I got this fair-condition softcover at a local Savers thrift shop, enchanted by the sea monster on the cover. The book's set in an alternate-history/alternate-reality Age of Exploration where the Earth is flat and those maps with dragons and sea monsters in them were accurate...

The story deals with the discovery of the "quintessence," a magical element that can be used to grant immortality - but (of course) with a price. Indeed, the story opens with the arrival of a ship of which most of the crew is dead, and the survivors are gradually turning into stone themselves, a very sinister setup! Other characters include a skilled alchemist, a talented physician whose attempts to learn more about the human body have led to charges of heresy, and his daughter Catherine, who finds herself learning to cope with a strange new world while trying to evade those hunting her father.

There are powerful people vying for control of this new knowledge, leading to desperate flights and vicious attacks and heroic deeds (with lots of carnage along the way). I admit I didn't get as caught up in this story as I'd hoped, but it did have its points, and I was especially fond of the ending, which hinted at an all-too-suitable end for the surviving bad guys.

I left this book, bagged against the elements, on the information board at the trailhead on this warm day; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

*** Released for the 2018 One Word Title release challenge. ***