Archaeologist Dr. Geena Hodge is on the precipice of success: her team has found an entrance to an underground chamber while searching for the Petrarch's lost library. A documentarian is joining her team for the descent into the long-hidden structure and may be the key to extensive funding. Best of all, she is able to share the excitement of this momentous occasion with her assistant-slash-lover, Nico, whose psychic presence resonates in her own mind.
Within a strikingly preserved room-unlike any Venetian excavation-the team finds only one artifact: a small vessel that immediately mesmerizes Nico. While the team investigates a slab of granite inlaid in the floor, Nico becomes transfixed by the object, and before he can be stopped, he has the urn in his hands. Then, it is broken open on the ground. And with that, the impossibly withheld groundwater begins to fill the chamber?
In the clamor to escape the rapidly flooding room and save the found texts, the team is sent in all directions. And Nico's mind, always attuned to Geena's, seems to go quiet. His actions in the days after the incident feel unlike him, and his consciousness seems to dissolve beneath the weight of his experience with the artifact. What insidious force was within? And what can satisfy its restless will?
Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon, two of dark fantasy's most acclaimed talents, continue their Hidden Cities series in this magical examination of the secrets of Venice.
"Golden and Lebbon have far outstripped their past efforts with this wonderfully creepy thriller of a ghost story."-
Publishers Weekly starred review for
The Map of Moments
"Golden and Lebbon vividly evoke the rich, enduring character of New Orleans, as well as spinning a compelling fantasy yarn that builds momentum as Max works his way through the city's history."-
Booklist on
The Map of Moments
"A new book by Golden means only one thing: the reader is in for a treat. His books are rich with texture and characters, always inventive, and totally addictive."-Charles de Lint, author of
Promises to Keep
"Christopher Golden is one of the most hardworking, smartest, and talented writers of his generation, and his books are so good and so involving that they really ought to sell in huge numbers. Everything he writes glows with imagination."-Peter Straub, author of
In the Night Room
"Tim Lebbon displays the sort of cool irony and uncanny mood-making that drives the best
Twilight Zone stories."-
New York Times Book Review
"Tim Lebbon is a master of fantasy and horror, and his visions make for disturbing and compelling reading."-Douglas Clegg, author of
The Queen of Wolves
