Ashes Of The Earth: A Mystery of Post-Apocalyptic America

(Paperback)

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Thirty years after global holocaust, the colony of Carthage still struggles to build its new world. While steam engines and other early industrial technology have empowered its economy, the fragile society is undermined by secret crimes, rifts between generations, government censorship, and a legacy of casting out those who suffer from radiation sickness. Embittered survivor Hadrian Boone--once a revered colony founder--has been hounded by despair and the ghosts of his past into a life of drunkenness and frequent imprisonment for challenging the governor's tyranny. But when a gentle old man, the colony's leading scientist, is murdered, Hadrian glimpses chilling secrets behind the killing that could destroy the colony. Realizing that he may be the only one able to expose the truth, Hadrian begins a desperate quest through the underbelly of the colony into the wrenching camps of the outcasts, escorted by a young policewoman who struggles to cope with the physical and emotional remnants of the prior world. Ultimately, Hadrian's journey becomes one of self-discovery. In his search to find justice, his greatest challenge is navigating the tortuous path of the human spirit in a world that has been forever fractured.

Reviews

Praise for Ashes of the Earth "With a vital cast of villains and heroes, a vividly grim setting, and inventive, hair-raising action, ingenious mystery-writer-of-conscience Pattison explores the psychological toll of mass destruction and the need to salvage ideas and values, rather than material riches, so that a just society can rise from the ashes." --Booklist (starred) "Brilliant ... Pattison blends the bleakness of The Road with a well-crafted whodunit plot for another winner." --Publishers Weekly (starred) Praise for Eye of the Raven "Evocative language, tight plotting, and memorable characters make this a standout." --Publishers Weekly "Throughout the novel Pattison superbly builds tension and explores a period of shifting and uncertain alliances and loyalties. A thoroughly gripping read." --The Historical Novel Society (Editors' Choice) "With a keen eye and calmly rendered detail, Pattison deftly pulls the reader into the American Colonies through the investigation of Scottish Highlander Duncan McCallum." --New Mystery Reader Magazine "The pleasures of Eliot Pattison's books, and Eye of the Raven is another smashing example, are threefold: high adventure in perilous landscapes, a hero stubbornly seeking the truth, and the haunting mysteries of ancient cultures." --Otto Penzler, editor of The Vampire Archives Praise for Bone Rattler "Pattison's moving characters, intricate plot and masterful evocation of the time, including sensitive depictions of the effects of the European war on Native Americans, set this leagues beyond most historicals and augur well for future entries in this series." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Dark, complex and compelling in mystery, historical, and spiritual considerations, the reader wonders along with Duncan whether the New World will see oppression extended or explode in a new burst of freedom." --Historical Novels Review Praise for The Inspector Shan series "A thriller of laudable aspirations and achievements."--Chicago Tribune "A rich and multilayered story that mirrors the complexity of the surrounding land, where few things really are as they seem." --San Francisco Chronicle "Pattison has taken a plot of an old-fashioned thriller and turned it into a glimpse into a culture ... Thrilling and riveting." --Denver Post

Author Bio

Eliot Pattison is the author of The Skull Mantra, winner of the Edgar Award and finalist for the Gold Dagger, Water Touching Stone, Bone Rattler, and most recently Eye of the Raven. Pattison resides in rural Pennsylvania with his wife, three children, two horses, and two dogs on a colonial-era farm.