I don’t know when I first read The Disassembled Life of Duncan Cole by S. Hart, but it’s many years ago. I’ve been meaning to reread it, but it’s a long book, 777 pages according to Amazon, so I’ve been a bit hesitant. Now I found myself in the mood for some copper, brass, and dead people living as if they’d never died.
This is awesome, truly awesome. Steampunk. Duncan Cole lost his leg when he was hit by a train he built together with his best friend Dan. He’s a genius, he’s a madman, he’s impersonating a psychopath LOL
He spends his days smoking and drinking coffee, and then in the afternoon, he goes inside before he can hear the train whistle and builds and/or repair things.
He doesn’t talk to anyone, so when Sam comes along, he tries to glare him to death. Sam doesn’t care, he comes back day after day, and he starts to bring coffee to both of them. Then when Duncan finally has learned to accept, and maybe even want Sam to invade his space, someone hurts Sam. Hurts him badly.
Duncan hasn’t left his house in years, but all of a sudden, he starts spinning a plan. He will get revenge for Sam.
Once that’s settled, he learns that his best friend Dan who died saving him from the train that took his leg, might not be as dead as he first thought. He’s dead, sort of, and yet… Dan’s head is in a jar. He can still talk to Duncan. So the new mission is to bring Dan’s body back, and maybe kill Dan’s brother, only Dan’s brother has already died several times over, and on and on it goes.
Awesome! Truly awesome LOL
My only complaint is that it’s a little long. Still awesome, I still love it, but I think the story would’ve benefitted from being a little shorter, just a little.
The Disassembled Life of Duncan Cole
In which we meet Duncan: professional nobody who presents himself to the public as a scowling, smoking pile of contempt. Against his will, he meets Sam: a less than professional coal miner who inspires the worst in men. Together they take on one malicious train and a most insidious re-animator, and along the way Duncan remembers a few things that he’d previously forgotten.
Holly Day 
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