Faction Paradox

<i>Note: The second edition of this novel, published in 2010, eliminates references to Faction Paradox. Overall, however, the change is minor.</i> <hr> <strong>Seeking: Maid of all Work. Master of Arts required.</strong> She thought she was there to observe and document the methods of the twenty-five-year-old Sherlock Holmes before he gained notoriety— <strong>Rooftop Robber Strikes Again!</strong> A barely noticed automaton; quiet, efficient, and unobtrusive— <strong>The partially clad body of a young girl was found Sunday morning at the London Dock.</strong> A remarkable opportunity for research in the field— <strong>Gilbert & Sullivan's comic opera, Perola, premieres at the Savoy Theatre.</strong> Bestowed upon her by a benefactor who has sold his soul— <strong>American Oil Tycoon, Henry Barstow, has begun annulment proceedings on behalf of his daughter Lady Henrietta Holbrook. Lord Merrill Holbrook's whereabouts still unknown.</strong> For a technology that only works if the devil he sold it to is sufficiently entertained. <strong>Dr Grimsley Roylott of Stoke Moran arrested in connection with suspicious deaths of his stepdaughters, Julia and Helen Stoner.</strong> The life of Sherlock Holmes is being written by another hand— <strong>Woman held captive for forty days, rescued. White slave gang suspected.</strong> And maid must become master if she wants to survive— <strong>Krakatoa explodes with a force of 1,300 megatons. Thousands perish.</strong> Because the devil loves a spectacle. The more blood, the better.