The City: The Spirit King

"The City" is a speculative fiction book taking place in a world where massive, urban sprawl has overtaken the whole earth. Technology in The City is both spiritual and material, and in that, characters vary from skeptics to expert practitioners and everything in between. In that environment, "Pope" has the gift of speaking to and hearing from spirits. This has afforded him massive political power and influence, as well as unimaginable wealth. When faced with a coup orchestrated by his political allies, Pope is faced with the choice of doing the right thing or allowing what will certainly be a bloodbath. Ultimately, Pope finds himself with both the opportunity to gain power but also in the cross hairs of those desperately holding on to The City's power.

Unique in many ways, this book chooses to focus on supernatural, metaphysical, and occult elements as opposed to the typical scientific or magic of many fantasy novels. The characters themselves are unique in that they come from a diverse range of backgrounds, culturally, ethnically, politically and otherwise. In this, the book covers a myriad of complex and difficult global issues throughout. The author has chosen to speak to systemic political and economic issues in the life of the characters -- this is, without question, a deep and fascinating read!