New Release Books by Angel Martinez

FROM POPULAR AUTHORS OF LGBTQIA ROMANCE ANGEL MARTINEZ AND BELLORA QUINN Book four in the AURA series Ryld must learn to control his dangerous shadows before they kill someone he cares about or someone unscrupulous learns how to control him. AURA''s offices have been quiet since the mage tower incident—as quiet as they can be for an agency dedicated to policing holes in reality—and the department heads have been free to turn their attention back to mundane matters. The return to quiet bureaucracy gives AURA''s Director of Research, Kai Hiltas, the time to turn his energy to a new issue—a young drow with unusual and dangerous powers named Ryld. Though his shadows always lurk at the edges of his vision, Ryld does his best to live peacefully and not let them hurt anyone. He has his work, his apartment and a succession of minders assigned by AURA who are, ostensibly, there to keep him safe in his new world and to prevent him from causing any scenes with his shadows. Most of the time, the arrangement works. But one disastrous incident causes Ryld''s minder to leave him unattended and lost—the precise thing he was hired to prevent. To replace the faithless minder, Kai suggests Hank, a half-goblin accountant recently in the middle of a string of terrible luck, while Kai works out how best to get Ryld the magical training he so desperately needs. For his part, Hank truly likes Ryld and insists he would be happier working as Ryld''s companion rather than as a controlling minder. As Hank and Ryld slowly come to terms with sharing space—and eventually more—Kai''s search for a teacher for Ryld takes them out west on the invitation of the Elvenhome''s aelfe queen and right into the lap of inter-elven feuds, ancient prejudice, conspiracies and trafficking rings. What should have been a pleasant visit soon turns into more than even forever-scheming Kai can handle.

A broken pilot falls for a man who might be a walking weapon. They may need to save far more than each other. A mysterious distress call draws the crew of the Hermes to what appears to be an empty, drifting ship. Empty, except for the gore-spattered corridors and one survivor locked in a holding cell. Drawn to the traumatized man, the crew''s comm officer, Isaac Ozawa, makes Turk his responsibility, offering him kindness and warmth after the horror he experienced. Turk longs for Isaac, a desperate, hopeless ache he''ll always carry with him. But Turk''s brain harbors dangerous secrets, a military experiment gone wrong. When an amoral, power-hungry admiral kidnaps Isaac to convince Turk to become the weapon he''s hungered for, it will take Turk''s strength, the Hermes crew''s ingenuity, the enigmatic Drak''tar''s help, and Isaac''s own stubborn will to save them. ESTO Universe Prisoner 374215 Gravitational Attraction A Matter of Faces Vassily the Beautiful Sub Zero By Imperial Decree

Brave paladin. Royal princess. Fierce dragon. Simple. Bring all three at once? Way too complicated. Paladin Snillek''s mother was human and ruled a planet. That''s about the extent of her knowledge since they didn''t see each other much. When her mom dies in a freak accident, her father tells Snillek she''s inherited the title, and she has to learn how to pass as the mostly human Princess Siel for a planet she never thought about much. The dresses alone are horrifying and the courtiers aggravating. In a moment of frustrated rage, Snillek''s princess persona slips and frightened palace staff misinterpret what they see. Now Paladin Snillek has been called upon to rescue Princess Siel...from herself. Gruyere wants desperately to journey into the wilds of Tarribotia, but it''s too dangerous to go alone and so far, everyone''s laughed at her for suggesting it. When she spots a Dzedek paladin sulking in a tavern, she offers her services, hoping to pass herself off as a rogue guide. Two women with secrets and possibly opposing goals head out into the hinterlands of a planet neither one of them knows well. They might both make it back by Winterfest if nothing eats them first. This book contains one out-of-her-element paladin, the perils of academia, deadly cake, and unconventional dragons.

