INFINITY IN DEATH Vienna, 1908 Gabriele Ziegler is a young art student who becomes infatuated with charismatic archeologist Dr. Emeryk Quintillus. Only too late does she realize his true designs on her. He is obsessed with resurrecting Cleopatra and has retained the famed artist Gustav Klimt to render Gabriele as the Queen of the Nile, using ashes from Cleopatra’s mummy mixed with the paint. … Cleopatra’s mummy mixed with the paint. The result is a lifelike portrait emitting an aura of unholy evil . . .
Vienna, 2018
The Mortimer family has moved into Quintillus’s former home, Villa Dürnstein. In its basement they find an original Klimt masterpiece—a portrait of Cleopatra art scholars never knew existed. But that’s not all that resides within the villa’s vault. Nine-year-old Heidi Mortimer tells her parents that a strange man lives there.
Quintillus’s desire to be with Cleopatra transcends death. His spirit will not rest until he has brought her back from the netherworld. Even if he has to sacrifice the soul of a child . . .
Praise for Catherine Cavendish’s Wrath of the Ancients
“Cavendish has constructed such an elaborate plot—combined with painstaking research into Egyptian mythology—that the fantastical events taking place seem to literally ‘come alive’ on the pages before you.”
—horrorafterdark.com
“Cavendish offers up an atmospheric gothic horror tale that effortlessly blends together history and the supernatural to create an unsettling horror story that will appeal to almost any horror fan.”
—thehorrorbookshelf.com
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Damned by the Ancients (Nemesis of the Gods Book 3)Kindle Edition
by Catherine Cavendish
I received a complimentary copy of this novel via NetGalley and am leaving a fair and honest review.
I tried to read this book twice and both times I was unable to finish this plodding story of reincarnation and ancient gods and goddesses.
A mix of the Exorcist and the Bad Seed and an average reincarnation story. A family moves into the haunted house in Germany. The husband is a diplomat and mom is a cozy mystery writer. The daughter is nine years old and at the beginning, doesn’t speak German.
In the kitchen, a large, heavy door is locked and is tempting to the family. Behind the door lurks the spirit of an evil archaeologist and two bodies of women. The daughter becomes possessed by one of the women and gets a familiar type cat that is the avatar of Sehkmet.
Just once, I wish that people who inhabited novels had a passing acquaintance of the paranormal, because the books they live in would move a long far more quickly! This is the case of DBTA. The mother, a writer, has no idea of what her daughter is going through, never mind the vast number of horror and fantasy novels and movies and shows that discuss reincarnation and possession.
The story is told in the semi-omniscient third person, yet still drags on. And on. It is the text itself and the way the mother constantly questions what she is told and what she observes.
The only interesting character was the cat.
I just couldn’t put up with the vapidity of the parents and the way the text just didn’t move along.
3 stars out of 5
https://www.amazon.com/Damned-Ancients-Nemesis-Gods-Book-ebook/dp/B07B77GLMH
The Book Nerd was bored to tears.
4.5 stars!
DAMNED BY THE ANCIENTS is Book 3 in the Nemesis of the Gods series, by Catherine Cavendish. In the first book, we’re introduced to Dr. Emeryk Quintillus and his obsession with the former Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra. His quest to bring her back to life to be “with him” for all time transcends the years, and even death, itself.
In this third book, Cavendish begins in the present time, with a new family–Ryan, Yvonne, and their nine-year-old daughter, Heidi, Mortimer–moving into Quintillus’ former home, Villa Durnstein. It doesn’t take long at all for the supernatural events that the fixated doctor set into motion to begin manifesting in front of the new tenants.
“. . . Reality has lost some of its meaning . . . ”
Then we change scenes/time and revisit Vienna in 1908. Once again, we are given some more insight into what Dr. Quintillus actually did and another innocent who was tangled into his web of deceit. Each of these sections that we are shown (including the ones from the first two books in the series) begin to show us a more complete picture of the complexity of his design. The ramifications–and all the lives impacted–by this one man spreads outward over the course of the years in a ripple effect.
“. . . Some men don’t have to do anything before you know they are inherently evil . . . ”
When the author brings us back to events in the present time, we have a much better picture of the entire history regarding Quintillus’ evil legacy.
“. . . Some things shouldn’t be meddled with.”
Overall, I fell in love with this historical fiction series that Cavendish has given us. While each book tells its own complete story, they also build upon the knowledge gleaned from their predecessors. The brilliance and the complexity of this obsessed doctor’s designs really comes full circle in this latest installment. Events that happened previously give us a whole new understanding and appreciation of the author’s skills as we are able to “connect” the events of both past and present.
“You take normality for granted . . . until nothing in your life is normal . . . ”
This was more than a mere journey. I felt as if this were the final piece of a jigsaw puzzle that I’d been anticipating. Cavendish shows true talent in her weaving of different timelines, true history, and fiction. The “Nemesis of the Gods” series is a great testament to that.
Highly recommended!
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this book. All opinions expressed are uniquely my own.*