The Adventures of Arabella Ashby

David D. Levine

Alternate HistoryMarsRegency

Summary

Arabella Ashby clings to the railing as a storm of machinery and loyalties roars beneath a Martian dawn. A whispered betrayal and a rival’s armada close in, forcing her to navigate a web of loyalties—family, shipmates, and a colony’s fragile future. In a world where brass engines sulk against the rust-red sky, she must decide whom to trust and what she’s willing to sacrifice to keep others safe. The air is thick with grit, risk, and the quiet ache of choosing between love and duty, a choice that will shape not just her fate but the fate of Mars herself.

The Adventures of Arabella Ashby sits within David D. Levine’s broader spacefaring repertoire, notable for its tight blend of brass-age technology and planetary exploration. Critics have often highlighted its brisk, character-driven plotting and the way it foregrounds personal stakes against frontier science. While the series is celebrated for its spirited heroine and imaginative settings, some reviews note a lighter tonal touch than darker space operas, making it accessible to a wide audience. Overall, it stands as a distinctive, witty bridge between classic airship adventure and planetary romance, contributing to Levine’s reputation for thought‑ful, approachable science fiction.

Main Titles

Arabella of Mars

Arabella Ashby is an indomitable young woman who has always felt more at home in the engine rooms and starboard decks than under polite drawing-room lights. When she stumbles into a desperate...

Arabella Ashby is an indomitable young woman who has always felt more at home in the engine rooms and starboard decks than under polite drawing-room lights. When she stumbles into a desperate scheme to return to Mars, she seizes the chance to escape the stifling expectations of Earth and to pursue the only life that fits her — one of adventure, mechanical cunning, and dangerous loyalties. Alongside a ragged crew and a ship that seems to have as much personality as any human, Arabella must outwit rivals, navigate political games, and confront the echoes of a war-torn world she barely remembers. The voyage is both physical and personal: Arabella wrestles with questions of identity and belonging while proving herself against challenges that test her skill and her heart. Each scrap, repair, and duel sharpens her resourcefulness, and every friendship forged in cramped quarters binds her tighter to a destiny that will demand courage and sacrifice. By the time she reaches the red planet, Arabella has already become more than a runaway — she is someone the future will have to reckon with.

2016 Year

7 Publications

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Arabella and the Battle of Venus

After returning from Mars with new purpose, Arabella Ashby finds herself drawn into the tangled politics of the inner worlds when a crisis explodes around Venus. A contest for resources and glory...

After returning from Mars with new purpose, Arabella Ashby finds herself drawn into the tangled politics of the inner worlds when a crisis explodes around Venus. A contest for resources and glory threatens the fragile peace between rival colonies, and Arabella is pulled into a conflict that will demand every ounce of wit and daring she possesses. With a crew that trusts her implicitly and enemies who underestimate her at their peril, she must pilot through espionage, sabotage, and open skirmish above a planet shrouded in peril and beauty. The action forces Arabella to grow beyond the role of scrappy survivor into the strategist and leader she fears she cannot be. Personal loyalties are strained as alliances shift and the cost of victory becomes clearer; she must decide whom to save and what she will sacrifice. As battle lines draw tight around Venus, Arabella faces tests of honor and heart that will shape her relationships and set the stakes for the wars to come.

2017 Year

6 Publications

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Arabella the Traitor of Mars

Back on Mars, Arabella Ashby confronts the consequences of choices made in orbit and the whispers that label her a traitor. Accusations swirl in salons and barracks alike, and she must navigate a...

Back on Mars, Arabella Ashby confronts the consequences of choices made in orbit and the whispers that label her a traitor. Accusations swirl in salons and barracks alike, and she must navigate a world where friends can become enemies with a single rumor. Determined to clear her name and protect those she loves, Arabella dives into the murky politics of the red planet: underground networks, military tribunals, and the fragile trust of a populace wearied by war. As she peels back layers of conspiracy, Arabella learns that betrayal is rarely simple and that courage sometimes means embracing uncomfortable truths. Her loyalty is tested by people who expect her to act as they wish rather than as her conscience dictates. With the fate of Mars and the lives of her crew hanging in the balance, Arabella must choose whether to fight for a system that betrays her or to set a new course that could change everything she thought she knew about duty and home.

2018 Year

5 Publications

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