Author Eric Stanway is known for his books chronicling local mysteries, murders and hauntings that he has discovered over his decades of investigating New England’s dark past.
But for his 31st book, the Fitzwilliam writer is delving into the world of pure fiction with his new character Dr. Korvus.
“A lot of my books have been history books, focusing on local murders and ghosts,” Stanway said in a recent interview. “This time, I thought I would take a stab at fiction.”
Set in 1890 Victorian London, “Dr. Korvus: Children Of The Abyss” is the first in a series of novels chronicling the adventures of Dr. Korvus and his biomechanical rat Plato, Stanway said.
“It’s a bit like Sherlock Holmes with some supernatural elements thrown in,” Stanway said, as well as Doctor Who and Professor Bernard Quatermass, a fictional scientist Stanway grew up watching on BBC shows and films.
Stanway, who grew up in Stockport, England, says he always loved those characters and their adventures. “In England, I always had a thing about Sherlock Holmes and Professor Quartermass.”
Every hero needs a foe and in this book Dr. Korvus must defeat an awakened Celtic god, Cernunnos. “He wakes up in the Industrial Revolution and he’s not too thrilled about what people have done to the earth,” Stanway said.
Dr. Korvus is a mad scientist, Stanway said, and he’s created a sort of a biomechanical rat that sits on his shoulder. “He’s a rat, but he’s got armor plating on him and he talks, a lot.” And by far, the best character Stanway says he has ever written. “He’s just so much fun to write for. He has a nasty, nasty attitude.”
And while Dr. Korvus also sees the damage the Industrial Revolution has wreaked on 1890s London, he knows he must fight Cernunnos in order to save humanity.
“The whole thing is Cernunnos wants to take over the whole earth and wipe out the whole human race,” Stanway said.
Stanway said young and old alike will enjoy the book, which he wrote in the vein of the Saturday morning TV serials he loved so much as a teenager.
“When I was writing it felt like I was watching a TV show, but I was writing it. That’s how fast the dialogue came,” he said. “It’s a runaround with thingys and creatures and ‘here they come again.’”
Stanway says fans of his books telling tales of bizarre local history have nothing to fear, he fully intends to keep up with his research along with the adventures of Dr. Korvus and Plato.
“I just thought I would take a different road and have a bit of fun,” he said. “And I thought people would have fun coming along and reading it.”
Stanway said he will be reading from “Dr. Korvus: Children Of The Abyss” at the Toadstool Bookshop in Peterborough Saturday at 11 a.m.