*WINNER OF THE 2016 QUAGGA PRIZE FOR FANTASY* “The ridiculous, in particular, has the right to exist.” The time: an alternative present still ruled by Imperial Rome. Over half the world's people have vanished overnight, in a forgotten catastrophe known only as the Amnesis. The survivors share a common affliction: a pervasive sense of déjà vu, making the faces of strangers seem oddly familiar... Stranger still is the Paradigma: a formula devised by elusive magus Zerkalo Incarnadine, and delivered to Caesar in his underground fortress. Before long, the true power of the Paradigma begins to reveal itself. It can turn the written word into a force for creation – or destruction. When alchemist, intriguer and full-time rogue Andreas Stahlherz learns of the Paradigma, he is catapulted into an adventure that will soon see him fighting for his life. Darkly obsessed with the sister he has lost, and resolved to see her live again, Stahlherz must track down Incarnadine to find the answers he needs. His search will take him beyond the limits of the known cosmos – and further still, towards his own forgotten heart of darkness... A wildly original and gripping debut, INCARNADINE is a novel of murder, obsession – and transformation.