In this Victorian historical fantasy, an English mesmerist goes on a quest for an idol that has the power to destroy humanity.
In Victorian India, a Scottish doctor, Dr. James Esdaile, finds a way to use the power of mesmerism to aid him in performing surgeries, using a remarkable artifact that enhances his abilities. The revocation of his promise to bring the artifact to Rev. William Davey, the head of the secret Committee of English mesmerists leads Dr. Esdaile to commit suicide in the center of the Crystal Palace . . . but that is only the beginning of the story. Davey’s pursuit of the object leads him across two continents, unfolding the story that has its origins two decades before—and reveals the secret world of the chthonoi, the elemental spirits that were banished from human lands in antiquity, and now want to find a way to open the Glass Door and reassert themselves in the world of men.
“Walter Hunt always keeps you reading and makes you think.” –Harry Turtledove, New York Times–bestselling author of Three Miles DownWalter H. Hunt is a science fiction and historical fiction author. He wrote four science-fiction novels in the Dark Wing universe published by Tor Books, as well as A Song In Stone, a historically-based novel about Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland and the Order of the Temple. The book, 1632: The Cardinal Virtues was published by Baen Books in 2015, and was a finalist for the 2016 Dragon Awards. He is currently working on another novel with Eric Flint, and a second book set in the world of the mesmerists. He is an avid student of history, a devoted baseball fan, an active Freemason and a happy husband and father. Walter H. Hunt spent eighteen years in hi-tech before becoming a full time professional writer in 2001, and serves as the librarian at the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts.