About this item
Learn the Words. Get the blood. Rule the world. The Ustari Cycle starts here. From the "exhilarating, powerful, and entertaining" (Guardian) storyteller of the Avery Cates series comes a gritty supernatural thriller featuring a pair of unlikely heroes caught up in the underground world of blood magic. Magicians: they are not good people.The ethics in a world of blood are gray - and an underground strata of blood magicians has been engineering disasters for centuries in order to acquire enough fuel for their spells. Although in the modern world these mages stay in the shadows, their exploits have become no less bloody. Still, some practitioners use the Words and a swipe of the blade to cast simpler spells, such as Charms and Cantrips to gas up $1 bills so they appear to be $20s. Lem Vonnegan and his sidekick Mags fall into this level of mage, hustlers and con men all. Lem tries to be ethical by using only his own blood, by not using Bleeders or "volunteers." But it makes life hard. Soon they might have to get honest work. When the pair encounter a girl who's been kidnapped and marked up with magic runes for a ritual spell, it's clear they're in over their heads. Turning to Lem's estranged Master for help, they are told that not only is the girl's life all but forfeit, but that the world's preeminent mage, Mika Renar, has earth-shattering plans for her - and Lem just got in the way. With the fate of the world on the line, and Lem both spooked and intrigued by the mysterious girl, the other nominate him to become the huckleberry who'll take down Renar. But even if he, Mags, and the simpletons who follow him prevail, they're dealing with the kind of power that doesn't understand defeat, or mercy. (The first portion of We Are Not Good People was originally published in an altered form as Trickster by Pocket Books) .
About the Author
Jeff Somers was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. As a child he imagined he would be a brain surgeon, until a spirit-crushing experience convinced him that in order to be a brain surgeon he would have to actually attend school, work hard, and master basic mathematics. After a severe head trauma, he chose instead to write stories and learn the high art of cocktail mixing, and spent the next twenty years in a pleasant haze of fiction and booze.
In 1995 Jeff began publishing his own magazine, The Inner Swine (www.innerswine.com) . His published novels include the Avery Cates series, "We Are not Good People", "Chum", and "The Ruiner."
He's also had stories published in many magazines, most of which regret the connection. His story "Ringing the Changes" was chosen for "Best American Mystery Stories 2006" and his story "sift, almost invisible, through" appeared in "Crimes by Moonlight" edited by Charlaine Harris in 2010.
He currently lives in Hoboken, NJ, with his lovely wife Danette and their plump, imperious cats. In-between all this and writing too, Jeff plays chess and staves off despair with cocktails.
