1. Animals
2. Art techniques
3. Climate
4. Dystopias
5. Environmental protection
6. Horror
7. Insects
8. Literary techniques
9. Photorealism
10. Robots
11. Science fiction
12. Visual literacy

Set in the twenty-third century, ‘Mechanica’ imagines a world without wildlife. Much of the devastation had been caused during the previous century when military drones had engaged in battles to secure land and natural resources. All the warnings had been ignored and humans had virtually destroyed their climate and all of the Earth’s non-human species have been wiped out. People started to rebel demanding solutions and to bring back the lost species. Corporations worldwide come up with a unique solution – Mechanica. Created to resemble the lost species, the invented creatures were soon part of everyday life.

During the wars many drones were damaged and were lost to human control becoming renegade killing machines. Humans retreated to fortified enclaves with only a few robot research stations outside these areas. As time passed the Mechanica escaped and began to cross-breed with the renegade drones, the Mechanica became a thing of terror.

‘Mechanica: a beginner’s field guide’ provides a historical context to the Mechanica and then provides detailed illustrations, technical specifications, design details and field observations of individual Mechanica species. This guide was undertaken by Miss Liberty Crisp herself a survivor of wild Mechanica attack during her famous voyage through the Orient in 2250.

This book is highly original and will engage many. The illustrations were created layer by layer in Adobe Workshop from real world objects and photographs of machinery. Each image contains thousands of individual layers and takes up to 70 hours to create. The images invite close study and appreciation as can the language and vocabulary in the imaginative descriptions of individual Mechanica. The Mechanica illustrations on the endpapers are particularly engaging.

This is a book that ventures into many areas, science, literature, philosophy, ethics, and economics. It is at once a scientific field guide, dystopian fiction and steampunk.

‘Mechanica: a beginner’s field guide’ was followed by a companion book ‘Aquatica: a beginner’s field guide’ published in 2017.

1. Mechanica website https://www.mechanica.com.au/
2. Hodkinson, K. 2017, 'SPaRK – Mechanica: A Beginner’s Field Guide by Lance Balchin', Scan 36(3) https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/professional-learning/scan/past-issues/vol-36--2017/spark-mechanica-a-beginners-field-guide
3. Educate.Empower. August 29, 2016, Vanessa Ryan Rendall reviews ‘Mechanica: a beginner’s field guide’ by Lance Balchin. Includes brief teaching notes https://educateempower.blog/2016/08/29/mechanica-a-beginners-field-guide-by-lance-baldachin/
4. Better Reading September 12, 2016. Interview: ‘On ‘Mechanica’ and the magic of machines with Lance Balchin https://www.betterreading.com.au/kids-ya/on-mechanica-and-the-magic-of-machines-with-lance-balchin/
5. Children’s Books Daily. Book People: Lance Balchin, September 1, 2016. Meagan Daley interviews the author and reviews ‘Mechanica’ by Lance Balchin https://childrensbooksdaily.com/book_reviews/book-people-lance-balchin/
6. Science Book a day. February 24, 2018. George Aranda reviews ‘Mechanica: a beginner’s field guide’ by Lance Balchin https://sciencebookaday.com/2018/02/24/mechanica-a-beginners-field-guide/