Part of Series
Autumn downpours soak the city of Astreiant and cast a gloomy pall over its streets, while storms at sea have delayed merchant ships bearing important cargoes from distant lands. For Philip Eslingen, whose stars are bad for water, the season adds damp misery to the complications of organizing the new and controversial City Guard. The murder of a tea captain brings to a head the rivalry between Point of Sighs, where the crime took place, and Point of Dreams, where Eslingen’s lover, Adjunt Point Nicolas Rathe, doubts the evidence against the son of a prominent Dreams merchant house. As extortion against traders by the dockers of Point of Sighs and corruption among the district pointsmen come to light, the mystery deepens, but nothing can prepare Rathe and Eslingen for the return of a legend and the revival of a savage cult. Centuries ago the hungry spirit that haunted the River Sier was propitiated by the ritual sacrifice of handsome young man, but the Riverdeme has long been bound by the city’s bridges. Now the river seethes with vicious dogfish, mauled corpses are pulled from the water, and Eslingen—peculiarly at risk from any watery threat—and Rathe must uncover the person who seeks to unleash an ancient evil. Fifth in the beloved Astreiant series, Point of Sighs brings new supernatural danger and political intrigue to the capital of Chenedolle—and unexpected challenges to the relationship between pointsman Rathe and soldier Eslingen.
Author
Scott studied history at Harvard College and Brandeis University, and earned her PhD. in comparative history. She published her first novel in 1984, and has since written some two dozen science fiction and fantasy works, including three co-authored with her partner, Lisa A. Barnett. Scott's work is known for the elaborate and well-constructed settings. While many of her protagonists are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered, this is perfectly integrated into the rest of the story and is rarely a major focus of the story. Shadow Man, alone among Scott's works, focuses explicitly on issues of sexuality and gender. She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in Science Fiction in 1986, and has won several Lambda Literary Awards. In addition to writing, Scott also teaches writing, offering classes via her website and publishing a writing guide. Scott lived with her partner, author Lisa A. Barnett, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for 27 years, until the latter's death of breast cancer on May 2, 2006.