FROM AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR ANGEL MARTINEZ Endangered Fae &– the complete box set 1 &– Finn Finn''s been asleep for centuries. He''ll need to catch up fast to survive. 2 &– Diego Diego and Finn''s peaceful life shatters when Diego rips a hole in the Veil to the Otherworld. 3 - Semper Fae Zack thought he had a strange job before, but personal assistant to a sidhe prince is downright bizarre. 4 - No Fae is an Island Diego''s world refused to stand still in his absence. Now he''s no longer sure of his place in it. As humans multiplied to cover the world and began to rely on machines and factories that belched smoke and filth, the fae courts quietly withdrew from the world and closed the Veil between their world and our own. All the fae magic suddenly vanished from the human realm. All the beautiful fae were gone. All except a pooka who had the bad sense not to come out of the Dreaming before the Veil closed. One single fae, Finn, who will serve as the connection between worlds and the lynchpin to discoveries concerning the perils of separating the two.

Fire. Water. Burn. In the two months since the All Hallows'' Eve party, Tally has courted Haru, buying expensive gifts, taking the two of them to upscale restaurants and trying to find a balance in earning Haru''s fragile trust while being new parents to the Cohen joeys. Tally sees hope in the new domesticity the family has settled into, despite having some bumps along the way. Gifts and treats have satisfied Haru''s otter, but the human half remembers the brutal lessons of giving their trust away. How can two lijun who barely know each other anticipate what will happen when times get tough? There are circumstances Tally doesn''t understand yet, and Haru struggles to find their feet with an Urusar who doesn''t know the rules. A revelation not only throws the tentative relationship between them askew, but also starts Tally and Haru down a path the two of them can''t escape, one so heart-wrenching Haru''s not sure their heart will survive. Traditionalist concerns that have always nipped at the Bastille clan''s heels come roaring to the forefront with demands and ultimatums. Tally needs to fall in line or face further threats to his otter, his family and his clan. Haru needs to find the strength to believe in the good despite the bad. In an environment where it''s vital to know ally from foe, Tally and Haru need to stand united or watch the community Tally''s family has built fall under the thumb of heartless, greedy autocrats.

An outcast necromancer and a half-demon clerk need to save the world from seashell zombies. No pressure. Everyone''s always told Aspic that trouble can''t help following him because of his heritage. Determined to put the lie to half-demon stereotypes, he''s finally landed a good, quiet job as an herbalist''s clerk where the owner trusts him to man the shop alone. What could go wrong selling coriander and thyme? When Geoffrey first enters the shop, Aspic finds the little man''s eccentric appearance startling, then intriguing. Geoffrey explains, in stops and starts, that he is a theoretical necromancer researching replacements for blood magic. His current line of inquiry involves seashells-do they have any in stock? Aspic''s co-workers warn him that Geoffrey is a walking disaster, but he finds himself more and more drawn to a necromancer concerned with ethical death magic. Aspic is with Geoffrey in his lab when he has his first success, but the results aren''t at all what he was aiming for. Instead of raising the dead rabbit on his table, the ritual animates the seashell and rock spell components, which flee the lab and cause havoc. They soon discover that the spell-animated objects are "zombies" in that they can "infect" other inanimate things. An unorthodox necromancer and an exasperated shop clerk are going to need some unconventional help to find a working de-animation spell before the world is overrun by zombie seashells and stones gone mad. Geoffrey the Very Strange is part of the Magic Emporium series. Each book stands alone, but each one features an appearance by Marden''s Magic Emporium, a shop that can appear anywhere, but only once and only when someone''s in dire need. This book contains theoretical necromancy, unexpected spell outcomes, some extraordinarily angry seashells, and a guaranteed HEA.

