Blood of the Isir

Hank Jensen doesn't believe in monsters-not the kind Stephen King writes about at any rate. Hank is one of New York's best criminal profilers, and he loves his job. But when he meets the Bristol Butchers, all that changes. They are a pair of psychopaths-cannibals. He chases them in spite of the disabling curse they cast on him, in spite of their threats to his family, and when he catches up to them, his horror begins. They claim to be gods-immortal, omnipotent-and they change into monsters before his eyes. Unable to stop them, the battle leaves him sick, despondent, broken. His career is at an end. His only respite is his family. Years later, the Butchers return to make good on their threats. When his family disappears on Halloween night, Hank decides his time for doing nothing is at an end. He must chase them to places he thought existed only in myth. He knows they have the power to raise monsters, mythical beings-even the dead-to block his path. How can he, a disabled mortal, overcome gods? How will he overcome his disability, his doubts?

Monsters are real, and Hank Jensen has met some of the worst the multiverse has to offer. As a result, he bears the curse of a hateful, malignant god-a horrid disease that has disabled him. Hank fought demons, dragons, and mythical beings to rescue his wife and son, but the battle left the family trapped in the realm of the Isir. As his dark curse continues to ravage his body, Hank, his family, and his Isir friends must travel to an ancient, faraway place-the Rooms of Ruin-to reopen the pathways that connect the two worlds. But the Dark Queen isn't done with them. She has issued only one command to her servants: drive the Jensen family into the trap she's laid. That's not all she has planned, though. She has a secret plan-someone she's manipulated into betraying them. Will they discover the traitor in time? How will they avoid the Dark Queen's trap? What other dangers await them along their path?

Dragons, demons, gods . . . How much worse can one man's fight to save his family, his people, and his planet get? When Hank Jensen began his journey to save his family, he learned his enemies possessed godlike power. Undaunted, he fought on, saved his family, and won the battle for control of the Rooms of Ruin, but both Hel and Luka escaped. Hot on Luka's trail, Hank learns the true stakes of his struggle-stakes that go beyond the fate of his family, of Mithgarthr and Osgarthr. Hank continues his quest, expanding his own abilities and knowledge, making new friends and allies . . . but also making new, even more powerful enemies. Can he hope to win this battle against ancient beings who hold the fate of the entire universe in their hands?