The Magistrates of Hell
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The vampire hunting spy goes to China to investigate a new form of Undead lurking among Peking’s criminal underworld in this “lush and delicious read” (Publishers Weekly).
China, 1912. James Asher, his brilliant wife Lydia, and the old occultist and vampire hunter Dr. Solomon Karlebach have journeyed to the new-born Republic of China to investigate the rumor that a mindless breed of Undead known as the Others have begun to multiply in the hills west of Peking. Even vampires fear the Others, but some factions of the criminal underworld plan to turn the powerful horde into an unstoppable weapon.
Alongside his old vampire partner, Don Simon Ysidro, Asher embarks on a dangerous hunt. But meanwhile, somewhere in the city’s labyrinth, the Peking vampires—known as the Magistrates of Hell—are waiting with their own sinister agenda.
“Balancing the excitement of dangerous chases through mines full of Undead with the intellectual satisfaction of solving a political mystery, this is a lush and delicious read.” —Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Hambly's newest James Asher vampire novel (after Those Who Hunt the Night), the titular British spy; his brilliant wife, Lydia; and Asher's old teacher and vampire hunter, Rebbe Solomon Karlebach, navigate both the complexities of Chinese politics and the practicalities of monster hunting in a darkly exotic version of early 20th-century China. The trio has arrived in the newly-formed republic in order to investigate reports that the yao-kuei demons rumored to be living in the caves of Peking may actually be the hive-minded Undead, and to prevent nefarious parties from using them as weapons in future wars. But the appearance of Asher's vampire friend, Don Simon Ysidro, threatens already tenuous alliances. Hambly's finely wrought China feels alien not just for its vampires and demons, but also for the glaring divide between the insulated diplomats living in the Legation Quarter and the general Chinese populace. Balancing the excitement of dangerous chases through mines full of Undead with the intellectual satisfaction of solving a political mystery, this is a lush and delicious read.
