Earlier today, the folks at the National Post‘s books blog unveiled the inaugural selection for their newly launched virtual book club, known as The Afterword Reading Society. The chosen work is first-time B.C. novelist Ian Weir’s Daniel O’Thunder (Douglas & McIntyre), an off-kilter historical novel set in Victorian London about an evangelical boxer who challenges the devil to a round of bare-knuckle boxing (see Q&Q‘s review of Daniel O’Thunder).

Beginning on Feb. 2, a panel comprising Post staffers, as well as novelist Craig Davidson (author of the boxing novel The Fighter) and books blogger Erin Balser, will host weekly online discussions and live chats with the author. These virtual discussions will culminate on March 9 with a Q&A session with Weir at Ben McNally books in Toronto.