Novels by Mariana Palova
"A grand introduction to a magical world and indelible characters." —Kirkus Reviews.
"A bewitching fantasy novel—both bold and exciting."
—Foreword Reviews.
Terrifying creatures, unseen to all around him, have tormented Elisse since he was a little boy. These “night terrors” and the cruel life as a young Westerner in a refugee camp have left him isolated and alone. The only clue to his past is an old, tattered envelope with a picture of his father who mysteriously abandoned him at a monastery as a baby.
When Elisse flees India and journeys to New Orleans in search of his father and the truth of his troubled existence, he finds not only the answers to his extraordinary life, an ancestral secret with a grave responsibility, but also the one thing he most desires. A family—but of beasts.
Now, Elisse’s awakening gifts attract dark forces rooted in Louisiana magic, and he must do the unthinkable to protect everyone he loves. Will Elisse accept the burdens of his gifts and conquer darkness? Or will that same darkness consume him and destroy the love he so desperately longed for?
«In the beginning, God created a wonderful creature.
Pure, immortal and perfect ... But when he saw it,
he knew it was also monstrous, so he split it in two"
Forced to be apart from his family, Elisse leaves the spooky city of New Orleans in order to launch himself into a savage contest across the United States, with the sole purpose of protecting those he loves from the disturbing mysteries that surround his existence.
But Elisse does not travel alone. The monster inside him roars loudly, and his pilgrimage takes him to the desert landscapes of Utah. There he meets Adam, a peculiar boy with whom he begins to establish an important emotional bond.
But the desert hides terrible secrets, and Elisse will have to make, once again, a decision that can endanger not only her life, but that of a new one. family of wanderers desperate for their help. Loyalty ties will be tested and the bravest will be the only survivor. Do you have the courage to fight alongside Elisse?
“No eras más que un simple humano. Pero no necesitabas ser nada más para lograr cosas extraordinarias.”
Frío, astuto y asombrosamente eficaz, Salvador Hoffman es famoso tanto por ser el mejor detective de Nueva Orleans como por su incapacidad para sentir empatía o afecto por otras personas, cosa que lo ha convertido en un hombre más temido que respetado.
Pero cuando un macabro artilugio vudú aparece en una de las escenas del crimen más extrañas de su carrera, el detective comienza a cuestionarse no sólo las reglas de ese mundo estricto y racional al que pertenece, sino las propias limitaciones que siempre le impuso a su corazón. Y de la manera más difícil, Hoffman tendrá que aprender que a veces el amor duele más que la soledad.
Ocho años antes de los acontecimientos de El Señor del Sabbath, esta conmovedora historia imbuida de magia oscura y rituales sombríos nos llevará a conocer no sólo el lado más oculto de la ciudad hechicera, sino también el de uno de los personajes más queridos de La Nación de las Bestias.
Bienvenidos de nuevo a Nueva Orleans.
