First published 1997
Father Yves de la Croix returns to Versailles carrying ice-packed cargo from his oceanic expedition. The Sun King Louis XIV commanded him to find sea monsters, creatures rumored to hold the secret of eternal life. Now Yves brings back a shrouded corpse and a basin containing a living, shrieking being. At court, nobles scramble for the king's favor while wealth and beauty rule everything. Science mixes with alchemy in the palace halls. Courtiers will sacrifice anything to please their monarch, even destroying family bonds. Louis XIV has spent fifty years building France into the western world's dominant power, but his hunger for glory remains endless. The mysterious sea creatures represent his boldest gamble yet. From the glittering Hall of Mirrors to the pest-ridden upper floors of the chateau, everyone competes in this dangerous game. The expedition's strange cargo will test the limits of ambition, faith, and the price of pursuing immortality in service to God, country, and king.
Genres: science-fiction, historical-fiction, adventure, fantasy
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: ambition, court-politics, sacrifice
Setting: Versailles
Period: 17th-century
432 pages · Hardcover · Pocket