
Nicholas Valiarde is a passionate, embittered nobleman with an enigmatic past. Consumed by thoughts of vengeance, he is consoled only by thoughts of the beautiful, dangerous Madeline. He is also the greatest thief in all of Ile-Rien... On the gas light streets of the city, he assumes the guise of a master criminal, stealing jewels from wealthy nobles to finance his quest for vengeance the murder of Count Montesq. Montesq orchestrated the wrongful execution of Nicholas's beloved godfather on false charges of necromancy--the art of divination through communion with spirits of the dead--a practice long outlawed in the kingdom of Ile-Rein. But now Nicholas's murderous mission is being interrupted by a series of eerie, unexplainable, even fatal events. Someone with tremendous magical powers is opposing him. Children vanish, corpses assume the visage of real people, mortal spells are cast, and traces of necromantic power that hasn't been used for centuries are found. And when a spiritualist unwittingly leads Nicholas to a decrepit mansion, the monstrous nature of his peril finally emerges in harrowing detail. Nicholas and his compatriots must destroy an ancient and awesome evil. even teh help of Ile-Rien's greatest sorcerer may not be enough, for Nicholas faces a woefully mismatched battle--and unthinkable horrors await the loser.
Publisher:
New York : Avon Books, c1998.
ISBN:
9780380788149
0380788144
0380788144
Characteristics:
538 pages



Opinion
From the critics

Community Activity

Comment
Add a CommentIn the beginning I didnt think I would like this but it became very interesting and the intregue was great.. I thought I knew who the villian was and then it would change directions...GOOD ALL THE WAY TO THE END.
A fantastically complicated mystery set in a richly detailed fantasy world. I especially love the steampunk elements of Wells' work, and her characters are realistic while still being exciting people. My one quibble is that her prose is sometimes a little difficult to get into, but her world building and plot twists more than make up for that.
You can rarely find such a likeable assortment of scoundrels, theives, and ner-do-wells. The subtlties of this Victorian-esque society are sometimes a trifle too sublte but in the end this reads like some sort of fantastic alternate history (you know, if sorcery were commonplace at court). I loved it!