunity to photograph the eclipse and help prove that Babbage’s Difference Engine really works. Unfortunately, Babbage needs money to perfect his invention, which means locating a wealthy uncle in the States. The one complication to receiving the money is that his uncle must die.
As the wagon train makes its way along the Santa Fe Trail, Selena soon finds out that Indian attacks are not her only danger: her traveling companions are out to commit murder. Max Byrd creates an intriguing novel with a deadly twist that travels from Victorian England to early America. The story combines real people with fictional characters to make a very enjoyable read.
