London, 1923. The city hums with the new miracle of radio, its invisible waves carrying voices across the world. But what if those same frequencies could carry something far more dangerous-messages from the dead?
Vespera Luminaire, a gifted young radio engineer with the rare ability to see electromagnetic fields as shimmering ribbons of light, spends her nights alone in the BBC's experimental laboratories. On the anniversary of a mysterious fire that claimed one of Britain's most brilliant scientists, she intercepts a transmission that defies explanation-a voice from beyond the grave, warning her that a sinister figure is hunting women like her.
That figure is Dr. Cornelius Blackthorne, a man believed dead, whose obsession with harnessing consciousness itself has transformed him into something both scientist and predator. Using devices that blur the line between technology and the occult, Blackthorne has been trapping souls to power a creation he calls The Eternal Engine-a machine that promises immortality at a terrible cost.
- As Vespera searches for answers, she finds unexpected allies:
- Aurelius Grimwald, an antiquarian whose shop conceals powerful artifacts and forbidden knowledge.
- Minerva Blackheart, a seasoned medium whose séances bridge the divide between the living and the dead.
- Inspector Marcus Nightingale, a pragmatic detective forced to confront the impossible.
Together, they form an uneasy alliance to stop the Collector before his experiments reshape not only life and death, but the fate of nations. For Blackthorne is not alone-his patrons in Whitehall and Parliament see in his research the weapon to control empires.
Blending historical mystery, gothic horror, and supernatural suspense, The Thirteenth Hour immerses readers in a world of fog-bound streets, secret societies, and scientific wonders haunted by restless spirits. Fans of The Alienist, The Prestige, or The Historian will be captivated by this tale of invention and obsession, where the boundaries of science and the supernatural collapse into something terrifyingly new.
Step into the shadows of 1920s London, where the ether crackles with more than music-and where every midnight transmission might carry the voice of the dead.
