Two Serpents Rise (Craft Sequence) - Hardcover

Gladstone, Max

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0765333120 ISBN 13: 9780765333124

Publisher: Tor Books, 2013

Synopsis

In Two Serpents Rise by Max Gladstone, shadow demons plague the city reservoir, and Red King Consolidated has sent in Caleb Altemoc―casual gambler and professional risk manager―to cleanse the water for the sixteen million people of Dresediel Lex. At the scene of the crime, Caleb finds an alluring and clever cliff runner, Crazy Mal, who easily outpaces him.

But Caleb has more than the demon infestation, Mal, or job security to worry about when he discovers that his father―the last priest of the old gods and leader of the True Quechal terrorists―has broken into his home and is wanted in connection to the attacks on the water supply.
From the beginning, Caleb and Mal are bound by lust, Craft, and chance, as both play a dangerous game where gods and people are pawns. They sleep on water, they dance in fire...and all the while the Twin Serpents slumbering beneath the earth are stirring, and they are hungry.

About this title

About the Author

MAX GLADSTONE went to Yale, where he wrote a short story that became a finalist in the Writers of the Future competition. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts. Two Serpents Rise is his second novel.

Reviews

Starred Review. Gladstone outdoes himself in this exciting and imaginative return to the brilliantly realized world of Three Parts Dead. In the city of Dresediel Lex, the civic water supply is managed by the magical Concern of Red King Consolidated (RKC). When one of their reservoirs is contaminated with demonic Tzimet, RKC risk assessor Caleb Altemoc is assigned to determine the cause and manage relations with Heartstone, an RKC acquisition with intimate links to the old Quechal gods. With the help of an enigmatic woman named Mal, who's considered crazy even by other death-defying cliff runners, Caleb discovers that the wars in which the old gods fell still cast a long shadow over the present day, posing a threat to the city and beyond. The alternate Los Angeles that is Dresediel Lex is charged with its own versions of ethnic tensions and environmental strain, and Caleb is an engaging protagonist for this taut and unique blend of legal drama, fantasy, and noir. Agent: Weronika Janczuk, Lynn Franklin Associates, in association with D4EO Literary. (Nov.)

Caleb Altemoc, risk manager for Red King Consolidated and part-time gambler, is sent to deal with an infestation of tzimet—shadow demons—at Bright Mirror reservoir. In the process, he encounters the maddening, magnificent Mal, a cliff runner who is far beyond his skill. She is his only lead to those responsible for the infestation and vanishes when he pursues her. Bright Mirror is not the only place attacked. Caleb’s father, Temoc, priest of the old gods and wanted terrorist, claims to be innocent of responsibility. The uncertainty about these attacks threatens a merger between Red King Consolidated and Heartstone. A contract is negotiated based on the continued slumber of the twin serpents Achal and Aquel. The serpents are made restless by a conspiracy that threatens the very fabric of the city. Caleb, to protect not only the city of Dresediel Lex but the people he loves, must make a series of quite unexpected decisions and come to terms with his difficult past. Two Serpents Rise is an epic, solidly city-based fantasy with strong characters and a wonderfully built world. It’s also a fast-paced thriller, thoroughly entertaining. --Regina Schroeder

Edition details

• Publisher: Tor Books
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0765333120
• ISBN 13: 9780765333124
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352