A Scattering of Jades

The great fire of 1835 burned most of New York Citys wooden downtown. Like many people, Archie Prescott thought he'd lost everything – his home was a smoldering ruin, his dead wifes body lay at his feet, and next to her was the corpse he assumed was his daughter. It seemed like the end of everything.

But it was only the beginning.

Goaded on by the publisher of the New York Herald Archie runs afoul of one of P. T. Barnum's former sideshow workers. The carney has used an ancient book to resurrect a Mesoamerican god – a chacmool – who plans to use the blood of Archies still-living daughter to bring about the end of humanity.

In the midst of ancient magic and murderous conspiracies, Archie finds himself with the power to save the world or drown it in sacrificial blood... but first he has to stop mourning his daughter, and undertake a grim cross-country journey to save her.

"A Scattering of Jades is a strange and dark and wonderful novel that comes to the reader like some weird and spicy jambalaya engaging all the senses. With its cast of the quirky and grotesque, not to mention its shadowy historical conspiracies, you can think of Tim Powers' books for a touchstone, but Alexander Irvine definitely has his own, individual voice. This one's a keeper." – Charles de Lint

"A Scattering of Jades is brilliant, the best kind of Hidden History novel (and an impressive first novel at that). I was reminded of the work of Tim Powers, especially in the way Mr. Irvine so compellingly underpins the everyday events of the world with magic and fantastic events, and makes it all somehow plausible." – Kage Baker

"Boisterously imagined and vividly written. Irvine's debut novel has everything a reader could hope for - adventure, magic, villainy, and caves. Reincarnations! Retributions! Family values! A Scattering of Jades is one wild ride." – Karen Joy Fowler