Model Species (The Apothic Man Book 1)

Alcander, an old man with a decrepit body and shattered sense of self, has a murderous plan to seize power and replace the life he cannot remember. Investigating a body with bizarre wounds fished from the bay are a middling apothynom, Inspector Paulos Gaent, and a religious objector to apothynom rule, Clerk Teria Bellaphaerenous. At cross-purposes, a private detective, Laros Nero, is hired by an anonymous client to discover the identity of the murderer for reasons other than justice. However, it will take more than keen investigative abilities to stop Alcander. It will require the unearthing of dark apothic knowledge that has been buried for an age.

Weordan is a world of apothos. The chemistry of glowing yellow blood sustains life and drives technology. Apothos is a personal technology practiced by apothynom, talented men and women who train their whole lives to build their metabolic capacity and hone their skill at directing that energy in novel ways. They construct apothic machines called emetanisms, mostly as tools to enhance their personal apothic capacity, but also to perform simple tasks in place of apothic effort.

Model Species is the first book in the Apothic Man series.