A captivating insider’s guide to the politics and personalities that will have a tremendous impact on one of the world’s most secretive and important events–the election of a pope. The next time a conclave unfolds in Rome, some 6,000 journalists are expected to descend on the Eternal City to cover the death of John Paul II and report on the election of his successor. The man in white who emerges from the Sistine Chapel at its conclusion will automatically become one of the most important figures on earth, a leader who commands a unique combination of political and spiritual power. Depending on how he chooses to exercise that power, governments and political systems may rise or fall, religious wars may heat up or abate, and the Church may undergo a radical transformation–from changes in its stances on such issues as sexuality, the place of women in the Church, to the role of the papacy itself. Conclave is a fascinating look at the election process and at what this headline-making occasion will mean to the world. John L. Allen, Jr., takes readers behind the scenes to reveal the issues, parties, and people most likely to determine the outcome. Setting the election within a broader context, he explains why it matters who becomes pope, discusses their role in the modern world, and examines the issues that will form the agenda of the next papacy. Although the book is not intended as a “handicapper’s guide,” Allen does offer his own informed list of the “top twenty” contenders for the position. He creates, as well, a classification system that clarifies the differences among the informal political parties that exist within the College of Cardinals, the body of 130-plus men who will elect John Paul II’s successor. In conclusion, he presents a critical, independent-minded profile of each of those cardinals–for one of them will certainly be the new pope.

A GLOBE AND MAIL BEST BOOK The bestselling author of Fatherland and Munich turns to today's Vatican in a ripped-from-the-headlines novel, and gives us his most ambitious, page-turning thriller yet--where the power of God is nearly equaled by the ambition of men. The Pope is dead. Behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, one hundred and eighteen cardinals from all over the globe will cast their votes in the world's most secretive election. They are holy men. But they have ambition. And they have rivals. Over the next seventy-two hours one of them will become the most powerful spiritual figure on earth.

THE CONCLAVE, the gathering of the world's Roman Catholic cardinals at the Vatican in complete isolation and secrecy after the death of the pope in order to elect a new spiritual leader, is the setting for Roberto Pazzi's latest novel, a magical fable rooted in the realities of today. A week, a month, four months go by and still the cardinals cannot come to a decision. The world outside grows impatient, but time inside the Vatican has another quality: oneiric, suspended, symbolic. The cardinals conspire in secret meetings to advance their absurd political struggles with Kafkaesque determination. Who shall rise to don the vestments and wield the authority of the Holy See? A political activist from Latin America? A black cardinal from sub-Saharan Africa, the Church's leading growth market? A prominent Palestinian whose election would shake up geopolitics? Or has the time come for an Italian to once again wear the pope's miter? A series of fantastic events intrudes to upset the conclavists' opulent comfort, steal their dignity, and undermine their faith. The end result is a work of fabulist fiction of the highest order. ." . . clearly acknowledges Italo Calvino and others who have made fantasy a vital force in contemporary Italian fiction. None-theless Pazzi is his own writer and a marvelous one, too."-- The Chicago Tribune "A dazzling reinvention of history that has all the narrative delights of a fine novella, combined with the hard luminous glow of epic verse."-- The New York Times

"Do you know what a papal conclave is?"DAMONWill is gone. He hasn't been seen in months, and the texts coming from his phone are almost certainly forged. Something's wrong. We need to act now. Michael is ready to tear down The Cove, Rika's hiding something, Evans Crist is a threat, and Winter's father is still out there. Everyone is off in a million directions, and we're vulnerable.It's time to do this. It's time to claim our place. RIKAA few years ago, I never thought I'd be here. On board Pithom. Miles out at sea. At a table with Michael Crist, Kai Mori, and Damon Torrance--men I now consider family. We've locked ourselves on this yacht for however long it takes to address our agenda, and we won't leave until everything is on the table. Even things I don't want to talk about. Things Michael doesn't know. We will find Will. We will solidify our plans, and we will remove any threats. If we survive Conclave. *Conclave is a 27,000 word novella that takes place between Kill Switch (Devil's Night #3) and Nightfall (Devil's Night #4). It is suitable for readers 18+. Please read Corrupt, Hideaway, and Kill Switch prior to reading this story.

The evil Duke of Olasko is lord no more—vanquished by his nemesis Tal Hawkins, the Talon of the Silver Hawk. Saved by a mage's intervention from certain death, the once-feared despot has been reduced to an exile's existence, forced to wander the harshest realms of the world he once enslaved. Conclave of Shadows: Book Three Only days ago, Kaspar, the powerful Duke of Olasko, had great armies at his command and was feared by nations. Now, half a world away from home, he is separated from his former seat of power by merciless deserts, forbidding mountains, and vast oceans. The fall of the tyrant is complete, his dark dreams of vengeance overwhelmed by the daily struggle for his very survival. But Kaspar's prodigious skills and cunning provide him the opportunity he seeks, guarding merchant travelers returning to the other side of the world and back to his homeland. Yet there is a larger drama that will entangle the broken dictator. An evil more devastating and deadly than any encountered in Midkemia for centuries seeks entrance to the land—the mystical tool of a dark empire hungry for conquest and destruction—and Kaspar has inadvertently discovered the key. The man responsible for the slaughter of countless men, women, and children must now assume a far stranger and most unlikely role—that of hero—if his world is to survive. For dire peril is advancing daily, and a long-slumbering malevolence is awakening to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting and unprepared. Suddenly, Midkemia's last hope is a disgraced and exiled duke whose history is written in blood, and who now must wield his sword as her champion ... if he so chooses.

Intrigue, double-dealing and conspiracy in the Eternal City. 'A fascinating narrative of the intermingling of secular and religious power' New Statesman 'A highly enjoyable and thrilling read... Hollingsworth has peeled back the veil of secrecy surrounding papal conclaves' History Today 'Full of lively detail and colour' Literary Review August 1559. As the long hot Italian summer draws to its close, so does the life of a rigidly orthodox and profoundly unpopular pope. The papacy of Paul IV has seen the establishing of the Roman Inquisition and the Index of Prohibited Books, an unbending refusal to open dialogue with Protestants, and the ghettoization of Rome's Jews. On 5 September 1559, as the great doors of the Vatican's Sala Regia are ceremonially locked, the future of the Catholic Church hangs in the balance. Mary Hollingsworth offers a compelling and sedulously crafted reconstruction of the longest and most taxing of sixteenth-century papal elections. Its crisscrossing fault lines divided not only moderates from conservatives, but also the adherents of three national 'factions' with mutually incompatible interests. France and Spain were both looking to extend their power in Italy and beyond and had very different ideas of who the new pope should be – as did the Italian cardinals. Drawing on the detailed account books left by Ippolito d'Este, one of the participating cardinals, Conclave 1559 provides remarkable insights into the daily lives and concerns of the forty-seven men locked up for some four months in the Vatican.

How would your life change if you inherited a vampire? “Find me, Sarah…” When a handsome stranger whispers these three little words to Sarah Marcel, she knows her life is forever changed. For two weeks straight, Sarah’s been unable to eat, sleep, or even form a coherent thought properly. She fears she’s losing her mind until a chance encounter brings a man into her life who seems to hold the key to solving her problems. With a single touch, he’s able to ease her troubled soul and bring her some much-needed peace. Yet, just as Sarah believes she’s found the solution to her dilemma, he disappears. As Sarah begins to unravel a mystery surrounding her family’s past, she quickly discovers her role in a world that’s hidden from most humans. Being a Marcel comes with certain responsibilities, and there are some things that you can’t hide from forever.