No. Eating. Pixies. At the annual Global Lijun Alliance conference in Tokyo, Tally Bastille makes the first impulsive decision of his life. Others perceive his uktena—the enormous legendary serpent that''s his dual-spirit—as a threat, which makes him all too aware that he frightens fellow lijun. But an encounter with a passionate, obviously not-straight otter lijun one evening convinces Tally that he''s found his Em''halafi, his destined match. Tally is determined to barrel through all obstacles to make the match happen, including the otter''s conservative, traditional family. Trained as a Satislit—a bride-son—Haru Tanaka chafes at the strict boundaries set around their life. They rebel against their clan''s constant attempts to force an arranged match and wish desperately for someone who will love them. At the conference, Haru is horrified to learn their family has accepted an offer for them, one too lucrative for the clan to refuse. Not only has the Urusar sold Haru to a stranger, but the lijun is also a giant snake and one who believes in the tired old superstitions regarding Em''halafi. Threatened with banishment if they refuse, Haru has no choice but to marry the wealthy American serpent. Back in Tally''s home in Wisconsin, Haru and Tally must navigate both the widening gulf between them as they realize how much they''ve misunderstood about each other, and the tricky politics of the lijun clan Tally leads. Murder, intrigue and increasing hostility threaten to tear apart the little town of Wadiswan and the arranged marriage they''ve barely managed to begin.

An Imperial prince can only hide for so long-but his solution of a hastily invented engagement could backfire spectacularly. Marsh Kensinger''s work as the utility mechanic for Bremen Station keeps his life interesting - but never quite as interesting as finding a pilot still hidden inside a hibernation drawer in what should have been a salvage craft. He knows he shouldn''t get involved, but the Altairian Imperial crest on the private craft and the semi-conscious pilot''s odd questions pique his always-whirling curiosity. Still unattached at a concerning age for an imperial son, Prince Shiro Shinohara hadn''t been running from the endless, mind-numbing rounds of omiai his mother, the Empress, had mandated. Not exactly. He''d just wanted a break from persistent suitors at the family retreat on Ceti Tau. The short respite becomes a panicked flight for his life when one of the suitors stalking him attacks the family compound. Worried for the soldiers he was forced to leave behind, afraid there''s a conspiracy to kidnap him, Shiro confides in the handsome mechanic who found him and in a moment of panic, concocts the fiction of a serious relationship with Marsh. It''s only until Shiro''s people can reach him and he can press charges back home. Marsh is willing to play along and Shiro''s just going to have to keep himself together and not, under any circumstances, fall for the wonderful, generous man who refuses to stop helping him.

Rafael Schiller, vampire and sexual god without peer, believes himself the top of the food chain, until a bizarre creature feeding in an alley scares the deathless hell out of him. Rafael Schiller''s had a long road and he''s forgotten the meaning of several human words along the way. Commitment? Relationship? Love, for all the gods'' sakes? What does a vampire need those for? He''s completely content treating his long string of one-off lovers as midnight snacks. He makes it good for them and has no reason for guilt or grief. Some nights still induce an odd, hollow ache, but he can just drown it in the next conquest. Master of his universe, he lives without a care...until he encounters a bizarre creature feeding in an alley. It''s caught his scent, and now that it''s hunting him, Rafael remembers a word from his childhood. Krsnik—the hunters, the monsters who feed on the blood of vampires. He could run, but he''d be running forever, and that would sure as hell take the fun out of life. Time to figure out what the creature really is, what can defeat it, and why he feels so drawn to it.

Relationship and communication issues plague Officer Vikash Soren, but those are nothing compared to facing stick-throwing tumbleweeds, pill bugs and...time travel? Vikash Soren, the perfect police officer except for his odd paranormal ability, never seems to lose his temper. Always serene and competent, he''s taken on the role of mediator in a squad room full of misfits. But on the inside, he''s a mess. Unable to tell his police partner that he loves him, Vikash struggles silently, terrified of losing Kyle as a lover, partner and friend. But life in the 77th Precinct doesn''t leave much room for internal reflection. A confrontation with a stick-throwing tumbleweed in Fairmount Park leads to bizarre consequences involving pill bugs, statues and...time travel? If Vikash manages to survive the week and stay in one point in time, he might be able to address normal things like relationship problems. He just needs Kyle to have a little more patience. Maybe a few centuries'' worth.

