AustLit

'With the menace of Miss Weaver's reign of terror supposedly behind them, the students of Hollow Fields can look forward to a more peaceful curriculum run by her ethically-minded successor, Principal Bleak. But there's one problem-rebuilding the school after Miss Weaver's reign has left Hollow Fields broke! If the school can't scrape together the cash to pay its staff or maintain its grounds, the Board of Unprincipled Mad Science Education will have it shut down and use the student body for scientific experiments.

'Not wanting to be separated from her new friends, Lucy stumbles upon a chance for Principal Bleak to save Hollow Fields. All they have to do is win the inter-school mad science competition and along with it, a hefty cash prize. But just what kind of things go on at a mad science fair?!'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Madeleine Rosca's sharp-edged style perfectly matches her sharp-tongued lead character's personality. Sally Peppers is the highly-curious, ambitious niece of steambot magnate Erasmus Croach, who has supplied Britain's factories with an apparently endless supply of near-perfect robot employees, displacing flesh-and-blood humans. Unemployed people have begun to demonstrate in the streets of London and more than one near-riot has been put down by Croach's latest and greatest invention, the steambot police-boy, Sky.

'Sky is troubled by dreams where he, like Pinocchio, has become a "real boy." Then he meets Sally, who has run away from home, and begins to learn of the poverty and hardships faced by these workers. Together, Sally and Sky venture into the tunnels beneath London in search of a missing child.

'Sally has always been a bit of a tinkerer and quickly figures out the terrifying truth about her uncle's magnificent steambot factory. But it might be too late―Erasmus Croach has new steambots ready to deploy―and they are bigger and stronger than the heroic Sky. Can Sally's wits and Sky's pure heart save the day?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

"Zounds! It's Victorian London circa 1895, and the sudden impact of steam-driven technology has advanced high society into a new golden age! Sure, the robots have replaced the jobs of London's poorest, and the lower classes are revolting (when aren't they, old chap?) but life is grand, thanks to the mysterious Ember Steambot Factory, its brilliant machines, and its head creator - the amazing Erasmus Croach!

But when Croach's brilliant, troubled niece, Sally, crosses paths with that of Sky, a law enforcement steambot who's started having dreams, the two of them inadvertently discover that Ember is cutting corners on its construction methods in the most gruesome way imaginable! Can a mischievous twelve-year-old girl and a powerful boy robot expose Ember's evil plans - before the city loses its children?" (Source: Back cover)

"Little Lucy Snow should have been enjoying her first day at the town’s prestigious elementary school; however a macabre twist of fate sees her enrolled instead at Miss Weaver’s Academy for the Scientifically Gifted and Ethically Unfettered—also known as Hollow Fields. Located on the outskirts of Nullsville and run by the insidious Engineers, the grim boarding school dedicates itself to raising the next generation of mad scientists and evil geniuses! Classes include Live Taxidermy, Cross-Species Body Part Transplantation, and Killer Robot Construction. For her own survival, Lucy must master her lessons quickly...the student with the lowest grades at the end of each week is sent to the old windmill for detention—and so far, no child has ever returned.

In this third and final volume of Hollow Fields, the mysteries of the windmill and the scope of Miss Weaver’s evil plans are revealed, as the story winds to a thrilling conclusion!" (Source: Publisher's blurb)

"Little Lucy Snow was supposed to attend a prestigious elementary school; however, a macabre twist of fate finds her enrolled instead at Miss Weaver’s Academy for the Scientifically Gifted and Ethically Unfettered, also known as Hollow Fields. Located on the outskirts of Nullsville and run by the insidious Engineers, the grim boarding school dedicates itself to raising the next generation of mad scientists and evil geniuses!

Classes include Live Taxidermy, Cross-Species Body Part Transplantation, and Killer Robot Construction. For her own survival, Lucy must master her lessons quickly—at the end of each week, the student with the lowest grades is sent to the old windmill for detention . . . and so far, no child has ever returned." (Source: Publisher's blurb)

"Located on the outskirts of Nullsville and run by the insidious Engineers, Miss Weaver’s Academy for the Scientifically Gifted and Ethically Unfettered — also known as Hollow Fields — dedicates itself to raising the next generation of mad scientists and evil geniuses! Classes include Live Taxidermy, Cross-Species Body Part Trans-plantation, and Killer Robot Construction. For their own survival, students must master their lessons quickly...the student with the lowest grades at the end of each week is sent to the old windmill for detention—and so far, no child has ever returned.

Once thought to be a shoo-in for detention, recent transfer student Lucy Snow has come into her own at Hollow Fields thanks to Doctor Bleak—a mysterious box-like artifact that Lucy found in the library. Now with Doctor Bleak on her side, can the duo uncover the mysteries of the windmill and reveal the scope of Miss Weaver’s evil plans before its too late?" (Source: Publisher blurb)

"Little Lucy Snow was meant to be enjoying her first day at the nice elementary school in town; however a macabre twist of fate sees her enrolled instead at Miss Weaver's Academy for the Scientifically Gifted and Ethically Unfettered—also known as Hollow Fields.

Located on the outskirts of Nullsville and run by the insidious Engineers, the grim boarding school dedicates itself to raising the next generation of mad scientists and evil geniuses! Classes include Live Taxidermy, Cross-Species Body-Part Transplantation and Killer Robot Construction, and for her own survival Lucy has to master them quickly...the student with the lowest grades at the end of each school week is sent to the old windmill for detention—and so far, no child has ever returned!" (Source: Publisher's blurb)

'Little Lucy Snow was meant to be enjoying her first day at the nice elementary school in town; however a macabre twist of fate sees her enrolled instead at Miss Weaver's Academy for the Scientifically Gifted and Ethically Unfettered - also known as Hollow Fields. Located on the outskirts of Nullsville and run by the insidious Engineers, the grim boarding school dedicates itself to raising the next generation of mad scientists and evil geniuses!

'Classes include Live Taxidermy, Cross-Species Body-Part Transplantation and Killer Robot Construction, and for her own survival Lucy has to master them quickly...the student with the lowest grades at the end of each school week is sent to the old windmill for detention - and so far, no child has ever returned!' (From the publisher's website.)