Bannon & Clare

Emma Bannon, forensic sorceress in the service of the Empire, has a mission: to protect Archibald Clare, a failed, unregistered mentath. His skills of deduction are legendary, and her own sorcery is not inconsiderable. It doesn't help much that they barely tolerate each other, or that Bannon's Shield, Mikal, might just be a traitor himself. Or that the conspiracy killing registered mentaths and sorcerers alike will just as likely kill them as seduce them into treachery toward their Queen. In an alternate London where illogical magic has turned the Industrial Revolution on its head, Bannon and Clare now face hostility, treason, cannon fire, black sorcery, and the problem of reliably finding hansom cabs. The game is afoot...

The service of Britannia is not for the faint of heart, or conscience... Emma Bannon, Sorceress Prime in service to Queen Victrix, has a mission: to find the doctor who has created a powerful new weapon. Her friend, the mentath Archibald Clare, is only too happy to help. It will distract him from pursuing his nemesis, and besides, Clare is not as young as he used to be. A spot of Miss Bannon's excellent hospitality and her diverting company may be just what he needs. Unfortunately, their quarry is a fanatic, and his poisonous discovery is just as dangerous to Britannia as to Her enemies. Now a single man has set Londinium ablaze, and Clare finds himself in the middle of distressing excitement, racing against time and theory to find a cure. Miss Bannon, of course, has troubles of her own, for the Queen's Consort Alberich is ill, and Her Majesty unhappy with Bannon's loyal service. And there is still no reliable way to find a hansom when one needs it most... The game is afoot. And the Red Plague rises. The fantastic follow-up to “The Iron Wyrm Affair”, set in an alternate Victorian world where magic has turned the Industrial Revolution on its head.

The enthralling conclusion to the Bannon and Clare trilogy from New York Times bestselling author, Lilith Saintcrow. Sorcery. Treason. Madness. And, of course, murder most foul... A shattering accident places Archibald Clare, mentath in the service of Britannia, in the care of Emma Bannon, sorceress Prime. Clare needs a measure of calm to repair his faculties of Logic and Reason. Without them, he is not his best. At all. Unfortunately, calm and rest will not be found. There is a killer hiding in the sorcerous steam-hells of Londinium, murdering poor women of a certain reputation. A handful of frails murdered on cold autumn nights would make no difference...but the killings echo in the highest circles, and threaten to bring the Empire down in smoking ruins. Once more Emma Bannon is pressed into service; once more Archibald Clare is determined to aid her. The secrets between these two old friends may give an ambitious sorcerer the means to bring down the Crown. And there is still no way to reliably find a hansom when one needs it most. The game is afoot... Bannon and Clare The Iron Wyrm Affair The Red Plague Affair The Ripper Affair The Damnation Affair (e-only) For more from Lilith Saintcrow, check out: Gallow and Ragged Trailer Park Fae Dante Valentine Novels Working for the Devil Dead Man Rising Devil's Right Hand Saint City Sinners To Hell and Back Dante Valentine (omnibus) Jill Kismet Novels Night Shift Hunter's Prayer Redemption Alley Flesh Circus Heaven's Spite Angel Town Jill Kismet (omnibus) A Romance of Arquitaine Novels The Hedgewitch Queen The Bandit King Blood Call (coming August 2015)