Tempest (novel)

Tempest is the ninth Virgin Bernice Summerfield New Adventures novel, published in 1998. This was Christopher Bulis' final contribution to the Virgin New Adventures range.

Publisher's summary
''Smith consulted his watch very deliberately. "You have one hour to find the Imnulate and hand it over to me. If you do not, I will tear this train and its passengers apart piece by piece!"''

Tempest: a wild and untamed world perpetually wreathed in cloud and storms. The only means of long-distance travel across its surface are the great transcontinental monorails that traverse its lonely and dangerous wastelands. Returning home from a lucrative lecture, Professor Bernice Summerfield finds herself on the most celebrated of these mighty trains.

The Drell Imnulate: a fabulous and unique religious idol. Precious enough to kill for. So important to those rival factions who follow the way of its maker that they will dare anything to ensure its return.

Isolated in the wilderness and far from civilisation, death strikes the luxurious Polar Express, and a routine journey turns into a nightmare. But can Bernice save a train on the brink of disaster?

Chapter Titles

 * Prologue
 * 1) Tempest
 * 2) Mr Smith
 * 3) Departure
 * 4) Murder on the Polar Express
 * 5) Suspect
 * 6) Shadows
 * 7) Technical Matters
 * 8) Special Duty
 * 9) Detection by Numbers
 * 10) Under Pressure
 * 11) Heavy Weather
 * 12) Landslide
 * 13) A Shadow Explained
 * 14) Deceptions and Rewards
 * 15) Ultimatum
 * 16) The Battle of the Train
 * 17) Flight
 * 18) Jigsaw
 * 19) Anatomy of a Crime
 * 20) Justice
 * Epilogue

Plot
to be added

Characters

 * Bernice Summerfield
 * Nathan Costermann
 * Gerv Ferlane
 * Jordan Tyne
 * Dell Lankril
 * Tralbet
 * Montague Klemp
 * Lucas Sommers
 * Clarris Sommers
 * Owen Rosen
 * Mr and Mrs Versons
 * Merch
 * Tempest

Foods and beverages

 * Benny manages to absolve herself of any crime on the train by being too drunk to do anything.

Objects

 * Bernice Summerfield has a full environmental suit rating trained to function in 0–100 atmospheres.
 * The Drell Imnulate is the crystal everyone seems to want.

Species

 * Nargs are a race employed for physical labour.

Writers

 * Benny mentions Agatha Christie.

Continuity
to be added