Words damage more than just feelings as Carrington hunts feral books menacing the city. When a ferocious book attacks Carrington at his own birthday party, he believes it''s an isolated incident. But similar books soon pop up all over town, menacing innocent people with harsh bits of poetry and blank verse that deliver damaging physical blows. It''s a frustrating case with too many variables and not enough answers, and the stakes go up with each attack. With the help of his misfit squad mates at the 77th and the public library''s Rare Books Department, the missing pieces decrease but not Carrington''s vexations. His commanding officer rakes him over the coals at the beginning of every shift. His police partner has lost patience with what she sees as his delusional relationship choices and his inability to pick the right man in a vast field of two. City Hall demands that the books be stopped immediately. It''s enough to put a nutritionally challenged vampire off his skim blood.

While Shax recovers from a near fatality, his shipmates have been busy. He''s rather proud of them for taking the initiative and finding them a lucrative cargo run. His pride turns to outright horror, though, when he finds out what sort of cargo. Frogs. The one thing in the universe that incites mindless panic in Shax. Unfortunately, he also soon discovers that a healthy fear of frogs doesn''t prevent frog-driven disasters.An unlikely series of overlapping mishaps hurls the Brimstone back to an even more unlikely point in history for a couple of demons and a fallen angel in a spaceship. Somehow they need to repair and refuel, and puzzle out how to get home. Time travel has never been so messy.

Sissal Naganos, cobra yervath and diplomat banished to the hinterlands, didn''t ask for an assistant, and he certainly didn''t ask for such an annoying one. Being an OIL (Onsite Inter-species Liaison) for the Interplanetary Multispecies Pact has never been an easy job. In fact it''s a crap job when stuck on a backwater nowhere planet like Earth. But cobra Yervath Sissal Naganos manages. The demotion was swift and heavy-handed, but he''ll climb back out of this hell eventually. Humans don''t meet his social needs, so, yes, it''s been lonely and he tells himself he likes the solitude. That is, until IMP sends him an irritating new assistant he never asked for. Now his peace is well and truly disturbed and his paranoid diplomatic reflexes have reawakened. The worst part is the kid didn''t have to be so cute. IMP UNIVERSE A Christmas Cactus for the General by Angel Martinez A Message from the Home Office by Angel Martinez The Nut Job by Freddy MacKay

Since the publication of the bestselling first edition, many advances have been made in exploratory data analysis (EDA). Covering innovative approaches for dimensionality reduction, clustering, and visualization, Exploratory Data Analysis with MATLAB®, Second Edition uses numerous examples and applications to show how the methods are used in practice. New to the Second Edition Discussions of nonnegative matrix factorization, linear discriminant analysis, curvilinear component analysis, independent component analysis, and smoothing splines An expanded set of methods for estimating the intrinsic dimensionality of a data set Several clustering methods, including probabilistic latent semantic analysis and spectral-based clustering Additional visualization methods, such as a rangefinder boxplot, scatterplots with marginal histograms, biplots, and a new method called Andrews’ images Instructions on a free MATLAB GUI toolbox for EDA Like its predecessor, this edition continues to focus on using EDA methods, rather than theoretical aspects. The MATLAB codes for the examples, EDA toolboxes, data sets, and color versions of all figures are available for download at http://pi-sigma.info

Beware the demon prince who''s sick and tired of running. Federico Duomo is dead, to begin with. But this is only the first bit of Shax''s problems resolved. Powerful crime lords and an obscenely wealthy oligarch are still determined to destroy him and his crew, and Fluffy''s original owner may be coming after the Brimstone now, too. It would be splendid to be able to take on one thing at a time. Adding to the external conflicts, life on board the Brimstone has only grown increasingly stranger. Shax has no idea what to do with the seven partly human children that Heckle rescued from slavers. Heckle himself has grown short-tempered, even with Mac. Someone from Julian''s past catches up to them on Barbary. It''s enough to put a demon off his cinnamon buns. Shax isn''t panicking, though. In fact he''s had it up to his handsome royal nose with the people he loves having to live in constant fear. The fox has turned at bay and the Brimstone''s enemies are in for a shock. The demon prince of thieves is coming for them. THE BRIMSTONE SERIES Potato SurpriseHell for the CompanyFear of FrogsShax''s WarBeside a Black TarnThe Brimstone Journals: Collection OneThe Brimstone Journals: Collection TwoThe Hunt for Red FluffyThe Brimstone Journals: Collection ThreeA Fine Mess This is a completed series.

