The Book of Lamps and Banners, Elizabeth Hand
The Book of Lamps and Banners, Elizabeth Hand
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The Book of Lamps and Banners

Author: Elizabeth Hand

Narrator: Carol Monda

Unabridged: 11 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/29/2020

Synopsis

Acclaimed crime writer Elizabeth Hand returns to her "fiercely frightening yet hauntingly beautiful" cult-favorite series: Photographer Cass Neary is hard-up for cash and in more danger than she realizes on the hunt for an ancient, legendary book (Tess Gerritsen).  Photographer Cass Neary is desperate to get home, and she's already lost her camera -- like losing a limb. Now her only chance is to cash in on a deal that a friend is about to cut for a legendary illuminated manuscript: The Book of Lamps and Banners. Rumored to have been rescued from the Library at Alexandria, the Book is said to contain ancient esoteric knowledge, even an otherworldly power.

So when an intruder brazenly steals the manuscript, Cass and her ex-con lover Quinn must get it back-plunging headlong into a shady underworld where antiquarian booksellers, unhinged tech entrepreneurs, and brutal nationalists all converge. This breathless psychological thriller, featuring one of the greatest amateur sleuths of the past decade, could only come from the mind of Elizabeth Hand.
 "Kaleidoscopic, dark, and mysterious . . . This novel is a jaw-punch, written with a snarling grace." -- Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World

“I love Cass Neary . . . . Her latest misadventure is vivid and haunting, braiding the ancient and occult with the unholy frights of the modern world.” ―Steph Cha, author of Your House Will Pay

"Elizabeth Hand has delivered a startling book that is dirty, wise, aching, and almost magical."―Ivy Pochoda, author of These Women 

About Elizabeth Hand

Elizabeth Hand is the author of more than nineteen cross-genre novels and collections of short fiction. Her work has received the Shirley Jackson Award three times, the World Fantasy Award four times, and the Nebula Award twice, as well as the James M. Tiptree Jr. and Mythopoeic Society awards.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Rene

What a story! I loved how deeply human this novel is, complex and surprising, even it is fast paced and quite electric. One can feel Elizabeth Hand's delight as a writer. She loves story and story loves her right back. Cass Neary is a wonderfully mysterious, unique and fantastically anti-hero heroin......more

Goodreads review by Mona

BEST CASS NEARY NOVEL YET! I’m a long time fan of Elizabeth Hand. She writes in multiple genres and does it well, sometimes brilliantly. The Cass Neary series consists of weird, dark crime novels with a very unlikely heroine/narrator/crime solver. There’s also just a whiff of magical realism thrown in......more

Quotes

“I love Cass Neary, the smart, messy, substance-abusing, death-marked ghost of punk. Her latest misadventure is vivid and haunting, braiding the ancient and occult with the unholy frights of the modern world. A thrill ride crackling with sulfurous brilliance.”—Steph Cha, author of Your House Will Pay

"The ancient manuscript at the center of The Book of Lamps and Banners is as kaleidoscopic, dark, and mysterious as Hand's amateur sleuth. This novel is a jaw-punch, written with a snarling grace. Cass Neary--the aging punk photographer living within darkest edges of our broken civilization-is my hero. And so is Liz Hand."—Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Cabin atthe End of the World

"It's hard to imagine a more perfect novel than The Book of Lamps and Banners. In her fourth Cass Neary outing, Elizabeth Hand has delivered a startling book that is dirty, wise, aching, and almost magical. Hand expertly marries muscular prose to sophisticated detail, resulting in an enviably smart, fearless novel that conjures demons, evokes an immediate sense of place, and summons the surreal."—Ivy Pochoda, author of These Women

"A wild ride that defies comparison: pill-popping idealist Cass Neary’s obsessive hunt piles on teeth-grinding, story-propelling tension, and Hand’s gifted portrayal of subcultures seamlessly
links Cass’ past in New York’s ’80s punk scene, London’s rare-book dealers, and Odinist neo-Nazis." —Booklist (starred review)

"What a story! Powered by pure adrenaline and excitement, engrossing and yet human to the core—Elizabeth Hand has written a barn burner of a thriller. What a delight." —Rene Denfeld, author of The Child Finder

“A hair-raising, mind-bending trip… Exquisitely suspenseful, and the paranoia suffusing the story is very much of our present moment. The idea that any single source can make sense of everything happening around us is as alluring as it is dangerous [and] half of the mystery in The Book of Lamps and Banners is wondering whether Cass Neary will save us or take us down with her.”—BookPage (starred review)

“Cass Neary is a tough, self-destructive character who still exudes compassion, courage, and love for the beauty and the pain of life—even more so because she recognizes its impermanence. Part The Club Dumas, part The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, all punk attitude and beautiful ache.”  —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A propulsive exploration of obsession and addiction.”—Sarah Weinman, The Crime Lady

"Picture The Maltese Falcon, but instead of a black bird, there's an ancient and mystic manuscript, and instead of a private eye with a code, there's an aging punk photographer amped up on booze and speed. Elizabeth Hand's genre mash-up is a dizzying ride."—Peter Swanson, author of Eight Perfect Murders

"If Dan Brown wrote TheGirl With the Dragon Tattoo, you'd have something like Elizabeth Hand'sThe Book of Lamps and Banners. A tight, gritty page-turner that gnaws at your fingertips and gets under your skin -- the best kind of addiction."
—Peter Clines, New York Times bestselling author of Paradox Bound

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