2014, ISBN: 9780241197349

Used; Like New. Small Remainder Mark.<br />The City is ancient, layers upon layers. Once a thriving metropolis, it sprawled beyond its bounds, inciting endless wars and creating a b… More...

Used; Like New. Small Remainder Mark.<br />The City is ancient, layers upon layers. Once a thriving metropolis, it sprawled beyond its bounds, inciting endless wars and creating a barren wasteland of what was once green and productive. <br /><br />In the center of the City lives the emperor, a man in his prime though he should be very old. Some grimly speculate that he is no longer human, if he ever was. A small number have come to the desperate conclusion that the only way to stop the war is to end the emperor's unnaturally long life. <br /><br />From the mazelike sewers below the City to the blood-soaked fields of battle, the rebels pin their hopes on one man—Shuskara. The emperor's former general, he was betrayed long ago and is believed to be dead. But he has survived, hiding from his immortal foe. The time has come for him to engage in one final battle to free the City from the creature who dwells at its heart, pulling the strings that keep the land drenched in gore. . 2014. TRADE PAPERBACK., 2014, 5, Viking Adult. New. A suspicious death, a pregnant woman suddenly gone missing: Quirke's latest case leads him inexorably toward the dark machinations of an old foe<br />Perhaps Quirke has been down among the dead too long. Lately the Irish pathologist has suffered hallucinations and blackouts, and he fears the cause is a brain tumor. A specialist diagnoses an old head injury caused by a savage beating; all that's needed, the doctor declares, is an extended rest. But Quirke, ever intent on finding his place among the living, is not about to retire.<br />One night during a June heat wave, a car crashes into a tree in central Dublin and bursts into flames. The police assume the driver's death was either an accident or a suicide, but Quirke's examination of the body leads him to believe otherwise. Then his daughter Phoebe gets a mysterious visit from an acquaintance: the woman, who admits to being pregnant, says she fears for her life, though she won't say why. When the woman later disappears, Phoebe asks her father for help, and Quirke in turn seeks the assistance of his old friend Inspector Hackett. Before long the two men find themselves untangling a twisted string of events that takes them deep into a shadowy world where one of the city's most powerful men uses the cover of politics and religion to make obscene profits.<br />Even the Dead--Benjamin Black's seventh novel featuring the endlessly fascinating Quirke--is a story of surpassing intensity and surprising beauty. . 0. TRADE PAPERBACK., Viking Adult, 6<