Honoring men and women who have made significant contributions to the cause of human rights.

The planet is too warm, too wet, its people too strange, and yet the choice it simple. Adapt or die. Exiled to Earth for perhaps the worst failure in Irasolan history, General Teer must assimilate or die. Earth is too warm, too wet, too foreign, but he does the best he can even though human males are loud, childish louts whom he can''t imitate successfully. When a grieving seaplane pilot strikes up a strange and uneasy friendship with him, he finds he may have been too quick to judge human males. They are strange to look at, but perhaps not as unbearable as he thought. IMP Universe A Christmas Cactus for the General A Message from the Home Office The Nut Job

When Shax stumbles across rumors of an experimental house that responds to the occupant''s brain functions, creating scenarios to please and delight, naturally he wants to steal it. While stealing an entire house sounds impossible, the demon prince has a cunning plan.But a night at the ballet heralds the return of a troubled and hunted Julian Parallax. He brings ominous news to whisper in Shax''s ear and forces Ness to battle a new emotion - raging jealousy. With nefarious plots in the background and an overabundance of Poe references, even Shax''s scheming may not be enough to get the Brimstone crew out alive this time.

Flee. Scatter. Take your mates and your offspring and run.A new Science Fiction Romance from Angel MartinezThe escape pods fall to Earth one by one over the course of weeks, a mysterious and diverse alien diaspora, each pod containing a different alien race and leaving the world''s governments scrambling to deal with this unexpected immigration. Serge Kosygin, still grieving and isolated after his husband''s death, watches events with gray disinterest until one day he witnesses a pod crash for himself while driving home. Two of the alien visitors have died, but one survives, badly injured, and Serge is determined that if this alien is also going to die, it won''t be under the harsh lights of a government facility.Devastated by the loss of his life mates in their desperate effort to reach safety, the knowledge that Een is the last Aalana in this sector of the galaxy only compounds his sorrow. He wakes in an alien dwelling under the care of one of the native dominant builder species, a being who appears to share nothing with Een besides a bipedal structure. Slowly, with the help of his patient and kind host, he discovers they are more similar than he imagined as they share harmonies and his host assists him with language acquisition.Their tentative first contact soon evolves into a deepening friendship, a balm for two grief-weary souls. They''ll need each other and their growing bond for the troubles lurking just ahead.Publisher''s NoteEating Stars was previously published as part of Meteor Strike: Serge & Een as a novelette. It has undergone extensive rewrites and edits with over 10,000 words of new content added.

When a steel trap of celestial and infernal politics threatens to close around them, Shax and Verin flee Earth''s system in a stolen ship, leaving everything behind. It''s an elegantly simple plan, with a new ship and a new life as carefree brigands among the stars.But the ship seems to hate them, and in order to have any sort of life they need funds. A frightened man offering them a contract to deliver three mysterious crates comes just in time, and Shax is sure their troubles are over. Out of his environment and in over his head, Shax scrambles to understand the players and the consequences of his new life. With cargo that''s not what it seems, shadowy motives around every turn, and a gorgeous rogue named Julian for a dash of added confusion, Shax''s grand schemes of a new start may be his demise before he can even begin.

