Mixing the fantastic with the historical, Irvine (A Scattering of Jade
) shows that heroism is as likely in the factory as on the battlefield in this novel set in WWII-era Detroit. Jared Cleaves, unable to serve in the armed forces due to a childhood hand injury, becomes entangled with factory politics and military espionage. Selected by the Office of Esoteric Investigation to work on the Ford golem production line (the "Frankenline"), Jared remains unsatisfied with his contribution to the war. Looking to do more, he falls into a complicated series of plots to unearth a supernatural power trapped below Detroit. Drawing his supernatural elements from folklore, Irvine convincingly imagines a world in which sabotage is as likely to be caused by imps as by German agents—and makes the 1943 Detroit race riot a scarier monster than any of the fantasy creatures stalking the city's streets. Agent, Eben Weiss at Ralph Vicinanza. (Sept.)
