Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released!
"Bestselling author Benjamin Black turns his eye to sixteenth century Prague and a story of murder, magic and the dark art of wielding extraordinary power
Christian Stern, an ambitious young scholar and alchemist, arrives in Prague in the bitter winter of 1599, intent on making his fortune at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor, the eccentric Rudolf II. The night of his arrival, drunk and lost, Christian stumbles upon the body of a young woman in Golden Lane, an alley hard by Rudolf’s great castle. Dressed in a velvet gown, wearing a large gold medallion around her neck, the woman is clearly well-born—or was, for her throat has been slashed.
A lesser man would smell danger, but Christian is determined to follow his fortunes wherever they may lead. He quickly finds himself entangled in the machinations of several ruthless courtiers, and before long he comes to the attention of the Emperor himself. Rudolf, deciding that Christian is that rare thing—a person he can trust—sets him the task of solving the mystery of the woman’s murder. But Christian soon realizes that he has blundered into the midst of a power struggle that threatens to subvert the throne itself. And as he gets ever nearer to the truth of what happened that night in Golden Lane, he finally sees that his own life is in grave danger.
From the spectacularly inventive Benjamin Black, here is a historical crime novel that delivers both a mesmerizing portrait of a lost world and a riveting tale of intrigue and suspense."
I'm not usually drawn to stories in which the main plot is often started by a murder, but all of the aspects of this novel -- the sixteenth century setting, Christian being an alchemist, and the hint at power struggles throughout -- completely draws me in. I'm looking forward to see what this book is all about
This week's upcoming book spotlight is:
Wolf on a String by Benjamin Black
Wolf on a String by Benjamin Black
From Goodreads:
"Bestselling author Benjamin Black turns his eye to sixteenth century Prague and a story of murder, magic and the dark art of wielding extraordinary power
Christian Stern, an ambitious young scholar and alchemist, arrives in Prague in the bitter winter of 1599, intent on making his fortune at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor, the eccentric Rudolf II. The night of his arrival, drunk and lost, Christian stumbles upon the body of a young woman in Golden Lane, an alley hard by Rudolf’s great castle. Dressed in a velvet gown, wearing a large gold medallion around her neck, the woman is clearly well-born—or was, for her throat has been slashed.
A lesser man would smell danger, but Christian is determined to follow his fortunes wherever they may lead. He quickly finds himself entangled in the machinations of several ruthless courtiers, and before long he comes to the attention of the Emperor himself. Rudolf, deciding that Christian is that rare thing—a person he can trust—sets him the task of solving the mystery of the woman’s murder. But Christian soon realizes that he has blundered into the midst of a power struggle that threatens to subvert the throne itself. And as he gets ever nearer to the truth of what happened that night in Golden Lane, he finally sees that his own life is in grave danger.
From the spectacularly inventive Benjamin Black, here is a historical crime novel that delivers both a mesmerizing portrait of a lost world and a riveting tale of intrigue and suspense."
I'm not usually drawn to stories in which the main plot is often started by a murder, but all of the aspects of this novel -- the sixteenth century setting, Christian being an alchemist, and the hint at power struggles throughout -- completely draws me in. I'm looking forward to see what this book is all about
What do you think about this upcoming release? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?
This sounds like a lovely, creepy read! I hope you enjoy it :) Thanks for sharing, and happy reading!
ReplyDeleteBrittany @ Brittany's Book Rambles
I love the setting of 16th-century Prague. Not one you see very often!
ReplyDeleteOhhh this sounds interesting! And honestly, it's really not something that I would normally pick up, but I think it's BECAUSE it is so different from my regular fare (I've never read a story set in sixteenth century Prague, for example) that I'm curious.
ReplyDeleteThe setting sounds wonderful! I'll have to keep my eye out for this one.
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued by this book because of the Prague setting. I enjoy historical fiction so could definitely see myself reading it. Great pick!
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