A New Jersey native born in 1973, Miguel Angel first became aware of paintings during a school field trip to a New York City art museum. This set off a passion for drawing and color. Miguel Angel''s work is comprised of a diverse arrangement and media to create an original and aggressively unique artistic voice. While experimenting with past representations of objects such as still life, figurative and sculpture, his practice merges abstraction, figuration, color and painting. Angel''s influences are found in African art/culture as well as the artistic giants such as Picasso, Matisse, Basquiat, Lupertz and Velazquez. Jazz and hip-hop has also played an integral part in Angel''s expressionistic and improvisational style. The combination of which bring about an array of styles and vivid colors, luring depictions of masked figures, splatters of piled on paint, ubiquitous under-drawings and endless findings of expressive urgency which bear his emphatic signature and freedom.

Young mage Toby''s wild magic is killing him, and his only chance is an exiled wizard rumored to have lost his mind. Will Darius take a chance on teaching Toby--and find a reason to rejoin the world in the process--or leave Toby to his fate?

Returning to the frozen planet Aren died on was bound to have complications... A Science Fiction Mystery from Angel Martinez... Major Aren Dalsgaard''s newest assignment is to investigate a series of murders on the frigid planet, Drass, where relations between the Treaty settlers and the indigenous inhabitants have taken a nasty turn. A linguist and trained xenologist, Major Dalsgaard should be the ideal Special Investigations Officer for this case, but Drass is where he died, over a hundred and twenty years ago. Sent by his family to the chigyel city, Nyachung finds himself confronted with a murder charge, racial prejudice, and a man who claims to be a hero from his grandmother''s generation. The man could be crazy or he could be lying to manipulate Nyachung, but the sincerity in those spring-green eyes disturbs him more than anything else he''s encountered in the foreigners'' city.Evidence that makes no sense, mysterious boxes, and a suspicion that they can''t trust anyone in the city drives the major and Nyachung together and out into the wilderness. No one''s telling Major Dalsgaard everything, but every step leads him closer to a feeling of imminent catastrophe if he can''t wrap this case up in time. Publisher''s Note: This is the second edition of the story. The only changes made were edits. ESTO UNIVERSE BOOKS Gravitational AttractionA Matter of FacesVassily the BeautifulSub Zero

The boys desperately need a vacation. With the not-quite-ill-gotten gains from the Frog incident, Shax takes the Brimstone''s crew to the exclusive resort planet, Opal, for some much needed rest and relaxation. The resort has everything a demon prince and his crew could want, but an incident on the Trauma Ball court has Ness stalking off in anger and sends events swiftly spiraling out of control.Loving a demon isn''t easy, as Ness has discovered, and harder still for a newly fallen who''s still sorting out what that means. A new friend lending a sympathetic ear helps until Ness learns too late that friendship was the last thing on BJ''s mind.Shax will need every bit of his cunning and his legendary luck to save his Ness as he''s drawn into a web of criminal experiments and...pink hedgehogs?

Shax, the Demon Prince of Thieves, has reconciled himself to exile. He has a grand time careening around the galaxy as a high-end, intergalactic purloiner of pretties. Everything''s going just fine, thank you very much. All right, fine, the anti-gravity cows are a bit problematic and some of his buyers are bad for his health, but he manages until he comes across an injured angel in a psychedelic alien jungle.He only rescues the wing boy for his golden feathers, but what Shax doesn''t know about angels could fill an intergalactic encyclopedia. Ness, since his full, angelic name is too much to deal with, is shockingly na�ve and seems convinced that Shax and Verin have brought him aboard to torture him or perhaps eat him. Little by little, Shax begins to earn his trust in the quest to wheedle a golden feather or two from him until to Shax''s dismay, the yearning after pretties becomes a different sort of yearning entirely.

Chief Engineer Shandi Leavenworth has been crushing on Major Tyra Sur ever since she joined station staff, though the laconic customs officer doesn''t give up personal information easily. A few scraps of information leads Shandi to the perfect Solstice present, until of course everything goes horribly wrong.Major Sur took the job on Onwa Station for the stability, the quiet, and out of a need to be useful. It''s been all of those things up until the woman she''s been quietly flirting with at the bar puts in a desperate call for help. There''s no question they need to save the station, but Tyra''s not so sure about saving their budding relationship.

