Aleronde the Great
The final book in The Aleronde Trilogy!
(While acknowledging, of course, that good trilogies sometimes have more than three books.)
The story so far…
In The Problem with Uncle Teddy’s Memoir, Theo Kingman’s great-uncle Teddy wrote of an impossible life in the fabulous place called Aleronde, a place too strange to be on Earth. He also describes the circumstances of his unexpected exile in England.
Theo’s friend, Curt, believes he is checking through the memoir with an eye to publishing it. As always, he relies on Nancy, his office manager, and also brings in help from an old-school friend, JW, an expert on languages.
But, by carefully selecting only parts of the manuscript, Theo is slowly bringing Curt round to an admission–that he remembers Aleronde. Theo knows they were both taken there in their youth though neither remembers how or why.
Uncle Teddy describes growing up in the heart of a galactic empire. Theo wonders if Earth is next on the list of planets to despoil and if there is anything he and Curt can do about it.
In Saint John’s Ambulatory, we read how though no one liked Father Bart Samuels—including his boss, the bishop—no one wanted to kill him, let alone behead him.
Peter Trowbridge, the unemployed nephew of the bishop, is recruited
to step into the parish of Saint John’s In The Green, ‘just to keep the lights
on.’ He little anticipates the effect the job will have on his life, until he
comes into possession of one of Fr. Bart’s photographs, which appears to
show an alien in the church.
St. John’s In The Green holds an ancient secret. Beneath its quiet
sanctuary lies a passageway, The Ambulatory. No one knows its origin or
its true purpose, but through it, several people make daily commutes of
mere minutes between Manchester and South London.
From a knife-wielding transvestite to local Muslim hotheads to thirsty
Morris men, a skinhead group, and the enigmatic Fiona Chapman—who
might work for MI5—the murder investigation leads to confrontation
between Peter and a group of terrorists inside The Ambulatory. Peter is
lost in the dark of the passage and is ultimately rescued by the sound of
bells.
Other people wander in The Ambulatory who, over the centuries, have
been lost in the darkness. But, now, Peter knows how to get them out.
And now…
At the heart of the empire, the beautiful city of towers, parks, and enforced order
Aleronde the Feared!
Militaristic, paranoid, and brutal
Why would any stranger risk going there?
Theo Kingman has to. In The Problem with Uncle Teddy’s Memoir, he and Curt Bookman remember being taken to Aleronde as children. Theo will travel there to learn how and why they were abducted and to discover if Earth is in danger from the Aleronden fleet. Curt has a more personal reason to return.
Theo leans on the expertise of Peter Trowbridge–the only man with proof of aliens visiting Earth.
When Theo’s small party arrives in Aleronde, they find themselves at the mercy of disparate and antagonistic groups. Through one mistake, suddenly it is not just the travelers but the entire city that faces great danger.
Even more cataclysmic may be the mysterious figure from the past unpicking the fabric of the empire with that most dangerous thing: an idea.
Your favorite characters from both The Problem with Uncle Teddy’s Memoir and Saint John’s Ambulatory join together in this surprising culmination of The Aleronde Trilogy.