The moment you open the forbidden book, the countdown to destruction begins.
In Renaissance Florence, the rakish nobleman Alessio de’ Medici pays a fortune for a mysterious forbidden book from the East, Supplement to the Exploitation of the Works of Nature. It contains terrifying knowledge far beyond its time: self-guided firebirds, giant kites that rip through the sky, looms that weave the future, diving bells that descend to the deep sea... Every successful experiment pushes him closer to the pinnacle of power; every failure tears a rift in the veil of reality.
Alessio is intoxicated by the thrill of commanding forbidden knowledge, unaware that he is becoming the sacrifice in an ancient ritual, step by step. The first nine failures are merely a prelude. His tenth success, an “automatic homing cannon” powerful enough to smash city walls, will be the final key to awakening a sleeping deity. Blood-red stars appear in the night sky, a sinister ancient city rises from the depths, and stone gates beneath the Persian desert rumble open. Keepers of secrets from the East, a one-eyed Templar Knight, the Doge of Venice... forces from every side are drawn into this continent-spanning contest of madness.
When he finally stands before the forbidden cannon, holding the fuse that could set the world ablaze, he must choose: become the key-bearer who opens the gates of the abyss, or use this power of destruction to forge the final chains that will seal the evil god?
Knowledge is power, and a curse as well.
When the Old Ones open their eyes after an eternal slumber, the entire Renaissance will become an altar for Their awakening.
