Novel of the Shadowspawn Series

New from the New York Times bestselling author of A Taint in the Blood.

Adrian Brézé defied his own dark heritage as a near-purebred Shadowspawn for years, until his power-hungry sister Adrienne kidnapped his human lover Ellen.

Now, Adrienne is dead, and the Council of Shadows is gathering its strength. To stop the Council from launching an apocalypse, Adrian and Ellen must ally with the Brotherhood, a resistance group dedicated to breaking the Council’s hold on humankind…by any means necessary.

In the coming confrontation, Adrian must fight not only the members of the Council but also his own nature-and, as he will come to suspect, traitors within the Brotherhood itself…

From S. M. Stirling, the “master of speculative fiction” (Library Journal) and the author of the New York Times bestselling Novels of the Change, comes a new vision, as a man battles the dark forces of the world—including those in his own blood…

            Aeons ago, Homo nocturnus ruled the Earth. Possessing extraordinary powers, they were the source of all manner of myths and legends. Though their numbers have been greatly reduced, they exist still—though not as purebreds.

Adrian Brézé is one such being. Wealthy and reclusive, he is more Shadowspawn than human. He rebelled against his own kind, choosing to live as an ordinary man, fighting against his darker nature. But Adrian’s sister is determined to bring back the reign of the Shadowspawn, and now she has struck him at his weakest point by kidnapping his human lover, Ellen.                             

To save Ellen—and perhaps all of humanity—Adrian must rejoin a battle he swore he would never fight again.