Empire of Unreason (The Age of Unreason, Book 3) - Softcover

Keyes, J. Gregory

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0345406109 ISBN 13: 9780345406101

Publisher: Del Rey, 2001

Synopsis

There has never been an epic quite like The Age of Unreason. By interweaving reality with arcane fantasy, J. Gregory Keyes proves himself a literary alchemist who vividly recreates the eighteenth century–and brings it brilliantly to new life.

When Sir Isaac Newton uncovered the secrets of alchemy, he could never have imagined the tragic results. Dark sorcery rules. Europe is lost and the American colonists have been driven south. The demonic creatures known as the Malekim won’t tolerate even a flicker of hope. Any who oppose them– Franklin, Voltaire, even the mysterious daughters of Lilith–will be swept away. However Benjamin Franklin and his secret society, the Junto, manage a precarious existence founded on the mutual trust of Native Americans, whites, and freed blacks. And as armies and alchemy clash, the Choctaw shaman Red Shoes witnesses a vision of an ancient, implacable evil–and of a young boy who shines as brightly as an angel . . . the fallen, avaricious kind.

About this title

Review

Ten years have passed since Europe plunged into chaos following a directed comet strike on London by Louis XIV's alchemists. The resulting nuclear winter forced everyone southward. The Russian Empire of Peter the Great holds sway, but Tsar Peter has mysteriously disappeared and his chief alchemist, Adrienne de Montchevreuil, has been attacked by a creature of the malakim, who provide the power for many of the technological innovations created by alchemists. Ben Franklin now lives in Charleston and is part of a secret organization, the Junto, that seeks to destroy the malakim and their agents in the New World. Only here have their evil intentions been fully recognized. Now the enemy is on American soil in the form of Scottish king James Stewart and his troops in the East and a mysterious but terrifyingly powerful army led by the Sunboy in the West. Only an alliance of English, French, and Spanish settlers with the Native American tribes have a chance of defeating them.

The series continues to provide an intriguing blend of fantasy and historical characters, plenty of action, and fine writing. This episode, however, begins and ends abruptly. Read the first two books (Newton's Cannon and A Calculus of Angels) first, and be prepared for a cliffhanger ending that will leave readers anxious for the next book. --Nona Vero

From the Back Cover

"The Age of Unreason "features the classic elements . . . high-tech gadgetry, world-threatening superpower conflict, a quest to save the world and a teen hero who's smarter than most of the adults."
--USA Today

About this edition

• Publisher: Del Rey
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0345406109
• ISBN 13: 9780345406101
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416