Diego and Finn''s peaceful life shatters when Diego rips a hole in the Veil to the Otherworld. After defeating an evil wendigo, a man and his pooka lover deserve a little quiet. Unfortunately, Diego and Finn''s hard-won peace is disturbed when Diego, in jealous anguish, unwittingly rips a hole in the impenetrable Veil to the Otherworld. Separated, stuck on the other side of the Veil where Finn has to face old conflicts and Diego is the only human in a land of fae, the two of them navigate rocky waters between huge egos and ancient feuds. Worse still, some of the fae are dying of a mysterious illness and everyone believes Diego is the key to a cure. Things can''t possibly get any worse, can they? Oh, yes--they can when the US government gets involved.

A poltergeist haunts Taro, dogging his international travels. It washes glasses, puts dishes away, and even dusts. At least he hopes it''s a cleaning-obsessed poltergeist and not his own anxieties burbling over into neat freak fits he doesn''t remember. When his property manager suggests he call paranormal expert, Jack Montrose, Taro''s skeptical but desperate enough to try even a ghost hunter. Jack''s arrival crushes Taro''s hopes of a dashing Van Helsing-style hero. Instead of an invincible hunter, he gets Ichabod Crane. As the paranormal puzzles multiply and Jack begins to suggest the entity might not be a ghostly one, Taro adds a budding friendship with Jack to his pile of anxieties. It''s a race to see whether Taro''s poltergeist or his relationship with the obviously-not-ace Jack will reach maximum strangeness first.

Zack thought he had a strange job before, but personal assistant to a sidhe prince is downright bizarre. Zack thought he had a strange job before. Working as a Marine medic in a secret government installation was odd, but working as a human liaison to the fae and as the personal assistant to a sidhe prince is downright bizarre. Throw in the fact that he''s pretty damn sure he''s fallen in love with his boss, and things are close to unmanageable. Of course, around the fae, one never says ''things can''t possibly get any worse''. Unexplained events plague the human world. Strange sightings, spontaneous magical explosions, and odd bends in reality crop up. When Finn falls ill and a monstrous creature attacks Zack, things quickly slide into disaster. Lycanthropy, loose-cannon mages, and Lugh conspire to make a hellish mess of things--but the real peril begins when Diego loses an important piece of his mind.

Das Netz der Arkana: Band 1 Ein junger Magier, der unbedingt leben will. Ein zynischer Einsiedler, der vergessen hat, was leben heißt. Beide sind die einzige Chance für den anderen. Tobys wilde Magie ist tödlich. Die Magier-Gilden haben ihn aufgegeben und es ist nur eine Frage der Zeit, bis sein Leben mit einem spektakulären, katastrophalen Knall enden wird. Seine einzige Hoffnung ist ein verbannter Zauberer, der zurückgezogen im Exil lebt - und Gerüchten zufolge den Verstand verloren haben soll. Die einsamen Jahre in seinem Haus auf dem Berg waren nicht gut für Darius Valstad. Entstellt durch einen Magieunfall, bei dem Pittsburgh fast untergegangen wäre, treibt er durch seine Tage wie ein Gespenst, gefangen in Erinnerungen und Depression. Bis ein entkräfteter junger Mann in seiner Einfahrt zusammenbricht, einer, der behauptet, Darius sei seine letzte Chance. Zum ersten Mal seit fünfzehn Jahren muss Darius eine Wahl treffen. Soll er diesen Wildmagier seinem Schicksal überlassen oder ihn bei sich aufnehmen und versuchen, ihn zu unterrichten - was sie beide das Leben kosten könnte? Der alte Darius, ungestüm und draufgängerisch, hätte nicht gezögert. Darius, der Verbannte, weiß nicht, ob er die Energie aufbringen kann, es zu versuchen.