Twelve-year-old Koot Hoomie Parganas's parents prepared him for a career as a metaphysical holy man - but after they're brutally murdered one night he finds himself a fugitive in the darkest corners of Los Angeles, pursued by denizens of a dark underworld who want what Kootie's parents have been hiding for 40 years - the ghost of Thomas Edison contained in a bust of Dante. But Kootie has broken the bust and inhaled the ghost, and now has in his head the lively personality of Edison himself - and together Kootie and Edison must learn the harsh rules of the occult world existing behind the glitter of modern Los Angeles, and find a way to save Kootie's life and free Edison's ghost from its earthly Purgatory.

Author Biography

Tim Powers was born in Buffalo, New York, and educated at California State University, gaining a degree in English. It was at University that he met K.W. Jeter and James Blaylock, who became friends and occasional collaborators, and the three of them are regarded as the founding fathers of the steampunk literary movement. He was also a friend of noted SF writer Philip K. Dick. Tim Powers is the author of many highly regarded novels and among his many honours are two PHILIP K. DICK AWARDs (for THE ANUBIS GATES and DINNER AT DEVIANT'S PALACE) and two WORLD FANTASY AWARDs (for LAST CALL and DECLARE). The fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film is based on his 1987 novel ON STRANGER TIDES. Tim Powers lives in California.