Richard Ellis Preston Jr. Books In Order

Publication Order of Chronicles of the Pneumatic Zeppelin Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Richard Ellis Preston Jr. is a fiction writer born in the United States. He was brought up in Ontario, Canada. He went to the University of Waterloo, where he earned a B.A in English with Anthropology as a minor.

‘Chronicles of the Pneumatic Zeppelin series is Preston’s first work. He also got a degree in radio and Television broadcasting from Alognquin College Ottawa. Preston was an ENG cameraman for CBS Canada before he went to the York University film Program.

He wrote screenplays for television and film; some programs aired on USA, HBO, Fox Kids, and Animal Planet.

Romulus Buckle & the City of the Founders

Romulus Buckle & the City of the Founders is the debut in the Chronicles of the Pneumatic Zeppelin Series.

The novel is set in California during the post-apocalyptic era, years after the alien invasion that left the world in a winter state. Captain Romulus Buckle and the Stalwart crew of the Pneumatic Zeppelin have to go on a dangerous mission to rescue their kidnapped leader named Balthazar Crankshaft.

Romulus is only eighteen years old and is already a captain of a ragtag group of orphans among other survivors in Los Angeles. He and some of his foster brothers and sisters, who happen to be commanding officers of the zeppelin are planning to go on a perilous mission to rescue their foster father and the leader of their clan.

He’s held at the protected city of the Founders at a time during the post-apocalyptic world of snow. The territory was previously known as Southern California before being ruined during the alien war.

Buckle must navigate his massive airship in the skies filled with enemy war zeppelins and aliens.

People are living desperately in the snow world, and death can come anytime. With his ship’s company, Buckle must go through the poisonous wastelands of Noxious Mustard to fight with Steampipers, armored locomotive, and forgewalkers.

They jump from the skies to the underground prison warrens of the fortress city. Captain Romulus has to risk everything to save Balthazar while preventing a war that could end all the civilization and the human race.

The old California is divided into clans, a fight against each other that never ends and a trying to live short lives to their maximum before death comes upon them. However, now a strange thing is happening as the fogsuckers have kidnapped Balthazar and other clan leaders from a peace meeting.

All this upsets the unstable balance of power, leaving all clans vulnerable, which has brought the snow world to the brink of the war. As the founders have no explanation of their actions, the rest of the clans have no option but to assume that their mysterious neighbors plan to end what they started several decades ago.

This involves bringing all the clans to heel around them to fulfill the founders’ ancient desire to remodel human civilization.

Before the ‘Fogsuckers’ can begin their evil plans, Romulus and the Zeppelin are ready to set everything right. They plan to try the impossible by passing through the wall filled with dreadful gas surrounding the old Los Angeles city.

They’ll have to breach the founder’s legendary defenses and grab Balthazar right in front of them. The entire Crankshaft clan believes the Pneumatic Zeppelin can achieve this as the team is ready to risk their lives for the task. On the other hand, Romulus is ready to sacrifice everyone even if it means his favorite airship; if at all, that’s what it takes to set Balthazar free.

More adventures follow on as musket fights, steered combat, sword fights, and a fascinating crew whose personalities will leave the reader craving for more.
With steam-powered inventions, Preston knows how to create a fun world from the sounds, sights, and atmosphere. The story is filled with uniquely amazing characters going on chaotic adventures.

The story is told from three points of view: Captain Romulus Buckle, the second Lieutenant Sabrina, and the third Chief Engineer Max. The three perspectives help the reader view the lifestyle of the Zepplin airship.

The author did a superb job in bringing the world to life, leaving the reader with some effect and a fair amount of fun through the pages. The story is engaging, and incredible world-building with memorable characters makes the story more intriguing.

Romulus Buckle & the Engines of War

Romulus Buckle & the Engines of War is the second novel in the Chronicles of the Pneumatic Zeppelin. Buckle is the captain of a zeppelin doing great on Southern California. The warring clans fight one another for the unique supplies.

Buckle struggled to form an alliance of the clans and end the fight. However, the alliance is fragile, and actions taken by the founders bring the peace between the clans at stake.

As Buckle is getting ready for the war, he thinks he is enthusiastic but will meet it if need be and learns that his long-lost sister is held at a secret base. The base could also be hiding some secrets on how to defeat the founders in the oncoming war.

At this point, Buckle is left with no choice but to invade the base. In the wake of the suicidal assault on the founder’s prison city to rescue the prominent leader, the steam-powered airship and its crew are ready.

There is less time to rest and repair as the founders’ raids threaten to destroy the alliance Buckle has sacrificed and risked everything to form. As he assembles what appears like an unreliable defense in the inevitable war, Buckle realizes that the most mysterious clan is keeping his sister. She holds the key to his victory in the war with the founders.

However, rescuing her will mean neglecting his allies and hoping they survive long enough so there can be an alliance to go back to after the war. Will Buckle and his crew make it to rescue his sister and win the war?

One unique thing about the novel is that there is much banter between the crew members of the Zepplin. They are a closely-knit family, and like any normal family, they have disagreements and experience awkward moments from time to time. Some of the encounters will have you laughing out loud.