Read more
Zusatztext The author of the popular "Change" novels ( Dies the Fire! The Protector's War ) begins a new urban fantasy series featuring a variant version of werewolves! bringing to it an extraordinary eye for detail and a feel for characterizations. - Booklist “A TERRIFIC URBAN FANTASY.” – Genre Go Round Reviews Informationen zum Autor S. M. Stirling is the New York Time s bestselling author of many science fiction and fantasy novels, including the Novels of the Change (including Prince of Outcasts, The Desert and the Blade, The Golden Princess, The Given Sacrifice, Lord of Mountains ) and the Shadowspawn series ( A Taint in the Blood, The Council of Shadows, Shadows of Falling Night ). Klappentext From S. M. Stirling! the "master of speculative fiction" (Library Journal) and the author of the New York Times bestselling Novels of the Change! comes a new vision! as a man battles the dark forces of the world-including those in his own blood… Aeons ago! Homo nocturnus ruled the Earth. Possessing extraordinary powers! they were the source of all manner of myths and legends. Though their numbers have been greatly reduced! they exist still-though not as purebreds. Adrian Brézé is one such being. Wealthy and reclusive! he is more Shadowspawn than human. He rebelled against his own kind! choosing to live as an ordinary man! fighting against his darker nature. But Adrian's sister is determined to bring back the reign of the Shadowspawn! and now she has struck him at his weakest point by kidnapping his human lover! Ellen. To save Ellen-and perhaps all of humanity-Adrian must rejoin a battle he swore he would never fight again. Sante Fe, New Mexico?2010 "Thank you, Herr Müller," Adrian Brézé said, in German. "Most comprehensive and detailed." Thank you for making me do this with a hangover , he added mentally, blinking in the bright late-afternoon sunlight that poured through the great windows behind him and reflected off the pale stucco of the wall and the backs of the books. One might argue it's my fault, but it's also far too painful for me to be fair , he went on to himself as he hit the button and the drapes swept across to put the room in shadow. The man on the other side of the video call was square-faced, with thinning blond hair and an immaculate suit. If he found Adrian's bathrobe odd for what was technically a business meeting, he didn't say a word. The commissions probably ensured that, even for an anal-retentive German broker in Frankfurt. "I believe the quarterly report is satisfactory," Müller went on. "Especially considering current market conditions." "It will stay satisfactory as long as my instructions are followed precisely," Adrian said. "That was why I parted company with Willoughby's in London. They took time arguing with me in '09, and cost me a good deal." "There will be no problems of that nature with us, Herr Brézé." A hesitation. "Although I would appreciate some idea of the procedure you use for your selections." "I look at the listings and flip a coin," Adrian said succinctly. "It's a subconscious process." A slight sour smile rewarded him. "As you wish, Herr Brézé." When the screen on the wall returned to its drifting colors he rose and walked down the long corridor to the pool room. It wasn't large, but it did have a wave function that let you swim against an artificial current. And it was gratefully dim, which helped with his throbbing headache. He'd tried to drown his sorrows in a bottle of Camus Cuvée 3.128. Getting drunk on that miracle of the Grande Champagne country was mildly blasphemous, and hadn't solved his problems. It didn't make the house less echoingly empty, or chase away the shadows of Ellen's presence that would haunt it now. Cognac di...
