Kirjahaku

'Charming, haunting, ambitious'T. KINGFISHERA devastating love story. A bewitching twist on history. A blood-drenched hunt for purpose, power, and redemption.1785. Twenty years ago, Sebastian Grave of Larnaca – a reserved man of arcane talents and many centuries, host to a spirit by the name of Sarmodel – brought himself to the remote French province of Gévaudan. The local Baron d’Ocerne and Bishop of Mende had called for volunteers to hunt the Beast, a monstrous creature believed to be responsible for the escalating and widespread slaughter of livestock and, now, citizens. Signing himself up to the Hunt, Sebastian found himself unexpectedly partnered with the fun-loving and handsome young nobleman Antoine d’Ocerne.In the twenty years since they combined forces, the two men have not spoken. Until, one day, Antoine’s son Jacques appears at Sebastian’s door, invoking the old contract and Sebastian’s promise of help. For the Beast is back – and Gévaudan has once more been seized in its grip of terror. Sebastian left behind a dark secret in those wintry mountains, and should rightfully heed Sarmodel’s advice to stay well away. But one thing time cannot break is the bonds of the heart, and the lure to see Antoine once again is too great to resist.Not all monsters, it seems, will stay buried.

'Charming, haunting, ambitious'T. KINGFISHERA devastating love story. A bewitching twist on history. A blood-drenched hunt for purpose, power, and redemption.1785. Twenty years ago, Sebastian Grave of Larnaca – a reserved man of arcane talents and many centuries, host to a spirit by the name of Sarmodel – brought himself to the remote French province of Gévaudan. The local Baron d’Ocerne and Bishop of Mende had called for volunteers to hunt the Beast, a monstrous creature believed to be responsible for the escalating and widespread slaughter of livestock and, now, citizens. Signing himself up to the Hunt, Sebastian found himself unexpectedly partnered with the fun-loving and handsome young nobleman Antoine d’Ocerne.In the twenty years since they combined forces, the two men have not spoken. Until, one day, Antoine’s son Jacques appears at Sebastian’s door, invoking the old contract and Sebastian’s promise of help. For the Beast is back – and Gévaudan has once more been seized in its grip of terror. Sebastian left behind a dark secret in those wintry mountains, and should rightfully heed Sarmodel’s advice to stay well away. But one thing time cannot break is the bonds of the heart, and the lure to see Antoine once again is too great to resist.Not all monsters, it seems, will stay buried.

DELUXE EDITION--the hardcover edition of The Red Winter features beautiful red sprayed edges A devastating love story. A bewitching twist on history. A blood-drenched hunt for purpose, power, and redemption. In 1785, Professor Sebastian Grave receives the news he fears most: the terrible Beast of Gevaudan has returned, and the French countryside runs red in its wake. Sebastian knows the Beast. A monster-slayer with centuries of experience, he joined the hunt for the creature twenty years ago and watched it slaughter its way through a long and bloody winter. Even with the help of his indwelling demon, Sarmodel - who takes payment in living hearts - it nearly cost him his life to bring the monster down. Now, two decades later, Sebastian has been recalled to the hunt by Antoine Avenel d'Ocerne, an estranged lover who shares a dark history with the Beast and a terrible secret with Sebastian. Drawn by both the chance to finish the Beast for good and the promise of a reconciliation with Antoine, Sebastian cannot refuse. But Gevaudan is not as he remembers it, and Sebastian's unfinished business is everywhere he looks. Years of misery have driven the people to desperation, and France teeters on the edge of revolution. Sebastian's arcane activities - not to mention his demonic counterpart - have also attracted the inquisitorial eye of the French clergy. And the Beast is poised to close his jaws around them all and plunge the continent into war. Debut author Cameron Sullivan tears the heart out of history with this darkly entertaining retelling of the hunt for the Beast of Gevaudan. Lifting the veil on the hidden world behind our own, it reimagines the story of Europe, from Imperial Rome to Saint Jehanne d'Arc, the madness of Gilles de Rais and the first flickers of the French Revolution. "Charming, haunting, ambitious, and a great deal of fun." --T. Kingfisher, New York Times bestselling author of A Sorceress Comes to Call"So bloody good. The Red Winter is absolute ripper entertainment--miss it at your peril " --Shelley Parker-Chan, bestselling author of She Who Became the Sun "A gorgeous tangle of history and fresh-made myth, The Red Winter is my platonic ideal of a debut: the moment I was done, I went looking for Sullivan's backlog and let out an actual howl of despair upon realizing there was nothing yet. You'll eat this one up." --Cassandra Khaw, bestselling author of Nothing But Blackened Teeth