GHOSTS OF ALBION: ACCURSED
From Amber Benson and award-winning author Christopher Golden comes a supernatural thriller with demons, secret agendas, and spectral warriors, set amid the deadly slums of nineteenth-century London. Based on the smash BBC web series that took England by storm, GHOSTS OF ALBION is a horror adventure laced with dark humor and darker lusts. William and Tamara Swift are Britain's protectors against the supernatural.
Having inherited the role from their grandfather, they're joined by his greatest allies: Bodicea, the warrior queen, Admiral Lord Nelson, and Lord Byron -- the Ghosts of Albion. When a plague infests the slums of Victorian London, it releases hideous creatures who feed upon the innocent. If the Swifts can't stop it, all of England may fall prey to this unholy invasion.
Websites
http://www.ghostsofalbion.net
http://www.christophergolden.com
http://www.essenceofamber.com
Advance Praise
From Publishers Weekly:
In this entertaining, fast-paced supernatural thriller, which originated as a "flash-animation" drama on the BBC Web site, Benson of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame and Stoker-winner Golden (Wildwood Road) have created an alternative universe in which vampires, ghosts and wizards populate Victorian England. Their protagonists, the young magicians William and Tamara Swift, are the new Protectors of Albion, entrusted with defending their country against supernatural foes. Aided by an eclectic collection of spirit allies, including Lord Byron, Admiral Nelson and Queen Bodicea, the Swifts must confront a bizarre plague that has moved from the slums to the precincts of the well-to-do, transforming people into reptilian monsters reminiscent of some of H.P. Lovecraft's horrors. While the setup is familiar, the writing is good enough to raise hopes for future entries, assuming a better balance is struck between adventure and heroes who engage the reader's emotions.
From Kirkus:
Demons from the subcontinent threaten Her Majesty Queen Victoria. Actress Benson (Tara on Buffy the Vampire Slayer) teams up with journeyman horror novelist Golden (The Boys Are Back in Town, 2004, etc.) in this hefty, hormone-stuffed novel, likely the first of a series. Based on the BBC Web series, the story is set in Victorian London, where siblings William and Tamara Swift are young magicians charged with guarding England from the forces of evil and keeping watch over the ancient magic in their domicile Ludlow House. It's a nice sort of place, if you don't mind the ghosts of a lustful Lord Byron and the flagrantly naked and combative Celtic warrior queen Bodicea, not to mention the body of their father, chained to a chair upstairs, likely dead and possessed by the spirit of a malevolent demon. With all this going on, William and Tamara still find ways to stay focused. The somewhat priggish William is busy courting the strong-willed Sophia, which involves a lot of impassioned necking, while Tamara writes under a pseudonym and longs after the rakish John Haversham. Meanwhile, dark things are stirring along the river wharfs and East End slums, where women—mostly Indian—are being forcibly impregnated and giving birth to loathsome creatures. Also, a number of reptilian beasts skulking in the dark are murdering any who cross their path. If this were a job for only William and Tamara, the Queen might be in some trouble, as they are still young and haven't perfected their magic. Fortunately, they have a number of well-meaning ghosts—as well as one deadly handsome vampire Tamara had a thing for—on their side. Demons, bodice-ripping passion and some good old murky London gloom; all one can ask for in a dark night's reading.
From Douglas Clegg, author of Priest of Blood:
Ghosts of Albion is a sexy, twisted dark fantasy adventure -- Benson and Golden have written one fantastic ride of a book. If Laurell K. Hamilton wrote tales of Victorian England, if Stephen King wrote his version of Great Expectations, if Dan Brown decided to jump in a time machine and explore the Albion Code, they might come close to this one.
Additional Details
400 pages
October 25th, 2005
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 034547130X
Published by Del Rey