Earthquake Weather

Locus Award 1998.

A young woman possessed by a ghost has slain the Fisher King of the West, Scott Crane. Now, temporarily freed from the malevolent spirit, she seeks to restore the King to life and thwart the would-be usurper. She has found an ally in 'Scant' Cochran, whose wife died tragically and strangely a few months ago.

But Crane's body has been taken by his loyal servants to the magically protected home of Pete and Angelica Sullivan, where their adopted son, Koot Hoomie, is bleeding from a wound that will not heal. Kootie is destined to be the next King, but he is only thirteen years old – too young, his mother thinks, to perform the rituals to assume the Kingship. But not too young, perhaps, to assist in reuniting Scott Crane's body and spirit and restoring him to life.

And meanwhile, from the north to south in the Kingdom of the West, the land is in upheaval. Earthquakes, fires, floods, and riots plague California. Powerful ghosts wander the cities, too strong for even the cleverest hunters. Only the restoration of the King can restore the balance, and it must be done soon. Old King or new, there must be a King in the West, or the land will fail.