First published 1986
Vergil receives a magical call from Averno, a city that grows rich from natural fires but chokes on their smoke. The wealthy rulers fear their underground flames are weakening and moving unpredictably. They need the poet's necromantic powers to solve their crisis. Vergil arrives in this contradictory place where great fortunes rise from toxic air and dying fires threaten everything. He encounters counterfeiters and alchemists, witnesses strange rituals and mystic visions, observes magic lantern performances that blur reality and illusion. The city's problems run deeper than failing fires. Averno's corruption seeps through every transaction and relationship. Vergil must navigate not just magical threats but human greed and desperation. His investigation leads him through layers of superstition and sorcery that reveal how deeply the city's wealth depends on forces beyond anyone's control. This continuation of Davidson's Vergil Magus series follows the legendary poet as he discovers that some problems resist even the most powerful magic.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, fantasy, supernatural
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigation, magical-realism, urban-fantasy
Setting: Averno
Period: 19th-century
184 pages · Hardcover · Doubleday