The Black God’s Drums

Clark masterfully rewrites history in this spellbinding post–Civil War fantasy. America is 15 years past an armistice between the Union, where slavery is illegal, and the Confederacy, where it still reigns, and New Orleans remains the only free and neutral port in all the land. Thirteen-year-old Creeper is an orphan surviving on the margins of New Orleans whose fortunes change when she uncovers a Confederate plot to recreate the titular otherworldly weapon, which ensured devastating victory for Haitian revolutionaries, and use it against the Union. With help from Ann-Marie St. Augustine, an airship captain who could be Creeper’s ticket out of New Orleans, and the goddess Oya, Creeper must prevent Confederate soldiers from unleashing the wrath of a furious god upon a city and a nation that will not see it coming. Clark employs fervent, emotive prose to construct an elaborate world populated by diverse, complex people. The story is thrillingly original and will enthrall fans of alternate histories. [em](Aug.) [/em]