Christine Starlight has returned to Berlin after a long
absence. Accompanied by her lover Jude, Christine attempts
to lay to rest the demons of her past. Jude, a painter, has
accepted a fellowship in Berlin. His sponsor is a wealthy
and renowned sculptor called Mandy Z. Christine, and the
artists who live under Mandy's auspices, both pity and
despise Mandy. His very presence disturbs those around him.
And with good reason. Mandy Z is a serial killer. His
victims, not human, are only those of the fairy race.
Killing fairies and sculpting their bones into his magnum
opus is his life's work, his "Bone Wife."
Christine's life has been largely defined by two tragedies
in her past. The death of her rock star parents in an auto
accident and the kidnapping/murder of her childhood
playmate May. Christine's life takes an astonishing turn
when May suddenly reappears; not the victim of murder after
all, but rather payment to the Faerie Queen for a service
rendered to her human parents. She's been alive and well
all these years in Ewigkreis, a magical land where all the
fair folk, from what we call Germany in the Real World,
abide. May crosses over to Real World because of her strong
connection to Christine, where she attracts the attention
of everyone in her sphere -- including Mandy Z. The artists
think Mandy has a "crush" on May. No one realizes something
much more sinister is going on. Mandy's intent, of course,
is that May be his next victim.
Christine and May travel back and forth between Ewigkreis
and Real World. May has become enchanted with the sights
and tastes of Berlin and Jude, with whom she's fallen in
love. Christine in turn craves the quiet joys of the fairy
world. Mandy Z comes to realize that Christine has the
ability to go back and forth between the worlds at will and
begins to watch and follow her. Unwittingly, the two women
unleash a vicious killer into Ewigkreis, where he's free to
prey on a world of unwitting fairies.
Although not well known (yet) in the US, Kim Wilkins has
published a number of other titles that are available in
Australia and the U.K. THE AUTUMN CASTLE is the first book
of her Europa Suite series and the only book now available
in the US. The second book, GIANTS OF THE FROST, is
currently available in the U.K. in hardcover and will be
published in the U.S. in January 2006. THE AUTUMN CASTLE is
one of the best things I've read in ages -- an exciting book
that kept me up until 3:30 am because I couldn't go to bed
not knowing how everything worked out. Mandy is truly evil
and his near-misses with justice practically had me jumping
up and down. A large, well-defined cast of secondary
characters, both in Real World and Ewigkreis, add so much
dimension to the story. I can't say enough about Wilkins
storytelling abilities. She has a convert in me. I couldn't
wait to wait to read GIANTS OF THE FROST, so I ordered it
from Amazon U.K., and I'm sure I'll do the same with the
third volume, THE SNOW WITCH. One note of warning -- if you
choose Amazon U.K., remember the pound is strong right now
in relationship to the dollar. Check the exchange rate
before you order. I ordered anyway. No chance I want to
wait until next January.
Like Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches series and Neil Gaiman's
American Gods, THE AUTUMN CASTLE is a brilliant new dark
fantasy debut. Berlin in autumn: Christine Starlight lives
in an artist's colony in the crumbling shadows of the old
European East. Her lover, Jude, is a painter whose patience
and beauty have eased her long battle with chronic pain.
Haunted by dim recollections of the past, Christine's life
is rocked by the return of her missing childhood friend
May. Abducted as a child into a place of magic and myth,
May now presides over a land where a witch lives in a well,
a shape-shifting wolf is her trusted counselor, and fate
turns on the fall of an autumn leaf. As Christine grows
addicted to May's world, where she is released from her
relentless pain, so May grows addicted to Christine's,
falling dangerously in love with Jude. But while
jealousies, betrayals, and secrets begin to unravel the
threads of their happiness, they are unaware of the threat
stalking them: the cruel and brilliant Immanuel Z, who is
hunting their bones for a grand sculpture.
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