It’s by a new guy named Felix Gilman. I took a chance on it and I have to say i enjoyed it immensely. The concept and setting seem fresh and new to me, and I liked the characters. I’m really looking forward to the his future books (hoping he does more) because this one was a real page-turner and fired my imagination, which doesn’t happen much these days 
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Thanks for the recommendation; I just looked up some more details and ordered it!
Let me know what you think of it.